Change was to make IPPT ‘easier to train for’

SINGAPORE — Changes in combat training that target specific muscle groups that are necessary for a serviceman’s vocation — and a hope that national servicemen will be motivated to keep fit on their own — are what made the army deem it timely to introduce the biggest shake up to the IPPT in three decades, Chief of Army Perry Lim explained in a press conference on Wednesday.

Although Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen had said the new three-station IPPT test format — a 2.4km run, sit-ups and push-ups — will mean more servicemen will pass, Major-General Lim stressed that the intention behind the changes was not to make the test easier to pass, but easier to train for.

The new combat fitness and test regime, implemented over the past few years, includes the Vocation Related Exercises, which are designed to strengthen specific muscle groups that a servicemen needs for his vocation, and a Vocation Obstacle Course, which is team-based and customised to each vocation.

While not all NSmen go through the new combat training regime, MG Lim said: “Our NSmen, they undergo through route marches, and they still go through physically vigorous field exercises that require them to apply many parts of their body.”

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) adopted push-ups in the new IPPT format after taking reference from the United States Army, said Assistant Chief of Staff (Training) Colonel Ng Ying Thong. The push-up is a very good test of upper body muscular strength and endurance, added MG Lim.

For the sit-up and 2.4km run stations, the SAF “have enough empirical data” to set realistic standards and maintain the high standards they want, Col Ng added.

MG Lim and Col Ng were speaking to the press at Maju Camp on Wednesday, where IPPT tests were conducted yearly. MG Lim said the SAF wants NSmen to regard physical fitness requirements as a means of encouraging them to make physical training and fitness a part of their lifestyle.

The simpler IPPT format has been introduced so that NSmen can train for the IPPT on their own, without the need for specialised equipment.

They “will still need to train for IPPT” in order to pass, and that Gold and Silver standards “would be just as challenging as before”, MG Lim said.

MINDEF has said the new scoring system will encourage servicemen to do the best for each station and take ownership of how they train for IPPT.

MG Lim acknowledged that NSmen find 2.4km run and standing broad jump a challenge, the latter due to its dependence on technique.

However, when asked if the standing broad jump, shuttle run and chin-ups were scrapped because he did not think they were necessary in the way SAF fights and trains, MG Lim said: “No, the main aim was really to have a simpler format that they can train for.”

The physical attributes that those stations test for — such as agility and explosiveness of one’s power — are still relevant for soldiering, MG Lim added.