This workout plan is comprised of four sessions per week, and you should give yourself a minimum of six weeks training before test day. Then, rest for the four days preceding the exam to ensure your body is 100% ready to go. Additionally, these workouts mimic the movements you will be doing during the CPAT so you can maximize your performance.

After warming up, perform the workout in numerical order. Perform any numbers you see paired up as a superset (i.e. 1a/1b). Try to get all four workouts completed within a week and do not mix the sequence of workouts, do workouts one through four in that order.

Workout 1

1. Barbell Squat 4×5

Set up a barbell on the supports of a squat rack. Step underneath the bar, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and let the bar touch your upper traps. Grab the bar with your hands as close together as is comfortable. Nudge the bar off the rack, take two steps backward, and stand with your feet a bit wider than shoulder width apart and toes turned slightly outward. Take a deep breath and bend your hips and knees, lowering your body as far as you can (try to squat to where your thighs are below parallel to the floor). Explode back upward to the starting position. That’s one rep.

2. Straight Leg Deadlift 3×10

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, holding a bar at hip level in front of you. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend at the hips and slightly at the knees until your upper body is parallel to the floor. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. That’s one rep.

3a. Walking Lunges 3×12 (Each Leg)

Hold a dumbbell in each hand, step forward a few feet with your left leg. Lower your body until your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Push off from your left foot taking a step forward with your right repeating the sequence for all prescribed reps.

3b. Bar Hip Raise 3×12

Lie on your back with bent knees and a barbell on your upper thighs. Push your feet into the ground as you squeeze your glutes and raise them until there is a straight line from your knees to your chin (like pictured, except you’ll have a barbell). Hold for a second and then return to the starting position.

4. Backward Drags (4 x 20 yards)

Drag any heavy object backwards (human dummy, partner, sandbag, fire hose, heavy ropes, etc.)

Workout 2

1a. Barbell Push Press 3 x 8

Hold a barbell at shoulder level and dip your knees as if you were about to jump. Explosively straighten your legs and drive the bar straight overhead. Lower your arms back to shoulder level. That’s one rep.

1b. Alternating Medicine Ball Push Up 3 x 6 (each side)

Get into push-up position, resting your left hand on a medicine ball. Lower your body until your chest touches the floor, and then do a push-up. Roll the ball to your left hand, and repeat. That’s one rep.

2a. Bent-Over Row 4 x 10

Use any form of resistance that you can (partner, sandbag, fire hose, weighted vest, heavy ropes, etc.). Bent forward so that you upper body is about parallel with the ground. Keep your spine in a neutral position and your head straight throughout the entire exercise.

2b. Leg Lifts 3 x 15

Start on your back with hands across your chest. Brace your abs. Keep your legs straight. Lower as close as you can to the ground without touching.)

2c. Medicine Ball Woodchop 3 x 15

Stand holding a medicine ball above your left shoulder. Explosively rotate your torso diagonally downward and to the right as if you were chopping into a tree, until the medicine ball passes your right knee (allow your feet to pivot naturally). Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. That’s one rep. Complete all prescribed repetitions on one side before switching.

3. Stair Climber (20 Minutes)

If you do not have access to a stair climber, you can do a 20-minute jog.

Workout 3

1a. Deadlift 4×5

Stand over the bar with your feet hip width apart. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, crouch down and grab the bar overhand, your hands about shoulder width apart. Your shoulders should be directly over or even a little behind the bar, and your eyes should be focused straight ahead. Driving with your legs, straighten your hips and knees, pulling the bar to hip level as you come to a standing position. Reverse the motion to return the bar to the floor. That’s one rep.

1b. Squat Jumps 4×5 (each leg)

Get into an athletic stance as if you were about to jump, and lower your body until your thighs are about 45 degrees to the floor. Explode upward, jumping as high as you can off the floor landing with soft knees. That’s one rep.

2. Good Mornings 3×10

Set up as you would to do a squat. Begin to lower your body as in a squat, but when you are a quarter of the way down, start bending at the hips as if you were trying to lower only your chest to the floor. Be careful: You must keep your lower back arched at all times. Once you’ve lowered yourself into a half squat with your torso almost parallel to the floor, reverse the motion and return to the starting position. That’s one rep.

3a. Step-Ups 4×6 (Each Leg)

Use an object about knee height (bench, small table, chair (without wheels), etc.) Make sure the object is stable. If you are advanced enough do these with added resistance such as: partner, sandbag, fire hose, weighted vest, heavy ropes, etc. Step up and come to a balanced position without touching your opposite foot to the object, then return to the floor. The foot of the working leg does not come off of the object until all 6 reps. are complete. Do not alternate legs.

