You’ve made the decision and went through the process to become a police officer. You have been selected and have been given a conditional offer of employment. In the offer you are required to pass the background investigation, pass a Physical Ability Test (PAT) and finally complete a police academy. Here is an example of what to expect before the Police Academy Fitness Test.

You think to yourself, am I ready? Am I in great physical shape to pass the PAT and the police academy?

I have been a police officer for over 10 years, a detective, on a SWAT team and a Field Training Officer (FTO). I graduated the police academy in 2007 and it was physically demanding. It was a good thing I kept myself in peak physical condition because at the academy, they did not have time for those who weren’t in shape. One of the instructors yelled at us, “YOU COME HERE IN SHAPE, WE DO NOT HOLD HANDS AND YOU WILL NOT PASS IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE STANDARDS.”

I am going to give you some pointers on how to prepare for the PAT and academy. Most physical fitness tests aren’t a secret. The standards are available online so it is up to you to prepare for them.

As you move through the process, you get scheduled for the PAT. I am going to give the standards to the PAT, most states have the same standards but at least this will give you an idea of what a PAT looks like.
The PAT consists of an Obstacle Course, The Trigger Pull Event, The Separation Event, and The Dummy Drag. These standards can be found on any government website or police department website.

Police Academy Fitness Test

Obstacle Course

This event simulates the actions necessary to pursue and “takedown” a suspect. The event begins with an obstacle course where the candidate will be faced with climbing under an obstacle, climbing up and down steps, going through an open window, climbing over a wall and negotiating a series of cones arranged in a zigzag pattern.

At the end of the course, the candidate will be required to grab hold of a weighted bag attached to a pulley and touch it to the ground. The candidate will then immediately move around the Power Station to the handcuffing simulation where he/she will be required to pull on two hand levers until the cable hits the stop. This completes the event. The time limit is 130.4 seconds.

The Trigger Pull Event

This event consists of raising a handgun and squeezing the trigger six (6) times with each hand. The time limit is 7.1 seconds.

The Separation Event

This event simulates tasks that require separating one party from another and controlling individuals, such as in crowd control situations. The candidate will be required to pull a hanging bag backward touching it to the ground across a marked line. Candidates will have to perform two “pulls”. The time limit is 14.2 seconds.

The Dummy Drag

This event simulates dragging a victim or suspect. Candidates will be required to drag a dummy over a straight course. The time limit is 11 seconds.

The PAT

The initial step to getting to the academy. I will now provide you what the Fitness tests look like. These Fitness tests are administered before the academy, during and to graduate. These are also available on police websites. Below is just a sample of fitness tests that you should expect.

These below tests are to rate your muscular endurance, anaerobic power, muscular strength and aerobic capacity.

Police Academy Fitness Test 1 (Pennsylvania State Police PT Cooper standards)

Sit-ups
300 Meter Run
One (1) RM Bench Press

Push-ups
1.5 Mile Run

 

The below chart is what it takes to get into the academy:

Entrance Exam (30% Cooper)	Male Standards by Age						Female Standards by Age
	18‐29	30‐39	40‐49	50‐59	60+		18‐29	30‐39	40‐49	50‐59	60+
300 Meter Run (Time)	62.1	63	77	87	87		75	82	106.7	106.7	106.7
Bench Press (% body weight)	0.93	0.83	0.76	0.68	0.63		0.56	0.51	0.47	0.42	0.4
Sit Ups (1 Min Reps)	35	32	27	21	17		30	22	17	12	4
1.5 Mile Run (Time)	13:15	13:44	14:34	15:50	15:50		15:46	16:42	17:29	19:10	19:10

The below chart is what it takes to graduate the academy:

Graduation Exam (50% Cooper)	Male Standards by Age						Female Standards by Age
	18‐29	30‐39	40‐49	50‐59	60+		18‐29	30‐39	40‐49	50‐59	60+
Sit‐up (1 Min Reps)	40	36	31	26	20		35	27	22	17	8
300 Meter Run (Time)	56	57	67.6	80	80		64	74	86	86	86
Push‐up (1 Min Reps)	33	27	21	15	15		18	14	11	11	11
1.5 Mile Run (Time)	11:58	12:24	13:12	14:23	14:23		14:04	14:34	15:34	17:19	17:19

Police Academy Fitness Test 2 (Massachusetts Police PT Test Standards)

Push-Ups: eighteen (18) in one minute

Sit-Ups: twenty-seven (27) in one minute

Flexibility: approximately 1.5 inches beyond toes (while seated)

1.5 Mile Run: maximum time of 15 minutes and 20 seconds (15:20)

 

In Fitness test 2 the numbers I provided are the minimum standards to just pass. You will be expected to surpass the minimums to achieve a high score.

