The Air Force will replace clean & press with deadlifts.
Deadlifts are one of the three primary lifts in Strongman and now they will be used in another way. On Wednesday, The Air Force Times reported that the United States Air Force updated its fitness standards on its entrance exam. It will now featured deadlifts and the clean & press has been removed.
Recruits must be able to deadlift a minimum of 40 pounds and a maximum of 110 pounds. It was also reported that any individual USAF position must be able to lift 100 pounds. Gen. Allvin believes that this will reflect better and give recruits better opportunities down the line.
“Better reflect the actual demands of the career fields, thus expanding career field opportunities, especially for our female recruits.”
The motion of the press in clean & press could be viewed to give an unfair advantage to male recruits. The addition of the deadlift helps test strength in different ways. An anonymous active-duty Senior Airmen commented on the change to Barbend.
“You only get one chance to lift as much as you can on a machine clean & press, which can determine what jobs you’re eligible for. Our mechanics tend todo a lot of overhead lifting but the task isn’t relevant for a majority of our career fields.”
How To Engineer The Perfect Deadlift
Here’s how to do a conventional barbell deadlift:
- Stand mid-foot under the barbell. Feet slightly angled outward, hip width apart. Look down – the bar should be over the middle of your feet.
- Bend over and grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip.
- Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar.
- With a neutral spine, lift your chest up and flex your butt.
- Take a big breath, hold it, and pick the bar up off the ground (It helps to think “drive through your heels”).
- Continue pressing with your legs and thrusting your hips forward until you are fully standing up.
- Hold the weight for a second at the top, with locked hips and knees. Then return the weight to the floor by moving your hips back while bending your legs. Rest a second at the bottom and repeat.
Other Aspects of the Air Force Fitness Test
The Air Force does not only require deadlifts as part of its training, it will also require recruits to do things such as:
- 1.5-mile run or 20-meter HAMR (high aerobic multi-shuttle run)
- Push-ups or hand-release push-ups
- Sit-ups, cross-legged reverse crunches, or planks
Do you think that you could pass the Air Force Fitness Test? Could you pass any tactical fitness test? For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
