Enlisting? Tips to Prepare for NS

Every national serviceman (NSF) is trained vigorously to defend Singapore, which invariably involves achieving high levels of physical and combat fitness though intense physical training and activities.

Exercises to Prepare for NS

Preparation for enlistment should involve building cardiovascular endurance and strength. Certain exercises are especially helpful towards preparing for fitness tests. Functional training could also improve combat fitness.

Some recommendations include:

• Running to improve cardiovascular endurance and stamina
• Circuit training to improve muscle strength and stamina
• Bodyweight exercises
  • Push-ups and sit-ups are particularly important as they are part of the physical fitness tests, and part and parcel of a typical NSFs’s life.
  • Pull-ups
• Functional training involves incorporating exercises that mimic movements performed during military activities such as carrying heavy loads, crawling and climbing.
• Flexibility training is often neglected but is crucial in improving flexibility and reducing one’s risk of injury.

Prevention of injuries is an essential part of the process of increasing one’s fitness. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Suffering an injury means abstaining from certain physical activities; such an event could set one back significantly.

Here are some key measures to prevent injuries while preparing for NS and also during NS:

• Proper warm up
  Warm up should include stretching and movements specific to the activities planned for the session.
• Correct technique
  Improper technique and form invariably increases the risks of injury.
• Gradual progression
• Stay hydrated
  Adequate hydration is absolutely necessary for various activities and also to avoid heat injury.
• Nutrition
  Resist the temptation of overeating based on the assumption that physical activity has increased. Unwanted weight gain adversely affects and lowers fitness levels and potentially increases the risk of injury.
• Adequate rest and recovery
  One should take it easy if an injury occurs. It is not an advantage to push through an injury that may lead to more long-term damage.
• Warm down
  At the end of every training session, it is important that one completes with an adequate warm down to reduce muscle soreness and improve flexibility.

Many will agree that NS tends to be easier with good fitness, hence the benefit of building up fitness prior to enlistment. It is important to adopt a positive attitude towards the rigors of training. The body adapts in due course, and with improved fitness and strength, these activities gets easier day by day.

Learn how NS builds heart health here.

Article contributed by Dr Paul Lim, cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Parkway East Hospital, Singapore.