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Hi guys.

I’m going to apply for the army shortly, can you guys tell me what level my fitness should be at so I can cope with basic training please. How many push ups, sit ups and pull ups should I be able to do? What should my 1.5mile time be?

At present I can do 25 push ups, 5 over grasp pull ups and about 40 sit ups. i haven't been training for long.

e-mail me if you want at kevin_m42@hotmail.com

There is a wonderful thing on this site where you can search!

Look for RSC and you'll find a thread with all the information you need

What are you hoping to do in the army? Just make sure you don't concentrate too much on your strength, so all i can suggest is GET RUNNING!

If you havn't trained for a while just add about 100m a week to the distance your running.

Coops

Keep training - keep running and lots of aerobic stuff. If you have the basis the PTIs will give you the incentive to get a lot, lot better.

You don't have to be very fit to be in the army
You should see some if the guys over here!

Glasgow wrote: What should my 1.5mile time be?

Line infantry 10:30 mins

What times are you getting at the moment?

All depends on what you want to join.
If you want to join the Infantry then they would be looking at your 1.5 mile time to be less than 11:30 minutes. If you want to join the RAC or Engineers then 12:00 but you will need better upper body strength. And so on and so on depending on who you want to join . If you were joining the AGC then you would probably be able to walk the 1.5 miles and pass.

But this is just to get past selection. Once you start basic training they would expect your times to come right down. And by the time you get to your unit after training your times had better improved.
You don't want to be running 11:30 minutes when you get to your Infantry Regiment for example.

Well I'm training for the paras, so the fitness levels are alot harder than the rest of the army, however, you should be aiming for some of the following...

Situps: 50 in 2min
Pressups: 44 in 2min
Pullups: Aim for 10, but 6 is the current passmark for the Paras
1.5Mile Warm up: Complete in under 15min (paras) , followed by,
1.5Mile Best Effort: Complete in under 9min 15sec (paras), but for the rest of the army you should be aiming at about 11-12min. Some even give you more time, along with any AFC's.

For your training, you want to be getting out at least 3 times a week if you want to get your fitness up. Two days should be spend with a run at a comfy pace for about 30-40min. Avoid running on road if you can, even if it means running round a park or large field several times. Avoids Injury. And the other training session, simply do a 1.5 mile warm up jog (7 laps of a footy pitch), a bit of stretching while you get your breath back, then when your ready, time yourself on a best effort 1.5mile. You will notice that everytime you attempt the 1.5mile your times will get better.

An example fitness program week you could try if your just looking at the starters of fitness can be as follows:

Mon: 20min Run
Tue: 3x 20pressups, 3x 20 situps, 3x max pullup reps
Wed: 30min Run
Thur: 3x 20pressups, 3x 20 situps, 3x max pullup reps
Fri: 20Min Run
Sat: Rest Day
Sun Rest Day

Do this program every week and when you run each run, and feel more comfy with it, you can gradually increase the time by say 5min each week untill your running about 30-45min each session. As you get fitter, you may concider adding perhaps a couple of swim/bike sessions in there if you wasnted to advance a bit. You dont get fit overnight or in just one week. But you will notice a chance as you go along. I keep a small log of my 1.5mile runs, and pullup count etc. Its a good motivater when you can write down a new improved running time, and look back as you see how much you have improved. Hope this helps,

Mal

Is 7 laps of a football ptich considered to be 1.5 mile? Is that an accurate place to test yourself?

Well I measured the distance round a footy pitch with my bike speedometer and 7 laps is 1.5miles. Thats what I use now. I have also heard by a couple other people on this forum that they have done the same and it is 7 laps

Then again I guess some football pitches are bigger than others right? If your unsure, go out on yur bike. OR make it 8 laps just to be sure. You should be aiming to complete 1.5 miles in well under 9min 30sec so even an extra lap should be a reasonably target

Mal

Yeah cheers Mal. I bought a speedometre it was a load of crap and cost me £23. Anyway got a path and measured it by an OS map, seems accurate.

You know your stuff Mal. On the new link you gave for a para forum it states that new recruits have a go at the trainasium in week 1 - is this still done? Would be nice to face fears straight away.

At first I didnt think that they would make you do that straight away. I thouhgt you only did it in P-Company but then I was told by someone whos just completed there 1st week of training that they do it on the SECOND day. I was like wholy fk lol, who wudnt. I aint looking forward to that thing! BUT I dont think you have to do the paralell bars. Then again, who knows, hope you dont lol. Dont have a fear of heights or owt, but that just dont appeal to me one bit

Mal

I was under the impression the MINIMUM for the paras was 70 pressups and 80 situps. Before Mal etc. start rambling on; i know it's about determination and if you show guts you'll pull through blah blah blah.

However, the minimum for officer entry into ANY corps is 44 and 50 at RCB. They stop you once you reach the required number, and i know the paras don't.

It may be that these (70 and 80) are unofficial requirements for officers in the paras. Because i know that an officer is EXPECTED to run far quicker than 9:30; even though you're told you have 9:30.

Not having a go Mal, just unsure. It doesn't really affect me either way as i'll aim for far more than 70, but it's just nice to know what you're up against.

Mike

I just completed a 1.5 Mile run to see if i can beat the times right now for light infantry. I got 1.5 miles in 8:45 , i am feeling great as it gives me more motivation to get even fitter. All i have to do now is check my press up times and sit-ups.

hey grimey do u know the 1.5 mile run time needed for the light infantry at RSC? does anyone else know? Cheers

Yes you need to be hitting under 10.30 to get in. Although being 16 you will have to go to the college place in the army for a year before you carry on training, i am unsure of that time, but it cant be that much, maybe around the 11.30 min mark.