Physical Development with Gurkha Recruit Intake 23

By Trainee Rifleman Dilip Rai, 6 (Assaye) Platoon

There is a saying, ‘good health is not something we can buy, but is a valuable saving investment for life.’ Health plays a vital role in our daily lives and there are many ways of improving our personal health. Placing emphasis on the physical development of our bodies is one of these, keeping ourselves active and as close to our physical prime as possible.

Physical development involves a broad range of activities, such as running and lifting. I have always been conscious of my physical health and so have involved myself in such activities for a long time. While preparing myself to join the military, I focussed mainly on my running ability. However, I have now started to receive training in multiple strength and conditioning exercises.

On average, we do two physical training activities per week, however this is sometimes increased with additional activities. Our physical development sessions so far have primarily focused on our lifting techniques, improving our ability to move weight under control during movements such as squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses.

Our physical training also involves circuit training, and this involves using conditioning equipment and techniques such as cycling and ski-erg machines, burpees, press-ups, planking, and other core strengthening exercises. Initially, I found it very difficult in these circuits as it was entirely different to how I had trained my body before. However, I am push hard in every session, and I am beginning to get used to the style of training and find that my body is responding better to the challenges that it faces each week. I am looking forward to seeing how my body changes and progresses during the rest of my time in training at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick.