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Physical Fitness Basics is both for those seeking public service employment and anyone that is serious about developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and excellent physical condition.

Included in the book is a history of the development and structure of health and physical fitness programs that are currently in place for public sector personnel. The reader is introduced to dimensions of health and physical fitness that provide goals for positive lifestyle practices for public service personnel as well as for the general public. Topics that are explored include the needs for health and fitness programs, training principles, positive and negative health habits, types of pre-employment screening tests currently in use, and recommendations for improvements in program design. Also examined are existing programs currently being used by police and fire agencies for the physical screening of candidates for employment.

This chapter is devoted to discussing service academy physical education. When we say service academy we are referring to sites that train large groups of people for a specific task. Examples of the service academies of which we speak are police academies, fire service academies, correction officer academies, military academies and any other large group that conducts systematic regimented training. A. Employment Prerequisites The process of getting employed in public service can be long and arduous. First, a young person has to really want the job to which they are aspiring. Hiring standards vary from agency to agency and they can be challenging. For civil service employment such as for police or fire department employ, the hiring process may include: • Candidates must watch for test announcements, file for the test and take it at a prescribed time and place. Some tests are given only every three or four years. • Pass a written test with a high enough score to be placed on an eligible list. • Pass a medical examination with no limiting conditions. This includes good hearing. • Pass a physical test. This may be a Physical Qualification Test (PQT) which tests for specific components of physical fitness or it may be a Job Standards Test (JST) which tests for the ability to perform job related tasks. Some agencies give both a PQT and a JST as preconditions for employment. • An educational requirement that ranges from a minimum of a high school diploma to a maximum of a bachelor’s degree. Most agencies require a minimum of 60 college credits. • Live within or adjacent to the jurisdiction of employment. • No disqualifying police record. This includes outstanding summonses and driving record. • Pass a character investigation. • During assignment to a training academy, attend classes and pass a series of written tests that are job specific. • During academy training show the ability to perform physical tasks, maintain a good level of physical fitness, and pass an academy post training physical test. • Academy training is full-time (40 hours a week) and may range from 12 weeks to one year or more. • Successfully complete a post-training internship and a probationary period which may be as long as two years. • Pass a final medical examination at the end of the probationary period. Early in this publication it was pointed out that many persons who aspire to public service employment do not make it because they cannot pass the physical screening tests. They may have studied for years, received a bachelor's degree and may have led an exemplary life, but they are eliminated from the possibility of public service employment because they cannot pass the physical screening test. This book was written for two purposes. The first purpose was to ensure that persons who desire public service employment are ready to take and pass high on physical screening tests. The second purpose of equal if not more importance is for anyone turning these pages to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes moderate to vigorous physical activity on a consistent basis. That having been written, the reader is reminded that Physical Fitness Basics is not just for those seeking public service employment. It is suited for anyone that is serious about developing and/or maintaining a healthy lifestyle and excellent physical condition. B. Service Academy General Education Training Because of the numbers of trainees, service academies will usually conduct group exercise classes with a large number of persons doing the same exercises at the same time. Students at the lower levels of fitness may have difficulty keeping up with the group and students at the higher levels of fitness may not feel challenged by some of the exercises. However, studies have indicated that with consistent repetitive work all of the students in group exercise classes will achieve some level of fitness improvement (Gotay, 2009, p. 25). Fitness training in service academies is usually conducted with a large group of recruits participating at the same time. A large part of the training consists of running for cardiorespiraory improvement and calisthenics for strength and endurance development. The calisthenics and other group exercises include items such as push-ups, sit-ups, leg-raises, squat thrusts, pull-ups, and weight training. Fitness training in both police and fire academies is similar because the purpose of the training is to prepare the recruits for the physical rigors of their jobs. In most academies, some amount of physical fitness training takes place every day. The rest of the day is devoted to job specific training. For police academies, the subjects may include law, firearms training, and driver training. An organization chart showing some police academy subject specializations for physical training is below. For fire academies the subjects may include putting out fires, extricating persons from fires, and the protection of property. Service academies may be charged with a broad range of responsibilities. The two most important of