PD fitness test, need to vent.

[TanktheFrank]

Took a standard fitness test today for a local PD. Failed and let myself down.

300 M Dash- 52 seconds. A month ago, I couldn't get it in less than 70. Yeah, I needed work. Hit the track, every day, and improved as much as I could. Beat the standard with room to spare.

Pushups- 35. Blew through them, felt super confident and beat the minimum.

Situps- 13. Yeah, that's right. 13. Not even half way to the minimum.

Looking back, I think my biggest training flaws were 1. Not giving myself enough time. I'll be honest, I applied to the department a month before testing. I should have committed many months prior. 2. Not training to do everything in a short time span. I did not once practice all of the tests within the same half hour. Honestly, I was gassed at the end of the pushups and only have myself to blame for messing up the situps.

Looking forward, I have six weeks before I test for another PD. The only difference is after the situps is a 1.5 mile timed run instead of a body drag.

Would I be correct in assuming that incorporating pushups and situps into my runs will help build up that tolerance?
Should I deviate from my regular routine of sprints on the straights, jogging on the curves (oval track)? If so, with what?
Very few of the local departments use the concept 2 rower, but I am still very well versed on that. My target time is 941 and I've was getting in the 750-810 range when I was still rowing 3 months ago.

All in all, yes I had issues today. But I'm not going to let that stop me from getting into a LEO position. I've got time to try my best to become a PT stud.

 

[oneshotmike]

My best advice for you would be the following....... Train for the specific events that are required in the testing process in your areas.......

To train for the next one, I would do the following......
We called them "stations" in the police academy but it goes something like this.....
Pick 1 or two minute intervals as best you can do....maybe start with 1 minute and then go to 2 minutes.......
Run a 1/4 mile
Do pushups for a minute straight (if you can't do whole time....hold plank position)
run 1/4 mile
Do situps for a minute
run 1/4 mile
Do squat thrusts for a minute
run 1/4 mile
Do leg lifts for a minute
run 1/4 mile
Invent exercise for next minute
run 1/4 mile

Do this for 12 laps to start and work up from there........that will give you 3 miles and 12 minutes of calisthenics which with 6 weeks of training and proper dieting should have you ready to go....
We were doing 2 minute intervals and 24 stations by the end of the academy......only catch was you started the next exercise station when you got back to it....... clock didn't start till the last person did, which made this suck worse than it sounds.....
But at the end of the session, you ran 6 miles and did at least 48 minutes of calisthenics.

Good way to train for the academy..... you can repeat the exercises you need to do better on.....run situp run pushup run situp run pushup etc........ Also depending on your weight, it will help a lot if you can shed some pounds....

 

[TanktheFrank]

Definitely something I can work into a routine! I think dropping weight will help all around. By running regularly and stopping soda drinking I was down 12 solid pounds in 4 weeks. I'll keep it up for sure, just needed to vent. The officers were very encouraging and solid folks that I'd definitely test with again. I'm still eligible to test with them in August if I haven't gotten on somewhere else.

 

[hafejd30]

When I prepared for mine I did 1 set to failure of pushups and 1 set to failer of sit-ups every day as soon as I woke up. I also ran 2 miles almost every day. Would try to sprint as far as I could then jog the rest. Eventually I could sprint the 1st mile.

I stopped lifting weights all together and focused on just cutting weight muscle or fat. I lost 12 lbs in the 2 weeks prior to my test.

The morning of the test I drank one bottle of water and ate one piece of bread.

Smoked the Competition on sit ups and push ups. Finished 30 seconds ahead of the next guy in a 1 mile run.

 

[njohn890]

I went through the local acedemy at 42, and I was never a jock by any stretch. We were required to run 1.5 miles in less than 12:00 min, and you knew that in a competitive hiring process you wanted to beat that by a margin. The run was followed immediately by a timed standardized physical test called the POPAT, and a body drag. The POPAT test was basically a course that ended up as 400m total distance, but in a circuit with a staircase, a 6 foot jump, hurdles and a push/pull machine and a rail vault. It was very anerobic, it sucked.

For working on the run portion and physical test I did three things:

From my house I mapped out a 1.5 mile stretch and would run that timed, then cool down for 10 minutes and walk to the base of a decent hill that was about a 400 m run up hill, and would do that a few times to get anerobic and try to duplicate the exertion of the POPAT test, followed by a cool down light jog to a nearby track, to run intervals-sprinting the 100 m straights, slowing down to jog the turns, then sprint the next straight stretch etc.

