Hello. I’m guessing a bunch of us now are applying to get into Law Enforcement. Well, I had my first physical yesterday and it was going pretty well. However, when I was doing push ups I didn’t remember the orders I was given. I was told “You may rest at the top with your arms extended, not at the bottom.” I was three pushups away from the passing requirement (20) and rested at the bottom for about 1 second. Instant fail.
I have learned the hard way to follow orders to the teeth and not forget about them.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk and good luck everyone. I have about 9 more towns I applied for coming up.
Comments
Maybe it’s lucky that you failed if they are that strict.
Good luck on another agency. Sometimes things work out for the better.
When I was in the academy, they had a couple of us assist with counting push ups for a PT test day for the class after mine. They gave the applicants very clear instructions that you must go all the way down and fully extend your arms at the top for it to count a rep. The person counting held their fist under the center of their chest and if the person didn’t make contact then it didn’t count.
There was a guy who was in great shape and clearly shouldn’t have any trouble busting out a measly 28 pushups or whatever the requirement was. He did 85 short stroked pushups that neither went all the way down or all the way up and his final count was like 3. The guy who was counting kept telling him to go all the way down and all the way back up, but he wouldn’t listen.
He was pretty pissed off when they told him he failed. Following directions is part of the test.
Getting failed because of a 1 second pause at the bottom is pretty ticky tack, though. It’s harder to rest at the bottom than the top anyway.
In better news, you can just reapply and wait for their next physical test.
I would think the bigger concern is you had to rest after 17 pushups.
Honestly, this shouldn’t be a discussion , this is a job that you’re dedicating your life to where physical fitness can be the difference between going home at the end of the night or not. Meeting the minimum standard should be something you do in your sleep. A message to future candidates is, don’t do the bare minimum. This is a time to excel. 20 push ups is the 50th percentile for a 49 year old man. I’m not trying to be judgmental but let’s go. If you want this, be better than the minimum standard.
Whens the next time you can take it?
It wasn’t going pretty well if you had to rest at 17 push ups…
Get in shape, and then try out again.
I’ve been out for 8 or 9 years but man I swear the physical requirements keep getting to be more of a joke every year.
Keep working on your fitness! It should be the least of your worries in the process or the academy.
Well, I’m over 40 years old and can still knock out more than 20 pushups without resting. OP just needs to do better. Actually reassuring to hear of an agency that will kick somebody to the curb for physical requirements. My department is hiring a bunch of weak women that couldn’t do 20 pushups to save their own life, much less somebody else’s.
With all do respect, this is entry requirements. They will have him doing more by time it’s over.
Bro, get in shape you know what you were getting yourself into. I’m gunna say it. Shame! Shame!. Body shaming works
Uh resting after 17 push-ups? My uncle was in his 40s when he got into police work and did 71 push-ups for the fitness exam. I did 58. Didn’t matter though because I willfully admitted to a class 3 substance I used 2.5 years ago, and they axed me and told me to reapply…
I did a lot of push ups during the academy, but oddly I never had to do a single one out on the streets…