i'm a smaller female (5'3", about 120 lbs) and I really want to do well on the CFA. Can anyone of a similar small stature (preferably girls) tell me what scores they received and passed? I like working out and exercising but I just need some guidelines. thank you!!
Scores that passed the CFA
- Thread starter gabby1723
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2008
- Messages
- 28,255
While you are awaiting replies, check out Stew Smith’s CFA workout. He’s a former Navy SEAL who is a USNA grad and former USNA Staff Officer, now a fitness professional:
www.stewsmith.com
- Use the Search function to find the dozens of threads and posts on the CFA.
- Be sure to practice not just the individual elements, but taking the full CFA exactly as required, with someone timing you. Set a baseline, and regularly push yourself through the entire thing.
- Search YouTube for videos, especially the basketball throw. There is a real technique to that. If you have a friend who is a soccer goalie, they are pretty good at that.
- Doing the pull-ups instead of the flexed arm hang gives your CFA score a good push. Get a pull-up bar, do them every chance you get. If you keep at it, you will build a good base and will never regret the strength it gives you.
- Focus on form! Reps that don’t meet the standard don’t count.
- If you are struggling to exceed the average score, seek help from a coach, PE teacher or fitness professional.
- Think of your size as an asset - less bulk and body weight to push or pull, less to torque around turns in the shuttle.
Are you applying for 2024? It’s mid-November, and you don’t want to let your CFA slide too long. You might get sick or injured, there could be bad weather, your test giver could have an emergency.
Service Academy CFA - Candidate Fitness Assessment - Stew Smith Fitness - Training Programs for Military,Police, Fire Fighter, Special Ops Preparation
Military Police Special Forces Fitness E-Books and Books / Personal Training Guides and Workouts. Train with Stew Smith - Former Navy SEAL and fitness author / columnist.
- Use the Search function to find the dozens of threads and posts on the CFA.
- Be sure to practice not just the individual elements, but taking the full CFA exactly as required, with someone timing you. Set a baseline, and regularly push yourself through the entire thing.
- Search YouTube for videos, especially the basketball throw. There is a real technique to that. If you have a friend who is a soccer goalie, they are pretty good at that.
- Doing the pull-ups instead of the flexed arm hang gives your CFA score a good push. Get a pull-up bar, do them every chance you get. If you keep at it, you will build a good base and will never regret the strength it gives you.
- Focus on form! Reps that don’t meet the standard don’t count.
- If you are struggling to exceed the average score, seek help from a coach, PE teacher or fitness professional.
- Think of your size as an asset - less bulk and body weight to push or pull, less to torque around turns in the shuttle.
Are you applying for 2024? It’s mid-November, and you don’t want to let your CFA slide too long. You might get sick or injured, there could be bad weather, your test giver could have an emergency.
Last edited:
HawkeyeMom
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2019
- Messages
- 237
DD passed USAFA standards and she is 5'5" and around 130.
pull-ups: 6
shuttle run: 10.0
push-ups:37
situps: 92
BB throw: 36'
run: 7:27 (she waited a bit late for WI and it was lightly snowing with a brisk wind, LOL. Not ideal!)
pull-ups: 6
shuttle run: 10.0
push-ups:37
situps: 92
BB throw: 36'
run: 7:27 (she waited a bit late for WI and it was lightly snowing with a brisk wind, LOL. Not ideal!)
Last edited:
usna1985
20-Year Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2006
- Messages
- 8,678
I know a mid who just graduated who was your stature. When she applied, she pretty much maxed out the CFA (other than BB throw). Size is not really relevant to how you score. Also, the CFA is not scored in a vacuum. As has been stated before, if you're a state champion in swimming but not the greatest runner, you'll probably get cut a bit of slack on the CFA run portion.
There's no magic formula but most women who pass do at least one pullup, 70 situps, 25 pushups, and run less than an 8:00 mile. BTW, those are NOT great scores, but they're probably passing -- based solely on anecdotal reporting.
Fully agree (as usual) with CAPT MJ about taking the CFA soon. I've seen all sorts of things happen in January. A few years ago had a candidate who waited until the last week of January and couldn't find anyone to administer it so he didn't take it. And he obviously wasn't appointed. Bottom line: whatever the excuse, USNA will have zero sympathy.
There's no magic formula but most women who pass do at least one pullup, 70 situps, 25 pushups, and run less than an 8:00 mile. BTW, those are NOT great scores, but they're probably passing -- based solely on anecdotal reporting.
Fully agree (as usual) with CAPT MJ about taking the CFA soon. I've seen all sorts of things happen in January. A few years ago had a candidate who waited until the last week of January and couldn't find anyone to administer it so he didn't take it. And he obviously wasn't appointed. Bottom line: whatever the excuse, USNA will have zero sympathy.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2013
- Messages
- 457
Bravo Zulu! 6 pullups! That's better than many male candidates I've seen! Size means nothing. The CFA is about core strength and stamina.
There are advantages to any size, glass 1/2 full/empty, etc.
DD is 5'5" 119 lbs, but was 116 at time of SLE and on her score sheet.
Passed for 4 x SAs BUT...AGREE 100% there could be squishy pass rate for her run, maybe given slack. We will never know. Swimmer.
BBall 36
Pull ups 3
Shuttle 9.4
Sit ups max (95) - DD says tell your partner to flatten your feet like pancakes!
Push ups max (50)
Run 8:18
DD is 5'5" 119 lbs, but was 116 at time of SLE and on her score sheet.
