Most jobs do not require a fitness test to be eligible for employment but for people entering into the occupations of emergency services such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and even army recruits, the need for fitness testing is vital. In order to effectively assist the public in the dynamic situations they are called to engage in, that are often physically awkward and demanding and pose injury risk to their own body, fitness training is critical. To be accepted into any of these organisations all over the world all applicants must go through a selection process that compares your current level of fitness versus a baseline number determined to be acceptable by the organisations testing protocol. The fitness testing for each of the organisations vary slightly, with some specific tasks relevant to certain occupations. To be a successful applicant you MUST pass the minimum result across the various tests specified by the organisation meaning this will require training on your own before applying to complete the test. This is where we see people make some big mistakes that could potentially derail their career before it has even begun! In this article we will explain what these are so you can avoid falling into the trap.

The Problem with Fitness Testing

For over 15 years we have successfully worked with many people trying to enter these specific jobs, even special-forces recruits, and the thing that I have found essential to their training was making the program specific to their abilities and weaknesses. The two biggest mistakes people make with the fitness testing process is trying to achieve fitness without learning to move correctly first. The second mistake I see is with people already in their occupation who end up injured not from the occupation, but from their own fitness training methods that were meant to keep them in shape for the job. While fitness is essential to these jobs, it cannot be achieved at the expense of your health. Now don't get me wrong I completely agree that there must be some form of fitness testing with all emergency services to ensure candidates are of a capable standard to complete their occupation effectively. This is not just for the safety of the general public but also to ensure the emergency provider is not at risk of injury to themselves. The last thing you would want is people turning up to be a firefighter or police officer with poor levels of fitness, so it makes perfect sense there is a testing procedure with a defined minimum for anyone to be accepted into these roles.

There has been many detailed studies looking at the role of fitness testing within emergency services, click here to read one of the most detailed reports I have read by the American Journal of Medicine. A fascinating look at the value of the tests and correlations the tests have with reducing injury rates in various occupations.

Where I have concerns with the fitness testing methods and protocols is with two parts.

1. Prioritizing fitness over movement capability
2. Ignorance to the quality of movement and training methods once accepted

What do I mean by movement capability?

When we teach someone to play sport we spend considerable time teaching the fundamentals and basic skills of the sport before trying to apply any of the complex and more difficult abilities. We never try to crush a beginner with advanced drills and exercises until they can demonstrate good form. Imagine teaching a beginner to tennis how to hit a running backhand passing shot down the line on the first day. Or getting them to do endless amount of sprints before teaching the fundamentals of how to hit the ball correctly. We know fatigue compromises movement quality in all people so we avoid this in the learning stage to ensure it is performed well. It is a simple process, learn to move well first then you can do more.

Yet these principles are often ignored for the sake of achieving a number of push ups and a score on the shuttle run. The HOW you do the push-ups, and HOW you run is considered irrelevant as long as you make the specified number. If you make the designated number you pass.

It is never wise to sacrifice technique for fitness and can set in motion permanent motor programs that are very difficult to correct. For more detail on this read our article – Why Exercise Technique Is So Important

All the runners I see in our injury and rehabilitation programs for knee, foot, hip, and even back problems their running technique was the biggest contributing factor to developing their injury. Trying to change this technique after years of pounding the pavement is very difficult. If they had come to see me for some tips on running form before they started running 10km or half marathons it would have been much easier. The chances of developing over-use injuries would be significantly diminished.

Mistake Number 1 – Improving Fitness before Learning to Move Well First

When people look to get in shape they believe that moving well will just happen. All they have to do is get out there and get it done and the body will fix itself. Unfortunately it never does and movement problems only get worse when compounded by frequency and volume of training.

This is what we often refer to as applying a fitness solution to what is really a health problem. Fitness cannot be obtained without being healthy first.

This is the mistake made by people looking to be accepted into emergency services who make up their own training programs based on what the tests will be. Their method is very simple - find out what the tests are and use the tests as the exercises as much possible to improve their score to the acceptable level. It sounds very logical and in some cases it may work just fine. However there is a problem with this method in that it assumes you know how to move correctly. It assumes you know how to run correctly or what a good push up is like.

Even personal trainers can make this mistake as I did early in my career. I just wanted to help the person as best as I could and seemed like common sense to make them fit as possible in the fastest time. If you have you ever tried to help a person who has horrible running technique faster you will know how difficult this can be. And vice versa if you have ever worked with an elite runner you will know how easy it can be to improve their fitness. It is not fitness that is the difference it is the efficiency of their running style that is.

