13 health checks every man needs
13 health checks every man needs
Men's Health Week is almost here, as good a time as any for a trip to your GP. Discover the most important health checks you need to get done
Bodybuilders Get Taken To Task On This Aussie Police Officer Physical Fitness Test
The idea of joining the police force might conjure images of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s characters from 21 Jump Street. Surely, once you’ve secured the uniform, it’s merely a matter of standing around and occasionally engaging in a hot pursuit on bike? But if you’ve ever doubted the physicality of Australia’s police force, you need only watch this video to see proof of just how gruelling their training is. Uploaded to their YouTube channel, fitness buffs Brandon and Hudson White – known, naturally, as the Buff Dudes – got put through the paces on a physical fitness test used by the police force in NSW. Testing metrics used by the force, the test involves a challenging mix of exercises that certainly proved more arduous than the standard run of push-ups and crunches one might expect.
The first test involved hand grip strength. For anyone taking officer survival and firearms training in NSW, there’s actually a minimum grip strength requirement. Hudson who goes first, lasts just 2 minutes holding a pair of 30kg dumbbells, while Brandon wins with 2 minutes 37 seconds.
Then comes the second test: a 90-second plank. It’s easy enough, with the challenge targeting the core – something the Buff Dudes have trained to perfection. Brandon is able to hold his plank for 3 minutes, with Hudson narrowly beating him with 3 minutes 4 seconds. “That was harder than watching Lethal Weapon 4,” he says.
As Hudson suggests, “The great thing with every single one of these tests is they serve a purpose. With this one, it’s really going to help strengthen your core. As a police officer, you have a lot of equipment around your belt, and this helps prevent lower back pain.”
After the plank comes the vertical jump, in which individuals must clear 12 inches off the ground. Hudson manages a jump of 16 inches, while Brandon wins with 24 inches. Then comes push-ups, with a minimum count of 25 being needed in order to qualify. Brandon maxes out at 40, while Hudson gets 42.
Following the push-ups, the Buff Dudes then take on the Illinois agility test, a footwork drill which must be completed in 20 seconds or under. Hudson completes it in 14.14 seconds, while Brandon smashes it out in 12.78 seconds. After this comes the final round: a multi-stage fitness test, known as the beep test, which focuses on cardio. Participants have to run 70 laps, each measuring 20 metres, and the time spent completing each lap can’t exceed 8.5 seconds. While the pair excelled at the strength and mobility tests, both fail this one.
As Hudson puts it rather simply: “We weren’t meant to be cops.”
