Physical fitness has long been extolled as a requisite attribute within the law enforcement profession. You just never know when you will have to chase down and/or wrestle with a suspect who’s not wanting to be caught and who will do whatever is within their power to keep from going to jail. But look around – how “fit” are the police officers in your city?
Physical training (PT) is an important segment of every police academy that recruits must experience. Many recruits come prepared and are in the best physical condition of their lives. Others leave the academy in prime fitness only to begin the slow march to unfitness by not continuing to work out at all. Alarmingly enough, more and more applicants are being washed out of the employment process by not being able to successfully pass the entry-level physical fitness assessment . . . a growing number of recruits are coming in overweight (obese), unable to do a minimum number of push-ups (a decline in overall strength), lacking flexibility, and unable to complete the mile-and-a-half run (no endurance).
Do they not understand the rigours of the job? Do they not care? Is fitness just something to be enduring during the academy and then tossed aside? Why do officers fail to maintain their fitness levels? Not enough time to work out? Too many hours of sedentary patrol? Too many quick meals on the go? Unfortunately, I do not have any answers.
Perhaps I will ponder this issue during my workout today. Perhaps I will “just do it!”
