3 PARE/POPAT Conditioning Mistakes

On the surface, the PARE and POPAT tests look easy. When you watch it, most people look like they're jogging through it and the obstacles don't look difficult. That's why many people underestimate it. That's why when they train, they don't train the right way.

When test day arrives, they figure they got it in the bag. Before they hit the halfway point, reality bitch slaps them.

Now they realize what they were doing wasn't enough, so they go the other extreme: balls to the wall don't stop til you drop conditioning. It helps to a point, but soon they discover their body is broken from so much intensity.

Conditioning training is a funny thing sometimes. And conditioning training for the physical tests is often done wrong.

Below are 3 common conditioning mistakes people make when preparing for the PARE or POPAT tests.

#1 Not Enough Intensity

Lack of intensity will bite you in the ass when you test the first time. You'll soon learn the error of your ways for always training at low to moderate intensity. Don't let the simplicity of the tests fool you. Remember, simple does not mean easy.

If you go in underestimating the test, which many do, you will pay the price. Jogging 3, 4, 5, or even 6 times a week isn't going to cut it, especially if they're all the same intensity.

Typically by lap 3 or 4, you'll be sucking wind because you failed to infuse intensity into your conditioning training. Don't fall into this trap.

#2 Too Much Intensity

On the flipside, too much intensity in your training can be detrimental, in another sense. It will boost your fitness, but if you rely on it exclusively, you will hit a plateau very quickly.

What's the typical response when this happens? Train harder of course!

But again, that gets you nowhere fast, and you end up spinning your wheels feeling like you have to go hard or go home. I'll give you an example where this commonly occurs.

The 1.5 mi run is a popular assessment police agencies use to measure one's aerobic fitness. The most common benchmark is to hit 12:00 or faster. So for those who can't hit 12:00, they will run 1.5 mi once or twice a week, and they will run it as fast as they can each time.

They will see progress within weeks, and they continue with the same strategy: run faster each 1.5 mi. But by week 4, maybe 5, they hit a ceiling. They're no longer improving, or heaven forbid, they're getting slower.

Why would that be?

It's because they're always going hard, always making their training high intensity and neglecting the other aspects of conditioning training (ie aerobic training).

#3 Not Learning How to Pace

I find this point is related to mistake #2. People tend to go too fast too soon when they do conditioning training, and they end up gasping for air much faster than they should be. They make it hard on themselves from the get go vs building up to a certain pace.

Pacing is a skill, and like any other skill you have to practice it often and in different conditions. Learn to pace for long distances, learn to pace for short distances, and learn to pace everything in between. The more you learn to pace in different conditions, the quicker you can adapt to changing environments.

Most people will typically run the 6 laps between 2:20-2:45. That may not sound long, but to try and "sprint" for that long is a very difficult thing to do. If you blast out of the gates like a greyhound chasing the mechanical bunny, you will be in for a world of hurt.

Be conservative, realize there is more after the 6 laps, and don't gas yourself before the push/pull machine.

One Year of the Push/Pull Machine

It's been one year today since I got the push/pull machine. Over the past year it has been used and abused extensively, and it will continue to take a licking. It's one tough bastard that has been a game changer for me.

Since getting the machine, I've learned a few things about the push and the pull, and a few ideas about it have also been reinforced. I've learned how to coach it better and have found what works and what doesn't for certain people. I quickly came to realize a single exercise won't improve your push/pull performance. There are a few factors that will determine your success.

First and foremost, practice. Practice the footwork, learn how to push properly and pull properly, and learn how to utilize your body. Of course finding a machine to practice this is difficult, but there are ways you can simulate it. For the pull, any cable column with heavy enough resistance (I suggest anything over 100 lbs or the equivalent to 100 lbs) can be used. Just make sure there's enough room to operate within. You can even use resistance bands or tubing to simulate the pull.

For the push, it's best to have a partner so you can practice the footwork and focus on constantly pushing forward. If you can't do that, something I've been playing around with is to use a corner of a wall (corner going out), or even a metal pole, and practice your technique. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

If you do have the machine, focus on technique and control first, don't worry about speed. Only when you learn control can you focus on speed.

