Unfortunately there isn’t an easy answer to the type of fitness test, as different body types respond better to different types of test.
At the ends of the spectrum Mo Farrah isn’t a great sprinter, but can run for miles – Usain Bold cannot run a marathon but is a great sprinter. Point being, both are very fit, and at the top of their game, but each would fail a test based solely on what the other is built for.
Many years ago, based back in Episkopi – the Coldstream Guards were our resident Battalion. They has a different approach – with different tests for different roles: eg the bulk of the infantry roles did the 1.5 mile squad run out and 1.5 mile individual back (timed) – about once a month IIRC.
Some of the more specialist roles, like the morter platoon (generally bigger and heavier guys who would never pass a 1.5 mile in the allowed time) had a different test involving carrying the mortar units, the projectiles etc (fairly heavy weights) across a distance of 2-3 miles, setting up and firing accurately, all to be completed within a defined time period. This was set so pie eaters would not be able to do it - but bigger guys who would move slower, but carrying heavy weights over distance relatively quickly and being able to operate effectively when they got there, would pass if they maintained a decent standard of fitness
Personal opinions, the bike ride was probably the fairest test I have seen in the RAF from a perspective of balancing fitness v body type, followed by the 1.5 mile run. The beep test is the least fair, for 2 reasons – firstly it isn’t being administered properly, it should be a triangle so you don’t get the stop/start element, and secondly – VO2 Max tests are aerobic capacity tests, they are biased against bigger people (who may be able to move for several miles at a lower average VO2 usage) and people who have any decent muscle mass as the muscle sucks oxygen fast when placed under increasing load.
So what’s the answer – it’s actually to have a choice of a 2-3 tests suiting different body types , all of which need a reasonable standard of fitness to pass (but is attainable with effort – so you don’t get people banging out because they will never pass the test type the mirror tech hierarchy have selected)
But back to the point of the question, both as a brat and in service – there was always a percentage of beer guts waddling round the bases. From reading the thread, there seems to be far fewer of them now (although I wonder if that also correlates top the service being less fun that it used to be as well?! – some of the bigger guys were real team players who moved slowly at times, but never stopped or gave up, until the job was done)
