From my experience at a ‘high stress’ academy in SoCal, you will need to be able to do high reps (i.e. 400-600 push-ups/day) of body weight exercises (push-ups, squat thrusts, mountain climbers, sit-ups and pull-ups) all day-every day and run distance (3-6 miles at a <9min/mile) 3x/week. There are other challenges but the above is 90+%.
Honestly, the minimum PT tests/qualifications were not a big deal compared to surviving a day on the ‘beach’. My class saw the weight room about 3 times in 26 weeks and there were no “tests” on any lifts. So for the majority of your prep workouts, skip the weight room unless you need to rehab/prehab something. Do your REPS!!! Get back to the iron after the academy. Focus your prep to succeed at the academy!
Focus your prep workouts on basic body weight exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts/burpees, mountain climbers, pull-ups and running) with the idea of multiple sets of 25 reps (except for pull-ups). Oh…and they are back-to-back sets meaning 25 push-ups, 25 squat thrusts, 25 mountain climbers, 25 sit-ups…repeat with ~10 second breaks between sets.
Two simple ways to get in reps: 1) during the working day, every hour take a break and bang out a set of push-ups. You can dive under your desk or an unused conference room. I worked in a professional business environment and did this in a shirt and tie. If anyone asked, I told them it was my version of a cigarette break.
- at night when you are watching TV, every commercial break do a set of push-ups and one of the other exercises. It�??s pretty easy to get in a few hundred reps each evening. Or if you are watching baseball, do the same at the top of ever inning.
As for a good starting program beginner�??s running plan, check out the “couch to 5K” program on the Cool Running website. If you are already beyond this level, pick one of the other programs. Save yourself some pain, head for a runners shoe store (not Dick’s or Big 5) and have them find the right shoe for you. It will cost a bit more but it’s worth it.
Another suggestion, is to head for a boxing or muay thai gym. The conditioning aspect is outstanding and you can develop some cross over skills along the way (i.e. hitting things). Don’t be too concerned if the most accessible place to you isn’t a MMA hotbed so long as it isn’t KardioKickboxing or whatever your gym is calling the aerobics class. You should be hitting the bag or pads. An LA Boxing type gym would do you fine.
As a reality check, the following are the basic fitness level recommendations from several PD’s for beginning the police academy. Make your life a bit easier�?�be well beyond these numbers. The information is taken from the last week of their recommended pre-academy workout programs. The details and the complete prep programs at the listed websites provided (should still be current). If you use the Seal Prep (a great prep program) program you can skip the swimming portion. As an additional check point, values for the FBI’s PFT minimum and maximum points (male) are listed. The complete protocols and scoring table can be found at the listed website.
LAPD
(http://www.lacity.org)
Run 4 miles @ 9-10 minutes per mile, 3-4 days/week
Push-ups 25-30 reps x 3 sets
Sit-ups 35-40 reps x 3 sets
Pull-ups 3-15 reps x 3 sets
Leg-lifts 25-35 reps x 3 sets
Las Vegas Metro PD
( http://www.protectthecity.com )
Run 3.5 miles @ 9:40 per mile, 4 days/week
Incline Push ups/ Push ups 25 reps x 3 sets
Flutter Kicks 3 sets at 45 seconds/set
Sit Ups 15 reps x 3 sets
Crunches 25 reps x 3 sets
Jumping Jacks 25 reps x 3 sets
Mountain Climbers 25 reps x 3 sets
Body Builders 25 reps x 3 sets
FBI PFT
( http://www.fbijobs.gov )
Push-ups 30/58
Sit-ups 38/71
1.5 Mile Run 12:24/8:89
300m Sprint 52.4/40.9
Values listed as min/max. Run and sprint values are minutes:seconds
SEAL PREP
(from Category 1 Wk 9 at http://navyseal.s5.com/workout… )
Run @ 8:30 pace for: Mon 4 miles, Tues 4 miles, Thursday 5 miles, Friday 3 miles
Push-ups 30 reps x 6 sets
Sit-ups 30 reps x 6 sets
Pull-ups 10 reps x 3 sets