I received an e-mail from a police applicant who is preparing for the police exam and the police agility test in three months. She wanted some advice on how to improve her push-up performance for the test as she is well below the minimum requirement for females. She says she has never done pushups the old fashion way; she only practiced doing push-ups with both knees on the ground as opposed to doing regular push-up with both knees off the ground.
In order to improve your push-ups, you must do regular pushups with knees off the ground. If you want to dramatically improve your push-up performance for the police physical fitness test, you must start doing regular push-ups right way. There is no reason why women can’t do regular push-up. All it takes is a little practice.
I have had several online clients men and women, who started out doing push-ups on their knees but now can easily do forty to fifty regular push-ups without any rest. It all comes down to a little practice and doing some of the techniques that I’m about to share with you.
Here are some simple tips and workouts to help you improve your pushups for the Police Agility Test. Make sure you execute each push-up with proper technique. Some agencies will disqualify you if you don’t perform the push-ups correctly.
Here’s what to do:
Always Warm-Up
Get the heart pumping and the arms warmed up by doing the following warm-up (repeat twice; it only takes 2 -5 minutes):
– Jumping jacks, 15
– Bodyweight Lunge, 15
Once you’re done warming up, stretch the triceps, chest & shoulders:
Triceps / Shoulders Stretch: Place both arms over and behind your head. Grab your right elbow with your left hand and pull your elbow toward your opposite shoulder. Lean into the pull to also stretch your back/oblique muscles. Switch arms and repeat.
Chest / Shoulders Stretch: Grab onto a bar or wall with one hand, turn and twist so you feel a stretch of the chest and shoulder connection. Pull your shoulders back and stick your chest out. Hold for 15 seconds. Switch arms and repeat.
Proper techniques and exercises that will improve your push-ups
Try Going Fast: For maximum points on the Police Agilty Test, do the push-ups as quickly as you can. The slower you go, the more gravity will affect your strength. Remember to adhere to proper form.
Use Proper Stance: Your hands should be about shoulder width apart. Lie on the floor with your hands even with your shoulders. Too many people place their hands too high or too low, which will weaken your push-ups tremendously.
Get On your Toes: Once you burn out, it is OK to go to your knees in order to finish the workout.
The following prep exercise routine for the police fitness test are taken from the Pass The Police Exam Ebook. Not only is the super set one of the best ways to increase your push-ups, but while you “rest” your push-up muscles, you can also increase your sit-ups.
Push-Up/Crunch Super Set
Do 2-3 sets of each: Execute a pair of exercises back to back without rest.
Exercise #1- Regular push-ups- 10 superset with- regular crunches, 10
Exercise #2- Wide push-ups- 10 superset with– reverse crunches, 10
Exercise #3- Triceps push-ups-10- superset with plank, 10-30 seconds
Here’s other ways to improve your push-ups:
Repeat twice:
– 1 minute of push-ups without stopping
– 1 minute of sit-ups without stopping
Repeat three times:
– 20 seconds of push-ups
– 20 seconds of sit-ups
Repeat four times:
– 15 seconds of push-ups
– 15 seconds of sit-ups
Try these exercise routines only resting while you do your crunches or sit-ups. These workouts are challenging and only take a few minutes to do. I recommend that you try to incorporate push-ups and crunches into your workoutroutine, 3 times a week 30 minutes or less.
If you are not following a detailed workout program that will prepare you for both the police training academy and the agility test, visit PTPE to download your complete workout program.
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