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DO BASELINE PHYSICAL FITNESS MEASURES PREDICT LAW-ENFORCEMENT
ACADEMY GRADUATION?
Daniel N. Marks, Justin J. Merrigan, Joel R. Martin
Sports Medicine Assessment, Research &Testing Laboratory, George Mason University, Manassas VA
PRESENTER:
Daniel N. Marks
BACKGROUND:
Police officers may experience high levels of stress and as a result the required
police training academy is aimed to prepare recruits for future physical and
psychological stressors. To do so, police departments undertake a large financial
commitment with estimated costs reaching upwards of $100,000 per recruit.
During the first week of training, recruits are required to complete a fitness testing
battery, which may predict the likelihood of graduation from the academy.
Considering the limited data available the purpose of this study was to evaluate
which fitness parameters may best predict likelihood of graduation.
METHODS:
Who: Law-Enforcement Recruits
(females, n=46, age=27.2 ±6.9 yrs;
males, n=141, age=28.9±7.8 yrs)
Recruits performed the following testing battery over the course of an entire
training day to ensure adequate recovery between testing: one repetition maximum
bench press (upper-body strength), push-ups to failure (upper-body pushing
endurance), sit-ups to failure (core endurance), pull-ups to failure (upper-body
pulling endurance), sit and reach (low-back and hamstring flexibility), and a 1.5-
mile run (aerobic capacity).
STATISTICS:
Backwards logistical regression was used to determine if performance on one
fitness test could predict the likelihood of a recruit graduating the academy.
RESULTS:
Moderate positive correlations existed between push-ups and sit-ups (r =.56, p <
0.05) as well as body mass and bench press (r=.57, p < 0.05). Sit-ups (r=-0.59,
p<0.05) and push-ups (r = -.51, p < 0.05) had moderate negative correlations with
1.5 mile run times. The regression model including sex, push-ups, and pull-ups
explained 14.4% of the variance in pass/fail rates, χ2(2) = 10.139, p = 0.025.
Males were 4.67 (p=0.030) times more likely of graduating and those with
increasing push up scores were 0.95 (p=0.031) times less likely to pass, while pull
ups were not significant (p = 0.100).
Key Findings & Practical Applications
vPolice academies should implement a testing battery targeting all fitness components,
as no single test predicted graduation.
vAccording to gender neutral performance cut points, a higher proportion of females
performed below average on sit-ups and pull-ups and above average on push ups.
vA greater percentage of females failed to graduate from the academy.
vCollectively, females may benefit from a resistance training program prior to entering
the academy with a focus on upper body strength.
Table 3. Gender distributions of graduation and Law
-Fit test scores
Males Females
Chi
-Square, X2
Graduation
Pass 145 (96%) 37 (88%) 3.8459*
Fail 6 (4%) 5 (12%)
Bench Press
Above 98 (65%) 27 (64%) 0.0054
Below 53 (35%) 15 (36%)
Sit
-Ups Above 92 (61%) 14 (33%) 10.1061*
Below 59 (39%) 28 (67%)
Sit & Reach
Above 123 (81%) 33 (79%) 1.4085
Below 28 (19%) 12 (29%)
Pull
-Ups Above 108 (72%) 18 (43%) 11.9144*
Below 43 (28%) 24 (57%)
1.5 Mile Run
Above 64 (42%) 23 (55%) 2.0335
Below 87 (58%) 19 (45%)
Push
-Up Above 61 (40%) 26 (62%) 6.1395*
Below 90 (60%) 16 (38%)
*, indicates statistical significance
CONCLUSIONS:
•Greater performances on one single fitness test did not predict the likelihood of police
academy graduation. Therefore, emphasis may be needed in all areas of fitness.
•In consideration of the greater fitness performances by males and their higher
graduation rates, females may benefit from an individualized resistance training
program which targets both upper and lower body strength.
•Since no previous studies have evaluated this testing battery, further research is
needed to better understand the role of fitness variables in the completion of the police
training academy.
Table 1. Sex comparisons on Police Academy Fitness Assessment
Combined
(n=193)
Male
(n=151)
Female
(n=42)
Effect Size
Age, years 28.5±7.7 28.9±7.8
27.2
±
6.9*
0.42
Body mass, kg 90.6±20.5 96.2±18.8
70.4
±
11.4*
1.58
1-RM Bench Press, kg 76.9±29.0 86.4±24.6
41.8
±
16.0*
2.14
Bench / body mass, % 84.7±26.8 91.1±24.2
58.6
±
20.4*
1.46
Push-Ups, reps to failure 28.3±17.9 30.5±18.2
20.5
±
14.8*
0.61
Sit-ups, reps to failure 38.0±11.0 38.2±10.6 37.3±12.4 0.09
Sit & Reach, cm 31.6±7.2 30.3 ±7.1 36.0±5.6* 0.93
Pull-Ups, reps to failure 7.9±9.3 8.5±9.3 5.8±9.4* 0.31
1.5 -mile run, mm:ss 14:42±2:34 14:27±2:33
15:40
±
2:26*
0.49
*, statistically different than men; 1
-RM, one-repetition maximum; reps, repetitions
Table 2. Backwards logistical regression to predict likelihood of recruit graduation.
Model 2 Model 7
χ2p-value χ2p-value
Step -0.193 0.661 -2.621 0.105
Model 16.43 0.037 10.14 0.017
R Square 0.230 0.144
Exp B (95% CI) Exp B (95% CI)
Gender 3.20 (0.35, 29.45) *4.67 (1.16, 18.74)
Push-Up 0.94 (0.87, 1.01) *0.95 (0.90, 1.00)
Pull-Ups 1.09 (0.96, 1.24) 1.12 (0.98, 1.29)
Age 0.94* (0.87, 1.00) n/a
Sit-Up 0.93 (0.84, 1.02) n/a
Run time 1.00 (0.99, 1.00) n/a
Bench 1.02 (0.97, 1.07) n/a
Body mass 0.97 (0.91, 1.04) n/a
*, indicates significant predictor