What it takes to pass the Idaho Falls Police physical fitness test
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The Idaho Falls Police Department is looking for new recruits, starting with its upcoming entry and physical fitness tests.
For anyone interested in joining the department, hiring Captain Joel Tisdale says now is the time to get in shape.
"In the police world, there's a lot of physicality at times. We do drive around and not have to move a muscle for hours on end sometimes. But there are days when you're nonstop, physical, moving people moving things, jumping over things, jump crawling under things," Capt. Tisdale said. "You have to be able to get on top of a house, crawl under a house, carry somebody that's hurt, carry somebody that doesn't want to walk."
New recruits are expected to do push-ups, sit-ups, a 300-meter sprint, a vertical jump and a one-and-a-half-mile run. Idaho Falls' newest officer Alonzo Garcia ran through some strategies to pass the test.
"You can be a great distance runner, but then you have to run a sprint. You're not used to using those. different muscles. Groups are not firing quite as fast as they should be," Garcia said. "So being able to do both is very good, not just sprinting every day and not just running distance every day, but doing one, one day and one the other."
Officer Garcia suggests people prepare for the test by running at least twice a week, and correct or incorrect forms can make a big difference in the actual test.
"People cheat themselves by not actually getting reps. People will get in and instead of doing the correct pushup all the way up and down, they'll only go a little way down. They'll move their head, they'll move something that doesn't need to or they do go all the way down and then they don't go all the way up. So they get all this effort, but none of those count," Capt. Tisdale said.
Another test new recruits find difficult is the vertical jump, where they have to jump a minimum of 14 inches. Captain Tisdale suggests potential officers practice box jumps or other jumping exercises before the physical fitness tests on Sept. 13.
For more information on Police testing or to register for the physical fitness test, click HERE.