Second, get stronger. Don't focus only on chest and arms, focus on total body strength: upper body (both pushing and pulling movements), core, and lower body. I would argue lower body strength and core strength/stability is more important to develop than upper body strength (although it's still good to have upper body strength). Tackling the machine is a whole body affair and you can't rely on upper body alone. I have clients who can barely do a floor push-up, and they still perform well enough on the push because they learn how to utilize their legs and their entire body to push.

Third, improve your conditioning and pacing skills. In some cases, strength is not the issue, nor technique. The issue is conditioning and/or pacing.

If it's conditioning, you need to learn how to push your limits and be comfortable with discomfort. If conditioning is not up to par, then you won't be able to use your strength on the machine.

If pacing is the issue, you need to learn not to lay it out all on the line at the beginning. You need to learn how to hold back at the start and spread out your energy levels. It's no good wasting all your fuel at the beginning and run on reserves at the end. There's just nothing left and you will suffer.

Remember to keep those points in mind when it comes to improving your push/pull performance. It's not a single factor that will make you better.

Always Be Ready

Recently a new participant joined my Police Fitness Training class to prep for his fitness test. He had only recently applied (no more than two weeks ago) when he got a call from the department, saying that he has to run the POPAT within 3 weeks.

This came as a surprise. He hasn't been training for the last year and thought he  had another 4 months to the fitness test. So he came to my push/pull and vault class to get as prepped as possible.

It was a rough outing.

Due to lack of training, he was getting light headed, and ended up seeing his dinner by the end of class.

Reality smacked him in the face, and it's something you should all be aware of.

If you haven't applied to an agency, and if you haven't been training, I would seriously reconsider handing in your application.

Make sure you're ready to tackle the test at the time of submission. You never know when you'll be called to it.

Preparing for the physical is not like preparing for a written exam. You can't cram last minute fitness training, that's not how the body operates.

You need to give your body time (at least 2-3 months of solid training, possibly more) to adapt to the stresses of training.

Make sure to run a practice test before applying. Set a benchmark for yourself and see where your weaknesses lie. If there are no practice facilities in your area, you can set up your own course.

Don't get caught with your pants down. Be ready before you apply. Avoid the discouragement that comes from failing the test.

5 Lessons You Can Learn From My 2:52 POPAT

A few days ago I was at VPD to run a practice POPAT test. Now, I have no interest of applying to VPD, or any police agency for that matter. I just really enjoy training applicants for the tests and preparing them for the physical rigours of the academy. I'm just crazy enough to do this for fun. And it's been 3 years since my last (and only) POPAT run.

How did I do? I managed to run 2:52, which is no small feat. Few people can get sub 3, let alone something in the low 2:50's. 

Although I'm running a time few can get, there are a some lessons you can learn from my performance. In fact, my performance inspired one applicant that was there to run 10 seconds faster on his second run compared to his first run of the night. You read right, he ran the POPAT twice within 30 min of each other and he took off another 10 seconds because of a few lessons learned from my run.

So what are these lessons?

1) Pacing

Kind of obvious, but it still needs to be mentioned. If you watch my run (video is below), you'll see how I pace myself. Yes it's at a quick pace, but it's not the speed I want you paying attention to. Rather, it's how much I try to keep the lap times consistent. I believe my fastest lap was 15 seconds, and my slowest was 18. A 3 second differential between fastest and slowest is what I find ideal.

2) Staying within my abilities

This is related to pacing, but I know what I'm capable of and I stayed within reason. I wasn't gung ho right off the start. I kept myself in check and although it got tough by lap 4 (which happens to pretty well everybody), I dug in deep, kept strong mentally, and didn't allow myself to give in to the pain (well, not much anyway).

3) Cut into the cones

When you watch the video, pay attention to how I round the cones. You'll notice some of them I go wide, but I cut right into them. This is to maintain speed. If you watch any kind of race, you'll see when people corner they go wide and cut in. Same idea when you round the cones. Making a direct bee line will force you to slow down as you go around and then speed up. That's wasted energy. Maintain as consistent a pace as you possibly can and do so by cutting into the cones rather than running right up to them.