I found that for the run those three things helped the most for running endurance-straight running, hill climbs and intervals. The other stuff, push ups, sit ups, pull ups I did separate

 

[wrightjr]

Don't allow yourself to get discouraged or spend anytime feeling bad for yourself. (Not trying to be harsh) You know what you have to do so set some attainable goals and work through them and keep pushing until you crush the next one. You have to use the failure as fuel to motivate you to dig deep and train on those day when you wanna throw in the towel. We have similar PFT standards for our tactical team applicants and believe it or not the sit - ups is what gets most people, not the 1.5 mile run. My advice would be to start doing a non-stop 1.0 mile run a few days (ex. M-F, or M,W,F) a week after a good stretch/ warm up and see where you are time wise. (Don't be discouraged if you don't shave off big amounts of time focus on maintaining a good steady pace, as endurance increases so will your pace) Do a sit ups later, maybe before bed set a number goal for reps and do it or either do them until muscle failure, it's up to you. Doing them before your run can take a little out of you even though this is how our agency does out PFT (Push-ups 10 min rest, sit-ups 10 min rest, 1.5 mile run). In a week or two you should be seeing some improvements that will motivate you. Last but not least get rest and look at your diet / nutrition, and hydration. To preform well your body needs to be well rested and fueled. Best of luck and stay motivated on you journey.

 

[wrightjr]

Also on the sit - ups, allow yourself to gently fall back instead of keeping you core muscles tight and easing yourself down. This will save a little gas in the tank and allow you a few more reps, some may call it cheating but it works. Inhale going down, exhale at the top when you complete your rep. Focus on good solid form with smooth reps (without jerking or twisting.)

 

[TanktheFrank]

I appreciate the words of advice, and I'll be sure to work on it. I'm hitting the track after work today to time my 1.5 mile, and when I get home it'll be ab workouts. 6 weeks to the next test seems like a long time, but I'm sure itll fly by.

 

[njohn890]

There is a good video on YouTube regarding technique on push up,sit ups etc. Despite the title, “How Green Berets cheat on a PT test” it’s really about good technique. The tips on sit ups seemed good and I had never seen a demo on how leg angle defines what muscle groups are recruited during a sit up. Check it out it could help you.

 

[footsteps]

Leg weights run the steps at the local Stadium will build endurance which is key to passing any agility test find your true weaknesses and work on that.... Endurance is ?

 

[Tx_Aggie]

There is a good video on YouTube regarding technique on push up,sit ups etc. Despite the title, “How Green Berets cheat on a PT test” it’s really about good technique. The tips on sit ups seemed good and I had never seen a demo on how leg angle defines what muscle groups are recruited during a sit up. Check it out it could help you.

Came here to say the same thing. As you said, the video is great, despite the silly title:

https://soflete.com/blogs/knowledge/how-green-berets-cheat-on-the-pt-test

 

[wrightjr]

The leg angle and the type of foot hold (depending on the testers requirements / rules) will definitely make a difference, but it will be a matter of personal preference. You will have to try a few different ways to see what fits you. I like for my witness to place their knees on my feet and i scoot my rear as close as I can to my heels. Meaning my knees are up almost vertically, this is comfortable to me but may not be for you. You need to be firmly planted because scooting or sliding trying to complete the movement will burn energy and make it harder.

 

[TanktheFrank]

The leg angle and the type of foot hold (depending on the testers requirements / rules) will definitely make a difference, but it will be a matter of personal preference. You will have to try a few different ways to see what fits you. I like for my witness to place their knees on my feet and i scoot my rear as close as I can to my heels. Meaning my knees are up almost vertically, this is comfortable to me but may not be for you. You need to be firmly planted because scooting or sliding trying to complete the movement will burn energy and make it harder.

He stood on my toes, I definitely should have scooted my butt closer to my ankles.

 

[aslrookie]

The PT test is about muscle endurance not strength. You’re burnt out because your muscle endurance isn’t there. To fix it, you need to increase the reps of your exercise.

Look up sit-up workout plans. You want something that has you do sets going up in reps, peak, and then down in reps. For running, you need to run 1.5 miles. Once you can run 1.5 miles, then try to run that distance faster each time you do it. It doesn’t have to be 30 seconds faster or a minute...try to improve your time by 5-10 seconds and build up gradually.

Another tip, don’t gas yourself out in the 300m sprint. If you’re breathing super heavy, you used too much gas in the tank. You should be winded but not gasping for air. Your aim is to pass the test at this point, not to fail by crushing one event or two.