Hand-Release Push-Ups: AFT Standards, Form, and How to Get More Reps
The hand-release push-up is the second event of the Army Fitness Test, and it is a different animal from the push-ups most people grew up doing. Every rep starts dead on the floor, which deletes the bounce out of the bottom and exposes true pressing strength. This guide covers exact form standards, the scores you need, and a simple plan for adding reps before test day.
What Is a Hand-Release Push-Up?
In a standard push-up, the stretch reflex at the bottom helps launch you back up. The hand-release push-up, or HRP, removes that help. You lower all the way until your chest, hips, and thighs touch the ground, lift both hands clearly off the floor, replace them, and press back up to full elbow lockout. That is one rep. On the Army Fitness Test, you perform as many correct reps as possible in two minutes, and you may rest only in the up position.
The rep, step by step
Start in a front-leaning rest with hands roughly shoulder width. Lower your whole body as a single unit to the ground. With chest down, extend or lift both hands until they clearly break contact with the floor. Put your hands back, then push up as one rigid plank until your elbows fully lock. Sagging hips, a snaking chest, or an incomplete lockout all cost you the rep.
AFT Hand-Release Push-Up Standards
Each of the five AFT events is scored from 0 to 100 points, with 60 points per event required to pass. When the AFT replaced the ACFT in June 2025, the push-up minimums got harder. Ten reps no longer passes; a 17 to 21 year old male now needs 15 reps just to hit the 60 point floor. The anchor scores below are for the youngest bracket, 17 to 21, under the general standard. Allowed rep counts shift slightly with age, so check your exact bracket with our free Army fitness test calculator.
| Age 17-21, General Standard | 60 Points (Minimum Pass) | 100 Points (Max) |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 15 reps | 58 reps |
| Women | 11 reps | 53 reps |
Soldiers in combat military occupational specialties are scored on the male tables regardless of sex and must total at least 350 across the whole test, with no event under 60. For the full list of what changed between the two tests, see our AFT vs ACFT comparison.
Common No-Reps and How to Avoid Them
Most soldiers lose reps to standards, not strength. The graders are watching for a handful of faults: pushing the chest up before the hands are back under the shoulders, lifting the chest while the hips stay down, resting on the ground instead of in the up position, and stopping short of full elbow lockout. Practice with a buddy calling reps aloud and rejecting anything questionable. Thirty honest reps in training beat forty sloppy ones that get counted as twenty-five on test day.
How to Get More Hand-Release Push-Up Reps
Two minutes of push-ups is a muscular endurance event with a strength floor. Train both ends.
1. Test, then train submax volume
Run a two minute max-effort test to set your baseline. Then, three days a week, accumulate 60 to 100 total reps in sets of about half your max. Short rests, perfect standards. Add a rep or two per set each week. Retest every three to four weeks.
2. Build the strength floor
If your two minute score is under 25, raw pressing strength is the limiter. Weighted push-ups, dumbbell bench pressing, and overhead work twice a week move the ceiling up. Band-resisted push-ups are especially useful because the band adds load exactly where the HRP is hardest, at lockout, and a set of resistance bands travels anywhere the Army sends you.
3. Attack the weak links
The hand lift punishes a weak upper back, and the plank position punishes a weak core. Rows, band pull-aparts, and front planks keep the body rigid deep into the second minute, which is where most tests are won. A strong plank also pays directly on the AFT's fourth event.
4. Pace the two minutes
Do not sprint the first thirty seconds. A proven approach is a controlled opening set at about 60 percent of your max, brief rests in the up position, then steady sets of 3 to 5 until the clock runs out.
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How many hand-release push-ups do I need to pass the AFT?
You need 60 points on the event. For the 17 to 21 age bracket under the general standard, that is 15 reps for men and 11 for women, with the required count shifting slightly by age group. Combat MOS soldiers are scored on the male tables.
How long do I get for the event?
Two minutes. You may rest in the up position only, and the event ends early if you rest on the ground or break position.
Why does the Army use hand-release push-ups instead of regular push-ups?
Lifting the hands off the floor forces a dead stop on every rep, which standardizes range of motion and makes reps far easier to judge consistently. It also reflects pressing from a true dead position, like pushing yourself off the ground under load.
What other events are on the AFT?
Five events total: the 3-repetition maximum deadlift, hand-release push-ups, the sprint drag carry, the plank, and the 2-mile run. Our military PT calculators cover scoring for every branch's test.
