Improving fitness for army cadetship competition

Ravelleman

Next year I'm planning on entering the army cadetship competition and I need some guidance about how to improve my fitness. Fitness is really my weakness. The minimum requirements to pass the physical test are to do a) 10 pushups b) 10 situps and c) run 1.5 miles in under 11 minutes. These are the bare minimum though. You really need to be able to do a lot better in order to impress. There are also body fat tests and strength tests as well.

I'm a 5'6" 17 year old male. I weigh 9st and have a BMI of approximately 20.7 apparently, which is well into normal weight. I can do situps without any struggle. Pushups are difficult. I can do about 10 and that is with difficulty. I am also not up to the required level for the running. I am fit but I am not by any means a lost cause. I think the initial part of the competition is in February so I have about 7 months to improve my overall fitness. I want to be more than able to meet the minimum requirements and be well prepared if I am actually accepted. I would also like to bulk up, become more impressively physically and become stronger. I am also doing the leaving cert next year so time could be an issue.

I play football regularly with friends, tend to walk instead of getting lifts and do occasionally train with my school's GAA team. It's not enough though.

I'm on summer holidays now until September. Can anyone recommend my a structure for daily exercise? I'm not sure about how to properly recover from training and how to alternate exercises. My brother has a weight lifting bench and various weights I can use but I'm not sure how to approach them. I'd like to include a lot of running in my plan.

I am also concerned about diet. I would like to put on some weight in muscle (though not a lot). I find that, at the moment, my recovery time from exercise is quite long. Should I be looking into a diet supplement like protein powder or anything like that? Any other recommendations? I consume a lot of fruit and take a multi vitamin daily. Are there any vitamin supplements I should look into? My diet is quite varied and I eat very little junk food.

At this stage any help would be appreciated. I just don't know how to approach this. I really need to improve my strength and fitness.

BossArky

Do a triathlon and eat weetabix.

Reyman

Read all the stickies man ! And work and work till you drop!

You'll get there.

Johnny Storm

I'm not a fitness expert by any means but you do have time and youth on your side! If you can do 10 press-ups today make sure you do 10 EVERY day, then move onto 11 per day next week and so on. In fact at your age you could probably progress a lot quicker.
When I was your age I had a useful book which was called somethink like the "US Air Force exercise program" - basically a graduated list of exercises to be carried out each day. I'm sure if you looked in Waterstones or where ever they would have something similar.
Also think about joining a gym if you have not already.

easyontheeye

Hi,
In all fairness, if your of good general health..no weight probs or injuries and really wanted it, you could achieve that standard inside a month easily,

aim for doing say 3 sets of 10 press ups with a 30 second break each day
then say 2 days later aim for 12 press ups etc

running,
slap on a mp3 player with good motivational music, work out a 1.5 mile route, run it ..note time and each day or second day aim to beat it.

in 7 months you should blow that 11.5 minute time away and you should be easily able for 30 press-ups.

Dragan

www.crossfit.com

Ideal for what you are looking to do. With the correct application of effort you will storm that comp.

newby.204

Ravelleman wrote:

The minimum requirements to pass the physical test are to do a) 10 pushups b) 10 situps and c) run 1.5 miles in under 11 minutes. These are the bare minimum though. You really need to be able to do a lot better in order to impress. There are also body fat tests and strength tests as well.

I would just like to pint out you have been misinformed!!!

Fitness Test - Army Cadets

http://www.military.ie/careers/pt_test.htm

If you really are attemting the cadets, you will have to impress, the minimum might be

20/20/11.5min,

however you would want to run that in

9minutes

and pressups and situps would both have to be up on the higher side of

40

and even that will be average!!!!