AFT Standards by Age: How the Numbers Change as You Get Older

Age-normed scoring means a soldier is measured against others in the same bracket, so the raw performance behind a given score shifts with age. The tables below show the male general-standard requirements. Female scales follow the same easing shape, and the plank is identical for everyone because it is gender-neutral. For exact female numbers, see the full AFT score chart.

The Run Gives the Biggest Break, the Deadlift Almost None

The clearest pattern is that age helps most on the endurance events and least on raw strength. To pass the two-mile run, a soldier in the 22 to 26 bracket needs about 19:45; by 62 and over that stretches to roughly 23:36, nearly four extra minutes for the same 60 points. The sprint-drag-carry loosens on a similar curve.

The deadlift is the striking exception. The passing weight is about 150 pounds for a young soldier and only eases to around 140 pounds in the oldest brackets, barely ten pounds of relief across a 40-year span. In other words, the strength floor to pass the AFT is nearly age-proof: you are expected to be able to move roughly the same weight at 60 as at 22.

Maxing Is Where Older Soldiers Catch a Break

While the deadlift floor barely moves, the deadlift ceiling drops sharply with age. The 100-point requirement holds at 350 pounds through the prime brackets, then falls to about 250 pounds at 57 to 61 and 230 pounds at 62 and over. The same happens on every event: the gap between passing and maxing narrows as you age, so a strong older soldier can reach 100 with performance that would only be worth a middling score in a younger bracket.

For how the distance between milestones plays out within a single bracket, see our breakdown of AFT score breakpoints.

The Youngest Bracket Is Not the Hardest

A common assumption is that 17 to 21 year olds face the toughest standard. The data says otherwise for the strength events. The 100-point deadlift is 340 pounds for the 17 to 21 bracket but 350 pounds from 22 through 46, and the push-up max peaks in the late twenties before easing. The scales appear to assume peak physical development a few years after the youngest group, so the very hardest max requirements sit in the 20s and early 30s, not at 18.

Whatever your bracket, the fastest way to use this is to find your age column, read off your target for each event, and check where you stand with the AFT calculator.