Q: What order should you do each of the 5 stations for IPPT: Standing broad jump, situps, pullups, shuttle run, 2.4km.
A: SBJ, Chinup, Shuttle, Situps
Q: Which one is the hardest to improve?
A: The hardest one to improve is the standing broad jump because it is a strength and power activity. Those take longer to improve. The easiest is the 2.4km run because it is an endurance activity which improves very fast. Think back to your BMT days.
How many people improved their 2.4km run from 14 mins to 10 or 11? lots of people. That is a 30% improvement.
How many improved their standing broad jump 30% from 200 to 260? almost NOBODY that takes specialized training to do.
Q: What are some of the common mistakes people make in training for their IPPT?
A: Remember that the IPPT is a test, and you can study for tests.
improper technique. especially for shuttle run and standing broad jump is probably the most common mistake.
In fact by correcting this mistake alone, many SAF regulars in my gym improve 15cm in the first 10 mins.
Another common mistake is too much running, not enough strength training.
Q: What’s the most important group of muscles that people should work on?
A: Not so much most important, but most neglected. Strength and power in their legs. People love to jog but that really does nothing for your strength. In fact jogging is damaging to your body.
I strongly discourage long distance training because of its negative effects on joints, homonal state, and decreases in strength and muscle mass.
That is why, our average IPPT training client practices the 2.4km run exactly 4 times before they go for their test. And get better results than they ever have.
Q: What other conditioning tips do you have?
A: Handle sleep better, don’t drink – these affect hormones. Growth hormone helps you recover, build muscle, burn fat and stay healthy. It is produced in your sleep and if you don’t get rested sleep, all those processes slow down. To sleep better, get rid of all electrical devices from your room especially cell phones and wifi routers and computers. In addition there are natural sleep aids you can use to help you sleep well. One of the best ones I give to almost all clients is magnesium.
Don’t drink – getting drunk lowers your male sex hormone production for 5 days. That means your training is wasted when you get wasted. You can’t improve when your hormones are not in order.
Q: What are some common IPPT test and training misconceptions?
A: That the IPPT is hard. It is not a hard test. It is easy when you are healthy. It is the getting healthy that many singaporeans have a problem with because of stressful living and lack of love for health. It does not need special genetic gifting to pass or even to get an award in.
Q: How long before IPPT should people start training?
A: It depends. If you are healthy and regularly do proper exercise that means strength training not just one job per week. It should take you 1 week to revise your jumping and shuttle run technique as well as to condition for the situp and 2.4 tests.
If you are 40kg overweight and have all kinds of muscular imbalances and your main form of exercise comes from playing Xbox you will need 1 year of training 4x per week to get a good result.
So it varies alot. I much prefer that everybody go for option 1. Stay healthy and peak for the test.
Q: How much running do I need to do to be fit for the IPPT Test?
A: Don’t bother running at all. Until 4-6 weeks before the test. Focus on being strong. Then everything becomes easy.
Q: Should smokers give up smoking before they take the IPPT?
A: Smoking is never good for anybody. But how bad it is depends on your genetics. Some people smoke for a year and have all kinds of problems. Some people smoke a pack a day for 50 years and have no issues. There is a difference in their ability to detoxify cigarette smoke. However it is never good, it is just less bad for some people. So no, I don’t encourage smoking but how much it affects performance varies alot from person to person.