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Most young people considering a police career aren't going to give
physical fitness a lot of thought in the beginning...and for good reason.
When you're twenty something, you've still got that feeling of
indestructibility, and the physical strength and energy that comes with
youth can put the issue of physical fitness pretty far down on your list of
major concerns.
That's not to say that some of you don't put physical fitness at the top of
your list. Some of you will be, or are already, very keen on diet,
exercise, and any variety of fitness activities that will enhance and
maintain a high level of your physical fitness for years to come.
Many police departments haven't done much to stress the importance of
physical fitness through their ever decreasing hiring requirements when
it comes to age and weight. It's not the fault of police departments
since age and weight have been placed firmly in the category of
discrimination. However, in police departments with low attrition rates,
and waiting lists miles long, you won't see that many older and over
weight rookies.
The PC crowd likes to ignore the real probabilities that you will face life
and death physical confrontations and struggles as a police officer.
They're so deep into their conflict resolution dogma they're convinced
that a police officer should be able to talk anybody into or out of
anything. Well...that simply isn't the way it works. If you buy into that
nonsense, you'll be experiencing a lot of stress sooner than later.
If you're young, and your weight is proportionate to your height, you'll
probably possess the single most important physical capability for a
police officer...endurance. While your upper body physical strength is
important, you should realize that there will always be someone
stronger than you who is perfectly capable of kicking your butt. You'll
run into those someones frequently. On those occasions when your best
efforts at conflict resolution fail, your endurance will carry you through
until help arrives.
The great thing about endurance is that it doesn't take that much
exercise to develop and maintain. I spent the first seven years of my
career walking foot posts. Since I worked a high crime area, the
walking frequently turned into running down suspects. Talk about a
physical fitness program. My assignment had me walking and running
forty hours a week every week.
You're going to encounter plenty of sources of stress during your police
career, but your worst, in the form of physical consequences, will be
periods of stress which will come during physical confrontations and
struggles. While stress associated with the use, or potential use, of
deadly force is obvious, the frequency of those situations will pale to the
number of times you'll be confronted with, or engaged in, lesser physical
struggles.
The lesser struggles only remain lesser as long as you avoid sustaining
any serious physical injury. You'll encounter three types of people in
physical confrontations. First are the ones who simply want to get away
from you. If this suspect does attack you aggressively, the attack will
not be prolonged since he just wants to incapacitate you long enough to
make good his escape. In most instances, however, this suspect will just
go round and round with you; until, the physical endurance of one of
you determines the outcome.
While the stress associated with losing to the first suspect is
embarrassment more than anything else, the second and third groups
pose serious consequences. The second group will be comprised of
suspects who would like nothing better than to hurt you or worse. The
third group is the "mental cases" who are unpredictable and dangerous
for obvious reasons.
When you find yourself in a struggle with a suspect from the second or
third category, your physical endurance is more important than you can
imagine. It's a really bad feeling when you become so exhausted that
you no longer have the strength to lift your arm much less throw a
punch. I've been there a few times, but, in those instances, I was
fortunate that the other guy got to the same point of exhaustion at the
same time or just ahead of me.
Your state of physical fitness will always be a huge factor in determining
how successfully you deal with any kind of stress. More than likely,
you'll begin your police career behind the wheel of a police car. The
worst thing about a police car is that it makes a lot of police officers
really lazy. You'll notice very quickly how cops develop a penchant for
double parking just to save a few steps. You'll see some meet a victim
and conduct the entire interview without giving those front seat springs
a chance to expand. Right from the beginning, you should get into the
habit of getting out of your car as much as possible. Walking is good for
you. I took every opportunity to get out of my car and walk, and it
worked well for me. Don't forget, as your police career progresses,
you'll be getting older. With age comes a natural decline in your level
of endurance, and you need -- no, you must -- develop some regimen of
physical fitness to enhance and preserve your level of physical
endurance.
Look at it this way. You're entering a job where there will be periods of
idleness and boredom interrupted by sudden and unexpected periods of
extreme physical exertion. If you spend all the boring time just sitting,
those active times are just going to become more stressful as time goes
by. A lot, or even most, young people beginning a police career don't
see themselves being patrol officers for twenty years or more. The
truth is there's not enough promotions or cushy jobs available to
accommodate everyone, so you need to understand that you may have to
stay in the real work force for your entire career.
Mind and body. As long as you develop the right mental attitudes
toward all the cruel and goofy things you're going to experience, and you
give equal importance to your continued physical fitness, you'll do just
fine.
physical fitness a lot of thought in the beginning...and for good reason.