All the people who have come to see me the past 10 years for help with a program for entering the Police force or Fire Department it was due to a significant weakness or issue they knew would be a problem in the testing. They did not know how they were going to overcome this with their knowledge on exercise and they were smart enough to ask an expert for help. They quickly found out that more fitness training was not helping them, it was making things worse.

This is a perfect example of where I had to make the program specific to their needs.

“Fitness Tests Are Standardized but People Are Anything But Standard”.

Even though the tests are never modified the programs I use with the people we help are not one size fits all approach. We are all so individually different there is no way we could follow a one size fits all program. Some people there problem was with the strength tests with a shoulder problem that flares up when they do too many push-ups, or a back problem from the sit-ups. Whereas others it was with running and a niggling knee problem. And the reasons for their weakness or problem was not the same every time. Two people could come to see me today for help with knee soreness from running that is caused from entirely different dysfunctions. Even though the pain is the same the reason for causing it is not. The program therefor will only be effective if it is specific to their needs. 

It is vital you complete an assessment that identifies where your weaknesses are and what these needs are. Your very first program must try to address this before you do any type of fitness training. If you do this step correctly the fitness training methods that want to apply will be so much safer and easier to implement.

You can download a FREE REPORT below about functional movement that explains many of the key movement patterns in great detail.

For great detail on movement patterns and examples of detailed assessments we use for various people read the articles below

• Why Functional Movement is So Important
• What to look for in a knee pain assessment
• Choosing the right exercises for sports

Read This Success Story of a Special Forces Applicant

Before getting right into the tests here is a great story to read of a guy we helped get into the elite Police Special Forces known as SOG (Special Operations Group). The testing process for this is very tough and not many make it. His biggest problem was he had a stuffed knee and running was his weakness.

He did not get accepted by us throwing fitness methods at him, he got in by learning how to move effectively first and then gradually progressing his program to a point that his body could handle the stress.

“I am currently a Tactical Operator in an elite Police Tactical Group within Australia. I attempted to train up for the gruelling selection process in 2009 and was hampered by knee pain which eventually became tendinopathy of the patella tendon and was unable to run for 18 months. Shelving my dream I pursued other career opportunities and in 2013 the dream was reignited through a series of circumstances.  Being 33 years old and having a body that had plenty of damage (particularly in my knees) I was not very hopeful of success.  I committed to trying to get my running going again and see how it went.  At that time the universe provided me with a number of Professionals that assisted me on the journey including Nick Jack from No Regrets. 

Nick's understanding of movement patterns, particularly with regard to running, is second to none. My Physio and podiatrist both stated to me when we started that what I was looking to achieve was not impossible, but with the damage to my body it was going to be touch and go. With Nick's help I was able to get my running up to such a standard that my best time was 40 seconds under the required time for the selection process.  Furthermore the work that I did via the weights program that Nick set for me and reset every 6 weeks or so made my body bullet proof enough to get through selection and the 3 month training course that followed without injury.  If I could tell you what that involved you would understand that what I have just told you was a miracle. I cannot overstate how important Nick and his training was. I would recommend him highly to anyone, no matter if your challenge is a marathon, elite sport or a career in the Special Forces Nick is your man.

Thanks for everything, (we cannot share this client's name or face due to security reasons)”.

Okay so all this sounds great, what should you do instead?

Let’s take a look at each of these services fitness tests and evaluate what you need to look for when trying to improve your ability.

Police Force Fitness Testing

There are seven test in the Victorian Police Physical Fitness Test. All the test involve some sort of physical exertion which includes jogging, running, sprinting, changing direction at speed, swimming, climbing over an obstacle, and generating or maintaining strength in certain muscle groups.

The tests are completed in the order listed in the chart below, with adequate recovery time between each individual test. If you fail the grip strength or Illinois agility run, you will be given another attempt to successfully complete these tests. Time will also be scheduled between these attempts for recovery before repeating.

In the chart below is a brief description of each test, what its purpose is, the scores applicants are required for a pass, and lastly what movement pattern and exercise choices would improve each test.

