Singing also has important physical effects. When you are forced
to sing at regular intervals, it forces you to control your
breathing and maintain your pace, so you don’t hyperventilate. This
is especially important for overweight recruits. It is also a good
indicator for your buddies, as if you can’t sing that means you are
overexerting yourself or suffering an injury, then they can voice
out to your medic. Many physical trainers at gyms outside will tell
you that when you are doing normal brisk walk/jog, a good indicator
is that you should be able to carry on a conversation while doing
so – if you are breathing so heavily and gasping for air that you
can’t speak, it means you should take it slower. Singing helps to
do this in an army situation.
