Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that there would be new, strict fitness standards enforced on the U.S. military.
In a speech addressing several hundred high-ranking officials in Quantico, Virginia, Hegseth said he did not want to see “fat generals and admirals” or overweight troops in service anymore.
“It’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” Hegseth said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”
Among the biggest changes Hegseth rolled out are that all active-duty personnel will be required to work out every day, a mandate to be enforced by their commanders.
Troops will also have to take at least two fitness tests per year, including a general service fitness test that will still account for a person’s age but will require everyone to meet a “male standard.” The changes will apply to everyone in uniform.
Here is a look at what the requirements were and what is changing.
Existing fitness requirements
Each branch of the military has its own fitness requirements and frequency of annual tests it requires its members to take.
This year, both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force put in place new policies requiring two fitness tests a year that will begin in 2026. The changes follow a Hegseth memo in March ordering a review and enhancement of physical fitness.
In June, the Army replaced the Army Combat Fitness Test with the Army Fitness Test (AFT). The AFT assesses physical fitness with five events: deadlifting the maximum weight possible three times, completing as many hand-release push-ups as possible in two minutes, maintaining a proper plank position for as long as possible, a two-mile run and a sprint-drag-carry.
Soldiers need to score a minimum of 60 points for a total score of 300 across all five events.
The Air Force released its updated physical fitness assessment last week, which will begin in March and occur every six months.
Service members will be scored on body composition, meaning their waist-to-height ratio, and if they can perform a variety of exercises that fall under cardiorespiratory, muscle strength and muscle core endurance.
Additionally, they will be required to perform one two-mile run during one assessment per year as their cardiorespiratory component.
The U.S. Navy’s Physical Readiness Test includes a Body Composition Assessment (BCA) as well as many push-ups as possible in two minutes, holding a forearm plank for as long as possible and a 1.5-mile timed run and/or walk. Alternate cardio options include using a stationary bike, a treadmill or a 500-yard swim test as quickly as possible.
The Marine Corps fitness test requires the maximum number of pushups or pull-ups in two minutes, holding a plank for as long as possible and a timed three-mile run.
There is also a Combat Fitness Test for Marine Corps members that requires a timed, 880-yard sprint in boots and utility uniform, repeated lifts of a 30-pound ammo can overhead for two minutes and a course simulating battlefield movement.
The Coast Guard falls under the Department of Homeland Security, so Hegseth’s new rules will not apply to them — But its service members are also subject to periodic testing.
Those tests include as many push-ups and as many sit-ups as possible in one minute for each, a timed 1.5-mile run and a sit-and-reach test to measure flexibility. The test is scored on a pass-fail basis.
What’s new
Daily physical training will be required of every service member and will be enforced by their commanders.
Meanwhile, the annual service test will require a passing grade of 70% and will be “male standard,” according to a memo from Hegseth.
Both men and women will be required to take the test, but it will take into account a person’s age, so there will be age-appropriate peak limits.
In addition to setting the new “male standard,” Hegseth called for additional guidance in 60 days that would set new height and weight standards.
If personnel are assigned to a combat role, one of their two tests will be a combat field test with standards determined by their service while wearing equipment.
There will be a combat readiness test for those not in combat positions that “may be substituted with the Service Fitness Test” and “must be executable in any environment, at any time, with combat equipment as appropriate,” Hegseth’s memo states.
Additionally, National Guard and Reserve Component members will be required to take one fitness test every year.
A new body composition component will also be introduced. Under the memo from Hegseth, the height-waist circumference method will be evaluated twice a year. If a person exceeds body composition limits, they will be moved into remedial programs, and if there is no progress, they will be separated from their service.
Hegseth’s new mandate also puts an emphasis on “gender-neutral” testing. Beginning in 2026, the Army’s new fitness standards will require both male and female soldiers to meet the same minimum physical performance benchmarks for the demands of the battlefield.
Hegseth acknowledged that the new annual tests may lead to fewer women serving in combat roles.
“If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,” he said on Tuesday. “It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify — because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.