Add Military-Style Shuttle Runs to Your Fitness Training: Here’s How

Shuttle run-type fitness tests are becoming more popular in military fitness testing. Multiple types of them test different components of fitness, such as the Army’s sprint-drag-carry, the Air Force’s and Space Force’s 20-meter high aerobic multi-shuttle run (HAMR), a.k.a. the “beep test,” and the service academies’ 4×10-yard shuttle run. Depending on which test you must do, you need to practice specifics and arrange them into your training week with the ideas below:

About the Tests Used in the Military

20-Meter HAMR (Air Force, Space Force)

The 20-meter HAMR (high aerobic multi-shuttle run) is a cardio fitness test used by the U.S. Air Force and Space Force as an alternative to the 2-mile run. Participants run back and forth between two lines exactly 20 meters apart, pacing themselves to an audio beep that gets progressively faster. Maxing the test takes over 10 minutes and over 80 laps of the 20-meter run at an increasing speed as you progress to each level. Many who think the 20-meter HAMR is easier than the run often realize about 5 minutes into it that it is equally as challenging or harder. Air Force Scoring Chart

Read More: These Are the Air Force’s New 2026 Fitness Test Options and Standards — With Charts

Sprint-Drag-Carry (Army)

The sprint-drag-carry, a part of the Army Fitness Test (AFT) is a 25-meter shuttle run that consists of four laps with and without weight you carry or drag. You sprint 2 lengths at 25 meters, then drag a weighted sled 2 lengths at 25 meters, then carry two kettlebells 2 lengths at 25 meters, then repeat the sprint of 2 lengths at 25 meters. This shuttle run tests more than aerobic ability. It pushes into the anaerobic energy system plus assesses power, grip strength and leg strength

AFT Scoring Charts

4×10-Yard Shuttle Run (Service Academies)

This component of the Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA) of the Service Academy fitness tests is a quick measure of speed and agility with acceleration and deceleration power. This test is all about athletic quickness, as it is measured in seconds and tenths of a second, averaging 7-9 seconds. Turnaround speed and explosive starts and stops are the key to this test.

Service Academy CFA Score Chart

Adding These to Your Training Week

Rotate these three focused workouts throughout your week (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday), leaving at least 48 hours between sprint days. You do not need to do much. Just a few sets with consistency is all you need. Practice the technique first, then work to add speed and endurance as needed:

Workout 1: Pure Explosiveness (4×10-yard Focus)

Perform on fresh legs after a dynamic warmup. Focus on maximum power, short distances and full recovery between reps:

• First, work on your starts with 5- to 10-yard sprints.
• Add stops, turns and pivots at the 10-yard mark for 5 sets.
• Then do 2–3 full, 4×10-yard shuttle runs.
• Time every run to check progress each week.

Top off your sprints with a leg day. Once or twice a week, turn your sprint workout test day into a power leg day. To add power to your starts, add exercises such as broad jumps to sprint for 3 sets. To do this, jump forward, land and get into a three-point stance, then immediately accelerate for 10 yards.

Workout 2: Aerobic Capacity & Beep Intervals (HAMR Focus)

Warm up leg muscles, hips, knees and ankles. Practice the 20-meter shuttle run — shuttling between two lines 20 meters apart — as part of your workout to learn techniques and strategies. This test requires you to focus on increasing pace and breathing to keep your heart rate from elevating too high.

By simply practicing the test, you will learn how to pace yourself best for your level of performance and goals. You can add this 10-minute test before or after your normal training day. Treat it as a warmup or cooldown.

Workout 3: Acceleration/Deceleration and Lower-Body Power

To perform well in any of these exercises, you need to work your leg strength. Don’t skip leg day: Once or twice a week, do the following type of leg workout to help strengthen the starting and stopping muscles (quads, glutes, hamstrings).

Eccentric/Jumping Goblet Squats. Do 3 sets of 8 reps (3-second down phase to build braking strength when running) and fast/explosive up movement so your feet leave the floor a few inches.

Continue with either sled pulls or hill sprints, 4 sets of 20 yards for raw acceleration power, running backward with the sled and forward up the hill.

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Pro Tips for Test Day

4×10-Yard Shuttle Run

Wear appropriate turf shoes or high-traction running shoes; this will depend on whether you test on a basketball court or turf field. Touch the line with your lead hand while maintaining a low, athletic stance during the pivot and turn, ready to push off each turnaround.

Sprint-Drag-Carry

Begin in a three-point stance for the sprint. Explode at the start, then pivot quickly into the same stance at 25 meters to run back. During the sled drag, keep your shoulders down, and use short, rapid steps with a slight lean forward, leveraging the sled’s momentum. Focus on smooth turnarounds, and practice quickly setting down the kettlebells and grabbing the sled to save valuable seconds. This will make you winded, so maintain steady breathing early on to avoid tiring out before the final sprint.

​​​20-Meter HAMR

Do not sprint ahead of the beep on early levels. Settle into a rhythm, touch the line right as the tone sounds, and conserve your breath. Focus on breathing and pace.

The introduction of shuttle runs to military fitness tests represents a shift in importance from pure endurance to adding elements of speed, agility and power to a military member’s training and testing.