Combat specialty Soldiers now face two record tests. Each one handles rest differently. The AFT is station based. Graders run one event at a time, and you recover while other groups take their turn. The CFT is one continuous course. You move from event to event with no recovery window, and the clock keeps running. That difference changes how you pace, train, and score. Preparing for both is hard. A plan that protects your points on one test can add time on the other. Rest rules also shift for small groups, inside events, and for Soldiers on profiles. This article lays out each rule side by side. It covers official AFT rest windows and time limits, the CFT no-rest standard, small group exceptions, authorized rest positions, scoring effects, training formats, and profile alternates. Each rule cites Army doctrine or directives. Confirm local execution with your OIC or NCOIC.
Comparing AFT and CFT Frameworks
Combat specialty Soldiers now face two record tests with different designs. The AFT is station based. Graders run one event at a time, and groups rotate through each station. The CFT is one continuous course. You move through every event in a set order, and only your total time counts. That difference in structure shapes every rest rule in this article.
The Five Event AFT Structure
The AFT has five events. Each one is scored on its own.
Both standards require 60 points per event. The General standard is normed by sex and age and requires a 300 point total. The Combat standard is sex neutral, age normed, and requires 350 points. It applies to 21 combat MOSs. For point differences by event, review how the Combat and General standards compare.
The Seven Event CFT Sequence
The Combat Field Test is pass or fail. It awards no points. No single event is timed. Your cumulative time across the full sequence decides the result. You must finish each event before you move to the next. If you cannot finish an event, the test ends and is recorded as a failure.
The directive sets the sandbag station at 16 lifts onto a 65 inch platform. Stations follow one another with no scheduled break.
Primary Testing Objectives
The AFT measures your capacity event by event. The Army states it is "designed to enhance Soldier fitness, improve warfighting readiness, and increase the lethality of the force." The CFT measures whether you can sustain combat tasks back to back under one running time. The directive states that "The CFT is not a substitute for the AFT."
Test frequency for combat specialties varies by component:
- RA, AGR, and RC Soldiers on active duty for 365 days or more take one CFT and one AFT record test each year.
- Other RC Soldiers alternate: record AFT one year, record CFT the next.
Because one test is built around stations and the other around a single continuous effort, the time you get to recover differs between them. The AFT rules come first.
Official AFT Rest Windows and Time Limits
The station based test runs on one clock. Most of your rest comes from waiting while others take their turn. Doctrine fixes only one recovery period. The timing rules below come from the Army holistic health and fitness testing manual (ATP). That manual was written for the six event ACFT, so its text counts six events. Confirm local execution details with your OIC or NCOIC.
The Two Hour Testing Clock
You complete every event in order on the same day. The manual caps the test period at 120 minutes. Under that text, you must finish all six events in less than two hours. The 2 hour running clock starts at the beginning of the Preparation Drill. It stops at the start of the 2MR. The window includes the Preparation Drill and the MDL warm up. You must attempt every event. You cannot stop after failing an early event.
Outside the Plank recovery, the manual programs no rest between events and no required rest per Soldier. Each event starts after the last group finishes the one before it.
The older APFT used a different model. It allowed a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 minutes between events, all within two hours.
Mandatory Recovery Before the Run
After the last Soldier completes the Plank, every tested Soldier gets a 10 minute recovery period before the 2MR. The OIC or NCOIC enforces it. The 10 minutes start when the last Soldier in the lane finishes the Plank. If you plank in an early group, your total rest runs longer than 10 minutes. During this period, graders issue numbers or vests. You move to the 2MR start line.
Action list:
- Count your warm up and Preparation Drill against the 120 minute window.
- Use your wait time between groups as recovery.
- Report to the 2MR start line during the 10 minute rest.
The CFT removes these windows entirely, and the next section covers how that works.
The Combat Field Test No-Rest Standard
The CFT has no recovery window. The National Guard Bureau reports that the seven event sequence is conducted without rest periods between events. You finish one event and move straight to the next. The clock keeps running through every transition. You test in the Army Combat Uniform top and bottom, a brown T shirt, and combat boots, with no headgear, per Army Directive 2026-07.
Continuous Event Sequence
The AFT gives you recovery through group rotation. The CFT removes that option. The National Guard Bureau describes the sequence as performed continuously. Your heart rate stays elevated from the first run through the last. Time spent walking between stations counts against you. Time spent catching your breath at a station also counts. Every pause you take comes out of the same total.
The Thirty Minute Time Limit
The pass line is one number. The table lists the fixed parameters.
Two of the seven events are runs of one mile each. Those two runs consume a large share of your time. The pushups, sprint, sandbag lifts, water can carry, movement drill, and all transitions must fit in what remains. The AFT spreads its events across a much longer window. The CFT compresses everything into one short block.
