PASSING IPPT Part 2

It's the time of the year where most of your male friends/colleague/hubby/bf/brother put on their green armour and headed back into camp to protect the country.

To say that we are there to make sure you can have a good night sleep is a little bit of a stretch as we all know these jobs belongs to the main body of the army.

Reservist or better known as In Camp Training (ICT) is there to waste our time. give us a break from work make sure we are ready when button pressed (figuratively. I doubt there's a real physical button, or do they really have one?) to defend our country.

One of the highlight of every ICT has to be IPPT. Thanks to the new system last year, I finally managed to pass my IPPT after 9 freaking years!

I was a little worried this year because I just came back from a rather long trip and before that I've been running (figurative as well) around, eating and eating thanks to Makan Bus, and I've totally messed up my regular gym sessions. I feel like I'm at my most unfit stage of 2016 and I've to face IPPT. >:-(

I was so worried that my heart was pumping so fast and my palm was actually sweating. You will have no pressure if you have no chance of passing but I actually think that I can pass but maybe bother line. So my friend actually found this calculator where you can set some goals for yourself so you can know where you stand.

Not sure which was the link he used but I found a similar site - http://myippt.com/run.php

So I set some targets and the timing I need to meet was as such.

15.40 seems attainable to be honest. The thing about doing IPPT during your ICT is that you have friends as support. As much as we don't really hangout during non-ict period but meeting these brothers in arms is always easy. We are always so comfortable and supportive and it feels like where we left off every time although we only meet once a year.

They were volunteering to pace me, cheering for me and counting out loud for me to let me know if I'm close to my target and make sure I get this right.

So I actually completed both my static stations with better results than my goal. My running time to meet was 15.50. If it was 10years ago I would tell you I can do it within 13mins easily but erm... It's Smith version 32 not 22 anymore.

So the guys were telling me that the tactic is to run fast for the 1st two rounds and rest next two and give it all I have for the last two.

I was standing at the starting point feeling all cold and worried. I saw this small guy, who erm.. happens to be my PC and he was aiming for a silver so I thought since I'm gonna go fast I might as well run after him with all I have.

3...2...1... BOOM! And here we go. I give it all I have. Chasing him like a cat chasing after a rat, a police after a thief and a housefly after a piece of shit.

Before I know it, I only took 1 min and 40 secs for my 1st lap. If you can do simple math, you will know how good my result would be after 6 rounds. But happy endings only happen in fairy tales (and some very happy KTV lounge). I soon felt this tightness on my calf and i was like "NOOOOOO.. Whatever is going to happen now, it ain't going to be me falling out and get a DNF!!"

I quickly slow (does this even make sense) myself down and look for another person to run after but with the very tight calf and the possibility of falling out, my chest starts to feel tight and I was panicing AF. No no no.. this is not happening.

I tried to distract myself a little. I start to think about the nice pizza from New York, DAMN! That's not working. Okay... I start to think about Anne Hathaway's naked scene in Love and other drugs where she flashes her tits (caught a rerun the other day) but that was probably the greatest mistake of my life since it's taking away all my blood. I started feeling breathless, but the good news was with all these random thoughts I'm already at my 5th lap.

The lap that I was given tip to give it all I have... I crossed the line and I saw my timing at around 9min something (or was it 10. Shag cannot think). I told myself "let's go big guy! you can do it!!" I open up my steps, pushed myself forward... Giving it all I have....

...for 5 steps and I was like "fuck fuck fuck... no no no.." I didn't really move any faster and instead I feel like I was going to roll on the ground.. LOL.

I struggled my 5th lap at almost walking pace and the thought of walking was so strong. "Take a walk Smith. You still have almost 6 mins. Even my grand mother can complete 2 laps in 6mins. Chill lah.. sure pass one." - That was Devil Smith talking to me in my head. I really wanted to start walking now but NO! I told myself I'm not going to give in.

At the final 300ms of my last lap, I seriously felt like I was going to faint... My vision was starting to blur up, I thought I saw my brother calling out to me. I thought I saw Jesus standing beside him. (Not sure if it was really him.) And soon I was snapped back into reality when I heard my friend calling out my name "Smith... REACHING ALREADY COMON!!!"

It was the guy who did nothing more than 5 push ups and he was ahead of me. And I was like "since when did he overtake me." Truth was, I've no idea who ran passed me at all through out the whole time. Everything was a blur to me. He started sprinting and ask me to catch up and I did a chase. Almost like the ones that happens almost every other day on LA's highway just without the helicopter. I open up my steps, close my eyes and gave a loud scream (which probably didn't help and only got me more tired) and dash my way pass the finishing line...

I saw my timing and the next thing I know I was actually on my fours trying to catch my breath...

THIS AIN'T FUN AT ALL!!!


And ladies and gentlemen, the result.

OMG! Instead of just passing, I actually got a pass with incentive!!! For the 1st freaking time in my life I'm getting some $$$!!!!

