Some college cheer tryouts include an actual fitness test, and every tryout is a long, physical day. But there’s no single national standard. Each program sets its own skills and fitness expectations, and most don’t publish pass marks. This self-check uses what real programs have published, so you can test yourself against the tryout you’re actually going to.

Which Tryouts Include a Fitness Test?

These programs list a fitness test or conditioning test in their published tryout materials:

• Arizona (2026): the most detailed. All candidates did max push-ups and sit-ups. Men also did flag runs and a handgrip strength test. Women did sprints and “tuck endurance”: landing as many tucks as possible in 20 seconds, for four rounds.
• Virginia Tech (2026-27): physical fitness testing for both men and women, on separate days. Women were told to bring running shoes for it.
• Troy (2025-26): the tryout opened with a “Benchmark conditioning test,” followed by a tumbling evaluation and open gym for stunts.
• Fresno State (2026-27): lists a physical fitness test among its cheer requirements.

None of these programs publishes a passing score. What they do publish shows you what to train: upper-body endurance, core strength, speed, grip strength for bases, and the ability to repeat tumbling while tired.

Test 1: Tumbling You Can Repeat

Programs often ask for repeated skills, not just one. Virginia Tech scores five consecutive standing tucks. South Carolina recommends a video of five standing tucks. Hawai’i asks for a standing back tuck or full three times in a row without editing. Arizona’s tuck endurance test goes further.

Self-check:

• Can you land your standing skill several times in a row, cleanly, on a hard or dead surface?
• Can you still land it after a round of conditioning?
• Can you land your best running pass on a non-spring surface?

Test 2: Minimum Skills for Your Target Program

Published minimums vary widely. Here are some examples:

Find your target school’s list in our tryout guides directory, and check it against your current skills.

Test 3: Strength and Endurance

Arizona’s test is a useful model for training even if your school doesn’t test:

• Push-ups and sit-ups: test your max, then retest every two weeks.
• Sprints or shuttle runs: short, repeated efforts like a tryout day.
• Grip strength (bases): Arizona tests handgrip strength for its male bases.
• Tumbling endurance: repeated standing skills in timed rounds, only with a coach and only with skills you’ve mastered.

Stunt strength is about more than numbers. For partner stunts, Arizona tests toss chair, toss hands to extension and toss extension, and Utah lists the stunts it expects from flyers, group bases and partner bases. Train those stunts with a coach and proper spotting. See our guides to basing, flying and strength training.

Test 4: Jumps and Flexibility

Jump requirements are also published. Kansas State asks for a toe touch, a connected triple jump and a jump to tumbling. Fresno State asks for a toe touch and a triple variety jump. San Diego State asks flyers to show heel stretch, arabesque, scorpion and scale body positions in stunts, and California Baptist asks flyers for heel stretch, arabesque and scale.

Self-check: can you hit three connected jumps with good form, then go straight into tumbling? Can you hold each body position your program lists, in a stunt, with control? Our guides to jump height and scorpion flexibility can help.

Test 5: A Full Mock Tryout

Tryout days are long. Kansas State’s 2026 finals session ran from 9 a.m. check-in to about 1:30 p.m. Virginia Tech’s first day ran from 3:30 p.m. registration to about 9 p.m., and its second day started at 8:45 a.m. Arizona’s semifinals and finals were mandatory all-day sessions.

With your coach, run a full mock tryout in one session: warm-up, tumbling, stunts, jumps, the material, and a round of conditioning. If your skills fall apart by the end, endurance is the thing to train.

Can You Handle the Season?

Tryouts are only the start. Published schedules show what making the team means:

• Arizona: practices (6-8 a.m. or 7-9 p.m.) plus two to three strength and conditioning sessions a week.
• UCLA: practices two to three days a week in fall, plus two more individual workouts a week.
• Utah: practices Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 a.m. and Tuesday evenings.

USA Cheer’s college rules also say all cheer squads should adopt a comprehensive conditioning and strength program, and that a warm-up should come before all cheer activity. Our conditioning workout for home and warm-up routine are good places to start.

Train Safely

USA Cheer’s college rules say skills that haven’t been mastered should be done only in supervised practice, that cheerleaders should be qualified through accepted teaching progressions, and that technical skills shouldn’t be done on concrete, asphalt, wet or uneven surfaces. Do tumbling and stunt training at a gym or school with a qualified coach. Save home workouts for conditioning, flexibility and drills.

Your Readiness Checklist

• I know my target program’s published skill requirements.
• I can land my standing skill several times in a row on a hard surface.
• I can land my best running pass on a non-spring surface.
• I’ve tested my max push-ups and sit-ups and I’m improving them.
• I’ve done sprint or shuttle work regularly.
• I can perform my stunts with more than one partner or group.
• I can hit my program’s required jumps and body positions.
• I’ve done a full mock tryout and still performed well at the end.

If you can’t check every box yet, focus on the gaps that affect your target program’s minimum requirements first. For the rest of the process, see our cheerleading tryouts guide and how to stand out at tryouts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a standard cheer tryout fitness test?

No. Each program sets its own. Arizona published the most detail: max push-ups and sit-ups for everyone, plus flag runs and grip strength for men and sprints and tuck endurance for women.

Do you need a standing back tuck for college cheer?

Many programs require or strongly recommend one for women, including Florida, Utah and South Carolina. Requirements for men are often lower. Florida and Utah encourage but don’t require it. Check your target program.

How long does it take to get ready for tryouts?

It depends on the gap between your skills and the program’s requirements. Compare your skills with the published list early, and work with a coach on a plan.

Sources: tryout pages and packets for Arizona, Virginia Tech, Troy, Fresno State, Florida, Utah, South Carolina, UCLA, Kansas State, San Diego State, California Baptist and Hawai’i; USA Cheer, 2026-27 College Cheer Rules. Last checked September 30, 2026.