Passed for 4 x SAs BUT...AGREE 100% there could be squishy pass rate for her run, maybe given slack. We will never know. Swimmer.
BBall 36
Pull ups 3
Shuttle 9.4
Sit ups max (95) - DD says tell your partner to flatten your feet like pancakes!
Push ups max (50)
Run 8:18
How does your height have anything to do with your CFA?
HawkeyeMom
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2019
- Messages
- 237
Ha! Ha! She started this summer with not being able to do 1. She went to the gym and really worked hard and used one of those pull-up assistance bands to start and gradually decreased the amount of help she got. This was truly a max effort for her as we were all cheering her on and her previous best was 5 pull-ups in a sister competition.
My DD, now a graduate of USNA was same size as you...maybe 5' 4". She got up to 5 pull-ups by starting 12 months before NASS. That was her weakest area. She maxed sit ups, pushups, basketball throw (believe it or not she was a soccer Goalie), and mile. I think a girl who can do some pull-ups instead of just the arm hang separates themselves form the pack.
If you are a junior train intervals to speed up mile time. If you are a senior just get it done!
If you are a junior train intervals to speed up mile time. If you are a senior just get it done!
SaltiDawg
Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2019
- Messages
- 114
She gave Height and weight, and thus a sense of BMI. BMI has a correlation with physical performance.
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2018
- Messages
- 151
My daughter was 5'1....
She is a doolie at the Air Force Academy (4th Year/Freshman)
BBall 48
Pull ups 3
Shuttle 8.7
Sit ups max (91)
Push ups max (58)
Run 8:28
She practiced for the events for almost a year and physically trained 5 times a week. She was in track but was in the Field events.
Go Luck to you
She is a doolie at the Air Force Academy (4th Year/Freshman)
BBall 48
Pull ups 3
Shuttle 8.7
Sit ups max (91)
Push ups max (58)
Run 8:28
She practiced for the events for almost a year and physically trained 5 times a week. She was in track but was in the Field events.
Go Luck to you
That would make sense if her BMI was high or low. Her BMI is normal, so how is it a factor in physical performance?
SaltiDawg
Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2019
- Messages
- 114
The only way you know her (The OP) BMI is "normal" is because the original poster gave us both Weight and Height.
In other words, to you could not know her BMI is "normal" without having been told both Height and Weight.
I hope that helps. If not, maybe someone else could help explain?
In other words, to you could not know her BMI is "normal" without having been told both Height and Weight.
I hope that helps. If not, maybe someone else could help explain?
I'm applying for 2024 but every component of my application is done/will be done by mid December. I got a late start to the application but I feel really good about my academics. I also live in an area that doesn't get really bad weather, so it shouldn't hinder my ability to do the CFA.
Thank you to everyone for your advice and your guidelines. I've been training, but I'm going to try running through the entire CFA this weekend and see how I do!
Thank you to everyone for your advice and your guidelines. I've been training, but I'm going to try running through the entire CFA this weekend and see how I do!
woodstock13
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2018
- Messages
- 6
Hi! I'm exactly around 5'3'' and 120 pounds as well. I passed the CFA at NASS - here are my scores!
BBall Throw: around 45
Flexed Arm Hang: 30 seconds
Shuttle Run: 8.7 seconds
Sit ups: 95 or 90? maxed
Push ups: 50 maxed
Mile Run: 7:05
BBall Throw: around 45
Flexed Arm Hang: 30 seconds
Shuttle Run: 8.7 seconds
Sit ups: 95 or 90? maxed
Push ups: 50 maxed
Mile Run: 7:05
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2018
- Messages
- 1,458
DD is 5’4” 120ish
Push-ups: 44
Pull-ups: 2
1 mile run: 5:45
Shuttle: 10.0
Basketball throw: 41
Crunches: 88
DD’s PR in the mile is actually 5:20 but she said all she wanted to do was run faster than all the boys in her squad. [emoji4]
She did it at SLE and didn’t have to worry about the CFA the rest of the summer.
She didn’t have any difficulty with the physical aspects of Beast.
My advice is to establish a goal of knocking out your best CFA at any of the summer programs. If you don’t do well, then you have the option of doing it at home to get a better score which is a smart move for many applicants. However, if your score is good enough at the summer program, then that’s one less important requirement that you have to deal with during the rest of the application process.
My DD is apox your size.
Basketball - 34
Pull ups - 6
Shuttle - 9.31
Sit up - 110
Push up- 50
Run - 7.45
It's my understanding, from this forum, pull ups and run are weighted heavier than other segments, but please confirm from someone else.
ElectricWizard2024
Member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2019
- Messages
- 86
About ten pounds lighter and 1 inch shorter or so
bb throw: 45 ft
flexed arm hang: 30 sec
Shuttle: 10 sec
sit ups: 70
Push ups: 50 (max)
Mile: 8:05
Big Ugly
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2017
- Messages
- 72
Just happened to have my daughter's CFA results:
BB throw....46'
Pull-Ups.......7
Shuttle.......9.4
Crunches...90
Push-ups...50
Mile...........7:00
She was pretty sore for the two days that followed her test. She is also 5'4" and approximately 120 lbs.
You can do it too!
BB throw....46'
Pull-Ups.......7
Shuttle.......9.4
Crunches...90
Push-ups...50
Mile...........7:00
She was pretty sore for the two days that followed her test. She is also 5'4" and approximately 120 lbs.
You can do it too!
Last edited: