IT standards changed ?

[trellheim]

Grasshopper notes in another thread that the IT's [ Fitness tests, for you newbies ] have equalised for males and females.


Any word on the truth of this ?

If so can we get the new and amended Qual times etc off anyone. A board member had published the current ones many moons ago and I still have them

or is this the enlistment fitness test.

[DeV]

Grasshopper is basising his/her info on that on the net. If it is from military.ie (don't know about it intranet) he/she has misread as it still says on the DF site - 11.5 minutes males and 13 minutes females for 1.5 miles.

[apod]

Only the time for part three has been equalised.

[Grasshopper]

sorry my mistake the last time I checked it had only the 11mins 30 there was no 13 mins, have they changed the male time its just I always taught it was 10 mins for the males

[DeV]

No has been 11.5 minutes since at least 1998.

[Bravo20]

Just checked military.ie, I had originally made the same mistake as Grasshopper. Military.ie isn't very good with formatting. On their physical fitness section they have:

Males Females
11 min 30 Sec 13 mins

[apod]

so its the enlistment test we are talking about.not the i.ts?

[hedgehog]

Theres a new sit up as well

[ODIN]

whats this new sit up lik then?

[trellheim]

Military.ie is the enlistment PT test not the ITs

There was always a [Females add x seconds ] . It was still the same in May, AFAIK; has it changed since ?

[Bravo20]

Maybe I should resend my post. Because of the poor formatting on military.ie it appears that there is only 1 time, when in actual fact it gives the times for both males and females.

on Military.ie it states

MalesFemales
11min 30sec 13min

The tab function doesn't work on this site either but if you put in a space between Male and Female and space between the 30sec and 13min it is clear.

Males: 11min 30sec
Females: 13min

[IHatePukes]

whats this new sit up lik then?

They will no longer use the standard sit-up (fingers interlocked behind head).



The new way-

Lie down in the normal start position and place your hands on the front of your hips. Sit-up - sliding your hands up your leg until palms are over knee cap, then back to start position.



Apparently it provides a more accurate assessment of torso strength.

Last I heard it was awaiting final approval but it will definitely be coming in.

[Truck Driver]

Found this article in the online "Soldier" (British Army version of An Cosantoir)....

Breaking Point

THE grit and determination of most female recruits is plain to see when you visit any mixed Army training unit. But unfortunately the desire to compete against their male counterparts is causing a growing number of female soldiers to push themselves beyond breaking-point.

The figures speak for themselves. Female recruits in mixed platoons are, on average, three to four times more likely to be injured and medically discharged during training compared with their male colleagues.

Research has also shown that these drop-out rates can double at some training units.
In a bid to address the problem the Army Training and Recruitment Agency (ATRA) has decided to place all Standard Entry recruits in single-sex platoons from next year, ending a decade of mixed training.

The shake-up is expected to reduce injury and medical discharge rates and boost the number of women who successfully pass out and ultimately increase the number of injury-free female soldiers in the Army.

The ten-year flirtation with mixed-sex units was initially seen by some as a milestone for equality, but now Army and medical experts agree that a single-sex regime actually helps women.

Dr James Bilzon, senior scientific adviser to the Army Training and Recruitment Agency, explained that female recruits were suffering high levels of what he called “training-related over-use injuries” including painful stress fractures of the shin and thigh bones.

This, he explained, was because women’s bodies are, on average, less able to cope with the sudden increase in rigorous exercise at the start of training.

An increase in pelvic injuries has also been reported as female recruits try to keep up with male stride patterns.

Dr Bilzon said: “On average women are shorter, have less muscle mass, carry more fat mass, have lower muscle strength and endurance and a lower level of aerobic fitness.

“There is a high incidence of training-induced overuse injuries and associated medical discharges among trainees with lower levels of aerobic fitness, particularly females.

“Furthermore, female recruits are three to four times more likely than males to be medically discharged with a training injury, a figure that may be as high as nine times in some training units.”

And the facts and figures ring true in real life. Lt Col Stuart Barnard, commanding officer at the Army Training Regiment Winchester, said: “Girls get injured more often than the boys and take longer to recover.

“Pelvic fractures are common among the girls because they are often smaller but try to keep up with the boys’ stride pattern.

“We believe we can’t quite reduce the injury rate to one-to-one but that we can cut wastage among the girls.”

The move back to single-sex units has been given the support of officers and cadets at Army Training Regiment Pirbright.

Capt Julie Finn, RLC, commander of Rogerson Troop, 96 Squadron, said: “It must be quite frustrating for the fittest girls to always be behind the boys and even more frustrating for the weaker girls who feel they’re holding everyone up.

“That’s when people push themselves too hard and injuries happen.”

By April next year the Army Training Regiment Pirbright (ATR Pirbright) will be the only unit where the Standard Entry female recruits conduct their initial training. Junior Entry female recruits will continue to be trained at ATR Bassingbourn and the Army Foundation College at Harrogate.

The regime within the female-only platoons will be exactly the same as before, with the same physical tests and standards except for one important difference – the pace at the very start of training will be geared to minimise the risk of injury.

(Courtesy of "Soldier" Magazine)

[Grasshopper]

I actually agree although Im abit stubborn at the start to admit it that does make sence, sine I left the army My knee, my back havent been the same and its taking me a long time to recover because I was back platooned and too stubbern not to go on ld with my injurys they got worse and also you always trying to prove to the ncos that you wanna be there and that you can do it just as well as the lads but I was but the sad fact is a fella that does all the things like a routh march with full pack and a women doing the same more and likely the women is going to be injured when finished wheres a lad wont be.

[DeV]

Is this then an argument against females undertaking such training? - at the end of recruit and 3* training you should be fit and well enough to do the job - you can't do it to your full ability if you are suffering permanent injury and discomfort, whether you are male or female.

This isn't aimed directly at you grasshopper as I know very well motivated people who are in similar positions and happen to be male.