In case you are too lazy to click the previous link, this was my result from last year.

Not exactly a superb result or something to show off but I actually improved quite a bit for all 3 stations. 6 sit ups, 7 push ups and almost a min off my running and a total improvement of 11 pts! I think my yoga lessons at Hom Yoga  did work my core a lil to get that improvement.

I've no idea how but I've seen result slip showing like 60 standard push ups within 60 secs on Facebook which seems almost impossible to me.

Some of the guys were asking me if I've any tips for push ups which I did write about it last year as well but I guess nobody reads.. :( but benefit of those who asked, I will share again. (To give you a feel of this, the guys in my unit have result as poor as 4 pushups which ain't even standard to as many as 40ish as well.) I'm no expert but here's how I got my 48 reps.

I started doing it around 3yrs ago and I was at 5 reps as well but I started doing this daily.

2 x 5 in the morning before you head into the shower and head for work.
2 x 5 in the evening after work, before you head into the shower and have your dinner.

Remember, number ain't important for a start. What is important is doing it right, make sure you bend you arms and go down.

My aim was 100 a day which sounded a lot but I actually managed to get there rather quickly. Okay fine, it took me a few months.

2 x 25 morning and 2 x 25 at night. It's actually possible.

These days I will do (but not as consistent as daily, I slack off I know)

25, 35, 30, 10 (diamond)  in the morning and 25, 35, 30, 10 (Diamond) to clock 200 push ups a day.

The key to doing push ups is to keep doing push ups.

 Good luck to you guys and now I'm gonna work on my core more and aim for sliver!!!

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Passing IPPT!

All hail the new IPPT SYSTEM! It has been 9 years since I last passed my IPPT!

Basically if you are reading from overseas, IPPT is this physical fitness test that has been a pain in the ass for many healthy male adults in Singapore.

Some choose to escape it by faking injuries etc and from that you can sense how painful it is.

As for me, I have been a regular to this thing known as the IPT and RT training where, you know, failures like just attend to get ourselves into shape for a few months in our life at camp after working hours. It is a very painful process.

The system was flawed in a way where the organization expects every solider of different functionality to be physically as fit as everyone else. Thus, they had a system where everyone need to pass every station (out of 6). In another words, failing in any single station and excel in another doesn't take the cut for IPPT.

BOOOOOOO!! (Image from mothership.sg)

Thanks to some genius, (unsung hero) the IPPT system was revamped earlier this year where there are 2 static stations and 1 running station. The scoring system is flexible meaning to say you are allowed to excel in one, and almost be bad and one and all you had to do is to pass the overall bottomline score.

And guess what?

I FUCKING PASS IT! Just because I pass it doesn't means I'm some fitness instructor and will give you a post on "5 ways to aces IPPT as an NS Men" but I do wanna share a simple tip with everyone and that is to abuse the system for it is. Like what I did was simply to practice a lot of push ups, get a good score for that and as you can see, my other two station was really borderline passes and nothing to be proud of.

I like to train push ups because you can do it anywhere and anytime and it's a very short exercise as compared to 2.4km run which makes you sweaty and all. As for sit up you need someone to hold you down or a proper whatever you call it to hold you.

I started training Push ups under the influence of my business partner/boss where he told me to just do it on a daily basis and if you can't do it, do the supported/"girl" push up. I started doing this almost 1 yr ago and I started with 1 set of 5. That was how bad I was 1 yr ago but I did it (almost) everyday and night. Sometimes even at work where I will do it before lunch. The trick is to do proper pushups where you do all the way down and come up slowly. During training, number is not the factor here. What matters is doing it right. Very quickly I am doing more than 100 each day accumulated. You can do 2 x 25 sets in the morning before you shower for work and 2 x 25 sets before shower after a day of work and that is already 100. Yes, showers are very important so you do not stink up the train.

Anyway now I have to keep it up and this ain't gonna be easy but I will try!

Here's a "world record of push ups". Guess how many did he do?



Answer: 0

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Bedok Camp RT Color Tag Review.

Being an "active NSmen", doing my part for Singapore's defence is my 2nd nature. To give other service men better understanding of our army system is out of my call of duty but it is my honour to bring you more information.

It seems to me that the article about Female PTI has answered quite a bit of questions to many member of the public as well as fella soldiers.

In this article, I am sharing more information about RT and specifically the color tags. For many of the noobies, the color tag selection can be quite stressful. You do not wish to get a color tag that kills you during the training and neither do you want to get a tag take ask you to take a walk in the park. (It's a metaphor.)

So technically there are 4 colors to choose from: Red, Blue, Orange and Green. So which to take?

All names and content above are just for laugh. So take it with a pitch of salt ya?

Anyway, jokes aside, the basic logic about RT is to help you to pass your IPPT, frankly speaking, if we could pass the test easily why would we want to come for RT?