You will notice the pattern of gait is required 3 times and the pattern of lunge, squat, pushing and pulling only once. The push-up and the prone plank hold I would say are reasonably easy for most people to complete. If the quantity required for push-ups was higher it could be a problem for some and strength would become more of an issue.

You can read more about push-ups in this article – Why Push-ups are such a great exercise

Swimming was also a fairly easy test for most to complete and some swimming experience would be enough to get the job done.  Out of all these tests the main focus would be with the patterns of movement required the most and also associated with the most injury.

Running technique

This is a no brainer but unfortunately it is usually skipped. Towards the end of the article I will provide you with some videos of exercises to help you here.

Grip strength

Grip strength has been proven in many studies to be a good predictor of future injury and even overall body strength. The best exercises for improving this are deadlifts, chin-ups, and pulling exercises. Even though the fitness test is not testing capability in these movements you will see later in this article how valuable it could be with learning these movements now. Not only will you pass the grip strength with ease but be set up perfectly for other skills you will need later.

Obstacle course

The main issue I see with people who struggle with climbing obstacles is to do with poor hip mobility. This does not mean you need heaps of stretching and Yoga classes but learning how to create optimal hip range with good stability. The incidence of hip impingement injuries and back related problems from poor hip mechanics is very common. Once again when people excessively train for fitness without addressing this first is a recipe for disaster. A great article to read about hip problems and how to prevent them is in the article - Why Anterior Pelvic Tilt is so important

Interesting results I found in the study by the American Journal of Medicine I discussed earlier about Australian Police Officers and the incidence of injury related compensation. The study states, “That of all fitness measures tested cardiovascular fitness was the only individual measure that was associated with significant differences in workers “

The researchers found a correlation with decreased cardiovascular fitness being associated with increased health costs. This may indicate that police officers with lower cardiovascular fitness suffer less frequent but more serious injuries compared to their peers with greater cardiovascular fitness.

Reference: Liana Lentz, Jason R. Randall, Christine A. Guptill, Douglas P. Gross, Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan and Donald Voaklander, The Association Between Fitness Test Scores and Musculoskeletal Injury in Police Officers, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10.3390/ijerph16234667, 16, 23, (4667), (2019).

Melbourne Fire Brigade Fitness Testing

The fitness testing is much more specific with the fire department with several tests trying to determine the applicant’s cognitive ability more so than physical.

The Recruit Firefighter selection process involves a number of stages designed to determine an applicant’s suitability to meet the requirements of the role of Recruit Firefighter. Applicants will be allowed a maximum of three attempts at each stage of the selection process. The MFESB Physical Fitness and Firefighting Aptitude Tests have been designed to simulate actual duties on the fire ground. The tests require that applicants be physically fit to be successful.

The first stage is very simple being the beep test that was also used in the Police testing. The purpose of this is to determine whether an applicant has the necessary level of aerobic and cardiovascular fitness for the job of a career firefighter.

As opposed to the Police force where only a level of 6 was required, applicants for the Melbourne Fire Brigade are required to achieve a level of 9.6 to pass the test. Once the applicant has passed stage one they now are tested on the firefighting task course.

The firefighting task course is designed to test an applicant’s endurance and ability to perform fundamental physical tasks that firefighters must perform. The course is a series of ten tasks, which are simulations of actual tasks performed on the job.

You will notice a significant difference in the movement patterns required versus the Police testing.

The most common movement pattern used is BENDING & PULLING. Once again GAIT is also heavily required however instead of it used as running, this pattern is mostly walking with heavy loads. The risk of injury to the candidate from poor movement skills in these tasks is very high. The need for specialised training for these movements is critical.

BENDING (Deadlift)

If you want to be a firefighter you must become a master at the DEADLIFT. If you have problems with this exercise this career is going to be a huge risk to your back. You can see how many times this movement is needed in the tests above.

Make sure you read the article – Which deadlift version is best for you as we show you all the best tips and tricks to mastering this movement.

PULLING

There is many variations of pulling exercises such as chin-ups, bent over row, cable row and dumbbell row. The versions I prefer to train the firefighter with are standing and often single arm movement. If you refer to the tests observe how many times a hand over hand movement is needed to haul in a hose. The use of sled drags and cable pulls are great here as the legs are very much a key component of the movement to ensure optimal stability of the body.

These exercises are the ones that will improve your grip strength immensely.

