Permanent Defence Forces Recruitment 2015

It wasn't me!

The sit-ups are definitely tricky alright. I found I had to change the angle of my knees in order to not have the feet want to lift off the ground, and they still do a bit, have to focus very hard on generating lift in the core and isolating the thighs. It's getting easier now but it definitely caught me out a lot. Depending on someone's opinion of feet lifting you could get stung badly, because mine definitely seem to make less solid contact as I come up, though they certainly don't actually leave it. I would hope that people are just taking this as a lesson though, and will try again and be better prepared.

John_D80

It wasn't me! wrote: »

I found I had to change the angle of my knees in order to not have the feet want to lift off the ground

Good point. The right bend in the knees is definitely the trick to this type of sit up. Get that right and they become much easier.

It wasn't me!

John_D80 wrote: »

Good point. The right bend in the knees is definitely the trick to this type of sit up. Get that right and they become much easier.

Definitely. I was more familiar with having the feet out further forward (and anchored, which is the major change) but bringing them back towards me until the soles sit flat comfortably stops them wanting to lift.

John_D80

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Here's a video.

http://www.1bderdf.com/situps.wmv

Haha i know the lad in that video, he'll be getting some slaggin tomorrow

Burdock

Wills21 wrote: »

Poccington wrote: »

You'll start at the bottom of the path to the Army Grounds, where it meets the road. Starting on the track there, you'll run upto the Phoenix Monument, turn around and come roughly halfway back.

Just to check, is this where you mean?

http://maps.google.ie/maps?saddr=Chesterfield+Ave&daddr=Chesterfield+Ave+to:Chesterfield+Ave&hl=en&sll=53.35529,-6.314135&sspn=0.013217,0.042272&geocode=FfYVLgMdY8af_w%3BFYw1LgMdO3uf_w%3BFQglLgMdbqKf_w&t=h&dirflg=w&mra=dme&mrsp=2&sz=15&z=15

Just so you all know, the 1.5 mile run is in Cathal Brugha barracks, a lot of people not staying on the route and failing because of it

Wills21

Burdock wrote: »

Just so you all know, the 1.5 mile run is in Cathal Brugha barracks, a lot of people not staying on the route and failing because of it

How does it work mate? Are people being let go in groups or what?

Poccington

Wills21 wrote: »

How does it work mate? Are people being let go in groups or what?

You'll all be released at start point and off you go. I've seen them doing their tests but haven't been upto the gym to see how it's done so not too sure if it's groups or everyone at once. I'd imagine it'd depend on how many people pass the push ups and sit ups to do the run. There's no narrow roads or anything, so no need to worry about people getting in your way or anything.

Lord knows why they didn't do it in the Phoenix Park, the only thing I can think of is that there's more space in the gym in the Brugha for processing everyone and getting more people through the push ups and sit ups at a time.

The Brugha is a melter to run around.

Burdock

Poccington wrote: »

Wills21 wrote: »

How does it work mate? Are people being let go in groups or what?

You'll all be released at start point and off you go. I've seen them doing their tests but haven't been upto the gym to see how it's done so not too sure if it's groups or everyone at once. I'd imagine it'd depend on how many people pass the push ups and sit ups to do the run. There's no narrow roads or anything, so no need to worry about people getting in your way or anything.

Lord knows why they didn't do it in the Phoenix Park, the only thing I can think of is that there's more space in the gym in the Brugha for processing everyone and getting more people through the push ups and sit ups at a time.

The Brugha is a melter to run around.

Everyone that passes goes at once, I heard they didn't use the park because of transport issues. Not sure if thats the reason or a rumour.

SasQuatch88

Is it on a football pitch or in gym?

SasQuatch88

One more question..
what kind of a rest can I expect in between the sit-ups and press ups?
Press-ups i can manage, but the sit-ups are having an issue with me..
tis' gonna be tough.. but should manage..

Poccington

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

Is it on a football pitch or in gym?

The push ups and sit ups will be done in the gym. The run is done on road.

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

One more question..
what kind of a rest can I expect in between the sit-ups and press ups?
Press-ups i can manage, but the sit-ups are having an issue with me..
tis' gonna be tough.. but should manage..

You'll get a minute or two, assuming they go straight from sit ups into push ups.

