Aerobic Test
Have you seen 'aerobic test' mentioned before? If you have, then what is the point of training for it? Quite simply, with the right preparation and a little bit of time, you will perform better.
What's The Point?
There are many times when it might benefit you to consider training for an aerobic test. For example, many organizations, such as the police or the armed forces, have entry tests you must pass if you want to be accepted onto a training program.
By training for an aerobic test, you can dramatically improve your fitness and thus your chances of success.
What Do You Need?
What you will need to prepare depends largely on the nature of the actual test the most typical is a timed run. For British Army recruits, the current standard is a 1.5-mile (2.4km) run, completed in less than 14 minutes.
All that would be required to prepare for this would be a good pair of running shoes and a stopwatch.
How Do You Do The Test?
For the running test described above, the following training program would be appropriate:
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Run 20 minutes, twice per week
- Interval training, twice per week
The 20-minute run should be non-stop, and will gradually build your aerobic capacity. If you cannot currently run 20 minutes non-top, start by alternating blocks of running and walking (e.g. 2 minutes walking, two minutes running).
As your fitness improves, increase the running and reduce the walking, until you are able to run the 20 minutes non-stop.
Interval sessions should be as follows:
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Warm up (five minutes easy jogging)
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Repeat the following eight times: Sprint 30 seconds; walk back to your starting point (allow 90 seconds for this)
- Cool down (five minutes easy jogging)
The interval sessions will improve your anaerobic fitness, and ultimately, your running speed.
What Results Will You See?
Performing these workouts regularly will dramatically improve your fitness.
What's Being Measured Again?
This is an effective way to train for an aerobic test such as the British Army recruits timed run.
