Czech Army eases fitness tests to attract more recruits
Starting January 1, joining the Czech Army requires less demanding fitness tests. Instead of traditional push-ups and treadmill exercises, recruits now throw medicine balls and perform five-kilo squats. The goal is to attract more candidates, especially IT specialists and other professionals.
The new tests were developed by experts from the Military Department of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Charles University. They replace previous, more demanding exercises like sit-ups, long jumps, and treadmill running with two simpler activities: medicine ball throws and squats with a five kilo kettlebell, which is roughly the weight of a rifle with a magazine.
Colonel Jiří Malík, head of the Army’s Physical Education Department, explains the reason behind the change:
"I think it was necessary to respond to the current situation, which is that the population doesn’t have the same physical fitness as it did ten or more years ago."
The adjustment also aligns with a recent change in the health requirements for recruits, which allows people with up to six dioptres or prosthetic limbs to join certain positions in the army, explains Mr. Malík:
"Not everyone will be in the first line. We also have a second and third line. We are really interested in specialists, for whom we require a certain level of physical fitness, but we don’t insist that they be at the very top level physically."
All recruits, however, must still undergo initial training in Vyškov and, within a year, pass the army's annual fitness test, which still includes the more demanding exercises like push-ups and running.
The Defence Ministry is also stepping up support for physical trainers. Over the next six years, it plans to invest in better gym equipment to help get recruits in shape.
The fitness test changes are part of the Army's broader effort to streamline the process for military enlistment. Chief of the General Staff, Karel Řehka, recently identified staffing shortages as a key issue:
"If we have to invest more money in people at the expense of modernising technology – so be it. We are now heading inexorably towards a situation where we will have new equipment but no one to operate it."
In 2024, about 1,800 new recruits joined the army, but 1,400 left – the highest number of departures in a decade. Today, the Czech Army has roughly 24,000 professional soldiers, but aims to increase their number to 30,000 by 2030. According to Mr. Řehka, even that may not meet the demands of new NATO tasks assigned to Czechia this year.