Cumulative Timing Protocol
Graders record one time. Army Directive 2026-07 states that no individual event is timed. Your cumulative time to complete all seven events in succession decides pass or fail, per the directive. A slow sprint can be offset by a faster second run. A long pause at the sandbag platform cannot be recovered later unless another event runs faster. Track your splits in practice so you know where your time goes. A CFT time tracker lets you log your total against the standard.
Action list:
- Time full practice runs of all seven events with no breaks.
- Record transition time separately from event time.
- Compare each total to the 30 minute limit.
The AFT has its own exception to its rest rules, and it applies when only a few Soldiers test.
Rest Exceptions for Small Groups and Individuals
Standard AFT lanes give you rest while other groups take their turn. That rest disappears when you test alone or with one other Soldier. The ATP testing manual covers this case with a fixed rest period. As noted earlier, the manual text counts six ACFT events. Confirm how your OIC or NCOIC applies it to the five event AFT.
Five Minute Rest for Small Groups
When one or two Soldiers are tested, the ATP programs 5 minutes of rest between the first five events. The 10 minute recovery before the 2MR still applies. Applied to the AFT order, the rest windows look like this.
That totals 25 minutes of programmed rest across the AFT sequence.
Impact on Event Pacing
In a full lane, each event starts when the last group finishes the one before it. In a small group, a fixed clock replaces the group rotation. The SDC begins after the programmed five minute rest when only one or two Soldiers are tested. The Plank follows the same rule. Your rest becomes predictable. In a large lane, your rest depends on how many groups test ahead of you. That wait can run shorter or longer than five minutes.
Scoring Variations in Small Groups
The Army has published no data comparing scores under the five minute small group rest with scores under standard lane rotation. Any claim that one format produces higher scores lacks official support. Two factors are known. Small group rest is fixed. Lane rest varies with group size and grader pace. A Soldier in an early group of a large lane may rest longer than five minutes. A Soldier in the last group may rest less. Treat scores from the two formats as separate data sets until you have enough tests to compare.
Action list:
- Ask your OIC or NCOIC if the small group rest applies to your test.
- Log group size and rest time with every record and diagnostic score.
- Compare scores only across tests run in the same format.
Rest between events is one part of recovery. The positions you may use while an event clock runs follow separate rules.
Authorized Rest Positions During Events
Rest between events follows the rules above. Rest inside an event follows a separate rule set. The event clock keeps running while you rest, so every second in a rest position costs time or reps. The clearest published guidance covers the push-up. It comes from a 2015 clinical commentary by the U.S. Army‐Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy. That paper was written for the APFT push-up. The AFT uses the HRP, and the CFT uses dead stop pushups. Event standards changed when the test moved through the shift from six events to five. Confirm the current rest rule for your event with your grader before you test.
Push-Up Rest Regulations
The APFT allowed only two rest positions during push-ups. You could flex the back, called tenting, or arch the back. Any other position ended the event. Tenting raises the hips. The commentary states that tenting relaxes the pectoralis major and rectus abdominis. Those are the main muscles that fatigue during the event.
Maintaining Points of Contact
Both rest positions require four points of contact with the ground. Lifting a hand or foot to shake it out breaks that rule. Your knees and hips stay off the ground. The table lists the APFT push-up figures from the commentary.
Biomechanical Efficiency in Rest
A rest position should cost as little energy as possible. The authors write that "choosing movement strategies that minimize unnecessary energy expenditure will likely lower the metabolic cost" of an activity. Tenting fits that principle because it unloads the chest and abdominal muscles. Arching keeps those muscles under more load. Rest in short holds. The commentary advises reaching your max score within the first 90 seconds, which leaves little time for long pauses.
Action list:
- Ask your grader which rest positions apply to the HRP and to CFT dead stop pushups.
- Practice tenting while keeping four points of contact.
- Time each rest hold during practice sets.
How Rest Intervals Change Scoring Outcomes
Rest positions buy seconds inside an event. Rest intervals between events decide how fresh you arrive at the next one. The AFT scores each event separately, so recovery between stations protects your points. The CFT counts one total time, so every recovery second adds to that time. Your strategy must change between the two tests.
Pacing with Minimum Recovery
Short rest lowers your output on the next effort. A study on rest between sets found that shorter intervals reduce maximum repetition performance while cutting total workout time. The CFT applies that trade to the whole test. You give up some output per event to keep the clock moving. In the AFT, you push each event to its limit because rest follows. In the CFT, an all out pushup set or sprint leaves you short for the sandbag lifts and second run. Match your effort to the rest you will get next.
