If your organization has low physical standards you have already created the condition for mediocrity. The same happens if they don't make any sense.
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Key Takeaway
Police, Fire, SWAT, or any other entity where fitness should not be optional needs to have high physical standards. This isn’t a surprise to anyone who has spent serious time in these professions.
Standards are often either too low or ironically some look great on paper but when common sense is applied aren’t even feasible to achieve. Which tells me they aren’t being enforced and the agency doesn’t actually take strength and conditioning seriously.
Example 1
I won’t say what agency posted this and I’ll also put aside the shortcomings of just using the cooper standard as a physical fitness test at all, but what jumped out at me was what it took to max this test for a male recruit ages 20-29. If you don’t know how to read this chart: age goes across the top below “one minute push ups” and then based off how many reps are completed the point scale is to the right side.
For a male between the ages of 20-29 he will get 100 points if he does 100 push ups in one minute. That would be 1.67 push ups per second. Now I am huge advocate for improving physical fitness standards for all first responders, and putting aside the never ending argument of what we should test and how…but unless your arms are insanely short, or you allow for horrific form on this test…you’re not getting 100 push ups in 60 seconds.
This isn’t due to a lack of fitness. It is simply because moving your body from point A to point B will take too long to be able to hit this number. A push up from full lock out and then chest to the ground will take longer and 1.67 reps per second. Again, this isn’t even to say whether or not it is good to use this as a test…it is just a comment on reality.
You’ll just run our of time. And then to make matters worse to get a 95 on this test you only need to do 62 to 99 reps. So if you somehow did 99 reps on this test, which would be 1.65 push ups per second…you’ll get the same score as the guy who did 62.
Why am I pointing this out? Because you’re showing as an agency you don’t actually care about fitness. You can say you do. You can post this chart and say how high your standard is, but nobody is honestly achieving this and your scale doesn’t make any sense.
When you ask people to do something you should have a reason. When you don’t have a reason or you can clearly tell there was no thought put into something your agency and leaders lose credibility. Your leaders lose credibility because they either don’t change it or they’re being forced to pretend like this makes sense.
Example 2
Below is another major metropolitan agency. Again, putting aside whether or not this is the best test or not. At least these are realistic and achievable.
Now should you be able to do better than most of the standards? Yes, but at least this can physically be accomplished and now you can enforce it. SOME thought was put into this.
Closing
I am sure many would say there are bigger issues in the profession than this topic and you’re probably right in some respects. However something like a physical fitness standard is such a controllable metric and it can be foundational to a police or fire department.
Cops complain a lot, but I think the biggest complaints I remember from my old coworkers were rules/practices that don’t make any sense, aren’t explainable, or even worse it is a simple fix and nobody does anything. When you’re failing to address something that you have direct control over it destroys morale.
You need fit people to do this job. As soon as you set either an unrealistic standard or an insanely low standard you are creating a culture that rewards checking a box as opposed to achievement. If you’re the training officer at your department, take a hard look at your standards and ask if they’re building and maintaining the right individuals for these professions.
Have high standards. Enforce them. Make them realistic.
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