Police academy fitness training at the Police Training Institute, University of Illinois Available to Purchase

The Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois designed a fitness training programme which allowed the participants to choose the intensity and mode of their exercise. Between June 1993 and March 1995, the incoming recruits’ fitness level was assessed before and after the training programme in order to measure the improvement induced by the training and to compare the recruits’ fitness level to the general population. The recruits significantly improved their flexibility (19.10 vs 15.13 degrees) and abdominal strength (4.91 vs 4.98 Lovett score). The male recruits improved their aerobic capacity (recovery heart rate: 86.27 vs 81.32 bpm) and the female recruits improved their back strength (4.86 vs 4.97 Lovett score). No significant changes were observed for grip strength (54.62 vs 54.21 kg), relative body fat (19.5 vs 18.5 per cent body fat), blood pressure (diastolic: 77.99 vs 77.52 mm Hg; systolic: 125.47 vs 125.10 mm Hg), and resting heart rate (74.89 vs 74.23 bpm). Compared to population norms, the majority of the recruits were within the normal range for blood pressure, resting heart rate, abdominal and back muscle strength. A large proportion of the recruits had good flexibility, average grip strength, and fair to excellent per cent body fat. Still, 33.4 per cent of the males and 25 per cent of the females were low to very low in aerobic capacity. As a result, the fitness programme has been modified in order to further improve recruits’ fitness.