You'll get it done.

Wills21

Poccington wrote: »

You'll all be released at start point and off you go. I've seen them doing their tests but haven't been upto the gym to see how it's done so not too sure if it's groups or everyone at once. I'd imagine it'd depend on how many people pass the push ups and sit ups to do the run. There's no narrow roads or anything, so no need to worry about people getting in your way or anything.

Lord knows why they didn't do it in the Phoenix Park, the only thing I can think of is that there's more space in the gym in the Brugha for processing everyone and getting more people through the push ups and sit ups at a time.

The Brugha is a melter to run around.

Why dya say that?

Poccington

Wills21 wrote: »

Why dya say that?

It's just boring.

You'll see if you end up training there or based there. It's a boring place to run. Also, constantly running on concrete isn't good for the body.

Wills21

Poccington wrote: »

It's just boring.

You'll see if you end up training there or based there. It's a boring place to run. Also, constantly running on concrete isn't good for the body.

I've been practising on a running track, 6 laps is equal to 1.5miles so I'm well used to boring lol

SasQuatch88

I've been doing the 1.5 in a field.. uneven ground and such, would i be faster on tarmac?

Wills21

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

I've been doing the 1.5 in a field.. uneven ground and such, would i be faster on tarmac?

On the day I think adrenaline and the fact that we will be running alongside eachother will help a lot

Maybe_Memories

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

I've been doing the 1.5 in a field.. uneven ground and such, would i be faster on tarmac?

I'd imagine you probably would be, especially if the grass is even a little high.

I haven't done a 1.5 mile run in quite a while. I've been sticking to 3-4 miles and a few hill sprint sessions. I'll do a hill session tomorrow, then a 1.5 mile best effort on Monday, then leave it at that before the test.

SasQuatch88

I wish ye's all the best of luck lads. Hope to be serving with ya's..

goldie fish

I'd advise anyone training on grass to continue training on grass. Too easy to pick up an injury running on hard tarmac and mess up your chances. You can run your legs off on tarmac on the day, when it matters.

Wills21

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

I wish ye's all the best of luck lads. Hope to be serving with ya's..

You too mate

Venema

i am out of shape at the moment so i went down and payed 240 euro for new weights pull up bars the lot to at least try get 10 sit ups and push ups in 1 min and of course im running a bit now struggling but i got 2 weeks hopefully i get some kind of fitness

Turbine

Venema wrote: »

i am out of shape at the moment so i went down and payed 240 euro for new weights pull up bars the lot to at least try get 10 sit ups and push ups in 1 min and of course im running a bit now struggling but i got 2 weeks hopefully i get some kind of fitness

It's 20 push-ups in 1min and 20 sit-ups in 1min.

Venema

may try twice as hard now !

Maybe_Memories

goldie fish wrote: »

I'd advise anyone training on grass to continue training on grass. Too easy to pick up an injury running on hard tarmac and mess up your chances. You can run your legs off on tarmac on the day, when it matters.

Very true. I run on tarmac, but I only run 3-4 times a week, at least one rest day in between and never have two hard sessions beside each other. I've also been training since last August, so I think my legs are pretty used to it by now.

SasQuatch88

Depends on how heavy you are, someone like meself, i'd get crippled with shin splints.. have to be careful.. only thing im really having trouble with is sit-ups.. they are ****ing hard.. anyone have any tips? besides practice, i'm doing that.

swimfast

passed navy test with flying colours fastest run in my group 7:11

Maybe_Memories

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

Depends on how heavy you are, someone like meself, i'd get crippled with shin splints.. have to be careful.. only thing im really having trouble with is sit-ups.. they are ****ing hard.. anyone have any tips? besides practice, i'm doing that.

Practice.

Really the only advice I have is to do sets of it. Like don't just crank out 20 sit-ups and leave it at that. What I do is 4 sets of 15 sit-ups. Might be beneficial to do some crossover crunches and some core-strengthening exercises like the plank and stuff like that.

swimfast wrote: »

passed navy test with flying colours fastest run in my group 7:11

7:11.... :eek:
That's incredible. You're surely a trained athlete right?

swimfast

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Practice.




