Well I finally got in and got my fitness test and medical done today.
For those who haven‘t done it yet and are still curious about the particulars I will tell you about my experience.
First thing, after having a baseline vitals (heart rate)done, was the step test. In practice on the fire escape at my apartment, I was easily doing twice the speed that is used during the test. It was almost like simply walking up stairs, not running. Even with good practice and good heart rates prior to taking this test, I washed out after the second interval. I am inclined to believe that nervousness played some part in the heart rate, however, I was told it was average to end on this stage. Another who was with me also failed after the second interval, however he was talked to about his heart rate being much too high at that point, he was below average.
Next was the grip test. Pretty straight forward, a device that you squeeze measures the grip strength. I had 112kg combined grip strength, better than even the fireman who was there, so I felt ok about that. 75kg is minimum
Following that was the pushups. He told me in no uncertain terms that 30-40 is a good number for infantry candidates, minimums are not good. Now I usually do 40+ pushups and end up stopping before I reach true failure. Today I did 30. They are hard. Unless you are practicing them in true military form, be prepared for a rude suprise. He made me put my hands so close together that my thumbs could touch, I had to look straight forward and touch my chin to the floor. I hit true failure halfway through the 31st pushup. However, afterward he was happy with my number and said it was "good". Keep in mind though, 30 isn‘t 40+, good can still be a little disappointing.
Also to give you a little more perspective, there is a sign posted on the wall that says something to the effect that, "if you achieve the minimum objectives, it makes for an undesireable candidate."
Plus, the guy who ran the test was trying to motivate another guy who was looking at doing the minimums, but ended up just saying "I guess you are just one of the minimum type guys, you will need to improve or you are going to have a very hard time if you get to basic."
Lastly was the situps, very simple, one of the other candidates held my feet and counted while the instructor watched the time. He told me that equaling my pushups would make for a good score. I ended up doing 40, everyone was supportive and yelling at me "come on, you can do it, when it looked like I might not pull off the 40th before the time ran out. The last one literally took me about 7-10 seconds to do, it was kind of funny sitting there stuck halfway through a situp, trying to dig deep to get it done. The record at this recruiting location is 64. The fireman who was there did 52.
When it was over, I was told, along with the fireman, that we were somewhere between average, and above average candidates. Whereas the other guy ( who did slightly over minimums) was told he needed to do some work on improving, and that his scores could affect his chances.
The medical is just a formality if you are healthy. You are basically just relaying your medical history, and having a quick physical. Very painless, quite fast, but a word of advice may be, to bring letters from the family doctor detailing any significant injuries, surgeries, or allergies that you have been treated for. (example: My file, and interview, are on hold now until I produce documentation detailing my present allergy status to bee venom, since I haven‘t been stung since I was 10, it is unknown if I still have the allergy. Basically I need to go get tested, and bring back the results. Also I need a note from my doctor saying my broken leg from last year, is now %100. Since the Doctor was an Orthopedic surgeon, I may be looking at about 6 weeks for his office to process this kind of document.)
It may be worthwhile to start looking into these kinds of possibilities ahead of time. Just in case, to save extra delay time on your file.
Anyway, I hope maybe someone out there can find this info usefull. Also, just in case the message didn‘t come through clearly, whatever anyone else said about the physical test results not being a factor in the selection process, I was told the opposite today. Especially if you are going infantry. Minimums are a trap, not a safety net, don‘t fall into them.