3) Maintain focus

I talk about being aggressive on the push/pull machine and not to lose focus. Well, even the best have a mental lapse from time to time. On my 5th rotation of the pull, I relaxed a little and it was enough to drop the weight to the yellow. I got one quick warning and I got that sucker up right away. Ain't no way I'm starting back at zero.

4) Give 'er at the end

When you get to the vault, don't think, do. Of course pay attention to whether you do back falls or front falls, but don't give in to the pain. Dig deep, push, and keep going til you're done.

5) Positive thinking

Why would I have this here? You'd think someone averaging 16/17 second laps doesn't need to think positive thoughts. To be honest I started having some doubts by lap 4. Hell, even during my warm up I was having some doubts. But I soldiered on, pushed them aside, and kept my focus. I can feel the pain, the burning in the lungs, the burning in the legs, and the fatigue in the arms. I can feel the struggle on the push and slogging of the falls. Pushing your limits, no matter what fitness level you are, is always tough. It's a mental battle from start to finish but you can't allow the pain to take over. That negativity has to be shoved aside and you need to stay as positive as possible. I'm not talking happy thoughts here. More of an encouraging mindset.

Keep these lessons in mind. Not just for testing either. You can easily apply these lessons to training as well.

And if you're curious what a 2:52 looks like:

This is what a 2:52 POPAT looks like. Thanks Becky for having me come out tonight!
Posted by Marc Locquiao - Redline Conditioning on Tuesday, May 19, 2015

How long does it take to be ready for the PARE and POPAT?

Being prepared is important. You already know that. Or you thought you did and quickly realized how under prepared you were after your first experience with the test. So you start scrambling to figure out how to get better, searching for tips and advice so you don't get caught with your pants down  your ankles. Which is probably how some of you have found me (although I hope your pants were on).

You wonder how long will it take to be ready to not only pass the test, but to pass it with flying colours. The answer, like most things in life, is it depends.

Your current, as well as your past fitness levels, will determine your readiness. If you're a natural born athlete who failed for some reason, it may only take a few tweaks here and there. In a matter of weeks, you'd be ready for the test. If athleticism and fitness doesn't run in your blood, then it's gonna come down to other factors.

One last thing, depending on the test you're taking can determine how long it will take to be ready. Therefore I'm going to break it down between the PARE and the POPAT.

PARE Test Prep Timeline

I can say with near certainty that preparing for the PARE can take as little as 2 months. And I'm talking about going from zero level fitness to passing the test. Before you get excited, just remember I said near certainty. There are always exceptions, and I've had a few. But time and time again I've trained people with little fitness, be ready to pass in a few months time. They're not exceptional times, in some cases barely passing, but passing nonetheless. What this does is give the person a foot in the door to move on to the next stage, which means more training time to be faster and stronger for the next test.

Because of the time requirement to pass the PARE (4:45) is reasonable, I make sure my low fitness clients get into reasonable shape. If they're on the ball and start their fitness training before they even apply, even better. They won't have to struggle their first time around. We can take the time to build a stronger body that can withstand the demands of conditioning training

In my early years of police fitness training, I had one client come to me with no athletic background and not fitness background. She was wanting a career change, and policing had always interested her. She was smart enough to try a practice test, and she came away from it shocked. She couldn't believe how out of shape she was, especially for something like the PARE.

We trained for nearly 3 months before her first official test, and I will admit I was tentative. I felt she had a 60/40 chance of failing, but we did enough work for her to pull off a 4:36 time (which included 2 mat faults). Nothing spectacular, but a pass is a pass and it got her to the next stage of the process.

She continued training with me, and 6 months down the road she was told to redo her PARE. In that time between her first and second PARE, I placed an emphasis on strength training. By the time she ran her second PARE, she was repping out push-ups, deadlifting her own bodyweight, and working on her pull-ups. Conditioning was still on the menu, but it wasn't the primary mode of training. Enough was done to keep up the fitness. The weeks leading up to the test we shifted to conditioning training, and in the end, she pulled off a sub 4 min PARE, finishing in 3:56 (no penalties).

