USMA CFA Pull up minimum

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SAMOM22

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Anyone know the minimum to pass for pull ups for males for USMA? Obviously, my son is aiming for higher, but it's been very slow progress even though he's been working daily at it. He's running out of time.

All of his other events are averages or slightly higher. Thanks,
 
USMA does not publish CFA minimums, only averages and maximums. Surely others will post here, “I did XX pull-ups and passed.” Use that information cautiously. In fact, knowing the minimum — or thinking you know it — can make that the subconscious target. And that’s not good. Just work and work and work to reach the average and beyond. It can be done.
 
I do not think there is an official posted minimum for the CFA or any of the individual events. That said, I think - depending on scores of other events - you can get by with as little as 5-7 pull-ups. That is the purpose of multiple events as one might be stronger in one area than another. I would advise that he get at least one CFA in the records and let the academy reach back out to him if he needs to reattempt the one event. My son (now a USMA cadet) had to re-submit video of pull-ups but they only made him do that one event, not retake the whole CFA.
 
Thank you both for your input! Very athletic kid, but muscular and heavy. Can do many push ups, but is struggling with pull ups despite training!
 
SAMOM22 said:
Thank you both for your input! Very athletic kid, but muscular and heavy. Can do many push ups, but is struggling with pull ups despite training!
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If he hasn’t already, he should google Stew Smith’s website and YouTube videos for CFA element-specific workouts and tips. Stew is a former SEAL, USNA grad and former USNA staff member, now a fitness professional.

Grip strength is also critical; don’t overlook that.
 
I put the USMA averages in gainserviceacademy CFA calculator and if all other events are at the average, the score changed from at-risk to pass with 2 pull-ups. (Disclaimer, this is not an authorized SA calculator and I have no idea where the data comes from for the results, so take it with a grain of salt, but I haven't seen any posts on here saying that the calculator was wrong or way off for them.) All that being said, it still only gave a 37th percentile ranking so DS would want to do better if at all possible.
 
Thanks so much everyone, really appreciate it! He has a primary nomination and qualified academically and medically, so this is the last step!!!!
 
SAMOM22 said:
Anyone know the minimum to pass for pull ups for males for USMA? Obviously, my son is aiming for higher, but it's been very slow progress even though he's been working daily at it. He's running out of time.

All of his other events are averages or slightly higher. Thanks,
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My son is in the exact same situation. Has an LOA and can only do 3 pull ups, everything else is average or better. Hes going to keep working and see where he is at in January. Ive read a lot of comments that stated it took a while to make gains but when you do it happens fast. Best of luck to him, we are all pulling for him ( no pun intended,...... but worked out nicely) 😂
 
Men's minimum is 3 from last year, but anyone can do better with some conditioning.
 
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MarTac said:
I do not think there is an official posted minimum for the CFA or any of the individual events. That said, I think - depending on scores of other events - you can get by with as little as 5-7 pull-ups. That is the purpose of multiple events as one might be stronger in one area than another. I would advise that he get at least one CFA in the records and let the academy reach back out to him if he needs to reattempt the one event. My son (now a USMA cadet) had to re-submit video of pull-ups but they only made him do that one event, not retake the whole CFA.
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Thank you for the info:) Do you remember how long after the CFA records were submitted the academy reached back out to your son to re-submit that one pull-up video? And, how long after that resubmission did you hear from USMA? Thank you.
 
Pull ups update - this week DS tried something new and did Lat Pull downs and he doubled his pull ups after a week. Now he only went from 2-4, but still amazing since he's really struggled to get to 2.

Another thing he did is not do a mock test every day, just continued to work on every event multiple times per day. He then rested yesterday and did a mock test today. He really has not been giving himself rest days, but it made a huge difference.

I feel like he will at least have 5 pulls ups by the end of next week at this rate.
 
If it helps at all, the first time I took my CFA and passed, my scores were
BB Throw : 57
Pull Ups : 5
Shuttle Run : 9.5
Pushups : 41
Situps : 74
Mile : 7:53
 
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