How Important Is Physical Fitness?

[MaceWindu]

So, while not as "fun" or as "cool", frankly we'd all be better off eating healthy and getting some exercise as first priority.

100% correct. All the Colt this, Noveske that, Larue mounts, etc...don't mean jack if you can't hold your mud. From a cardio or ability to haul gear point of view.

Hack it...if not...hit the gym. That is all.


Mace

[Blake]

I believe it is very important. As stated above, when we are placed under stress, the body has to react. Your body will respond more appropriately, the better shape that you are in.

One thing I have noticed through various courses, and even pictures of the many classes that I have seen in the multiple AARs, there are some pretty overweight folks in the shooting community (not trying to step on toes). It is kind of surprising, due to the fact these same people are such believers in preparedness and training for "when the time comes". Any physical confrontation is going to place stress on a person, you should be able to move and react rapidly to crucial events. It only takes minutes per day. I truly believe if we dig deep enough we can find the time to fit PT in to our daily lives. Get up 20 to 30 minutes earlier if you must. You can't overlook your daily diet as well. Good thread!

[warpigM-4]

I am GTG I stay with the APFT at my age group
push-ups in 2 min-36 I and bust out 45 to 50
Sit-ups in 2 min-38 I can hit about 40 to 42
2 mile run-18:18 still hurting a little at 19:30 not to bad off ,but needs work.
68inch height
150 weight
If i could just give up drinking cokes i could probally get to 145

[charger02]

I would have to agree with the posts about physical fitness and confidence. I think this translates into every aspect of ones life, not just when out on the range. I also believe there is a difference between "fighting" and "shooting." But for both there needs to be some level of physical fitness.

[ABN]

In a civilian self defense situation the only time I can envision using a weapon is for home defense. I would think that this would be a pretty easy thing to do physically, but I've never done it so can't speak for certain.
Miltary/Law Enforcement would need to maintain a higher level of physical fitness in order to meet their demands. So, how much is enough and what do you have to say on the topic?

Thanks for you input!

As far as a civilian self defense situation, I would tend to think it would be more likely to use a firearm while CCW in public, than in the home. Couldn't provide a study or statistics, just seems reasonable to me.

For a civilian, I would say it would not be all that neccesary to be able to be in peak pysical condition. That being said, keeping fit is a very positive endeavor for any reason. In my opinion, for a civilian the most important factor outside of actual firearms training, or maybe equal to it is having the proper "mindset" and "mean streak" capable of transitioning from a mundane everyday life to being capable of killing another human being. I also think the better your physical condition,the better your mental state in a stressful situation.

As far as the military goes, without question you should be in top physical condition. Carrying heavy equipment for long distances, carrying a wounded Soldier,ect is probably not something a civilian needs to be prepared for. It all starts with running. In the military you should have a high level of cardio-resp. endurance and muscle endurance. If you can do 80+ pushups 85+ sit-ups, run a sub 13:00 minute 2 mile, be capable of running distance(5+ miles) at a 7:00 mile pace, 15+ pull-ups, ruckmarch at distance(15+ miles) at a 4 mph pace w/ a 65 pound ruck and have a decent swimming ability you could hang in any "high-speed" unit in the Army. I should add, there is nothing wrong with having some extra body fat. If you go to Ranger school for example, expect to lose 15+ pounds.
The extra fat comes in handy, it isn't a swimsuit contest.

[ABN]

" ...(The Chief) has mentioned his displeasure with an officer or two who, in a fight, wound up incapacitated in the fetal position, not from being beat up, just out of breath from being out of shape. The chief leads by example, benching 320.

Unsatisfactory, quite frankly it obviously could or has put other officers at risk. +1 to the Chief for leading from the front. Out of curiousity why can't the department require minimum PT standards ?

[HolyRoller]

Well, let me clarify. Any department is free to set its own hiring and retention criteria, including PT tests. And as one of our instructors in BLET said, the neat thing about being Chief of Police is that if you don't like your department's policy on something, you can just make a new policy. So yes, it is possible to have in-service PT standards.

But around here, it's a matter of what the recruitment and retention market will bear. The laws of economics overpower an optimum fitness standard, in that if you started to lay down the law in PT, you'd literally have to let half the force go. In rural NC, it's hard to find quality officers these days to start with. The sheriff's department in my county is looking like crazy for people to fill new positions that have been needed for awhile. Pay is low, with no bonuses for staying fit, and everybody I know of below captain has some hustle on the side, anything from landscaping to law practice, so it's hard to make time for PT. Fitness is only one part of LE, and having other talents and experiences can make up for lack of fitness, as far as how valuable you are to the department overall. You can be 100+ pounds overweight and be an effective desk sergeant--not making that one up. If nothing else, LE is kind of a small world where we are, and we do not like people getting fired or asked to leave for anything less than a compelling reason.

Not only that, the officers most likely to be PTing are either those on the tac team, which the sheriff's department is just now standing up, or the new people who just got out of BLET. The latter group may or may not turn out to be good overall officers. We'd rather have guys who have proven themselves and who know what they're doing, even if a bit soft around the edges.

I have to PT simply to avoid pain, because if I don't work my lower body, my sprained knees and plantar fasciitis inevitably start hurting again. Also, I am single with no kids and I have my own business, giving me a lot of flexibility. Even then, when I was full-time, my fitness level declined noticeably, because there was that much more demand on my time. But I was still pretty good at working the civil process squad.

That was a long-winded way of saying that on the whole, officers are really as physically fit as they need to be for more than 99.9% of what they might have to do. Training for the other less than 0.1% is up to the individual. Some are content to trust to luck and, admittedly, usually they turn out well. Some of us work on creating our own luck in advance, which still may not be enough, but then again, it could make all the difference in the world.

[ABN]

That was a long-winded way of saying that on the whole, officers are really as physically fit as they need to be for more than 99.9% of what they might have to do. Training for the other less than 0.1% is up to the individual. Some are content to trust to luck and, admittedly, usually they turn out well. Some of us work on creating our own luck in advance, which still may not be enough, but then again, it could make all the difference in the world.

I understand your point. The point I was making was that one officer's lack of fitness, like the story described earlier about the officer curled in the fetal position during a fight effects other officer's safety. I see this as somewhat selfish. In a situation such as this they become a burden. I wouldn't dispute that the 99.9% of the time, the lack of fitness will have zero or little effect on the outcome of the situation. However, it seems reasonable to me that as a LEO, it is highly likely/inevitable that you will be involved in physical confrontation. I'm not suggesting someone be able to max the PT test.

I understand there is real world issues, such as being forced to work a second job,ect. Time constraints,family,ect. all will play a factor. Still I think the officers should be at least able to stay in the fight. It really doesn't take that much.

[Gutshot John]

As a fat-body I have to say that it's hard to argue against the importance of physical fitness.

It's kind of like firearms: 'better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.'

Try and shoot on the move for anything more than 2 minutes and you're smoked or at least that's been my experience/observation in shooting classes.

I am making progress though.

[Harv]

If I could run fast, I would not need the gun....

Physical fitness is important.. health is everything. Stamina is the key...

My last 15K road march before I retired and I passed up a lot of 19 yr olds ( I was 40 at the time)

I've watch a lit of 2nd LT's drop from Heat cause they could not handle it and stay hydrated..

Being in good shape is a good thing, and now I'm going on the treadmill..