7:11.... :eek:
That's incredible. You're surely a trained athlete right?

not at running do a little cross country but am a competitive swimmer only 4 ppl failed out of my group of 30 but like 30 didnt turn up

swimfast

thats 7:41 one btw my bad wrong button on number pad

SasQuatch88

Jesus ****ing christ.. 7:11
I'll be lucky if i get 10:00..
well done man..

swimfast

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

Jesus ****ing christ.. 7:11
I'll be lucky if i get 10:00..
well done man..

cheers man thatl be grand 9-11 was average

swimfast

and they dont even take your time down just tick a box i just had a watch on

Maybe_Memories

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

Jesus ****ing christ.. 7:11
I'll be lucky if i get 10:00..
well done man..

Getting under 10 is what I'm aiming for. Prior to about 8 months ago I never ran a day in my life so getting 9:59 and below will be a major achievement for me.

swimfast

the pt staff are brill for encouragement i must say made me wanna push it

SasQuatch88

That little boost in confidence will go a long way man cheers.. still want to go all out and do me best.. i want that place in a platoon, i would like to say moreso that others, but i dont know how everyone feels about it.. my test is on wednesday..

swimfast

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

That little boost in confidence will go a long way man cheers.. still want to go all out and do me best.. i want that place in a platoon, i would like to say moreso that others, but i dont know how everyone feels about it.. my test is on wednesday..

talking to people to day there are a lot doing it for the craic so hopefully they weed them out still havent made up my mind fully between army and navy leaning more the navy way though

Maybe_Memories

SasQuatch88 wrote: »

That little boost in confidence will go a long way man cheers.. still want to go all out and do me best.. i want that place in a platoon, i would like to say moreso that others, but i dont know how everyone feels about it.. my test is on wednesday..

Know exactly how you feel. I'm going for air corp. I don't have a degree and a medical condition which probably will disqualify me. But I'm still giving it my best shot this year, and when I get the condition fixed, I'll do it again, and again until I get it.

I'm on Wednesday as well out in Baldonnel!

swimfast

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Know exactly how you feel. I'm going for air corp. I don't have a degree and a medical condition which probably will disqualify me. But I'm still giving it my best shot this year, and when I get the condition fixed, I'll do it again, and again until I get it.

I'm on Wednesday as well out in Baldonnel!

no degree is necessary
im tommorrow in baldonnel i went for that too that be my main choice but only 5 places

Cathal_91

I'm doing mine 2moro in Dublin, I'll let people know what to expect, a friend of mine did it on Thursday and said some were failing the sit ups by lifting their feet off the ground, so that's one thing to remember.

John_D80

swimfast wrote: »

thats 7:41 one btw my bad wrong button on number pad

Outstanding. Fastest I ever heard of it being done was just over 7 mins, so that is an awesome time. Very well done.

Back in the day as an 18yo I did it in 8:30. And there was me thinking I was the dogs danglies.

I hope you have applied for the army as well. You'd be wasted in the navy bud

goldie fish

Yeah, cos all the army do is run around.

Imagine how good a swimmer he is? How good a diver he could be?

GO NAVY!

mufcboy1999

Its ridiculous how the main emphasis of the fitness test is on CV endurance, it's just favouring one component of fitness way too much.

Yes it's only the 2k which isn't much at all but at the same time it's a lot harder than just 20 press ups and sits up in a minute.

Very unbalanced test tbh. I know it's a test made for the average Civilian but theres no proper balance to it.

goldie fish

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

Its ridiculous how the main emphasis of the fitness test is on CV endurance, it's just favouring one component of fitness way too much.

Yes it's only the 2k which isn't much at all but at the same time it's a lot harder than just 20 press ups and sits up in a minute.

Very unbalanced test tbh. I know it's a test made for the average Civilian but theres no proper balance to it.

Its an entry test. You have to meach the minimum fitness level to go any further in the process..
When you get in the annual fitness tests are much more.... challenging.

John_D80

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

Its ridiculous how the main emphasis of the fitness test is on CV endurance, it's just favouring one component of fitness way too much.

Yes it's only the 2k which isn't much at all but at the same time it's a lot harder than just 20 press ups and sits up in a minute.

Very unbalanced test tbh. I know it's a test made for the average Civilian but theres no proper balance to it.

