Candidate Fitness Assessment Tips

Cait

Cait

Member
Joined
May 25, 2015
Messages
38
Hello
I did a practice CFA today and I was wondering if any one has tips on how I could practice to better my scores. For the basketball throw I had a score of 29 feet. I held the flexed-arm hang for 21 seconds. On the shuttle run it took me 11.3 second for 30 a yard run. I had 51 sit-ups and 25 push-ups. Lastly the mile run took me 8 minutes and 5 seconds. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
 
The first one is practice, practice, practice. Look at the sticky and see about tips for the basketball throw. Google different push up, sit up and flexed arm hang programs. Find one that works for you and stick to it. Run and run some more. Mix in speed work also. Lots of plans listed online. Every few weeks take a practice CFA exactly like it's your official test. It will help mentally and get you in the routine. Make sure to always practice with good form. Develop good habits now and it will help down the road as you take official PT tests for score in the future.
 
you can find a good youtube on basketball throw. Practice, practice........
 
There's a sticky up above on the basketball throw. What we did: got permission to use the gym at school...set up a tape measure. DS threw basketballs and I retrieved and reported distance. Get someone who has successfully done this to help you w/ technique.
 
mom3boys said:
There's a sticky up above on the basketball throw. What we did: got permission to use the gym at school...set up a tape measure. DS threw basketballs and I retrieved and reported distance. Get someone who has successfully done this to help you w/ technique.
Click to expand...
If you can't get access to a gym a football field(with the yard lines marked) works well too and many are open to the public.
 
I used this video to help me with the basketball throw:
For me, it helped to look at something high up in the distance. When I practiced outside, I aimed at a tall building/tree that was in a straight line from me. When I took the test inside the gym, I aimed at a specific brick in the wall. Looking straight ahead made me throw 10-15 ft shorter. Trying to target at something high up (guessing 45 degrees away from me???) helped me release the ball higher, allowing it to travel further. Also, lean back a little before you start. Right when you are about to throw, push your body forward.

For push-ups and sit-ups during the actual CFA: Many people have told me not to go all out, and I agree with them because going all out made me tired quickly. Instead of trying to do 25 right away and having time left over because you can't do more, try to do them in sets. For example, try to do 15 push-ups, take a 5 sec break, then do 5, then take another small break, then do some more, etc. I have a weak upper body, but this helped me raise my push ups and pull-ups a bit:

To get faster mile/sprint time, I practiced by sprinting 100-200 meters, then jogging 200-400 meters. All you have to do is practice a lot and figure out how your body works. Look up some breathing techniques/running form online (helped me a lot).

Good luck!
 
Thank you so much for the tips! I can't wait to try them out!!
 
For sit-ups, go fast!! It'll help you get more in and you won't waste as much energy. Once you get up, throw yourself back down on to the mat, hard. Each sit-up is counted when you hit the floor so when you have 10-20 seconds left, just push through and keep throwing yourself down.
 
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