Heart Rate Management Strategies
Your heart rate does not drop between CFT events. Movement efficiency is your main control. The Army‐Baylor commentary states that technique matters for scores because poor movement raises metabolic cost. For runs, the authors recommend inhaling over 2 to 3 steps and exhaling over the next 2 to 3. Use that rhythm on both CFT miles and during transitions to settle your breathing while you move.
Recovery Effects on Aerobic Scores
The AFT places a recovery period before the 2MR. The CFT places no break before its second mile. Even a long break has limits. The same commentary noted that the APFT's 10‐minute rest between events "may result in suboptimal recovery." Expect your CFT run splits to be slower than your rested 2MR pace. Use separate pace targets for each test.
Action list:
- Set separate run pace targets for the 2MR and the CFT miles.
- Note the rest you will get before each event on test day.
- Practice rhythmic breathing during transitions.
Training Protocols for Rested and Continuous Tests
Each test needs its own training format. The AFT rewards peak output at each station. The CFT rewards steady output under one clock. Plan both formats into your weekly physical readiness training. The Army supports preparation through command led physical training and H2F resources. Use those resources with your unit to set the plan below.
Building a Continuous Circuit
A CFT circuit links events with no planned break. Build it in stages. Start with the middle events, then add the runs. Use test loads from day one: a 40 lb sandbag and two 40 lb water cans. Move between stations at the pace you will use on the course.
Grade your own reps to standard as fatigue builds. A rep that fails standard on test day forces you to repeat it, and that costs time.
Discrete Event Training Schedules
The AFT scores each event on its own. Train each event the same way. Rest fully between sets so every set hits near max quality. MDL strength work and SDC power work lose quality under fatigue.
Full recovery also protects technique. The Army Baylor commentary links poor technique under maximal exertion to injuries such as exertional compartment syndrome and rhabdomyolysis. Stop a set when your form breaks.
Rehearsal for the No Rest Sequence
The second mile comes after six events with no break. Your legs and lungs are already loaded when it starts. Full length rehearsals teach you how your body responds at that point.
- Run one full seven event rehearsal every two to three weeks.
- On other weeks, run a short block: sandbag lifts, water can carry, and movement drill, then 1 mile right away.
- Rehearse in the test uniform and combat boots.
- Complete your last full rehearsal about one week before the record test.
Action list:
- Schedule discrete AFT sessions and one continuous CFT session each week.
- Follow the six week circuit progression at test loads.
- Ask your unit for H2F support with your plan.
Rest Rules for Profiles and Alternate Events
Training plans assume you can perform every event. Medical profiles change that. Profile rules come from two directives. Army Directive 2022-05 was written in 2022 for the six event ACFT. Army Directive 2026-07 covers the current AFT and CFT. Confirm how your unit applies the older text to the AFT.
Alternate Aerobic Event Sequencing
You take every event a permanent profile does not prohibit. If your profile prohibits the 2MR, the 2022 directive lists the alternate aerobic events as the row, stationary bike, swim, and walk. The alternate is scored GO or NO GO. A GO earns 60 points under that directive. Each event not taken due to the permanent profile also earns 60 points. The directive publishes no separate rest schedule for alternates. Ask your OIC or NCOIC whether the 10 minute recovery before the 2MR applies to your alternate.
Permanent Profile Reclassification Rules
The CFT has stricter profile rules. Soldiers in combat specialties whose permanent profiles prevent any primary AFT event are ineligible for the CFT. Those Soldiers are evaluated for MOS or AOC reclassification. Waiver authority rests with the general court martial convening authority or the first general officer in your chain of command. A Soldier denied that waiver is subject to involuntary separation under the directive.
Temporary Profile Recovery Windows
Soldiers on temporary profiles do not test. They recover and recondition before taking a record test. Time on a temporary profile does not count toward retest timelines under the 2022 directive. Under the 2026 directive, temporary profiles include pregnancy and postpartum, and those Soldiers follow FM 7-22. Test modifications are not available.
Action list:
- Confirm your profile type and the events it prohibits.
- Ask your OIC or NCOIC which alternate and rest rules apply.
- Build a reconditioning plan before your record test date.
Maintaining Readiness Across Both Standards
The two tests handle recovery in different ways. The AFT builds rest into the station rotation, so you give full effort at each event. The CFT gives you no break, so you pace every event against one running clock. Combat MOS Soldiers must pass both. General standard Soldiers train mainly for structured recovery on the AFT. Your next record test will reward the rest protocol you trained for, so build your PRT schedule around it now.
Action list:
- Confirm rest windows and rest positions with your grader or NCOIC.
- Run timed station sessions with full rest for the AFT.
- Build a continuous circuit at test loads for the CFT.
- Verify profile and alternate event rules before test day.
