What is PES and why does it matter for training?
PES is the Physical Employment Standard, the medical grade CMPB assigns after your pre-enlistment medical screening. CMPB describes PES A and B1 as suitable for combat vocations, B2 to B4 for some combat and combat support vocations, C and E for support vocations, and F as unfit for service. Your PES decides which basic training you do and, until October 2027, whether you can take the pre-enlistee IPPT.
MINDEF announced in April 2026 that a refreshed medical classification system will grade pre-enlistees enlisting from October 2027, with screening for that cohort starting from end-June 2026. If you enlist before then, the PES rules apply; if after, watch OneNS for your notification. Either way, be honest at the medical: training around an undeclared condition is how enlistees get hurt.
How does the pre-enlistee IPPT shorten NS?
The NS Portal states that a pre-enlistee who attains at least 61 points across the three IPPT stations, with at least 1 point at each, may be eligible for an 8-week reduction in full-time NS, because they skip the 8-week Physical Training Phase and go direct to basic training. The score must be attained at least two weeks before the PTP enlistment date. Otherwise, you do the PTP.
CMPB adds the logistics: the test runs on Wednesdays except public holidays at the CMPB Fitness Conditioning Centre, bookings via OneNS close at 12pm on the Tuesday before, and a result stays valid for one year. Before October 2027 you can attempt it if you are PES A or B1; from October 2027 eligible enlistees will be told via OneNS. What 61 points looks like at your age is in IPPT score by age.
What does BMI change?
CMPB states that if your BMI is above 27.0, your basic training will be 19 weeks, a programme designed to help recruits improve fitness progressively. BMI is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. If you are near that line six months out, a steady fat-loss phase with strength work protects your muscle and gives you a real chance of the shorter programme. Crash dieting the last month does the opposite.
That means eating properly, not eating less: protein at every meal, hawker choices such as sliced fish soup, chicken rice with less skin and rice, or thunder tea rice, and cutting the sweet drinks. Our hawker eating guide covers the swaps in detail.
What should you build first?
The run, because it is 50 of the 100 points and the slowest to change. Then push-ups and sit-ups as short daily sets, because they respond within weeks. Underneath both, a basic strength base of squats, hinges, rows and carries, because BMT is route marches, obstacle courses and load carriage, not just IPPT, and MINDEF describes the combat fitness regime as exactly that.
- Run: three times a week from week one; easy runs first, intervals and tempo later.
- Push-ups and sit-ups: five minutes most days, timed minute twice a week.
- Strength: two sessions a week; goblet squats, split squats, hip hinge, rows, farmer's carries.
- Feet and legs: walk more, in the shoes you will train in; BMT punishes soft feet and weak calves.
- Sleep and heat: seven hours or more, and train outdoors at the times of day you will be tested.
The walking is not filler. Route marches carry a load over distance, and the enlistees who suffer most are the ones whose feet and calves have never done more than the walk to the MRT. A long walk each week, building from 45 minutes to two hours by month four, in the trainers you run in, builds the feet, the calves and the patience that BMT asks for. It is also the safest way to add volume for anyone who is carrying extra weight.
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What does a 6-month phased plan look like?
| Phase | Weeks | Running | Strength and stations | Milestone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 1-8 | 3 easy runs, building to 30 min; one longer walk | 2 strength sessions; daily station sets at half max | Full mock at week 8, entered in the NS Portal calculator |
| Build | 9-18 | 2 easy runs + 1 interval or tempo session | 2 strength sessions; timed station minutes twice a week | Book the first pre-enlistee IPPT around week 16-18 |
| Sharpen | 19-24 | 1 easy + 1 pacing run at target 2.4km pace + 1 short interval session | 1 strength session; stations at test pace; taper the last week | Second IPPT attempt if needed, at least two weeks before PTP enlistment |
Book the first attempt early enough to have a second. A result is valid for a year, so passing in month four gives you the reduction and lets the last two months focus on the strength and marching base that BMT actually tests. If the first attempt misses, the 8-week pass plan is the structure for the second.
How do you avoid the injuries that derail enlistment?
Most pre-enlistment injuries are shin pain, knee pain, ankle sprains and lower-back strain, and almost all come from doing too much too soon in the final month. Increase weekly running by a small amount, never add speed and distance in the same week, keep one rest day, and treat pain that changes how you walk as a reason to stop and get checked by a doctor or physiotherapist, not to push through.
If you have an existing condition, an old injury, asthma or anything a doctor has flagged, get cleared before starting a plan and declare it at your medical. This page is general information, not medical advice. HealthHub's guidance on form and on returning to exercise safely applies word for word to a 17-year-old who has not run since Secondary 2.
What can a parent usefully do?
Book the medical and the IPPT slot early, keep the fridge stocked with real food, and find somewhere to run that is safe at 7am and 7pm, whether a park connector, a stadium track or the loop around the estate. Then step back. A coach who is not a parent is often the difference for a 17-year-old, because the plan comes from someone they do not argue with, and sessions can run at home, the condo gym or an HDB fitness corner; see IPPT and NAPFA coaching.