Personal Trainer Singapore – Coach Jonathan Wong

I have decided to resurrect my old IPPT training website! I have so many questions about the training for IPPT especially the broad jump and the chin-up. It is still being constructed but will be updated as I put my IPPT training articles back online!

65 days of this...? you need to get muscular!

We have several clients who are in the armed forces. They inculde units such as the Naval Diving Unit, the Commandos and even more “normal” units such as the medical corps and the air force.

Besides the IPPT which is something we love to help people train for, there are other challenges that we help clients with such as their unit’s specialized tests and the Ranger course.

The ranger course is special because you can’t really “train” for it in a regular way that you can for normal tests like the broad jump. There is really not way to train to survive 30km fast marches on little sleep and food.

The idea is to survive it while remaining healthy and performing well in your body and in your mind to get that coveted Ranger tab on your uniform.

The key to this is similar to what I do with athletes in the competitive season. Get as muscular as possible!

Similar to an athelte in a long season of sports, the soldier in the ranger course is going to be worn down because of the amount of work that needs to be performed. And the thing that takes the biggest hit when you are wearing down is your muscle size (when you are stressed and overworked which is the case here, your body will choose to DUMP muscular weight).

Besides looking bad (haha) losing muscle mass has one VERY bad side effect. It destroys your immune system! You will notice that skinny frail people even in daily life, get sick more often without the stress of minimal food and excessive exercise.

That is the key problem that we face. And that is why, if you are in such a long and stressful program like the ranger course, you need to actually get more muscular before the course starts so that you have “muscle to spare” and a stronger immune system as you enter the tough phases of the course.

How much muscle should you gain? I suggest yo be 15kg over your regular weight in muscle (not a fatty please) before the 2 month course starts. You will do alot better this way:) Thats exactly what our personal training programs for clients who are going for stuff like this do. The programs are not just for losing weight and burning fat, its for getting strong lean muscle mass too.

One of the best sayings is that “you don’t run to get fit”, you “get fit to run”. Today one of my personal training clients experienced it first hand. Before joining the gym he had been running/jogging recreationally around his home. His usual route took him 25 mins.

Do you think this is the best way to improve your 2.4km run for IPPT or NAPFA?

After 2 months training with us, he tried the route just for fun and it took – 17 mins. This is a 8 minute improvment! 30% improvement! Outstanding.

He has gotten alot stronger in training and it is carrying over to running. Do you think, that even with 2 months of running training he could improve 8mins? I think not!

Just another example of running not being the best way to improve running…
Read more about why joggers need strength training here!

I am very grateful that my company and I appeared in the March 2008 edition of Pioneer Magazine. The reason I managed to get that publicity is because of our success in helping national servicemen of all ages and fitness levels do well in their IPPT test.

But I was thinking that I could do even better. I myself had big NAPFA problems in the past. Especially for the 2.4km run as well as the sit and reach. I’m gonna build this site so I can help young people do well in this test.

Learning how to train correctly and effectively at a young age builds confidence and competence. Confidence and competence build compliance. And that leads to long term health. So my Pre NS training program is designed to maximize each young person’s performance so that they get long term health results!

As a fitness instructor here in Singapore I always take a look at how Singapore residents behave so I can help them achieve their fat loss, weight loss and fitness goals better! Here are some my observations about the way us Singaporeans approach their health and exercise.

• We DO have the time – If only we watched less TV and played less World of Warcraft
• We can achieve great health with only 3 hours of proper training per week – If we are eating the correct foods and taking care of our nutrition instead of letting what hawkers and restaurants sell us be our guide.
• Cardio is NOT bad for health – It is good to stay healthy so some activity like going for walks and playing sports recreationally is good for us!
• Cardio is BAD for fat loss – especially if we have limited time, it is simply not challenging enough for our bodies to force us to lose fat
• Women are motivated by encouragement – in general
• Men are motivated by challenge – in general
• Many people have poor hip function and mobility – leading to knee and back problems
• Many people have poor upper back posture and weak middle and upper back muscles – leading to shoulder and neck problems
• Barefoot training is really helping my clients with their foot/ankle health as well as their balance but DON’T buy those shoes with “5 toes”. They mess up your toe function and make you have knee pain!
• Warming up is very important – so is static stretching during the end of the day. But the warm up has to be specific for the task. For example, if you are warming up for squats, do squats! If you are warming up for soccer or basketball, you will need to add in some movement and running drills in multiple directions – specific to the task.

Putting these observations into practice is how we come up with out personal training programs as well as our fitness bootcamp, athlete training programs and Pre National Service training packages