So today I officially started my IPPT training. Well, I have always been training on a regular basis (3 times a week), but not specifically for IPPT. For the uninitiated, IPPT basically means Individual Physical Proficiency Test. This is a mandatory fitness test that all National Servicemen in Singapore have to go through at least once a year until they have either completed their military reservist cycle or passed the age of 45 (I think).
The IPPT consists of 4 static stations – chin up, shuttle run, standing broad jump, sit up – and a 2.4 kilometer run which I have to complete in less than 10 minutes if I want to achieve a gold award. A gold award gets me SGD$400 which is considered by many as a tax rebate. But most importantly, its the pride of having achieved the gold award that I’m after.
IPPT Score Table for NSmen aged 30-34 (Cat Y1)
| GRADE | POINTS | SIT-UP (Rep) |
STANDING BROAD (cm) |
CHIN-UP (rep) |
4X10M SHUTTLE RUN (sec) |
2.4KM RUN (min:sec) |
| A | 5 | > 36 | > 233 | > 9 | < 10.4 | < 11.01 |
| B | 4 | 34 – 36 | 225 – 233 | 8 – 9 | 10.4 – 10.5 | 11:01 – 11:40 |
| C | 3 | 31 – 33 | 216 – 224 | 6 – 7 | 10.6 – 10.7 | 11:41 – 12:20 |
| D | 2 | 28 – 30 | 207 – 215 | 4 – 5 | 10.8 – 10.9 | 12:21 – 13:00 |
| E | 1 | 25 – 27 | 198 – 206 | 3 | 11.0 – 11.1 | 13:01 – 13:40 |
Looking at my current age category, to get a gold award, I have to:
- Do 37 situps
- Jump further than 235cm for the standing broad jump
- Do 10 chinups
- Complete a 100m shuttle run in less than 10.4 secs
- Finish my 2.4 kilometer run in less than 10.30 mins
From 1 to 4, I am fairly confident of being able to achieve it. My weakness has always been the 2.4 run.
I admit. I hate long distance running. I don’t mind sprinting, but long distance running to me is like watching a really boring black and white movie with toothpicks holding your eyelids open so you have no choice but to watch it. Friends have been asking me to run a full marathon for years… I don’t know why they even bother asking till today in spite of continued years of rejection.
At times when I really have to run – like training for IPPT – I applaud my self-discipline and openness for torture whenever I drag myself to put on my running shoes and pound my feet on the treadmill.
So anyways, today I decided not to procrastinate any further and went to the gym for a run at the treadmill. Ok I can almost hear you asking, “why run on the treadmill? you can just run outside!” There are some pros and cons with running outside vs the treadmill which I will probably cover in another post. But for me, when it comes to training for the 2.4 run, the treadmill is my equipment of choice.
After doing some dynamic stretching, I stepped onto the treadmill and did a 5 minute warm up at 10km/hr speed. Before I continue, please note that today is the first time I’m running after 11 months. So don’t mock my speed.
Feeling good after the warm up, I cranked up the speed to 11km/hr for the next 10 minutes. Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought, so I confidently increased to 12km/hr for the final 5 minutes.
The run didn’t feel as uncomfortable as I would have expected. The intention of this run is to gauge my current stamina and running endurance before attempting a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). I strongly recommend HIIT trainings to very quickly improve VO2 Max, stamina, endurance and most importantly, fat burning.
Next week, I will replace the steady state run with a HIIT training and I’ll update you further on how it goes.
Daniel Ho is a Certified Sports Nutritionist (USSA), Certified Personal Trainer (ACE) and fitness enthusiast with over 10 years of training experience. At the time of writing, Daniel is working as a Product Manager for a large Multi-National Corporation. Having worked in the
corporate environment for over seven years with a
typical nine to five (sometimes longer) schedule, he
understands the struggle that most people have in
order to stay fit and healthy...