New IPPT motivates SAF servicemen to do well and keep fit

27 February 2015

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Good physical fitness of our servicemen and women is the foundation of the SAF's operational readiness. Physical fitness is also a personal responsibility. In Jul 2014, the SAF announced a new IPPT format to help servicemen take greater ownership of their fitness. The key features of the new 3-station IPPT format are:

a. A test format which can be incorporated into servicemen's daily fitness routine and will motivate them to take greater ownership of their fitness;

b. Point based scoring system to motivate servicemen to achieve personal excellence; and

c. More age categories to allow for better performance-to-age match.

The Army conducted a pilot implementation of the new IPPT from Sep to Dec 2014, where about 5000 servicemen and servicewomen of different vocations and age groups took part. This included NSFs, NSmen, Active Servicemen and Servicewomen.

Findings from Pilot Study

Overall, servicemen across all categories and levels of fitness not only maintained their level of fitness, many of them were motivated to do even better than before.

a. Although the push-up station is new, 74% achieved average and above average performance when referenced against international standards. Without the need for specialised training equipment or the use of special techniques, the push-up station allows servicemen to adequately prepare and therefore do well.

b. For sit-ups and 2.4km run, many servicemen also showed marked improvements. 88% improved or maintained their performance for sit-ups and 73% for the 2.4km run.

The Pilot Implementation also showed that there is potential to challenge fitter servicemen to do even better in their IPPT.

Encouraging Excellence

The SAF will implement the new IPPT with effect from 1 Apr 2015. The requirement for push-ups will be adjusted to (i) "arms comfortably by the side" (see Picture 1 on the right) and (ii) lower body till a fist's distance from the ground to better cater to the individual differences between servicemen. The points scoring system will remain, and based on the findings from the pilot implementation, the following adjustments were made:

a. New performance standards for Gold and Silver Awards to challenge fitter servicemen (see Table 1 below).

b. Improved scoring table to motivate servicemen to do their best for each station (see Tables 2 to 7). [If you encounter problem viewing the below PDFs on Firefox browser, please try using other browsers like Internet Explorer or Chrome]

Table caption

Pass/Award Type	Pilot Standards	New Standards
Gold (Commando/Guards)	>85	>90
Gold	>81	>85
Silver	>71	>75
Pass with Incentive (NSmen) Pass (Active)	>61	>61
Pass (NSmen)	>51	>51

Table 1: Revised Gold and Silver Standards

Implementation of the New IPPT from 1 Apr 2015

The SAF will implement the new IPPT from 1 Apr 2015 for all SAF personnel. NSmen will be given a year from 1 Apr 2015 to continue with the 5-station format or to attempt their IPPT under the 3-station format. From 1 Mar 2015, a new Physical Training Phase (PTP) exemption criteria for National Service will also be applied for combat fit (i.e. PES A/B1) pre-enlistees when they take their NAPFA test with push-ups. Pre-enlistees will have to achieve 61 points and above to be exempted from PTP.

New IPPT Motivates SAF Servicemen and Women to do Well and Keep Fit

Physical fitness is a personal responsibility and the SAF aims to help our servicemen take greater ownership of their fitness. The 3-station IPPT test format and scoring system will motivate more servicemen to take greater ownership of their fitness, and in doing so raise the overall level of fitness in the SAF.