3b. 45° Raise 3×12

Set up face down on a Roman chair. Bend at the hips maintaining a natural arch in your torso. Contract your glutes, abs, and lower back as you come up until there is a straight line from the back of your head to your ankles, but being careful not to hyperextend your back.

4a. Object Carry 4 x 30 yards

Carry any heavy object (human dummy, partner, sandbag, fire hose, heavy ropes, etc.)

4b. Lateral Drags 3 x 20 yards

Drag any heavy object sideways (human dummy, partner, sandbag, fire hose, heavy ropes, etc.)

Workout 4

1a. Chin Up 3 x 8

Grab onto a chin up bar with hands shoulder width apart. Hang from the bar with your feet off the floor. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull your body up until your chin is over the bar and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position. That’s one rep.

1b. Dumbbell T Push Up 3 x 5 (each side)

Hold a dumbbell in one hand and get into push up position. Perform a push-up as normal, returning to the starting position. Now rotate your body 90 degrees, reaching toward the ceiling with the hand that’s holding the dumbbell. Your body should form a T shape. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. That’s one rep. Complete all your reps on that side, and then switch the dumbbell to the other hand and repeat on the other side.

2a. Sledgehammer Slams 3 x 10 (each side)

With a sledgehammer in hand hit a tire on the ground and alternate sides as you go (don’t miss and don’t let go of the sledgehammer).

2b. Farmer Walks 3 x 30

With a dumbbell in each hand, walk the recommended distance while standing up straight and avoiding an arching back.

3. Stair Climber (20 Minutes)

If you do not have access to a stair climber, you can do a 20-minute jog.

All images by Everkinetic [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Workouts to Prepare You for the CPAT: The Fire Department Physical Ability Test appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The entire test is comprised of eight different events that must be completed – in less than ten minutes. The faster you complete the test, the better score you get, and the closer you are to becoming a firefighter.

The eight different CPAT events are:

1. Stair Climb

While wearing a weighted vest (to replicate the equipment you’ll be carrying during your fire calls), you will be required to do a stair climb for three minutes straight with a sixty-step-per-minute pace.

2. Hose Drag

You start this event with a 200-foot hose line over your shoulder and across your chest. You then run or walk while dragging it 75 feet around a cone, then continue running or walking for 25 more feet. You then drop to one knee and pull the remaining hose line the final fifty feet.

3. Equipment Carry

This event is to test your ability to carry power tools around the fire scene. After picking up two saws (one in each hand), you walk 75 feet around a cone then return 75 feet to the starting position.

4. Ladder Raise and Extension

This event tests your ability to take a ground ladder out of the truck and extend it to a roof or window. After picking it up and anchoring it against the wall, you must extend the ladder until it stops, then lower it back to the starting point.

5. Forcible Entry

This test measures the candidate’s ability to force open a locked door or break down a wall. Using a sledgehammer, you’ll be prompted to hit a spot on a measuring device while keeping your feet in good position.

6. Search

To mimic searching for a victim with limited visibility, you must crawl through a tunnel maze full of obstacles. Keep in mind that you will be gassed and be met with not only obstacles but also dead ends. You will have to maintain your special awareness throughout.

7. Rescue

To mimic the removal of a victim or partner, the next task requires you to drag a 165-pound mannequin 35 feet, then go around a cone and return 35 feet back to the starting point.

8. Ceiling Breach and Pull

The last event will be used to mimic breaking and pulling down a ceiling to check for fire extension. With a pike pole in hand, you will push the tip into a weighted (60lb) portion of the ceiling three times, then be required to pull a weighted (80lb) portion five times.

Upon achieving a competitive score with this (along with passing the written portion) you are qualified to gain entrance into the fire academy. The academy can range anywhere from two to six months in length, depending on your area.

The CPAT test is an entrance requirement. It is meant to weed out people who are not qualified, while testing your limits in a controlled environment. I cannot stress enough that these are minimum requirements. If you cannot pass this exam you are not qualified physically to be a firefighter. The order of the events is meant to not only mimic the demands of the job, but the actual order of events that happen at the scene of a fire.

You heart rate will increase as you pull up to a working fire, and if you are out of shape you will be out of breath before you even put on your mask. Once in the fire, you will be met with sometimes zero visibility and have to navigate your way through a search for a victim or to look for the fire. If you are out of breath or disoriented, you won’t be thinking clearly. Things can go from bad to horrible in seconds and you can find yourself in a sticky situation.

Whether you’re about to take the CPAT test, go into the academy, or go into your tenth year as a firefighter, never forget the laser focus you had along the way when preparing for your career. It’s a focus you may never see again, but as long as you always use it as a reminder and attempt to stay close to this physical and mental shape throughout your career, you will be a lot better off.

