'Mattress next?' Photos of NSFs training with 'yoga mats' see keyboard warriors rolling up their sleeves

Knock it down.

Those three words alone could send shivers down the spine of a full-time National Serviceman (NSF) in Basic Military Training (BMT).

The command to go into a push-up position tends to be a precursor to some intense workout.

However, some netizens are lamenting that BMT is no longer as tough an experience as it once was.

They came to this conclusion from a recent set of photos uploaded by the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) Facebook page on Tuesday (January 25).

The post consists of numerous photos where shirtless recruits are going through a metabolic circuit lesson.

What immediately caught the eye of many was that each recruit had a red mat placed in front of them.

The recruits would plant their hands on the mats whenever they were in the push-up position. 

This ruffled some feathers and ex-servicemen rolled up their sleeves to fill the comments section with their thoughts on the mats.

A common feeling was one of disbelief. Use of sarcasm to drive their point home was also apparent.

Some chose to compare what they saw with the supposedly tougher experience of their own National Service.

Among the barrage of negativity, there were some netizens who felt the mats were a good addition to the recruits' training.

One Facebook user reminded others that being 'grilled' while exercising under the sun wasn't a pleasant experience and not something anyone would wish upon their next generation.

It is unclear what the mats are for and when BMTC began using them for training.

AsiaOne has reached out to BMTC for more information.

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amierul@asiaone.com