is there a fitness test?

[Stephen Blair]

when you sign up to do a course in arb at college, do you have to take a fitness test? or can anyone just fill out the forms and pay the bill and walk through the door? personally if a wanabee climber couldnt do 10 front arm pullups i wouldnt entertain them, there are a lot of new gadgets to make climbing easier, but will this make the newbies lack strength for saw work. when i started everything was hard, from cutting ,lifting,dragging to climbing so i never knew any better. does the college include gym work on their courses:confused1: answers please from the ones in the know or if you just want your 2 pence worth.

[Tommy_B]

They don't ask for fitness tests Stevie. They should but they don't. I think that when I started at college and looked at a Prospectus all it said was "should be physically fit".

 

I assume that you'd get accused of being "unfair and discriminating" if you said to prospective students "Sorry Tubby, How about an IT design course instead?":001_tongue:

[John Hancock]

You pay your money and anyone can turn up, as far as I know.

 

It’s up to the tutors at the interview stage to assess the candidates for suitability. Obviously if Billy Bunter turned up wanting to become an Arborist I’d hope he’d be persuaded to follow a different career path. However colleges are very keen to fill those places, if they don’t; they get their funding cut.

 

The armed forces are having problems with recruitment selection at the moment. The ‘Play-Station’ generation are simply not as fit and healthy as we were in out youth and I think there is no simple solution.

 

The way I look at tree work is that you should expend the least amount of effort for the maximum amount of gain. It’s more about technique rather than brute force, and if colleges introduced a fitness test for candidates there probably wouldn’t be many candidates.

[Tommy_B]

It’s more about technique rather than brute force, and if colleges introduced a fitness test for candidates there probably wouldn’t be many candidates.

 

 

Spot on mate. Obviously if you're as weak as a kitten you're going to struggle but I think that if you are normal/average fitness, and if you climb regularly, you'll soon get up to speed.

[raafbeard]

I would have been screwed if there was.....15 years of neglect would have shown itself...

 

However with the right attitude I think I am getting there now maybe...

 

Apart from killing my lungs I don't think I have ever been fitter than I am now - even when I did used to do some sort of physical activity

[Will Ayers]

i agree that there should be a fitness test of sorts however aren't people who go to college going to be less fit, less experienced and less knowledgeable all at once. I think it is more important that a college produces fit people rather than only allows fit people in. I'm older than all of the boys on my course and they could run rings round me in some fitness test but I can work as fast, if not faster than most. some people joined the course looking a bit lardy, me included. but some of the lads are now carved out of wood (me not included, what can I say, I like food!).

[Curvey Burrs]

I do agree that technique is alot to do with it but they also have to have stamina, you can't be a climber or groundie for only half a day!

[penfold]

when i did my NC at houghall in 98/99 we had a couple of lads on the new deal who were at least 20 stone and they were like bloody monkeys round the tree:scared1: Just goes to show just cos a blokie is a touch on the large side doesn't mean he won't be able to do the work. just my tuppence worth and as a few of you know i'm no slim jim but then again i'm not the quickest climber:blushing:

[Nick Waring]

when i did my course at college last year, i was fairly unfit, and was working on a belly. I would have been screwed if i had to do some sort of fitness test, but i managed well, and worked hard. Since i've finished college, and started doing some work, ive gotten fitter, but my belly is still there (what can i say, love my food)

[scudmonster]

Fitness should be an issue but a positive mental attitude is more important. if you are willing to work hard at what you want to do youll get there.