Strength and Conditioning Program Design Considerations for Law Enforcement Officers

Dawes, Jay; Lentine, Tim; Johnson, Quincy; Lockie, Robert G.; Orr, Rob Marc

doi:10.1519/ssc.0000000000000680

Cited by 13 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Conversely, in another study by Dawes et al (9), no difference in push-up performance was observed among 20- to 29-year-old police officers (46.47 ± 14.62 repetitions) and 50- to 59-year-old officers (43.71 ± 15.09 repetitions). Of note, all of these studies (9,14,21,29) were cross-sectional studies and compared cohorts either at different times in their careers (i.e., recruits versus officers) or cohorts of different ages. None of the studies investigated longitudinal changes in physical fitness within these populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Longitudinal Changes in Health and Fitness Measures Among State Patrol Officers by Sex

Dawes¹,

Santos²,

Kornhauser³

et al. 2022

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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Dawes, JJ, Lopes dos Santos, M, Kornhauser, C, Holmes, RJ, Alvar, BA, Lockie, RG, and Orr, RM. Longitudinal changes in health and fitness measures among state patrol officers by sex. J Strength Cond Res 37(4): 881–886, 2023—Research suggests that police officers lose fitness as a result of their policing vocation with occupational factors like stress, shift work, poor sleep, and poor diet all contributors to this loss The purpose of this research was to measure changes in fitness test scores of qualified police officers over a 5-year period. Archived fitness data for 523 state patrol officers (n = 494 men; 29 women) from one agency were used for this analysis. These tests included 60-second sit-up [SU] and push-up [PU] scores (muscular endurance), vertical jump height [VJ] (lower-body power), and 20-m multistage fitness test (aerobic capacity). A series of paired-samples t-tests and effect size calculations were used to investigate mean differences in fitness tests score at the beginning and end of a 5-year period. The paired-samples t test showed significant tests score decreases among male officers over the 5-year period in VJ, PU, and V̇o2max,, with no differences observed in SU performance. Small effect sizes were observed in both VJ (g = −0.20) and PU (g = −0.27) with a trivial effect size observed in changes to V̇o2max (g = −0.14). In contrast, significant improvements in performance were observed in SU performance among female officers, with a small effect size (g = 0.38). No other significant differences were found in female measures. Whether at an organizational or individual level, annual fitness assessments for police officers can serve to educate and motivate officers regarding their personal fitness and potentially slow the negative impact of aging on health, fitness, and performance in these populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Longitudinal Changes in Health and Fitness Measures Among State Patrol Officers by Sex

Dawes¹,

Santos²,

Kornhauser³

et al. 2022

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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show abstract

“…The current body of literature suggests that academy training may not adequately prepare officers for occupational demands (Dawes et al, 2021). Moreover, cadets and officers may not understand what training is required to encourage optimal health and performance-related physical fitness.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of shorter and longer distance sprint running to change of direction speed in police students

Streetman¹,

Paspalj²,

Zlojutro³

et al. 2022

Nauka bezbednost policija

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Background. Law enforcement officers may experience unique physical demands while on duty, including pursuing a suspect on foot, clearing obstacles, rapidly moving between covers, and engaging in physical confrontations with violent offenders. Several different change of direction speed (CODS) assessments are routinely used to simulate these demands. However, the relationship between these assessments has not been fully explored. Thus, this study investigated the association of shorter and longer distance sprint running with CODS performance. Methods. 15 police students ran the 20-m sprint test, 300-yard shuttle run, and Illinois Agility Test (IAT). Correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate associations. The effect size analysis provided the magnitude of associations. Results. Correlation analysis determined moderate association between 0-10 m, 10-20 m, and 0-20 m sprint performance with the IAT. The regression analysis determined strong linear association of IAT with sprint 0-10 m (R 2 = 0.488, F = 12.385, p = 0.004), sprint 10-20 m (R 2 = 0.496, F = 12.775, p = 0.003), sprint 0-20 m (R 2 = 0.573, F = 17.468, p = 0.001), and no linear association with the 300-yard shuttle run. Conclusions. The current study found a significant positive association between short sprints and IAT performance, suggesting that linear sprinting speed determines a significant proportion of CODS performance. Therefore, police students and officers should include sprint training in their physical fitness routine.

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“…Sit-up Test. Muscular endurance of the abdominal muscles was measured with the sit-up test, where police officers had to complete as many repetitions as possible in 1 minute (8)(9)(10)19). All police officers were required to begin the test lying in a supine position a mat, with the flexed knees forming an angle less than 90°and feet flat on the ground with the heels together.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and Sex Differences in Fitness Among Brazilian Federal Highway Patrol Officers

Marins

Dawes

Vecchio

2021

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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Marins, EF, Dawes, JJ, and Del Vecchio, FB. Age and sex differences in fitness among Brazilian Federal Highway Patrol Officers. J Strength Cond Res 37(6): 1292–1297, 2023—Age- and sex-related differences in fitness have been observed in U.S.-based law enforcement agencies. However, these differences have not been fully explored among agencies outside the United States. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the age- and sex-related differences on selected measures of physical fitness among Brazilian Federal Highway Police Officers. Retrospective physical fitness data for 7,044 (men = 6,283 and women = 761) officers were provided for analysis. These tests included sit-ups and push-ups (muscular endurance), flexed-arm hang/pull-ups (upper-body strength), standing broad jump (lower-body power), and a 12-minute run (aerobic capacity). Data were stratified by age into 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, and 50–59 year groups and analyzed by sex. Independent samples t-tests were used to assess sex-related differences, and a one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc for multiple pairwise comparisons was used to calculate differences between age groups. A linear regression was then used to verify the effect of age on the physical fitness for both sexes. Male officers were older, heavier, and taller and displayed greater upper-limb muscular endurance and aerobic capacity than female officers (p < 0.05). General declines in muscular endurance, strength, lower-body power, and cardiorespiratory fitness were observed among male officers (p < 0.05) by age groups. Significant (p < 0.05) declines in fitness were also observed among older female officers in muscular endurance, lower-body power, and cardiorespiratory fitness. These general declines in fitness with age progression may negatively impact an officers overall health and occupational fitness. Officers should strive to attain and maintain adequate levels of fitness to sustain health, fitness, and occupational performance throughout their career. It is recommended that both male and female officers engage in strength training and conditioning programs focused to combat the potential deleterious effects of aging.

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Strength and Conditioning Program Design Considerations for Law Enforcement Officers

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Longitudinal Changes in Health and Fitness Measures Among State Patrol Officers by Sex

Longitudinal Changes in Health and Fitness Measures Among State Patrol Officers by Sex

Association of shorter and longer distance sprint running to change of direction speed in police students

Age and Sex Differences in Fitness Among Brazilian Federal Highway Patrol Officers

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