Physical Requirements to become a Cop
A man in a hooded sweatshirt sprints toward a fence and quickly jumps over it and into the backyard of an unsuspecting neighbor. He sprints across the yard clearing the fence on the other side. As a police officer, chasing suspects is a necessary part of the job; the ability to chase someone is one of the most important parts to the testing process. Potential officers are put through strenuous exercises to test their endurance, strength, and will power.RunningThis is the basis of most ,if not all, department physical testing. Persons subjected to the test are asked to run, usually around a track, in a certain amount of time. The length of the run varies from 300 meters to 2 or 3 miles. Occasionally these are complicated even further by adding steps or requiring trainees to run on difficult terrain.Running is important to nearly every department because it shows a baseline of physical fitness. Anyone who can't run a mile in under fourteen minutes shouldn't be testing to become a police officer. It's also important if an officer ever gets involved in a chase. It become a point of concern for safety if an officer is too winded to continue pursuing a suspect let alone fight if they should turn around.StrengthDifferent departments, in this area, test in different ways, but some common forms are push-ups, pull-ups, and swimming. Department requirements for push-ups usually vary between fifteen to one hundred, pull-ups between ten to thirty, and swimming two hundred to four hundred meters.Strength testing is important in police work because often you won't be sitting behind a desk. You'll wrestle some guy and his two buddies as onlookers wonder whether they should jump in or not. You need to be able to quickly subdue a suspect in the event your personal safety is at risk.Will PowerThere isn't really a specific test for this characteristic that's used in most department physical fitness assessments, but it is evaluated. When hiring, personnel current officers are looking for someone whose bodies can stand up to some pretty brutal and grueling work. They need partners who can push past the pain and make sure that the job gets done.If you are seriously considering becoming a police officer make sure you are in good physical shape. The testing process is hard, but physical fitness is one area over which you have 100% control. You may not be able to change what you've done in the past, but you most definitely can change how fast you can run a mile.
