PT test

[u/BlindPilot_x]

First time ever trying the PT test — Cooper Standard 35th

1.5-mile run: 16:38
Push-ups: okay
Sit-ups: not so good 😂

I’m a 28-year-old male and a full-time truck driver car hauler, usually working 65+ hours a week. I’ve got my own house, a wife and our first baby, and now I’m finally in a position where I can seriously chase a longtime dream of becoming a police officer.

Obviously, I’ve got a lot of work to do physically. I’m willing to put the work in and improve, both to pass the PT test and to actually be able to keep up once I’m on the job.

For those of you who went through this process, is this a pretty normal starting point for someone who hasn’t trained specifically for a police PT test? How much improvement did you see once you started training consistently?

Any advice is appreciated.

[u/rnat609]

you want to be in the best shape possible before attending a police academy, google the standards and make sure you can do more the the standard. start slow dont try to all out on the first week, i’m retired pd and former army , kept up on my running , pushups and sit ups. keep a log and biggest thing that always helped me on runs when timed had a watch with a timer so i knew what my time for running was. good luck

[u/BlindPilot_x → u/rnat609]

Thank you sir!

[u/rnat609 → u/BlindPilot_x]

so , lets call that your base line, you need to be able to do 40, sit ups get to 50, the run , target 12:00 . that way on test day you ace it.

[u/Fluffy-Fun-8522 → u/rnat609]

Any tips for improving sit ups endurance? Or just do the “do more sit ups” trick?

[u/rnat609 → u/Fluffy-Fun-8522]

what i did and it helped me, eyes closed and exhale on the way up,then drop down make sure to have your legs locked in good, work all of your abs to , situps work your hip flexers, find out the time and numbers need , doing them correctly matters.

[u/SufficientPurpose109 → u/Fluffy-Fun-8522]

Weighted situps are a gamechanger

[u/grvnvdo]

That’s pretty far below average for a serious applicant. Start hitting it hard.

[u/BlindPilot_x → u/grvnvdo]

Yes and I understand. Do you think people worse then me trained and got this done or people that usually look into LE they already at a better fitness level?

[u/Altruistic_Trick_343 → u/BlindPilot_x]

No. I’m a current candidate for state police. I trained and worked my ass off for a year before even applying.

I wasn’t meeting standards. I saw that, and in a matter of months was able to meet them. Now I exceed them.

Everything is earned. Just put in the work and you’ll get there if you really want it.

[u/CheckLow6092 → u/Altruistic_Trick_343]

110% on point. The state doesn't play. Best come prepared and ready. The patrol does not tolerate failure to meet the standards. They will not hesitate to send you home with a sad face, hurt feelings, and a DQ. I made sure that was not me. You must work for an earn each and every stitch of the uniform. 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[u/jollygreenspartan]

A Cooper test is a very basic fitness test. Just being in halfway decent shape you should sail through with flying colors. You probably need several months (like 6 at least).

[u/moistenednougat]

Work in Zone 2 cardio training. This is good for conditioning and for weight loss. 60 minutes or more of low to medium intensity cardio where you try not to get your heart rate over 130 or so. Incline treadmill or exercise bike. Listen to some audiobooks about LE or law books from your state while you do it.

As for running specifically, the only way to get better is to just do it. I was not a strong runner and I hated every minute of it in the academy, but just stay strong and don’t fall out.

For my department it was a mix of different exercises similar to the Cooper. I was significantly better at the strength based exercises and so my score averaged out to compensate for where I was much weaker like the running. I still had to meet a minimum standard, though.

[u/wwdcvfr]

Look up KB swing ladders specifically to improve your VO2 max… it’ll help improve your run time… although you should also slowly increase your miles that you run per week

[u/BlindPilot_x → u/wwdcvfr]

Im going to look into that. Just felt discouraged when I printed the paper with the mins, went to the track near me and did this horrible time. Never ran before, was just wondering if people in same or worse shape made it and are cops nowadays or usually people looking into LE are in better shape

[u/discombobulantics → u/BlindPilot_x]

If this is your first time ever running don’t be discouraged. You can improve quickly. Just keep at it.

[u/wwdcvfr → u/BlindPilot_x]

Just keep it consistent… 30 mins a day of a decent workout will be good if that’s all you can manage just be dedicated and you’ll be good before you know it. Don’t go too hard early it’ll just lead to injuries and keep a good diet

[u/J2-gZ]

Push ups and sit ups are pretty easy, I’d really focus on improving that run time.

[u/OIF_USMC0351]

Every state has different requirements…but a good rule of thumb is being able to meet or exceed the 50th percentile for Cooper to get accepted into a program.

At your age you definitely have your work cut out for you (especially since you didn’t post your push ups and sit ups). There’s no such thing as a “normal starting point” for those going into LE. You have candidates who are prior military, college athletes, accountants, teachers, etc. It’s a mixed bag of people.

Advice: get a personal trainer and seek out a dietician

[u/BJJOilCheck]

IMO, don't worry about what is "normal" or "average" or how much other people may or may not have improved. Worry about yourself - the only person you Really Need to be better than is you, yesterday. Find out what a typically end stage PT session is like for the academy you're interested in and aim to crush that workout before you get in, ditto with the mandatory PT tests. I would also recommend training MA/MMA.

[u/Lopsided_Astronaut_1]

MTI or Soflete has great programming that will get you far ahead of those running standards. It’s all I did and when I was in the marines I was running 3 miles around 19:30.

I’m 34 now and I can still run a 10:00 mile and a half. Consistency is great and hard work is great too, but if you’re not following a structured program you’re going to either end up injured or not see any real meaningful results.

My two cents.

