My only worry is the bleep test. what can I do to improve on it?

Good Morning and thanks for your question,

I fully understand why you might be concerned about the fitness side of joining the army, but i can assure you that there are plenty of people to help you to get to the standard you need to be. Best ways to train are simply by getting out and running. Vary your distances and the intensity too, bringing in different types of training such as incorporating sprints and other exercises into your run. By doing this, you'll see an improvement in your ability and the time it takes you to cover some of these distances too, with that, i would always recommend you to time your run, that way you can see where you are improving and use that as another motivational tool.

If you're struggling with the bleep test specifically, one thing to do is to simply practice it. Set out two cones or two identifiable objects 20 metres apart with either a speaker or some headphones and you should be able to find the bleep test online to playback and use to your advantage. If you're not quite at the standard you need to be then don't worry, keep practicing and using the exercises i mentioned and hopefully you'll begin to see an improvement.

Another thing to remember is that you wont be sent to Assessment Centre for your Fitness assessment until both you and your recruiter know that you're ready, otherwise it'll be a waste of your time if you're not sure. Take as long as you need to get to a good standard comfortably, and then give yourself the best chance of coming away with a good result.

Finally, outside of the exercise, do pay attention to your diet and hydration too. These can have a big impact on how well you perform, with hydration being absolutely vital. Remember that hydration starts 24 hours before you begin, so be sure to be drinking plenty of water regularly and you'll see a noticeable difference.

If you have any further questions then feel free to ask, otherwise i'm sure your local ACC would be more than happy to help you further where required.

Best of luck for the future.