You can read more about various pulling exercises in our article – The Top 7 Pulling Exercises

GAIT – Loaded Carries and Farmers Walks

The stress placed on the body from these movements is immense, and when you consider firefighters often need to walk upstairs with loads you can see how easily big problems can eventuate if there is a weakness or compensation. This movement shares some of the traits of the deadlift but where it really excels is with the GRIP STRENGTH. The time you are forced to hold the heavy load is the key, not necessarily the weight.

The video below features several running technique drills to use.

You can read more about training for this in the article – Farmers walks & loaded carries for grip strength

There were several other specific skills and movements needed in some of the other tests with balance and even pushing movements. These would also need to be developed but my main focus would be mastering the deadlift. There is so many ongoing health problems I see every day from not getting this movement right. Time spent here is well worth it and to be honest the other patterns are much more easily learned once this is perfect.

More information on the exact requirements of each Stage, visit the Melbourne Fire Brigade website: http://www.mfb.vic.gov.au/

Now that we have looked at how to get into either the Police force or Fire Brigade, what happens once you pass your fitness test and accepted into the academy? Does your training stop? Of course it doesn’t, if anything the demands will increase greatly and this is where we see the short cuts from training solely for the fitness test begin to surface.

Mistake Number 2 – Injury Caused By Fitness Training

Once you have passed your fitness test and you are accepted into the program you need to continue to maintain and develop your strength and fitness. The course structure will put you through advanced programs to get you up to standard with the people in the field. This is where the method of using training to be good for the tests only begins to come undone as these tests will not fully prepare people for all of the physical demands the job requires, and in many ways it was not meant to. Its purpose was to define a basic level of competency for you to begin the learning process. A bit like getting learners permit to give you the opportunity to learn how to drive a car.

Unfortunately it is quite common to see people injured from the gym training programs implemented at the academy that are supposed to prevent the very injury they sustained from training! The fitness testing did not take into account all of the unique physical skills and abilities required for the advanced type of training that will be executed on the job.

For example I have helped several police officers with a bulging disc in the lumbar spine caused by Olympic lifting or deadlift exercises in the gym at the academy. These people had not spent time learning how to do deadlifts in a gym before. They were competent at push-ups and running and could hold a plank for 2 minutes but none of these things prepared them for the movement of bending with load. Interestingly bending with load is much more specific to the occupation of ALL emergency services than a plank or grip strength with a dyno meter.

A few years ago I watched a great lecture by world renowned researcher on back pain Dr Stuart McGill where he completed several studies on firefighters with back pain. I highly suggest to get this DVD series with Dr McGill, Gray Cook, and Craig Liebenson by going to OPT Books. I have watched these lectures about 10 times they are that good.

Anyway he made several observations that really stuck in my mind and began to change how I looked at helping people like firefighters, police, paramedics, and even army recruits. Here is some of the transcript from Dr McGill’s lecture that stuck in my mind.

“I will tell you the policemen who are getting hurt are spending much more time in the weight room. Do you know what they’re training? The internet ‘fitness daily challenges.’ Again, it’s disguising the relationships of moving well—fitness and all the rest of it, including injury.”

As in our police studies, the ones who are getting hurt are men who are smaller and fitter. They had a better movement competency score. Then, we went back and really studied what the injury mechanism was.

• The back injuries were associated with lifting.
• The knee injuries were associated with gait patterns and running on and off the truck.
• The shoulder injuries were associated with pushing and pulling

These findings have huge implications. The evidence has suggested that movement patterns and behaviours can be changed with exercise. We’ve established that. You’re writing new engrams and coaching good form, but now we have the evidence for using specific screens for specific injuries.”

This is where if I meet up with a person looking to get into the Police force or Fire Department I will be assessing and coaching them on the movements associated with the things Dr McGill listed.

• Bending (deadlifts) and squats for lifting
• Single leg stance and lunges for gait patterns and running
• Pushing and pulling for upper body movement

Sure I will have elements of fitness included but only with the movements that are of an acceptable standard. This means they may be performing progressions of some things but regressions of others and it will vary from person to person for we are all different.

This is exactly the same principles I use with a sportsperson. The quality of moving precedes the use of specific abilities. For example I will not implement advanced agility drills if the person cannot demonstrate a perfect multidirectional lunge and single leg squat first. I have to coach these basic fundamentals before making it harder, otherwise they will adopt a faulty movement that will set them up for injury and pain.