Fitness Test 3 (FBI PT test standards)

 

Push Ups, no time but continuous pushups without stopping.

Sit ups 1 Minute

300 Meter run

1 ½ mile run

 

To attain a passing score on the PT test, you must earn at least 1 point in every event and at least a cumulative score of 12.

 

Scoring Scale for One-Minute Sit-Ups

 

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	29 and below	31 and below
0	30-34	32-37
1	35-36	38
2	37-40	39-42
3	41-42	43-44
4	43-46	45-47
5	47-48	48-49
6	49-50	50-51
7	51-52	52-53
8	53-54	54-55
9	55-56	56-57
10	57 and over	58 and over

 

Scoring Scale for Timed 300-Meter Sprint (in seconds)

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	67.5 and over	55.1 and over
0	67.4-65.0	55.0-52.5
1	64.9-62.5	52.4-51.1
2	62.4-60.0	51.0-49.5
3	59.9-57.5	49.4-48.0
4	57.4-56.0	47.9-46.1
5	55.9-54.0	46.0-45.0
6	53.9-53.0	44.9-44.0
7	52.9-52.0	43.9-43.0
8	51.9-51.0	42.9-42.0
9	50.9-50.0	41.9-41.0
10	49.9 and below	40.9 and below

 

Scoring Scale for Push-Ups (untimed)

 

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	4 and below	19 and below
0	5-13	20-29
1	14-18	30-32
2	19-21	33-39
3	22-26	40-43
4	27-29	44-49
5	30-32	50-53
6	33-35	54-56
7	36-38	57-60
8	39-41	61-64
9	42-44	65-70
10	45 and over	71 and over

 

Scoring Scale for 1.5 Mile Run (in minutes:seconds)

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	15:00 and over	13:30 and over
0	14:59-14:00	13:29-12:25
1	13:59-13:35	12:24-12:15
2	13:34-13:00	12:14-11:35
3	12:59-12:30	11:34-11:10
4	12:29-11:57	11:09-10:35
5	11:56-11:35	10:34-10:15
6	11:34-11:15	10:14-9:55
7	11:14-11:06	9:54-9:35
8	11:05-10:45	9:34-9:20
9	10:44-10:35	9:19-9:00
10	10:34 and below	8:59 and below

Police Academy Fitness Test 3 (FBI PT test standards)

 

Now that you have seen what the standards look like at different agencies, you get the idea of what is required for the academy and what it takes to be accepted into an academy.

Preparing for The Police Academy Fitness Test

How do you prepare for your respective agencies PT test standards?

For starters, you will need to get a baseline to see where you are in terms of scoring. Once you get your baseline now you may begin your training. I recommend doing an upper/lower split your first two days of training and then the other two will be functional type of training.

Day 1

Bench Press 3×6
Barbell Row 3×6
Press 3×6

Superset 3×12 rest 1 minute
Dumbbell Fly
Landmine Press

Arnold Press 3×12
Rear Delt Raise

EZ-Bar Curl 3×12
Hammer Curl

Close Grip Bench Press 3×12
EZ bar Skull Crusher

Day 2

Incline Bench Press 3×6
Deadlift 3×6
Weighted Pull Ups 3×6

Supersets 3×12
Dumbbell Row
Dumbbell Reverse fly

Front Raise 3×12
Lateral Raise

Barbell Curls 3×12
Spider Curls

Dumbbell Extensions 3×12
Cross Face Lying Tricep extension

Day 3

Cardio

2 Mile Run Outside. During your last mile, once you get to a telephone pole, sprint to the next one.

Day 4

Back Squat 5 x 5 1 minute rest in between sets

Prowler Sled anywhere from 10 to 40 yards, 4 sets for time

Sandbag Squat clean 50lbs to 125 lbs 3 sets

Walking Barbell Lunges

Day 5 off

Day 6 off

Day 7 off

Week Leading Up to Police Academy Fitness Test

By now you have an idea of where you need to score to get into the academy. Hopefully, you have tested yourself at least once a week.

It is very important that the week leading up to your PT test you don’t exercise hard. You take the time to stretch, drink plenty of water, fuel your body and rest your body for the test.

One thing you should not do, on the day of the test, take some pre-workout. Your heart rate is already high because of the stress of the test, and it will be dangerously high if you add pre-workout.

One thing I would recommend is to eat well that morning of the test. Have a cup of coffee (black) and add some toast, avocado, and fruit to help fuel your body. Stretch the night before and drink plenty of water.

Conclusion

You now have an idea of what to expect and how to prepare for the police academy. The above workouts and PT standards will not only help you prepare for the PT test but also prepare you for the physical demands of the Police Academy.

I wish you the best of luck at the Police Academy and your future law enforcement career.

-Detective Ayman Kafel