How to Improve for 2nd CFA?

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abdoowa

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Jan 10, 2025
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Hello! I am very fortunate to have been given an opportunity to retake the CFA in a month, but it's very clear that I have some areas to improve on more than others. My main points of concern are the shuttle run and especially the mile run, where I struggled a lot with soreness in my calves and a general lack of energy after the other events. When I was practicing, I would run around a 7:45, but that was in isolation from the other events.

Knowing how to improve my basketball throw would also be nice, as it's the event I'm still the most unfamiliar on how to prepare for training wise. Would it be possible to improve on these events in time for the new deadline? Thank you in advance!

Pushups: 45
Modified Crunches: 80
Basketball Throw: 56 feet
Shuttle Run: 10.2 seconds
Mile Run: 10:26 (min and sec)
Pullups: 11
 
Run a lot more than you would expect. Run to school and back, with the added weight of your backpack. Run in the mornings or in the evenings (or instead of walks with your dog). Run at least 2 miles at a time during workouts so that a single mile seems easy and fast. Work on running at a consistently fast tempo. and remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day--it makes such a huge difference. Running on a treadmill is only helpful to remind yourself of the pace you want to set for yourself, but always run outdoors if you have the chance to mimic the real circumstances.
As for the shuttle run: practice techniques. Stay low, taking small steps instead of leaps. There are plenty of videos online that help with this. Practice explosivity in the start and never (ever, ever!) slow down on your final sprint back.
 
You won't have time to add much in the way of speed, but since you've run a 7:45 in isolation is sounds like you mainly need to work on your cardio and pacing in order to complete that run following the other events. I'm guessing you weren't running enough miles leading up to this. You don't want to train single miles at this point, but longer distances so you aren't wiped at the end of the CFA. This will help your calves and energy level come test time. You can do this.

A possible training plan for the next 3 weeks would look something like this:
  • Monday: 3-mile easy run (9:00–9:30 pace)
  • Tuesday: 4x400m sprints (goal: 1:45 per rep), 1-minute rest between
  • Wednesday: Cross-train (cycling, swimming, or light bodyweight workout, work on your other events)
  • Thursday: 2-mile tempo run (8:00 pace. This should be hard, may not make time on week 1, but finish.)
  • Friday: Rest or light jog (2 miles at 9:30 pace)
  • Saturday: 5x200m fast repeats (45 seconds per rep), 45-second rest
  • Sunday: Long run (4 miles, comfortable pace)
Repeat x 3 weeks. Try to improve those times slightly each week and possibly add a little distance to the long runs.

Your week leading up to the test would look more like this:
  • Monday: 2-mile shakeout run (easy pace)
  • Tuesday: 3x400m sprints, easy cooldown
  • Wednesday: REST
  • Thursday: 1-mile pace check (8:00)
  • Friday: Full rest
  • Saturday: Light jog (1 mile)
  • Sunday: Test day—go crush it!
Adjust days of the week as necessary. This should help both your mile and shuttle run. Warm up and do some dynamic stretching before each workout to prevent injury.

For basketball throw, just get more reps in a few times a week. Watch videos if you haven't already, but more reps should get you more distance in the end. And keep doing pushups most days, but not the few days before your test.

Others may be able to improve on this plan but it's a start. Good luck!
 
In addition to whatever you're going to be doing to train for improvement, add a full CFA in each week. Practice, practice, practice. This is your last shot, and you only have a month. You don't want a last minute surprise that you need more improvement some where you thought you were doing well in.
 
Asgard said:
A possible training plan for the next 3 weeks would look something like this:
[Very impressive plan]
Click to expand...
Make sure to also warm up/stretch properly before. My warmups have always been 5 min light run then a litany of stretches. And after the main work, this is the key part: keep jogging after you get some water and take a breather. Light 10 minute jog, keep the heart rate up, builds endurance very well
 
If you find you're running out of energy sooner than you know you should. Check your diet. What you eat before a run matters. The night before, and 2 hours before was coach's rule for us.
 
abdoowa said:
Hello! I am very fortunate to have been given an opportunity to retake the CFA in a month, but it's very clear that I have some areas to improve on more than others. My main points of concern are the shuttle run and especially the mile run, where I struggled a lot with soreness in my calves and a general lack of energy after the other events. When I was practicing, I would run around a 7:45, but that was in isolation from the other events.

Knowing how to improve my basketball throw would also be nice, as it's the event I'm still the most unfamiliar on how to prepare for training wise. Would it be possible to improve on these events in time for the new deadline? Thank you in advance!

Pushups: 45
Modified Crunches: 80
Basketball Throw: 56 feet
Shuttle Run: 10.2 seconds
Mile Run: 10:26 (min and sec)
Pullups: 11
Click to expand...
One of the things my coach did for my CFA is reset my caffeine tolerance so that when I hit the run I was super amped up on caffine and had some energy. You will also want to make sure that you get 8-9 hours of sleep for the week before taking the CFA. Some dynamic streching in between events helped me a ton too.
 
I don't know if this is a bad thing but one thing that helped me a lot for the CFA was pre-workout. If you drink it starting about 15 mins before the CFA, it would start kicking in by the 3rd event and by the run it would fully kick in. It helped me a lot for getting my 6:40 mile time
 
gmon said:
One of the things my coach did for my CFA is reset my caffeine tolerance so that when I hit the run I was super amped up on caffine and had some energy. You will also want to make sure that you get 8-9 hours of sleep for the week before taking the CFA. Some dynamic streching in between events helped me a ton too.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this! I've been trying to stay from caffeine for most of my training so I think my tolerance should be in line for the CFA.
romempire said:
I don't know if this is a bad thing but one thing that helped me a lot for the CFA was pre-workout. If you drink it starting about 15 mins before the CFA, it would start kicking in by the 3rd event and by the run it would fully kick in. It helped me a lot for getting my 6:40 mile time
Click to expand...
That sounds like it makes a real difference! Is there a specific brand you would recommend or would any work for this purpose?
 
abdoowa said:
Thank you for this! I've been trying to stay from caffeine for most of my training so I think my tolerance should be in line for the CFA.

That sounds like it makes a real difference! Is there a specific brand you would recommend or would any work for this purpose?
Click to expand...
I used amino energy but any should work
 
romempire said:
I don't know if this is a bad thing but one thing that helped me a lot for the CFA was pre-workout. If you drink it starting about 15 mins before the CFA, it would start kicking in by the 3rd event and by the run it would fully kick in. It helped me a lot for getting my 6:40 mile time
Click to expand...
I'm still holding back from pre-workout and caffeine use, something tells me that won't last long while I'm at USMA😭
 
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