Mind, willpower, goal...
I've been looking at potential career opportunities over the past few weeks and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I'm going to be in policing one way or the other. I just don't know if it's going to be on a state or federal level yet. Time will only tell on that situation. With all that being said, being an officer on one of these levels requires you to be in EXCELLENT condition. While I'm in decent shape, I definitely am not in that kind of shape. After looking at the physical qualifications for the NJ State Police, I noticed that it is very demanding. Part of the selection process includes a very rigorous physical exam that looks something like this:
Points Push Ups Sit Ups 1.5 Mile Run 75 Yard Run Best Trial
0
17 or less
20 or less
14:27 or more
19.5 or more
1
18 - 19
21 - 22
14:26 - 14:18
19.5
2
20 - 21
23 - 24
14:17 - 14:09
19.4 - 19.3
3
22 - 23
25 - 26
14:08 - 14:00
19.2 - 19.1
4
24 - 26
27 - 29
13:59 - 13.51
19.0 - 18.9
5
27 - 32
30 - 34
13:50 - 13:00
18.8 - 18.5
6
33 - 46
35 - 48
12:59 - 11:32
18.4 - 17.4
7
47 or more
49 or more
11:31 or less
17.3 or less
As you can see, you are given points based on how you perform in these 4 areas. For the 1.5 mile run and the 75 yard run you are given points based on the time it takes you to complete the event. For the push ups and sit ups, you are given points based on how many of each you can do within a 2 minutes. After these 4 events they tally up your point total and that will determine a pass or fail. You need 20 points to pass which means that I roughly have to score a 5 on every event. Scoring a 5 means that I have to complete the 75 yard pursuit run in 18 seconds, the 1.5 mile run in 13 minutes, do 30 sit ups, and 27 push ups.
Now I know what your saying. "27 push ups? 30 sit ups? Piece of cake?" WRONG! The push ups we are talking about are not what you are thinking. The average person uses terrible form and only goes down about half way and comes up while moving at a fast rate. These push ups are much more difficult. Your hands have to be flat, arms a little more than shoulder width apart, your back completely straight, and your feet together. You start at the top, lower yourself down ALL THE WAY to the chest with your chin touching the ground, and correctly raise yourself back up to the starting position. You must do this without wiggling your body, bending your back, etc. Most people do push ups wrong. Well, these people will fail this portion of the test because they don't count the ones you do wrong in your total. At this point I can do about 35-40 of these. That's pretty good but I'm shooting for 7 points in this area since strength is my bread and butter. Sit ups are another story.
I can barely do 10 of these fucking things! And when I do 10, I'm fucking done! I never realized how piss poor my abdominal muscles are but I received rude awakening last night. The good thing is that I've been quietly training to be able to perform at a "7" level. My goals for this time next year are to be able to do 100 push ups and 50 sit ups. I also plan on radically increasing my speed, agility, and stamina because those "run" portions of the test are no joke. I am determined to better myself and there is no way that I am going to blow the opportunity to get on the force when it presents itself to me. All I need it to have my head in it, have the willpower, and my goals will be achieved.
Points Push Ups Sit Ups 1.5 Mile Run 75 Yard Run Best Trial
0
17 or less
20 or less
14:27 or more
19.5 or more
1
18 - 19
21 - 22
14:26 - 14:18
19.5
2
20 - 21
23 - 24
14:17 - 14:09
19.4 - 19.3
3
22 - 23
25 - 26
14:08 - 14:00
19.2 - 19.1
4
24 - 26
27 - 29
13:59 - 13.51
19.0 - 18.9
5
27 - 32
30 - 34
13:50 - 13:00
18.8 - 18.5
6
33 - 46
35 - 48
12:59 - 11:32
18.4 - 17.4
7
47 or more
49 or more
11:31 or less
17.3 or less
As you can see, you are given points based on how you perform in these 4 areas. For the 1.5 mile run and the 75 yard run you are given points based on the time it takes you to complete the event. For the push ups and sit ups, you are given points based on how many of each you can do within a 2 minutes. After these 4 events they tally up your point total and that will determine a pass or fail. You need 20 points to pass which means that I roughly have to score a 5 on every event. Scoring a 5 means that I have to complete the 75 yard pursuit run in 18 seconds, the 1.5 mile run in 13 minutes, do 30 sit ups, and 27 push ups.
Now I know what your saying. "27 push ups? 30 sit ups? Piece of cake?" WRONG! The push ups we are talking about are not what you are thinking. The average person uses terrible form and only goes down about half way and comes up while moving at a fast rate. These push ups are much more difficult. Your hands have to be flat, arms a little more than shoulder width apart, your back completely straight, and your feet together. You start at the top, lower yourself down ALL THE WAY to the chest with your chin touching the ground, and correctly raise yourself back up to the starting position. You must do this without wiggling your body, bending your back, etc. Most people do push ups wrong. Well, these people will fail this portion of the test because they don't count the ones you do wrong in your total. At this point I can do about 35-40 of these. That's pretty good but I'm shooting for 7 points in this area since strength is my bread and butter. Sit ups are another story.
I can barely do 10 of these fucking things! And when I do 10, I'm fucking done! I never realized how piss poor my abdominal muscles are but I received rude awakening last night. The good thing is that I've been quietly training to be able to perform at a "7" level. My goals for this time next year are to be able to do 100 push ups and 50 sit ups. I also plan on radically increasing my speed, agility, and stamina because those "run" portions of the test are no joke. I am determined to better myself and there is no way that I am going to blow the opportunity to get on the force when it presents itself to me. All I need it to have my head in it, have the willpower, and my goals will be achieved.