The Making of an Officer

By Daniel Barnett, C.S.C.S.

The job of a police officer is a difficult one. It is a stressful job that can lead to bad lifestyle habits. Often the job requires an officer to spend many hours seated in a car followed by 5-10 minutes of intense physical activity. Many officers find it hard to eat healthfully when driving around all day concentrating on the job at hand. Officers can simply forget to eat or they may stop at a fast-food drive-thru window. Finding an hour to exercise each day may also be a difficult proposition. A fairly common workday for an officer is to work a full shift, go to court and possibly even work an off-duty job for several hours.

When analyzing the typical workday of a police officer it's no surprise that many officers are overweight and physically inactive. But there is also another type of officer - the officer who takes his or her health seriously because they know that in an instant it could mean the difference between life and death, between catching criminals and allowing them to escape.

That's why the process to become a police officer is so difficult. If you're qualified enough to get through the background check, polygraph test, psychological test, stress test and multiple interviews, you still have to be in good enough shape to pass the physical test. The entrance test for police applicants consists of:

• 1 rep bench press with 64 percent of your body weight
• 18 sit-ups in one minute
• 300-meter run in 65 seconds
• 20 pushups
• 1.5-mile run in 17:12.

These physical tests are also performed at the end of the recruit class with a few differences. The recruits now have to bench press 73 percent of their body weight, perform 25 pushups and run 1.5 miles in 16:15 or less. These numbers are the same for both men and women and age is not a factor.

SWATT

Officers who want to be a part of a specialized unit must be able to perform more demanding physical tests. SWATT (special weapons and tactics team) is a good example of officers who need to be in excellent physical condition. The physical fitness test for SWATT is based on standards developed from the Cooper Institute's research, much like the recruit entrance and exit standards, but with significant differences.

The SWATT test is based on a task analysis of the team. Officers accumulate points based upon how well they perform. The breakdown of the score percentages for the test is as follows: 1.5-mile run - 40 percent, pushups - 20 percent, bench press - 20 percent and sit-ups - 20 percent. For example, a 25-year-old male officer who wants to achieve maximum points in each category would have to run 1.5 miles in 9:08, bench press 110 percent of his bodyweight for one repetition, perform 67 sit-ups in one minute and perform 78 push-ups. In addition to this they also must run an obstacle course while wearing approximately 30 pounds of gear. This obstacle course is made up of various tasks, which are functional to the job, such as jumping fences and dragging dummies. After all of this, with fatigue set in, the officers then must go to the gun range and qualify there as well.

Of course, not all police officers choose to be part of a specialized unit such as SWATT but all officers should be in good enough physical shape to perform their jobs properly and safely. Police officers are a part of the general population; therefore they have many of the same fitness goals that most people have, such as losing bodyweight or body fat and gaining muscle. Many police officers are part of recreational sports leagues, and many are weight lifters and runners. However police officers, just like athletes, should train specifically for the job at hand. Training of this sort is called "functional training."

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

Functional training for officers utilizes movements that officers may encounter in a typical, or non-typical, workday. They must train to be prepared for the worst situations. Movements such as jumping, dragging, pushing and sprinting are all movements that can be part of an officer's day. They also must be prepared for physical altercations. All of these are multi-joint movements that are principally anaerobic in nature. Free weights such as dumbbells and barbells are typically the best training tools for this type of functional program. Officers are now training in ways that used to be reserved only for athletes. Power movements such as the snatch, clean and jerk, along with polymeric movements are now an integral part of many officers' exercise routines. Aerobic exercise is also extremely important for officers just as it is for athletes. Although most movements officers encounter are anaerobic in nature, many movements also require a certain amount of muscular endurance and aerobic conditioning.

Like everyone else who finds the time to exercise, officers too must make physical fitness a priority. When police recruits graduate from the academy most are at the top of their physical conditioning. The difficult part is to continue on a program once they are out on the street, concentrating on the many difficult aspects of the job. But help is offered. Many of the police districts have small fitness rooms, and all officers have access to the fitness center located in police headquarters. There are gyms located at suburban headquarters and both the urban and suburban training academies. There is also an obstacle course for officers at the training academy. In addition, several local gyms offer discounted membership rates to police officers. Many officers take advantage of these facilities in order to stay in top physical condition. While it may not be easy for police officers to stay in such good physical condition throughout their careers, it is a necessity. Regular workouts prolong police officers' careers and make it easier for them to successfully protect and serve the community.

Daniel Barnett, CSCS, is the fitness instructor for the Louisville Metro Police Department. He is also co-owner of Advantage Fitness, LLC and has over eight years of personal training experience. Daniel has a bachelor's degree in exercise science from the University of Louisville. He can be contacted at 502-235-4545 or at www.advfitness.com.