Being ready in the short term is possible, but give yourself time to prepare and you will see better results.

POPAT Prep Timeline

The POPAT is whole 'nother beast. If you thought the PARE was difficult, then you haven't tried the POPAT. There are similarities, but you can think of the PARE as the tamer little cousin compared to the POPAT.

It's a little more difficult to gauge how long it will take to prepare for the POPAT. In some cases it's a couple months, in others it's as much as 6+ months. These are some of the characteristics I've noticed in those being successful in 2-3 months:

- about 5'6" in height or taller

- strong (ie bang out at least 10 push-ups with ease, deadlift at least their own bodyweight)

- running 1.5 mi in 11:00-11:30

- having some form of athletic background, especially in competitive soccer and running (and by competitive, I'm talking elite level competition)

Remember this: if you possess these characteristics, it's no guarantee of success. The chance of failure is still a possibility if you don't prepare adequately. If you focus on the wrong areas of training, or if you don't practice aspects of the test, the chance of failure increases.

For those that don't possess the above characteristics, have expectations that it will take you a little longer to be ready.

For example, one of my clients stands at about 5'3" and weighs a buck twenty five, buck thirty (give or take). For someone her size, she is quite strong, so she certainly meets one of the characteristics. When we started, though, her cardio fitness was lacking, which greatly affected her performance not only on the obstacle course, but the push/pull machine and vault as well. Naturally she possesses strength, but cardio was another ballgame.

We got to working on her cardio conditioning through running and non-traditional cardio training. Since there wasn't an immediate test date, I didn't have to rush her with lots of running and lots of high intensity work off the bat. We could take our time building up her tolerance for high intensity work. It also gave us a chance to adapt the body to the stresses of running. No need doing lots of HIIT running and breaking her down before she even tested.

I used the 1.5 mi run as a gauge of her aerobic fitness. In one month she dropped her time by nearly a minute, going from 14:18 to 13:21. Once a month we would re-test and each time she would run faster. By August, she was running under 12:00 consistently.

I also used my mock tests once a month as another performance marker. Here too we can see improvements being made. But ultimately to see the real fruits of her labour, she would need the real test.

Although we saw improvements in cardio, passing on test day would prove elusive for another couple months. In terms of her cardio fitness, she was ready. What was becoming her downfall was the push/pull machine.

At the time I still didn't have the machine to practice on, so we would run simulation after simulation to prepare as best as possible.

And since her cardio fitness was no longer a weakness, I shifted the focus back to strength training.

Strength training was being maintained all throughout, but it wasn't being emphasized for the first 5 months. So we got to work, focusing on the basics (deadlift, bench press, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, plus a few accessory exercises) and lifting heavy. Cardio training was being put on maintenance mode.

I mentioned strength wasn't an issue for her, but being short at 5'3" meant she didn't have a lot of leverage to work with on the machine, especially for the push. We would have to take advantage of whatever leverage she did have, and add more strength on top of that.

Although cardio was being maintained, there was enough high intensity work (ie 400 repeats, hill sprints, suicides, controlled falls, etc.) being done so the body didn't forget how to work hard.

By the end of October, on her second official test, she passed. Barely, but she passed, and it was enough to get her foot in the door and on to the next stage of the process.

It was a 7 month journey that took not only a physical battle to get through, but mental as well. But she got it done, and she's not stopping there. Just because she passed, doesn't mean she can't get herself even better. Not just for the test, but for the academy, and for duty.

The Take Home Message

If you're athletically gifted, give yourself some time to adequately prepare. The test is still something you've never done before, so you'll want to be prepared. It may take a few weeks, but give yourself that time.

If you're not athletically gifted, definitely give yourself time. If you haven't applied but plan to, start your training NOW. Build your body up gradually and progressively so it doesn't break down on you at the wrong time.

I've given you two examples of clients where it took months to get them where they needed to be.

Remember this though, you're not only training for the physical test, you're training to perform and to be fit for duty.