Personally I used to be able to pass my IPPT during active days. Not only because I had more time to practice or had a healthier diet but also because of the community. The people in the camp that motivates you and doing it together. All thanks to my injury shortly after my ORD, most of my fitness was lost during that period. I am trying to catch up again now but it's easier said than done after a good 8 years.

Mr.Smith, Happy RT-ing!

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Dear SAF, My IPPT Manifesto.

Dear SAF, 

It is every guy's duty in Singapore to serve the nation and be part of our defense force.(*well, do not correct me just yet, yes we do know there are some do kind of "escape" it in one way or the other but this is not the whole idea about this article. cough*) While many pre-army boys will tell you how much they hate the idea about going into army and waste the 2yrs, we the re-service guys will tell you that the 2 years of army is nothing as compared to the agony you will be going through later part of your life. Some until late 30s and some until 40s. The four scary letters - IPPT. 

In fact many agree when it comes to comparing IPPT and ICT(In camp training/Re-service), ICT are awesome as you go back to catch up with our friends as well as update ourselves on our defense system and it somehow gives us some time away from our work and wives and just back in camp to gather with some "brothers" but IPPT on the other hand can be really painful. When you spent 10hours a day in front of the desk working and many other commitment at home, it's really difficult to get time to train yourself to be SAF certified physically fit. 

IS THAT SO? Or is that not so? Frankly speaking, not training is an excuse, being busy is an excuse too so what is the problem? IPPT has never been my best friend and in fact it has always been a pain in my ass but I manage to clear both my window while I was an active soldier, in fact I was so close to getting an IPPT silver for the 1st time in my life. Than what went wrong? Or rather what went right during those days? I ran 5 days a week(at least 5km and average above 10km), I do PT trainings at least 3 days a week, I was 10 yrs younger, I do other physical training and i ate a very healthy meals which was provided by SFI. On top of that, I sleep more than 10hours a day. Seriously, what is the chance of me having such life after that? Will I be anywhere close if I put in half the effort? I guess we pretty much know the answer.

To me, the goal set by SAF to pass my IPPT is, well I wouldn't say impossible but I would say it is not SMART. As many motivation speakers would have taught you by now, by setting a SMART goal it simply means setting a goal which is 

Of course, the goal set by SAF to me is considered as not attainable nor is it realistic to me at this point of my life. Did I try? Hell yeah I did. During my first year of ORD I tried my best to maintain my shape but to no avail I did not manage to pass 1 of the station which was my weakest through out my army life - chin up and Standing Board Jump.In fact I tried so hard I have slight injuries over my shoulder and knees over the years. 

The whole idea about IPPT is in such a format that once we fail 1 subject, we fail the whole test. If given anyone who fail a single station, what are the chances of that person doing their best for all the rest of the stations? The game is simple, putting it in a very singlish way" fail 1 also fail, fail 5 also fail, what is the difference? f*ck it lah." 

Probably they might be saying,"comon Smith, you are not a quitter, you should fight on and be stronger! Be better and improve!"

I am saying"Bitch please, I tried, i fought, i lost and there are some battles we just have to give cause we know we can't win." 

From the point of view of an obese soldier who had never complete a single 2.4km run before army till completing a half marathon of 21km,I dare to say I pretty much know how it feels to be both fit and unfit as well as unmotivated and motivated at the same time. I am saying that it is not impossible to motivate(us) people to get fit again but it is about setting Attainable and Realistic goals. That is the key to sports motivation. It is not always about the incentive about $100 or $200, in fact emotional incentive is way more awesome than monetary incentive. When people feel good about themselves and they feel like they are top of the world and nothing, I say NOTHING beats that feeling. 

No, do not get me wrong. I am not saying that we should lower any standard of IPPT. I am talking about something which I have talked about before on my blog previously. I did some paraphrasing while talking to a friend.

"every soldier has got their different capability and so does our vocation need us in different ways. Not all soldiers are suppose to be the same, not mentaliy, not physically.. why not we implement an ippt system that give u 6 station choose 4. And on top of that make 2.4km as compulsory since all soldiers need to run."

In fact, I did write in this suggestion to the PTI at my camp during my previous session of IPT lessons 2 windows ago but apparently there wasn't any followup on this suggestions. I have talked to many and shared this idea with many and we see more pros than cons in this situation. Solder can choose the station they are better at, they will be more motivated to try and pass the stations they are better at and even for the scholars up there, they can show a better KPI of a higher % of passes in IPPT.

I am not writing this article because I am stuck down in the rabbit hole with eternal years of RT or IPT that I wish to escape. I am writing this article because I hope someone will actually read and look into our system again. Let's not fall into a typical scene of "The Broken Window Theory" and succumb to conformity. I believe that everyone has a part to play in improving a system considering the fact that we ARE all part of the system.  

I sincerely hope someone will pick this up. Maybe not this year, maybe not next but at least sometime down the road. 

Yours Sincerely,

IPPT Woes. 

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