- The Royal Navy’s annual Physical Fitness Test is designed to ensure that sailors are fit for all eventualities.
- They have to run 2.4 kilometers in a specified period of time, depending on age and gender.
- A 20-year-old man, for example, would have to complete the race in 12 minutes and 16 seconds.
Becoming a sailor in the Royal Navy is no mean feat, either as an officer or as a sailor. Physical fitness is one of many requirements, both to get in and to keep your job.
Every year, sailors in the UK naval force are required to take an aptitude test to show that they are fit to fight, serve and do their job, whether at sea or on shore.
Even though sailors no longer have to rig sails, climb, and pull ropes on ships, and technological developments have seen an increase in computer and machine-based jobs within the Navy, sailors are still required to maintain a basic level of fitness, petty officer paul todd he told Insider during a recent backstage visit to HMS Raleigh.the base in England where he is in charge of physical preparation.
Recruits during an initial military fitness session on HMS Raleigh.
Emli Bendixen for Insider
Because? Because they need to be prepared for all eventualities.
The annual physical fitness test is currently being reviewed and is likely to change in the near future, Todd said. But for now, boaters can choose to run 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) in a period of time determined by their age and gender, or take a beep test, which involves running between two points in time. to a beep that gradually speeds up. up, until you fail. Sailors have to reach a certain level according to their age and gender.
All boaters must prepare for the worst.
After Royal Navy recruits and officer cadets go through what is known as initial military aptitude in their basic training, it becomes more specialized depending on their branch (submariners, for example, learn to exercise in a confined space). and are also encouraged to find ways to doing exercise that they like.
However, everyone has to take the annual physical fitness test.
The physical standard is currently based on the VO2 max required for firefighting duties, Todd said. VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen you can use during a workout or strenuous activity and is used as a measure of fitness.
While some people argue that it’s not relevant to have sailors run 1.5 miles because they would never run on a ship, it’s simply a way to measure a person’s VO2 max, regardless of their role, Todd said.
“Whether you’re a chef, an engineer, a PT, the captain of the ship, everyone needs to be able to do that job,” Todd said. “It’s all about putting on a breathing apparatus and being able to fight a fire. We’re all deployable in the Navy, and while we’re not all at sea, we could be.”
IMF sessions last up to 90 minutes.
Emli Bendixen for Insider
Even if a sailor is ashore for years, the run o The beep test is still “really valuable,” because it effectively provides a health-based technical inspection, Todd said.
“Whether you’re in the military or not, it’s nice to have that knowledge that you’ll be able to run with your grandkids when the time comes, you won’t be sick or struggling,” Todd said.
In the future, physical requirements will become more specialized based on a person’s role, with updated fitness tests that could come into play 12 months from now, Todd said.
“The new fitness test will be more task-specific,” Todd said. One component, for example, might be to simulate the lifting of a victim and make sure people have the strength and technique to do it safely.
Royal Navy Annual Physical Fitness Test
Here are the current pace times for the 1.5-mile race:
