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