CFA question

I am one of the 14,000 people who were rejected from USNA last year, and now that I am all settled at the University of Georgia (go dawgs) I have begun the process of reapplying, and I have been working out as much as I can to prepare for a CFA, but now I think I have been approaching it wrong. Last year I took my CFA coming off of my last rowing season, and was in great shape. Now however, I need to do more to prepare, and so I have been running and training with weights. However, I have been undervaluing the importance of pushups, situps, and pullups. (They have always been a part of my workout, but now I am putting them in the forefront)

My question is, can I still keep weight training, and how can I balance calisthenics with weights? Thank you for any replies, and I apologize for the wordiness of this post.

So last year, you were in great shape. I assume that's because you trained for rowing.
Since that training doesn't require being in a boat all the time, what is keeping you from doing a very similar type of training this year?

Why have you been "undervaluing the importance of pushups, situps, and pullups"? That's 50% of the CFA right there.
I guess I just don't really understand your post, fully.

Erging is one of the best all-around training tools. I'm sure you're familiar with the machine (insert sarcasm). Do not undervalue old fashioned pull ups, situps and pushups. As THParent said, it's 50% of the CFA.

THParent said:

So last year, you were in great shape. I assume that's because you trained for rowing.
Since that training doesn't require being in a boat all the time, what is keeping you from doing a very similar type of training this year?

Why have you been "undervaluing the importance of pushups, situps, and pullups"? That's 50% of the CFA right there.
I guess I just don't really understand your post, fully.

Click to expand...

I apologize. I wrote this up quickly late at night. When I say I 'undervalued', I assumed that chest, back, and core workouts would suffice, as I wanted to dabble into weights, something I had never done before. The Crew season I did involved a lot of land workouts, but those were pre-planned, and I really can't remember much of them. I will continue doing research and pull a plan together though. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for doing that.

The way to get better at doing pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups is to do a lot of pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups.
You do pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups every day, until you can do the amount of pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups you need to do.
It's really not much of a secret. The Marine Corps cracked the code and shared it with everyone a long time ago.

Now for the rest;
The Basketball Throw is more of a "sling" than anything else. There are multiple YouTube videos showing how to do this.
The Shuttle Run is all about the turn. Again, there are multiple YouTube videos showing how to do this.

The Mile Run is simple. You need to string together four (4) laps at 90 seconds each for a 6:00 mile.
A 5:20 mile (The maximum score) is four (4) 80-second laps.
To get better at running, you need to run, every day.
If you can consistently run a 6-minute mile (and let's say you can string three 7-minute miles together), Plebe Summer will be an
Adventure, rather than an Ordeal.

The running gets you in shape not just for the Mile but for the Shuttle Run as well. The pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups get you in shape for the Basketball Throw (and of course, the pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups). It's almost like they planned that.

One option is to explore Stew Smith’s CFA prep. He’s a USNA grad, former SEAL, former USNA staff officer and now a fitness professional.

http://www.stewsmith.com/linkpages/serviceacademycfa.htm

https://www.military.com/military-fitness/fitness-test-prep/service-academy-cfa

Nothing beats installing a pull-up bar in a doorway and working on those every time you go by.

Get the required form right on sit-ups and push-ups, then build reps and speed.

The B.B. throw is both technique and strength. Look for YouTube videos.

Practice events singly, but also in test sequence and timing with a partner to keep you on task. The test is a progressive test of stamina and endurance, as well as individual elements.