When you're twenty something, you've still got that feeling of
indestructibility, and the physical strength and energy that comes with
youth can put the issue of physical fitness pretty far down on your list of
major concerns.
That's not to say that some of you don't put physical fitness at the top of
your list. Some of you will be, or are already, very keen on diet,
exercise, and any variety of fitness activities that will enhance and
maintain a high level of your physical fitness for years to come.
Many police departments haven't done much to stress the importance of
physical fitness through their ever decreasing hiring requirements when
it comes to age and weight. It's not the fault of police departments
since age and weight have been placed firmly in the category of
discrimination. However, in police departments with low attrition rates,
and waiting lists miles long, you won't see that many older and over
weight rookies.
The PC crowd likes to ignore the real probabilities that you will face life
and death physical confrontations and struggles as a police officer.
They're so deep into their conflict resolution dogma they're convinced
that a police officer should be able to talk anybody into or out of
anything. Well...that simply isn't the way it works. If you buy into that
nonsense, you'll be experiencing a lot of stress sooner than later.
If you're young, and your weight is proportionate to your height, you'll
probably possess the single most important physical capability for a
police officer...endurance. While your upper body physical strength is
important, you should realize that there will always be someone
stronger than you who is perfectly capable of kicking your butt. You'll
run into those someones frequently. On those occasions when your best
efforts at conflict resolution fail, your endurance will carry you through
until help arrives.
The great thing about endurance is that it doesn't take that much
exercise to develop and maintain. I spent the first seven years of my
career walking foot posts. Since I worked a high crime area, the
walking frequently turned into running down suspects. Talk about a
physical fitness program. My assignment had me walking and running
forty hours a week every week.
You're going to encounter plenty of sources of stress during your police
career, but your worst, in the form of physical consequences, will be
periods of stress which will come during physical confrontations and
struggles. While stress associated with the use, or potential use, of
deadly force is obvious, the frequency of those situations will pale to the
number of times you'll be confronted with, or engaged in, lesser physical
struggles.
The lesser struggles only remain lesser as long as you avoid sustaining
any serious physical injury. You'll encounter three types of people in
physical confrontations. First are the ones who simply want to get away
from you. If this suspect does attack you aggressively, the attack will
not be prolonged since he just wants to incapacitate you long enough to
make good his escape. In most instances, however, this suspect will just
go round and round with you; until, the physical endurance of one of
you determines the outcome.
While the stress associated with losing to the first suspect is
embarrassment more than anything else, the second and third groups
pose serious consequences. The second group will be comprised of
suspects who would like nothing better than to hurt you or worse. The
third group is the "mental cases" who are unpredictable and dangerous
for obvious reasons.
When you find yourself in a struggle with a suspect from the second or
third category, your physical endurance is more important than you can
imagine. It's a really bad feeling when you become so exhausted that
you no longer have the strength to lift your arm much less throw a
punch. I've been there a few times, but, in those instances, I was
fortunate that the other guy got to the same point of exhaustion at the
same time or just ahead of me.
Your state of physical fitness will always be a huge factor in determining
how successfully you deal with any kind of stress. More than likely,
you'll begin your police career behind the wheel of a police car. The
worst thing about a police car is that it makes a lot of police officers
really lazy. You'll notice very quickly how cops develop a penchant for
double parking just to save a few steps. You'll see some meet a victim
and conduct the entire interview without giving those front seat springs
a chance to expand. Right from the beginning, you should get into the
habit of getting out of your car as much as possible. Walking is good for
you. I took every opportunity to get out of my car and walk, and it
worked well for me. Don't forget, as your police career progresses,
you'll be getting older. With age comes a natural decline in your level
of endurance, and you need -- no, you must -- develop some regimen of
physical fitness to enhance and preserve your level of physical
endurance.
Look at it this way. You're entering a job where there will be periods of
idleness and boredom interrupted by sudden and unexpected periods of
extreme physical exertion. If you spend all the boring time just sitting,
those active times are just going to become more stressful as time goes
by. A lot, or even most, young people beginning a police career don't
see themselves being patrol officers for twenty years or more. The
truth is there's not enough promotions or cushy jobs available to
accommodate everyone, so you need to understand that you may have to
stay in the real work force for your entire career.
Mind and body. As long as you develop the right mental attitudes
toward all the cruel and goofy things you're going to experience, and you
give equal importance to your continued physical fitness, you'll do just
fine.
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