In my next part of this series I will outline how to prepare for the CPAT test and the academy to ensure that you will be on track to a long, strong, and safe career.

Photo 1 see page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 2 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The CPAT: The Events in the Fire Department Physical Ability Test appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I want to write this to you to show my gratitude for everything you’ve done and to inspire your fellow police officers to take a step back and smell the coffee, no pun intended.

It was sometime in the 1990s and you were working the midnight shift as a police officer in the most densely-populated city per square foot in the entire United States – Union City, New Jersey. Sitting right outside of Manhattan at only 1.28 squares miles, the city had a population of over 60,000 people. Union City, NJ, where sixty years ago fitness legend Joe Weider opened up his first office, a place that has had more of an impact on me than even you know. The fact that Weider started his legacy just blocks away should be motivation enough for me as I try to make my mark in the fitness industry, but that’s not it.

I’ll always remember you working the midnight shift as I grew up so you could be there for me as mom went to work in the morning. You did this for years, took no sick days, and added overtime shifts to make extra money for the family. You were always a big smoker and always someone who I remember as having a short temper. I knew when I was a kid not to get on your bad side. Not because you would do anything to hurt me, but more out of respect of knowing what you had to deal with day in and day out.

As the supervisor to the public housing projects I’m sure you had to deal with enough riff-raff to lead to a lifetime of stress. Everyone has his or her opinion of cops, whether negative or positive, but we all have to respect what you guys go through and how it affects you mentally and physically. A ton of reward comes out of serving the public, whether you’re the supervisor of a public housing project, a state trooper, or working in the prison system. With that reward comes a ton of stress, which has an obvious negative effect on your physical condition.

I realize that now, being in the fire service. Whether you’re police, fire, or military things can go from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. I know you “knew” that good physical conditioning was important and could have been the determining life or death factor. But I’m not worried about that right now, most cops know this. Let’s talk about how the job can affect your mental state. Let’s talk about the inevitable stressful shifts on-duty as a cop – the lack of sleep, the bullshit, and the just flat out rough days. The weeks of stress that turned into months, months to years, years to a career, and just like that it happened.

You were twenty-plus years through your career and you had a heart attack in front of us – your two kids – and were rushed to the hospital.

I was alone in the house. Thirteen years old at the time, holding my newborn baby brother, confused and wondering if my father was ever going to come home again. Wondering if at that moment I had just become the “man of the house.” I still had so much to learn from you. How was my little brother going to grow up without a dad in his life?

Just as the surge of emotions ran through me that night, they hit me again well over a decade later, as I write this now.

I have a similar work ethic. Work hard, work harder, keep working harder, don’t complain, don’t look back, and let nothing bring you down. People that are not in that line of work might have a hard time understanding what you went through. It’s in the job description. See and deal with bad stuff every day, and “Suck it up. Get over it.”

Or your favorite – “It is what it is.” A line that literally became ingrained in your personality and defined your outlook of life.

During their career, cops lose sense of what is normal. On a daily basis, they deal with people who are at that very second going through the worst moment of their lives. They can’t let these moments become their own worst moments. They have to put aside their fears, and at times act with heroic courage.

So as a cop you have a choice: Leave your problems at the door when you go to see your family or bring the problems in with you. The choice is yours and the way you choose to deal with it affects your body and your family more then you probably know. Chronic stress increases cortisol levels and can disrupt almost all of your body’s processes. Holding things in and not having a healthy outlet, like working out, can lead to numerous health problems including anxiety, depression, digestive problems, heart disease, problems with sleep, weight gain, and memory impairment.

Dad, as thick skinned and stubborn as you were at that time, I thank you for shaping me into the man I am today. You taught me that you are in control of your own destiny. You taught me that the weeks will eventually turn into months, then years, and finally a career. It’s the actions and decisions you make during that time that will eventually turn it into a happy or a sad ending.

In this case I lost that stubborn, stressed-out father that I grew up with. No, not to the heart attack – to a healthier lifestyle. You retired shortly after your heart attack and started making healthier decisions. You now live in the country, are happier than ever, and have taken up a new profession – auctioneer! Go figure.

What happened to you that night pushed me years later to pursue my current career choices. Being in the fitness industry for over ten years and a career firefighter I have the unique opportunity to help people reach their goals as I pursue my own.

I am eternally thankful to you for working hard to get me out of the city, even though I’ve now moved back to the area years later. Now living just two blocks from where Joe Weider started his legacy, and more importantly, where you started your legacy, it’s now my turn to solidify mine.

Thank You Dad,

Firefighter John Annillo, C.S.C.S., #113

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Dear Dad: What I Wish Every Cop Could Learn From You appeared first on Breaking Muscle.