Fitness Test - Pass/Fail type

[Rodeman]

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering how many of you may have failed your initial fitness test when you began applying to the police department? Today I had my physical test. The sit ups and push ups were harder than I had practiced with more stringent requirements. I was near 80% for my push ups but my sit ups were not as strong and I missed the number by 3 completions.

Out of the six people, five of us missed it on sit ups. After the run and the six foot awl climb, which I had no issue with, they gave us another chance to complete sit ups if we thought we could do it. I'm in my 40s, so the younger guys jumped at the chance, as did I. They didn't get anywhere close to the required number. I missed it too but I missed by 4 that time. Lots of frustration on my part and had I slacked off a little on the run, I might have had more energy to get those extra four.

I knew I had not passed the sit up part and expected to come back another day. So I was pushing myself as hard as possible to be sure I could get past everything and as I was doing the run, the guy who started off in a full sprint was the guy I chased down. I nearly caught him by the time we were at 1.5 miles. I wouldn't have it any other way. And the training officer said he had failed 2 times before he was successful.

I'm already rescheduled for next week and I'm back to practicing over and over again. But I'm curious if anyone else has gone through this challenge.

Thanks!

[Reef_Cop]

People fail all the time. Prepare better and try again.

Good luck

[grenster88]

Not uncommon for people to come up just short. Most departments hand out info on the minimum requirements to pass PT, and that's what people train to meet, the minimum. Now that you know what they're looking for, aim for beyond the minimum and you'll be set. Good luck on your next test.

[Will23]

I just really started testing and only tested 3 times so far but i passed the fitness test every time, and iv'e seen people fail it really comes down to pushing yourself don't just train to pass train to be over the the standard so you wont need to worry about the test.

[CR-Retired]

Ater retiring, I just started processing for another police job just because I am bored and want something to do again. Yeah, call me crazy. The standards were posted and you knew what to expect well before the test date. I practiced and prepared for it knowing my competition would be 20+ years younger than me. Except for the run, I kicked their butts in almost everything and was floored when 1/2 the candidates failed. One guy even was reeking of marijuana like he just toked up in his car before coming in.

[MisterLargo]

I'm expecting to test in June, or thereabouts. I got busy early on, and was shocked to discover how really out of shape I was; I've been training hard nearly every day for a month now, with the goal of completely exceeding the requirements.

Really, I'm just in max training mode so when the academy starts in the fall or winter, I'll not have to struggle with PT. Just trying to be proactive, learning the other skills will be vexing enough without dreading huff-and-puff on top of it.

[MisterLargo]

One guy even was reeking of marijuana like he just toked up in his car before coming in.

Just, wow.

[MisterLargo]

...train to be over the the standard so you wont need to worry about the test.

This could apply just about anywhere in life, really.

[BanJoe]

I'm over 50. I've taken and passed and failed PATs.... I failed the first two, because I didn't have a good training strategy and didn't train as well as I should have.

But I learned.

I learned:
#1 Never train to the minimum. I recommend over-training a little bit, but at my age I've gotta be sure I don't get an injury while I'm training.... So I don't go "all out"... But I do train hard.
#2 Pass/Fail is largely a mind set... While you train your body, don't forget to train your mind. Mental training for a physical event is just as important as the PT.
#3 Never let "them" tell you what you can do... This is part of the mental training. When I announced I was going to apply for a police job all I heard was "You're too old".... Tune the nay-sayers out.

Yes, I passed. And yes, I am going to run another PAT this Friday... Trying to move up on the job and it's a part of the process....

Good luck to you who work it... And good luck to me!

[Officer JJ]

I have a PAT coming up, I can do the push-ups and sit-ups (most of the time) but im concerned about the 1.5 mile run. Any tips on improving stamina? Or just keep trying to lower my time on a 1.5 mile non stop run? Also, Its for a slightly larger dept, everyone who passed the exam is taking the test, If i do fail the PAT will I get another shot at it? or am I just out of luck until another 4 years when they administer another exam?

[Coast Guard Doc]

Do running speed workouts. This will help you get faster. I do alot of weight lifting so I am a big heavy guy, but I found doing the speed workouts made my run times get quicker. Google it and there are a ton of workouts that should work for you. I am off to the academy 01 Aug, so I am doing them as well.

Good luck.

Doc

[Hanmo]

I've only done 1 PAT in my history. The current job I have didn't really require one. The PAT test I did take wasn't all that hard either. It was more or less just a 400 yard obstacle course you had to complete in 4 minutes with a 150 lbs dummy at the end you had to drag.

Obviously this was not very difficult for most candidates. Out of 40 people only 3 people failed...although one older lady managed to get past the 4 foot window, 6 ft wall, through 400 yards of jumps and climbing, only to drag that dummy 95% of the way and then...laid down on the freaking dummy saying "I can't do it"....4 feet from the finish with 1 minute to go. People were cheering her on and she finally managed to summon the strength to pull it another 4 feet. Didn't exactly make me feel good about possibly working for someone who would quit dragging my bloody dying body to cover and give up so easily.

As others have said "over train". Not only that...just train yourself every day to have good health. I'm not a hulking beast monster. I just lift weights because I used to be very skinny and kind of weak and I wanted to change that. I don't train to beat tests, I train to be better and because this might help me survive in this line of work. I love to train. Going in with the right attitude is what it's all about. That said, I suck at running and I'll be damned if that'll ever change.

[Officer JJ]

Thanks for the advice. I just ran a 10 minute mile, making progress but still have a lot to go. So does anyone know if failing the PAT the first time around end your chances for that dept until another test comes around? or is it common for them to give you a re-test a little down the road? Or is every dept different?

[Jonnyboy182]

I failed my first time doing a physical. Had a long jump (like 6 feet) I had rolled my ankle in the tires I had to jump through. I just took it again 3 weeks later and passed not a big deal at all just try again

[Officer JJ]

Thats interesting, in the PAT test Im going to have to take you have to do 38 sit-ups in 1 min, 29 push-ups in 1 min, and a 1.5 mile run in 12:38. I think I think I would much prefer doing an obstacle course, mainly because im dreading this 1.5 mile run. I have flat feet and im getting a really bad case of runners knee in BOTH of my knees. Has anyone had this issue and if so were you able to overcome it, or figure out a way to lessen the issue?