The Marine Corps will be drastically changing it’s scoring for the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and Combat Fitness Test. Changes to the Body Composition Program (BCP) will also give fitter Marines a chance to bulk up without worrying about making height/weight or taping out. As you will see, these changes as a whole will challenge Marines to meet higher standards in order to receive higher scores on the PFT and CFT.
As MARADMIN 022/16 states these changes will “allow for greater distinction between Marines of different fitness levels and age groups.” If you look at the newest score charts that I’ve provided links for below, the Marine Corps is not joking around about this one. There are significant variances in how events are scored for different age groups. Currently, scoring is the same no matter what your age group. Classification of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd was dependent on age. Now scoring is also dependent on age group. There was no mention of changing the classification table, so we can assume for now that it is unchanged.
Major Changes to the Physical Fitness Test (PFT)
Effective 1 January 2016
- Increased standards for scoring as you can see below in the score overviews
- 23 pull-ups to max, 115 crunches, and the same 18 minutes for 3 miles
- Elimation of Flexed Arm Hang for females
- Optional pull-up event to replace pull-ups, but Marines cannot earn 100 points if they elect to do push-ups
New PFT 3 Mile Run Score Tables (2017)
New PFT Pull-up and Push-up Score Tables (2017)
New PFT Crunch Score Tables (2017)
Major Changes to the Combat Fitness Test (CFT)
Effective 1 January 2017
- Increased standards for scoring as you can see below in the score overviews
Score charts coming soon!
Major Changes to the Body Composition Program (BCP)
Effective immediately
- Modified allowable weight limits for female Marines
- Requirement to use more precise tape measuring devices
- BCP waiver authority delegated down to the first General Officer in a Marine’s chain of Command
Effective 1 January 2017
- Marines who score 285 or higher on BOTH the PFT and CFT are exempt from height/weight standards
- Marines who score 250 or higher on BOTH the PFT and CFT are given an additional 1 percent body fat
- No changes to the Military Appearance Program. Keep looking good Marines!
Time to hit the pull-up bars!
Good evening,
I recently spoke with an OSO about attending OCS for the Fall of 2017. I can currently do about seven to eight pull-ups.
I am having difficulty in increasing my pull-ups, despite working on my upper body. I was wondering if there is any specific program that I can look into in order to reach the maximum twenty-three for the PFT. Thank you for any information.
If you want to increase your pull-ups, try adding weight to your body. What I did was I started out with a 10 lbs weight attached to and hanging from my hips. Do that and try maxing out–without injuring yourself–the first time. Then remove the extra weight and then do a max pull-up again (this time without the weight.) Attach the weight again and now do your previous max minus 1 pull-ups (or at least try), the next time do 1 fewer pull-up, and then alternate with free-weight, until you get down to 1. You may increase the weight gradually, after a week or two. The max weight I had for training was 35 lbs and that helped increase my pull-ups from 17 to 38 in about a month. But that was 4 years ago.
Semper Fi,
Marine Sergeant ’08-’14