The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is the newest physical fitness test for the U.S. Army. It consists of six events that challenge soldiers across three areas: strength, endurance and mobility. To perform your best on the ACFT, having an effective warm up routine is crucial. A proper warm up prepares both your mind and body for the demanding exercises to come. In this article we talk about The Best Warm-Up Routine for ACFT Success In 2024.
In this blog post, I will provide a comprehensive warm up routine to set you up for success on the ACFT. I’ll go over dynamic stretches, activation exercises, running drills and more. Follow this routine before taking the ACFT and you’ll be primed and ready to tackle each event with full power and efficiency.
Dynamic Stretches
Dynamic stretches should form the foundation of your ACFT warm up. Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretches engage your muscles by moving them through an active range of motion. This raises your heart rate, increases blood flow to your muscles and enhances mobility.
Here are five top dynamic stretches to include:
High Knees: Raise one knee up to your chest at a time, pumping your arms back and forth. Perform for 60 seconds. This will warm up your quads, hip flexors and shoulders.
Butt Kicks: Kick your heels back towards your glutes, moving from a high knee position. Do for 60 seconds. This engages your hamstrings, quads and calves.
Walking Lunges: Take an exaggerated step forward and sink your hips into a lunge position. Hold briefly then step through into the next rep. Perform for 60 seconds total (30 seconds per leg). This stretches your hip flexors and activates your quads and glutes.
Inchworms: Bend at your waist and walk your hands forward into a high plank position. Then walk your feet towards your hands before standing back up. Repeat for 60 seconds. This dynamic stretch opens up your hamstrings and back while engaging your core.
Lateral Shuffles: Take side steps to shuffle back and forth laterally. Stay low in an athletic stance as you push off strongly from each leg. Go for 60 seconds, then repeat in the opposite direction. This warm up drill engages your inner and outer thighs, glutes and hips.
Activation Exercises
Activation exercises fire up your muscles to generate more power during your ACFT performance. They cue proper movement patterns and correct muscle sequencing. Include these activation moves in your warm up:
Glute Bridges: Lie face up with knees bent and arms at your sides. Push through your heels to raise your hips up, squeezing your glutes at the top. Lower back down with control. Aim for 15-20 reps. This engages your posterior chain.
Donkey Kicks: Get on all fours with a flat back. Lift one leg behind you, keeping your knee bent at 90 degrees. Thrust your leg back like a donkey kicking then return to the starting position. Perform 15 kicks per leg. This activates your glutes and hamstrings.
Lateral Band Walks: Place a resistance band around your ankles or knees. Take side steps laterally to move against the band for resistance. Go for 25 steps in one direction then 25 steps back the other way. This fires up your outer thighs and hips.
Running Drills
Running drills boost neuromuscular coordination and prime proper running form. They translate strength and power from your warm up into fluid movement patterns for the ACFT’s sprint-drag-carry and two mile run in particular. Include these running focused drills:
High Knees: Drive one knee up at a time to a 90 degree angle, pumping your arms powerfully. Perform for 2 sets of 20 yards. This improves hip and knee drive.
Butt Kicks: Kick your heels back towards your glutes rapidly while moving forward. Do for 2 sets of 20 yards to enhance posterior chain engagement.
Side Shuffles: Take quick, short steps laterally to shuffle to each side. Stay low in an athletic stance. Go for 2 sets of 20 yards (10 yards each direction). This boosts lateral movement and power for the sprint-drag-carry event.
Backward Sprints: Drive one leg back forcefully at a time, running backwards with good posture. Perform for 2 sets of 20 yards. This drill develops hamstring and glute strength for accelerating.
The Full Routine Together
Put all the pieces together and here is an effective comprehensive warm up to optimize ACFT performance:
Dynamic Stretches: Perform high knees, butt kicks, walking lunges, inchworms and lateral shuffles for 60 seconds each. Focus on proper form and controlled movement quality.
Activation Exercises: Do 2 sets of 15 glute bridges, 2 sets of 15 donkey kicks per leg and 25 lateral band walks in both directions. Squeeze your glutes and engage your core.
Running Drills: Knock out 2 sets of 20 yards for high knees, butt kicks, side shuffles and backward sprints. Maintain upright posture and drive your arms and legs vigorously.
Take 1-2 minutes between each exercise and sequence the movements properly from dynamic stretches to activation to running drills. This primes your body step-by-step to tackle the ACFT head-on. The full routine should take about 20-25 minutes.
Perform this warm up consistently in your ACFT training and on test day itself. Stay disciplined with your effort and intensity. That, along with smart pacing strategies for each event, will optimize your scores. This comprehensive warm up routine sets you up for success by preparing your body and mindset to perform at your peak potential. I sincerely hope you find this “The Best Warm-Up Routine for ACFT Success In 2024” article helpful.
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