Once again I refer to Dr McGill’s research on assessing movement with firefighters.  He screened a group of firefighters in Pensacola, Florida, on only five patterns—a squat, a lunge, bending, pushing and pulling. He found these patterns great at predicting their competency in actual firefighting tasks such as breaching a door, climbing a ladder, and hose drags.

Below is an image demonstrating the tests he did to determine this.

When comparing the group who learned how to move correctly in the patterns of movement shown above versus those who were using fitness training with no emphasis on quality of movement here is what he found.

“Placing an emphasis on how each exercise was performed (movement-oriented fitness) altered the firefighters’ habitual movement patterns.

• They exhibited less spine and frontal plane knee motion post-training while performing five transfer tasks not included in their exercise program.
• The adaptations observed were consistent across loads and speeds.
• Emphasizing “fitness” alone may have increased the firefighters’ risk of injury.
• The individuals in the “fitness” oriented group showed a propensity to adopt more spine and frontal plane knee motion post-training.”

Once again I say these lectures and information really made me think hard about what I was doing with clients coming to see me for help with fitness. I came to understand that if I did not address their movement first and went straight to the interval training and intense strength endurance exercise I potentially was making them worse. There might be some people who did already move well who could tolerate this, but the percentage of those people I found out over time was very low. Most people possessed movement dysfunction across many patterns and could take some coaching and time to get to a safe standard for intense exercise.

The big question is what do you do?

Exercises to Use

I have already shown quite a few video examples of many exercises you can use. But to give you a greater understanding of the exercises that you would want to build your program around refer to the videos below. Many of these exercises are the very movements Dr McGill referred to in the slide earlier.

Functional Workout Example

The video of the workout below is an awesome program for the firefighter as it includes many of the necessary skills for the occupation. A combination of strength and mobility is of high importance and I would rate this as my favourite workout for functional movement.

Additional Resources to Help You

Those suffering with knee, hip, back, or shoulder injuries will find our detailed programs below will cater perfectly for finding the source of your problem. Each of these advanced programs you can download instantly and will provide you with detailed assessments and step by step programs to implement. Click here to go straight to the online shop or on the image below of the program you need.

Summary

I apologise for the length of this article as it does contain a lot of information but I hope you were able to find what you were looking for and most importantly grasp the concept of learning to move before applying fitness training. I know this is not what many people want to hear and I accept that there will be a lot of people ignore this message. All I can say is that I see so many people with horrific and chronic injuries that could have easily been prevented if they adopted the strategies discussed in this article.

Fitness testing and fitness training for emergency services is so important for them to provide the best service to the community. We just need to make sure that the training they use prepares them correctly for this and does not risk their health in the process.

For more ideas and information on specific topics I may not have covered in detail be sure to check out our INDEX PAGE on the website that has over 300 of our best articles. These are all sorted into categories for quick reference so you can find what you are after more easily. You can also subscribe to our FREE fortnightly newsletter by clicking here.

If you live in Melbourne and would like to organise a Free Consultation to discuss how we can help you improve your strength and movement to pass your fitness test for the Police or Fire Brigade fill in the form below and I will be in touch within 24 hours to schedule a time.

References:

• Assessing movement DVD - by Dr Stuart McGill, Craig Liebenson, and Gray Cook
• J R Hunter, A J Macquarrie and S C Sheridan, Physical capacity of New South Wales ambulance paramedics, Occupational Medicine, 10.1093/occmed/kqz131, (2019).
• Liana Lentz, Jason R. Randall, Christine A. Guptill, Douglas P. Gross, Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan and Donald Voaklander, The Association Between Fitness Test Scores and Musculoskeletal Injury in Police Officers, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10.3390/ijerph16234667, 16, 23, (4667), (2019).
• Movement - By Gray Cook
• Corrective Exercise Solutions - by Evan Osar
• Athletic Body Balance by Gray Cook
• Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes - By Shirley Sahrman
• Low Back Disorders - by Stuart McGill
• Back Pain Mechanic - by Stuart McGill
• Anatomy Trains - by Thomas Meyers
• Motor Learning and Performance - By Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D Lee
• Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance - By Vladimir Janda
• How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek
• Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course - By Paul Chek
• Advanced Program Design - By Paul Chek
• Twist Conditioning Sports Strength - By Peter Twist
• Twist Conditioning Sports Movement - By Peter Twist
• Twist Conditioning Sports Balance - By Peter Twist