The one repetition maximum bench press is not as a popular as the 1.5 mile run when it comes to police testing exercises. Probably one out of every twenty law enforcement agencies still have the one rep bench press as part of their fitness test.
Honestly I don’t think this test has anything to do with law enforcement, and should be eliminated completely as part of the recruit fitness testing process. With that being said there are alot of agencies that don’t share the same opinion.
You must know that the bench press is by far the most popular exercise in the gym and the standard by which many judge their own strength and the strength of others. It is also one the exercises that can be hard to excel at and plateaus at certain weights are hard to break through.
| Don’t Know How To Prepare For The Police Fitness Test?Try Following a Law Enforcement Specific Workout Program. |
The article below is going to go over a few points that will help you improve your 1 repetition maximum bench press.
Start Strengthening Your Supporting Muscles
The bench press involves more than just your chest muscles, your front deltoids, triceps are directly involved as well and almost every other upper body muscle you have is helping to stabilize and balance the weight. So make sure that you are working to get stronger shoulders and triceps as these will help you push heavier weights. But when going for more strength in the triceps and shoulders make sure you use compound movements that will let you move heavier weights as opposed to isolating shaping exercises.
Good Exercises To Build Shoulder Strength
- Front Barbell Press
- Seated Dumbbell Press
- Upright Rows
Exercises To Build Strong Tricep Muscles
- Dips
- Close Grip Bench Presses
- Ez Bar Extensions
Use Varying Rep Ranges To Shock your Body
The biggest mistake that most police applicants make when trying to get stronger bench pressing is they only lift heavy weights and never venture into the higher rep range. While it is true the heavier weights will develop strength faster you muscles have fibers that only respond to higher rep training and not stimulating them is costing you both size and strength. I like to switch off to higher reps every few workout sessions just to keep things growing and keep my body confused!
| Don’t Know How To Prepare For The Police Fitness Test?Try Following a Law Enforcement Specific Workout Program. |
The weight that you must press is determined by your age and weight; therefore, the following are generic guidelines that will help you develop upper body strength.
If you have access to weights, determine the maximum amount that you can bench press one time, (when using free weights, make sure you have a spotter).
Take 50% of that weight, this will be your training weight. You should be able to do 8-10 repetitions of that weight, for three sets, (this will be a total of 24-30 repetitions). You should increase your weight in increments of 2 ½ – 5 pounds weekly.
If you do not have access to weights, it is possible to increase your upper body strength by doing sets of 3 sets of push-ups 3-4 times a week. Start your training by doing sets of 10 push-ups per set, or as many as you can do until you can do 10 push-ups per set.
Below is a list by rank of cities and states with the toughest law enforcement fitness standards:
