Raise the bar on your Air Force fitness assessment Published June 26, 2013 By Chief Master Sgt. Suzanne Talbert 20th Mission Support Group SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Raise the bar on your Air Force fitness assessment! Know your MAX!! The Air Force fitness assessment has been enhanced in the last few years to emphasize all-around fitness. Beginning in 2010, Airmen were required to complete a minimum standard in each component to achieve a passing score. The first bar was drawn on the chart. As time went on, we all became so focused on that bar that many lost sight of the requirement to achieve a total score of 75. Many learned the hard way that merely achieving the first bar did not equal a passing score. In 2012, Airmen were given a higher bar in each component that gave them that minimum total score needed to pass. It is time for all Airmen to raise the bar again and know their MAX. You may never hit your maximum in some components, but we must stay focused on that ultimate goal: "Excellence in all we do." If you focus on a low number, there is a tendency to slow down or stop when you reach that point. Slowing down or stopping causes that lower score. Focus on the MAX number and keep striving for excellence until the clock stops. Strive for the MAX--achieve excellence; strive for the MIN--risk failure. Raise the bar, know your MAX and you will achieve a higher score. Take the challenge, and ask your friends and peers, "Do you know your MAX?"