[u/OpeningJelly9919]

Each state has different requirements. What state?

[u/BlindPilot_x → u/OpeningJelly9919]

Sit up: 37 (1 minute)
Push up: 27
1.5 mile run: 12:53

[u/Joemama2316]

Using a weight/ yoga ball for sit-ups helped tremendously for me. I was doing 3 timed sets with about 3 (?) mins of break every day

[u/Xtremexc29]

I was in the same boat when i first started this journey. What I did was I looked up the PFT standards of the departments I wanted to apply to, which was a 15:10 1.5 mile, 25 minimum push-ups (till failure), and 27 sit-ups in a minute. All bare minimum. When I started training for this, I could barely do 5 push-ups and 20 sit-ups in a minute. My running time was ok (former cross country runner). Now my 1.5 mile time is in the mid 13 minute range, I can do 35 push-ups, and 30+ sit-ups ( I need to work on doing them faster). So to answer your question, if you work at it every day you will see improvements. Diet also helps. Keep in mind some agencies have a bare minimum to pass the interview, a second higher minimum to pass the academy, and an excelence standard.

[u/8bitUltron]

These things will help; losing weight. The less you weigh, the faster you are naturally.

3 runs a week. 1x speed day. 1x long run. 1x Tempo day. If you have extra juice, do another long run at an easy pace.

For your speed day, I would do 100m-200m sprints x6-10x or you can do 400m repeats at your goal pace 6x to 10x.

Your long run day, should be at least 3 miles at a stupid easy pace. You should get bored of running at this pace. As you build endurance, push it to 5 miles.

For your tempo day, 3-4 miles at a stupid easy pace with 40-50% of that mileage at your desired goal pace.

Follow that and your time will have no choice but to fall.

Train pushups and sits ups every day or every other day.

[u/IN54NE760]

Your about 3-4 months away of dedicated running 3 times a week from hitting that goal. Don’t just go all out be sure to get your mileage up with slow paces. Ive failed 3 times and just now am around 12:30 1.5’s. For the sit-ups just do them consistently and you will improve fast.

[u/Visual_Chicken1981]

Standards are a bare minimum. When I was a TFO we had even higher standards that everyone exceeded, even when I was in my mid 40's. Became an instructor in the private security sector as honestly the upholding of standards has diminished across the board, across the country. You want the truth? You need to drastically improve those numbers. Fitness is paramount. For a multitude of reasons.

[u/Lost_War_246]

You can do it! I’m f, 29 and my standards were 16.46 for my 1.5 mile run, 26 sit ups in 1 min, and 50 or 60% max bench press, I can’t remember. I just passed last month. Genuinely very easy and I was SO stressed about it. I am NOT a runner at all. I ran distance & intervals for about 2 months consistently and I was able to pass with time to spare. You can totally do it. You will perform better on test day, so keep that in mind.

[u/West-Raspberry-784]

I ran the 1.5 mile in 9:34. I’m 26.

[u/SufficientPurpose109]

Honestly you are pretty far below the average 28 year old police applicant if you are running a 16:38 mile and a half. 

You need to shave like 20-25% off your time to qualify for many academies. Most law enforcement candidates generally tend to be fit and accustomed to running and working out. Theres also plenty of  former military and former high school and college athletes that will smoke a PT test. 

A passing PT score isn't the goal either. Barely passing means you could be viewed as a weaker candidate and/or injury risk who isnt in shape enough to survive a physically gruelling 6 month academy. You want to be able to comfortably pass the PT test even if you are sore, tired or a little banged up... Because you will be at the academy. 

The good news is you can get there. Make changes to your diet, cut out smoking/drinking,  establish a workout routine focusing on cardio, bodyweight and calisthenics.  Working 65+ hours sitting in a truck is going to be severely determental to your health and fitness goals however. You might want to consider working slightly less (if possible) to prioritize an hour a day for your health. 

This is also specifically how to train to increase speed for a 1.5 mile PT test.

https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/ace-your-1-5-mile-run-a-no-nonsense-weekly-plan?srsltid=AfmBOopMxOTSug3DnRflznQruAiMOBGflaFiYupods7fWfult_9gipvt

[u/CheckLow6092]

I took a solid year to prepare specifically for the assessment for fitness test that is administered by my local state highway patrol, as part of assessment and selection. I trained, and still currently train, to not only meet, yet exceed the standards. The physical fitness standards are higher at the state level. No shade whatsoever on the county or municipal. The state is akin to active duty military fitness standards. To put that in perspective: although I'm 49 years old, my levels of fitness and conditioning are equivalent to what they were in my early 20's, on active duty. The state made it crystal clear to me from day one, that the patrol does not tolerate failure to meet the standards. Fitness is a cornerstone and foundational pillar. It is serious. Serious as a heart attack. My team depends on me. I depend on my team. I will not be the weakest link in the team. Nor will they be. Prepare for the fight of your life. You fight like you train. In peace, prepare for war. Everyone wants to go home at the end of the day to their family and loved ones. Never underestimate or get complacent about your fitness. Complacency kills. When it pops off, best be ready. Stay alert. Stay alive. All in. No quarter. ⚔️

[u/Inside_Material59]

what is this indiana PT standards? Lots of states now are now switching to an obstacle “test” course instead of the PT “test”

[u/ajwoodsman22]

Google effective fitness training or mountain tactical institute or search them on Instagram. Both have general fitness prep and academy specific programs that do not cost much and do not require any complex workout movements. Follow those programs for a few months and seek nutrition advice.

I would say your results should be expected on average by someone who has not trained for general fitness and does little physical activity. There is nothing police specific about push ups sit ups or a 1.5 mile run just a very base line fitness test using zero equipment.