these are the entry level training school (ELTS) and the other is the in-service training school (ISTS). The entry level training school section deals with academy recruits and the in service training school section gives refresher and updated training to incumbent members of the department. In some jurisdictions the functions of entry level and in-service training are combined under one administrative umbrella. In other jurisdictions there may be separate administrative umbrellas for the distinct functions of entry level training and in-service training. In both cases, an agency must ensure that all officers, from recruits to the highest echelon commanders are kept up to date on current issues, rules, and procedures. Training of all personnel begins in the entry level training school. This applies to both police and fire service. C. Police Academy Physical Training for Recruits Training in a police academy includes law, firearm, physical education, social science, driver training, and police science. Acknowledging the importance of all subjects, we must point out that consistent with the physical fitness concentration of this book, the upcoming discussion will be about the subjects taught in a police academy ELTS physical education program. Table 12-1 shows a schematic of a police academy organization chart for physical education. Highlighted are the eight subject areas that are commonly taught in entry level training schools. All are important and no attempt has been made to say that any one subject is more important than another. The eight subject areas are described briefly below. 1. Physical Fitness – There is usually a pre-employment physical screening test that is given as a pre-condition of employment in order to ensure that police officer candidates are able to withstand the rigors of training in preparing them for service to the public. Many jurisdictions have another physical screening test that is administered just prior to completing Entry Level Training School (ELTS). This second screening test is more stringent that the first test and passing the test is one of the conditions for ELTS graduation. Physical fitness training consists of a combination of rigorous aerobic and anaerobic activity. The aerobic activity may be primarily running and the anaerobic activity may be primarily calisthenics, with an emphasis on items such as push-ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts and other exercises. Weight training, health classes on nutrition, positive lifestyle, and stress management round out the physical fitness training in most jurisdictions. 2. Self Defense – Police officers often have to use physical force in keeping the peace and protecting the public. The self defense portion of training gives officers the unarmed capability to protect the public as well as themselves. Self defense training involves learning practical defensive and offensive techniques. These techniques are gleaned from the martial arts and attempts have been made to select moves that are easily taught and once learned are easily remembered and can be executed with a minimum of practice. 3. Boxing – Boxing has been called the American martial art (Onello, 2003, p. 8). It is both a mode of self defense and an Olympic sport. Police officers have to be ready to act instantly, often with no time to plan ahead or warm-up the body for activity. The quickest reaction to an attack is by blocking and/or punching. For this reason, the most basic of self defense postures, the boxing on-guard stance is taught as the primary defensive posture. ELTS boxing programs may be grouped under self defense training or they may have a subject area grouping of their own. 4. Frisking, Handcuffing, and Car Stops – A frisk is the careful, systematic examination of a suspect’s person, at the scene of a crime, or immediately upon apprehension in order to find weapons or evidence and to safeguard the officer. Handcuffing is the placing of handcuffs on a person. Car stops are the procedures for stopping vehicles and questioning and removing suspects from those vehicles. One of the most dangerous parts of police work is approaching suspects in frisking, handcuffing, and car stop situations. Every academy provides detailed training which is reevaluated regularly. 5. Crowd Control – Sometimes called disorder control, this part of training prepares police officers and their supervisors to deal with disorderly crowds, demonstrators, and mobs. Lawful and unlawful demonstrations have the potential of developing into violent situations. Training to meet these eventualities includes understanding crowd behavior, a knowledge of procedures, practice in the military type formations used to control crowds and the availability of tactical countermeasures such as the use of snipers, armored vehicles and coordinated actions with other city municipal agencies such as fire departments. 6. Life Safety – This subject group includes subdivisions of instruction and courses such as first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and water safety. All entry level training schools offer some form of life safety education. Instruction is variously given by certified police instructors or by contract with outside agencies such as the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association. 7. Military Drill – It is important for officers to think of themselves as being part of an organization that has team work and discipline. Recruits learn that although they are civilians, they are still in a uniform wearing, semi-military organization with a command structure. Military verbal commands are needed to move large groups of officers in an orderly manner. Officers learn to function within a command structure, develop professional bearing, develop a trust in the responses of their peers, and learn to operate as a team. Military drill and adherence to a command structure are critical for training in an ELTS. This discipline and professional bearing is expected to be continued throughout a career in the agency.