What would you suggest as an alternative?

mufcboy1999

John_D80 wrote: »

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

Its ridiculous how the main emphasis of the fitness test is on CV endurance, it's just favouring one component of fitness way too much.

Yes it's only the 2k which isn't much at all but at the same time it's a lot harder than just 20 press ups and sits up in a minute.

Very unbalanced test tbh. I know it's a test made for the average Civilian but theres no proper balance to it.

What would you suggest as an alternative?

For starters as far as the press ups and sits ups go, it should IMO be as many as you can get full stop not just the bare 20. Give the lads with a bit more physicality and strenght a chance to shine rather than just the ones who can run it no bother.

I can't see how 20 press ups and sits ups in a minute is comparable to a 2k run in 11 minutes , tbh it's geared towards the cv side of things. Maybe that's all the army is interested in but I would of taught to find the best possible soldiers in the country that the fitness test would of covered all components of fitness equally and fairly so that they could get the fittest possible lads in and not just a lad with cv to his name.

For instance theres lads out there who would run 2k no problem in the time given only to struggle to get 20 press ups , Iv seen it plenty a time, there upper body musclar strenght and endurance could be near non existent but if there given a whole minute to do 20 push ups , theyl do it.

So again imo if people were actually given the chance to bang out as many push ups and sit ups as they can combined with the CV test etc, my personal opinion would be that it would give the army a better reflection of who's who's in terms of overall fitness.

By the way I'm not bashing the way the test is at all or do I even have a problem with it, tbh im delighted its as easy as it is but i just cant help thinking how unbalanced it is from an actual fitness test point of view so I just taught I'd say it here hiding behind my computer rather than to the sergants face :P no one likes a know it all and it wouldn't be a great 1st impression .

John_D80

I see what you're getting at.

In my own opinion (not too far off your own by the sounds of it) the fitness test should be graded and not just a pass/fail. There should be a certain amount of 'points' available for each section of the fitness test and your total score should be recorded, clearly showing where everyone who passes the test has placed in relation to each other.

This score combined with your psychometric test and interview scores should be what determines who is chosen. But even under a system like this I think most points should be awarded for the interview phase. At least 50%.

Having said all that though, the fitness test as it is, serves its purpose just fine. It is intended a base indicator, giving the training staff a starting point for a platoon's physical training.

The importance of cardio in military fitness can not be stressed enough. There are other areas which count for a lot (especially UBS) but none come close to CV in my opinion. Doesn't matter if you can do a thousand pressups/situps, if you dont have it in the lungs, you're gonna calve in fine style the first time you meet a hill with a pack on your back.

mufcboy1999

Some good points and I agree with pretty much all of what you said.

I'm not for 1 minute stating that cv isn't as important or even more or less than the rest, but to be really classed as fit , you have to have a bit of everything in your locker and that's why I feel it should be a bit more balenced in terms of testing each component.

For me , 20 push ups and sit ups compared to a 2k run in 11 minutes is a bit much of a jump in terms of intensity but look its the way it is, we arnt going to change it

Donny5

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

For me , 20 push ups and sit ups compared to a 2k run in 11 minutes is a bit much of a jump in terms of intensity

2.4km in 11 minutes is a very easy cardio test, comparable to the 20 push-ups and crunches. The entry test as a whole is a piece of piss.

mufcboy1999

Donny5 wrote: »

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

For me , 20 push ups and sit ups compared to a 2k run in 11 minutes is a bit much of a jump in terms of intensity

2.4km in 11 minutes is a very easy cardio test, comparable to the 20 push-ups and crunches. The entry test as a whole is a piece of piss.

I wouldn't say it's very easy by any means to average civilian, anyone relatively fit would find it easy alright.

It's no where near comparable to just 20 push ups and sit ups , sorry.

Donny5

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

I wouldn't say it's very easy by any means to average civilian, anyone relatively fit would find it easy alright.

It's no where near comparable to just 20 push ups and sit ups , sorry.

I disagree. It, like the push-ups and crunches, is a piss-easy test, to determine that the candidate reaches a bare minimum level of fitness. I would say it's even easier than 20 push-ups. You do the test in PT gear, it's on the flat and you're fresh to boot. You'll see the fit people coming in at 8-9 minutes or faster.