The First-Ever Great Eastern Women’s IPPT

Close to 600 women turned up at the Singapore Sports Hub yesterday morning, to participate in the first-ever Great Eastern Women’s Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).

Comprised Of Push Ups, Sit Ups And 2.4km Run

Comprising of three different components – Push Ups, Sit Ups and 2.4km Run, the Great Eastern Women’s IPPT is a non-competitive fitness assessment to help women assess their fitness levels, set achievable fitness goals and track their future progress.

The point system had been referenced and adapted from the standards used by national servicewomen. Participants who obtained more than 51 points over the three stations achieved a GOOD grade and those who had more than 75 points would get a GREAT grade.

Three Time Sessions

In order to spread out the crowds and reduce any congestion, there had been three sessions throughout the morning, beginning at 9am, 10am, and 11am, respectively.

Joining The 10am Session

I joined the second session, arriving at the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Square just after 10am and I had myself registered and collected my number tag, before then hanging around watching the Sit Ups and Push Ups for the 9am session taking place.

Though it was scheduled to start at 10:30am according to the official event programme that I’d been given, my session began slightly later, at 10:40am, with a 10-minute briefing cum demonstration by the event’s partners, the Jump Rope Federation Singapore, about the benefits of Jump Rope and how this can be a good complementary sport for runners.

We Began At 11am

Then three of Singapore’s leading fitness trainers, Natalie Dau, Wany Misban and Roxanne Gan gave demonstrations on the correct form for the Sit Ups and Push Ups before we began at 11am starting with the Sit Ups, pairing up so that somebody could hold down our legs for the Sit Ups and and help to count our reps.

I thought that this partnering aspect was a great way to make new friends, too, and the lady whom I had paired with, was friendly and warm.

Emcee and DJ, Charmaine Yee, was present to provide live commentary and lead us ladies through Sit Ups and Push Ups segments of the Great Eastern Women’s IPPT.

And as well, throughout the two exercises, the three trainers continued to stay and cheer on the participants, walking around the masses of ladies and encouraging us.

My Sit Ups And Push Ups

Within the allocated one minute, I managed 44 Sit Ups and 48 Push Ups respectively – but both my core muscles and arms were aching by the end of it. Considering that I did not train specifically for this IPPT, I guess that I can be quite happy with this result.

2.4km Run At The 100PLUS Promenade

We then headed over to the 100PLUS Promenade where the 2.4km Run was to take place, beginning at Gate 2. Each round of the 100PLUS track is about 800 metres, so altogether, we would be running slightly less than three rounds – in order to make up the 2.4km distance.

Event host and emcee, Ross Sarpani, was waiting for us at the 100PLUS Promenade. He is a familiar face at running races and upon seeing me, he immediately greeted me with a friendly “hello” into his mic.

The last time that I had done a 2.4km Run was during my secondary school IPPT days, which was ages ago, so I had been quite interested to see how I would fare for this part of the IPPT.

The Flag Off

We had a couple of group photos taken before we were subsequently flagged off in a few batches, each one being about 10 seconds apart. in order to reduce congestion. I was part of the first batch, and when the signal was given, I went off, going with the crowd.

It had been rather hard to gauge what my actual pace was especially at the beginning because the 100PLUS track is partially covered and protected from the elements such as the sun and rain.

So I was running by feel, with my GPS constantly jumping back and forth, randomly from 4min/km to 6:30min/km. I guessed that my average pace was probably somewhere in between.

As the participants had been streaming past him, Ross also stressed that this was not a race, but rather, more of a gauge of our own personal fitness.

I had originally been aiming for about 12 to 13 minutes for this 2.4km Run – because this had roughly been the timing that I used to clock when I did the 2.4km station when taking the IPPT during my secondary school days.

But I surprised myself when I reached the finish line with an official time of 11 minutes 42 seconds and in third place amongst my group. So I guess that thanks to the regular running that I have been doing, I am slightly fitter now – compared to during my school days, when I didn’t do an ounce of exercise besides the IPPT.

My watch had also measured the run as being 2.6km instead, but I think that this was due to some inaccuracies with the GPS signal – due partly to the covered location of the track.

And unsurprisingly, Ross ambushed me again when I crossed the finish line, announcing to everyone who was listening, that “Pris Chew” had finished the 2.4km Run.

Tabulating My Scores

After catching my breath, I headed back to the OCBC Square to collect my results and have my score tabulated. I had accumulated 94/100 points in total.

My Finisher Entitlements

Then I headed to the counter next door to get my entitlements – which had included a limited-edition Great Eastern Women’s IPPT Tote Bag, a $10 Starbucks gift card, a Polar hot dog and an ice block lolly.

It would have been rather nice to receive a cash incentive like the NSmen get when they pass their IPPT – unfortunately that was not to be, though!

A Great Incentive By Great Eastern Women’s Run

I slowly munched on the ice lolly as I headed towards the Stadium MRT – to make my way back home, after a fruitful morning and an intense yet fun workout session. This sure was much more enjoyable – compared to the competitiveness of my secondary school IPPT sessions!

I would say that the Great Eastern Women’s IPPT had been a great incentive by the Great Eastern Women’s Run – to get ladies together to motivate and encourage each other, in the spirit of fitness and health.

After all, the atmosphere throughout the Great Eastern Women’s IPPT had been very positive and motivating, with everyone in high spirits whilst having some fun and friendly competition regardless of our personal fitness level.

And said Keith Chia, Head, Group Brand and Marketing, Great Eastern, “With this new incentive, we have once again upped the ante to provide ladies an additional opportunity to better understand their body in their fitness journey.”

He continued, “It is also very exciting for us to continuously witness how this community of women from all walks of life and fitness levels grow stronger – running, training, and living better.”