Super-soldier serum or Photoshop? Images of buff BMT recruits in Tekong stun netizens

In Basic Military Training, male recruits are encouraged to work out shirtless so they can note their progress over time and be confident of their own bodies.

"Pull your spirits up for the weekend," the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) Facebook page wrote on July 15, while sharing photos of recruits doing pull-ups.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/BMTCSAF/posts/pfbid0aciJEA8a5xBxHtoYjAYaWWMGXSUqEpQ9AJzLr8YCBtmLT3QQL2jWeBgJYvckSNSzl[/embed]

In April, the same Facebook page also shared several photos of several full-time National Servicemen (NSF) undergoing strength and power training to "build muscles and increase endurance".

While these photos certainly demonstrate the effectiveness of the training regime, is it all too good to be true?

Redditor Obviousplanter compiled these images on Friday (July 22) and said they were stunned by the NSFs' ripped physique, writing: "Holy crap! What are they feeding our soldiers?"

In the comments section, several netizens had a go in guessing what diet the recruits in Pulau Tekong are on.

"Pork cubes and fish ball," a netizen wrote in reference to the common cookhouse dish, while another jokingly suggested the recruits could've had a dose of "super-soldier serum" just like Captain America.

There were also some who felt that the BMTC Facebook page had chosen to share only the "best photos", while others suggested the images were Photoshopped.

One netizen lamented that his "physical peak" was before enlisting into National Service (NS).

But does NS really kill off the "gains"?

Muhammad Imran might say otherwise. A photo of him receiving a SAR21 assault rifle went viral in September 2019, with netizens awed by his extremely buff physique.

On the other hand, photos of NSFs training with 'yoga mats' — posted by the same Facebook page in January this year — were panned by some.

These netizens, who identified themselves as ex-servicemen, felt the mats were an example of NS being "not hard enough" in recent times.

chingshijie@asiaone.com