Dummies Guide to Conducting RT

RT(Remedial Training) is the fear of most Singaporean men i must say. For every session when i meet new faces, the first thing i ask from my RT men will be "Anyone of you came to RT on volunteery basis?" and the response broke into a second of very very cold silence before the guys finally gave me a bit of a chuckle. And this has become my ice-breaker for every "freshmen" batch that i take. Today i'm going to show you guys how i go about conducting an RT session the "Dexter's Style".

In general, there are 2 aspects of the RT men that i'm going to touch on: the physical aspects and the mental / personality aspects.


Now let's look at what are the physical aspects of the RT men. They are clearly broken down into 3 different groups:

1) Failed Running and defaulters
2) Failed static stations and running
3) Obese/overweight

There are different ways of handling each individual groups as they have different needs and ultimately you have to understand that, coming to RT isn't much of their choice.

How to tackle group 1 - Failed Running and defaulters?
For this group of people, your objective is only to whack them on high intensitive running over first half of their schedule, then on technical aspect during the second half of the schedule. Defaulters are people who failed to take their IPPT during their previous window, therefore it's most likely they will pass after their phase 1 test, so more attention must be given to those near pass crowd. Seeing them shake my hand and say, "Eh PTI, for my whole life i never pass my 2.4km run before but you proved me wrong!" is my greatest satisfaction.

Adopt a "Routine-Tactical Trainer" style whereby a routine will repeat every weekly. A daily routine will only bore them. Because of intensive training, the tactical part is important.

For Eg. tuesday and sunday group will get higher intensive training on tuesdays and lighter one on sunday; wednesday and saturday group will get a farely balanced intensive difference; thursday and sunday group will get a tougher training on sunday.

How to tackle group 2 - Failed static stations and running?
For this group of people, your objective is to target their weakest station, for some is either chin-up or standing broad jump including running. This group will expect the toughest training for the fact that more areas need to be improved in order for them to pass their IPPT. Focus your attention on the near pass population. Achieving a better-than-average passing percentile is my greatest satisfaction.

Adopt a "Motivational-Tactical trainer" style whereby you motivate them for the fact that they have a bigger obstacle to clear compared to the previous group. Therefore as an instructor, keep them highly motivated and encourage them. Do train your men tactically in such a way that you do not over-train them in one specific area. Isolate your training to one or two areas for one session and another area on the other so that they can have enough rest in between.

For Eg. Either go hard SBJ trg and light chin-up trg + gym conditioning for session #1 of the week then hard run and gym conditioning for session #2 of the week.

How to tackle group 3 - Obese/overweight?
For this group of people, expect the least hope of passing IPPT. Your objective is to help them cut off excess fats as much as possible. Do keep in mind that this bunch of people have no intention of passing their IPPT so scrape away the idea of getting them to be on the ball. Give them high repetition training over a longer period and give extra precaution to their joints. Focus your attention on one particular joker who will crack up the whole gang with laughters.

Adopt a "Joker-Tinkerman trainer" style whereby you crack some jokes to make their day. This is the bunch that you need to spend the most time "buying" their heart by communicating. Be a tinkerman and get your brain ready to create something out of nothing. This is how you make training interesting and if possible, keep every session as unique as possible. Instill some team-spirit, self-motivation technique, and some psychomotor training which they will find it difficult to execute and yet not shagging them out easily. Seeing them perspire happily is my greatest satisfaction.



Now that you've learnt the physical aspects of the RT men. It's time to go deeper into them: understanding and handling each and every individual. Let's go into the mental/personality aspects. You can find them in every group, trust me. The following ways are ways of gaining their acceptance.

1) Mr. Garang
2) Mr. Chao Geng
3) Mr. Low Profile
4) Mr. Talk Cock
5) Mr. Know-it-all
6) Mr. Hokkien Peng


Till now i can only come out with 5 different classes of RT men. If you have more to state, pls feel free to add in! Some individual can actually have more than one of the above characteristic, so do not be surprised.

How to handle Mr. Garang?
He will be very siao on in training. Make him your role model and u'll be given thumb's up.

How to handle Mr. Chao Geng?
There might be a reason behind his doing. Find out why he's doing so. Is the training too tough?? is he not feeling well?? if those are not his reason, i make sure he doesnt geng too obvious and affect the rest.

How to handle Mr. Low Profile?
He is quiet and seldom talk. So, do 1-to-1 talk with him.

How to handle Mr. Talk Cock?
He wants attention and is very influential, make him the "CSM" of the team and he will soar and move the team.

How to handle Mr. Know-it-all?
Lend him your ears for at least 5mins.

How to handle Mr. Hokkien peng?
Converse in hokkien and swear at them jokingly. they LOVE it im serious!


That's all folks. Training RT isn't an art, it's a skill that needs to be perfected. Play a good role and meet your objectives; Win hearts and give welfare, do not use conventional ways against conventional soldiers.

Good Luck!
3SG Dexter Huang
BFCC