Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hi everyone,

I'm currently considering applying to the SWIL consortium (for Highland, Fairview Heights, Edwardsville, Collinsville, and O'Fallon PDs respectively) and I have to take the Illinois POWER test. If I do apply, I'll have over a month to prepare for it. Now, I have no trouble passing the mile and a half, the sit and reach, and the bench press requirement. But the situp requirement is where I'm weak at. I have to do 37 in one minute and currently, I can do 35 in one minute. I'm shooting for 40 in one minute and for my current situp routine, I'm doing three sets of 37 situps at least three times a week. My question is, is there anything else I can do to add to my situp routine?

If anyone has any advice on preparing for the situp test period, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

My question is, is there anything else I can do to add to my situp routine?

If anyone has any advice on preparing for the situp test period, I'd appreciate it.

You can try doing situps on an incline bench (if you have access to it), along with a weight (be it a medicine ball, or a more solid ball, like 8-12 pounds). Try declining the bench a bit under a level position, along with holding the weight at your chest, then when going up, push the weight out.

Later on you can try moving the weight further behind your head, rotating it above your head then foward, along with the bench delclined more. Also, work a bit on your lower back muscles.

Best of luck!
-Remy

Pure adrenaline during the test will probably get you through it, but who wants to bet on that?

I had the same problem when I began testing. This is what I did.

First, I did toe touches (not sure what the real name of it is). You lie on your back. Keep your legs straight and raise them up. While you do that you reach up and touch your toes with your finger tips(keep your legs straight.) Put legs back down but don't let your feet or your head touch the floor.

Second, scissor kicks. Lie on your back. Put both hands under your butt. Lift your head and keep it off the ground. Scissor your legs, alternately up and down. Count with each leg going up, ex. one, two, three, one......one, two, three, two....one, two, three, three. Work up to a hundred and KEEP your legs straight and head off the ground.

Third, when I did my actual situp practice, I didn't worry too much about time, but more about rythm. Easy, steady and do them correctly at an even pace. Do as many you can and when you can't do anymore then free up your hands and use them as momentum to do a 5-10 more reps. Do three sets this way.

This worked for me, hope it works for you, good luck!

Don't limit yoruself to counting.

3 times a week:

30 seconds as many sit-ups as you can do
30 seconds rest
repeat 2 additional times

30 seconds rocky sit-ups (outside of right elbow to outside of left knee and vica versa)
30 seconds rest
repeat 2 additional times

30 1-second crunches
rest 30 sec
repeat 2 additional times

If you can't do any more sit-ups, pull yourself up with your arms and do controlled negatives. The key is to keep the motion (or the effort in the case of the crunches) for the 30 seconds. The entire routine is 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off... will take you less than 10 minutes.

Thanks for the tips everyone. Taxx, I definitely agree that adrenaline will help a lot during the test, but I don't want to take any chances, so I'll augment my workout with the stuff you guys suggested.

Here's what we usually do for my academy as far as ab work:

*Note, all exercises are 4 count exercises... i.e. 2 repetitions equals 1 repetition)*

Flutter kicks (aka scissor kicks) 25
Hello dollys 25
Pushups 20 (yes, they do work your abs)
Flutter kicks 15
Hello dollys 15

1 minute rest

max situps in one minute

*Also whenever you finish one exercise (except pushups), hold your feet 6 inches off the ground for 10-15 seconds

Try this out... I guarantee it will kick your ***.

Those are good exercises to smoke people. We did plenty of them in basic training and our academy. The dead ****-roach is fun too (old basic training thing).

However, none of those will necessarily help your sit-up. They work different parts of your abs. Train for the test. You want to improve si-ups, do sit-ups.

I know that my two cents isn't much when so many others have such great ideas out there for you, but I have a couple techniques that helped me quite a bit.

One of them is going 1 minute on, 30 seconds off, 1 minute on...until you just can't do any more at all. Do this about 3 times a week (or more if you feel like it, three times just gives you a decent rest period for recovery).

Bicycle sit ups work really well too, at least in my experience.

Do flutter-kicks. Most males use about as much hip-flexer muscles as they do abs during sit-ups since males tend to be so top heavy.
As you develop your hip-flexers, it should actually help your push-ups. Try and see if you can do more sit-ups when someone is holding you by the ankles. I can do more sit-ups when I dig my heels in and someone holds me by the ankles. I asked the guy on my test to hold my ankles, all went well.

Just make sure you're not skipping out on any workouts and you'll do fine. Also, you say the other three tests won't be a problem but I hope you're working on them too. I've taken a few POWER tests and A LOT of people end up failing because they think it's easy. If you get on in E-ville keep an eye on my brother.

Good luck!

Zeis96, I'm definitely working on everything, but it's the situps that's my weak area and am working to get better at. That said, I'm not taking any part of the POWER test lightly and am working hard to make sure that I pass it.

On a completed unrelated note, do you live in the St. Louis metro east area? If so, can you give me some info on the towns that are hiring in the consortium? Feel free to PM me if you have any info...

Good advice. You just have to do situps and as many variations of situps, crunches, leglifts as you can. Abs are a muscle group that unlike the others (chest, arms, back, legs) you can work them often. That mean 4 or 5 time a weeks with out over training. You can do them at home in front of the television. Try that with your bench press routine...lol...Watch you favorite show in the evening and during commercial breaks bang out as many reps as you can. You will find that in no time you will be able to do reps non-stop during the entire break and then you will go to the PT test and smoke the situp part.

Here's what we usually do for my academy as far as ab work:

*Note, all exercises are 4 count exercises... i.e. 2 repetitions equals 1 repetition)*

Flutter kicks (aka scissor kicks) 25
Hello dollys 25
Pushups 20 (yes, they do work your abs)
Flutter kicks 15
Hello dollys 15

1 minute rest

max situps in one minute

What is a "hello dolly"?

Hello dollys are basically this:
lay on your back with your hands under your butt. lift your feet 6 inches off the ground spread them apart horizontally and them bring them together.

AAHHH, I see.

Do you have access to an exercise ball and/or a medicine ball?

I regularly do a routine on a medicine ball that makes the abs seize up if you do it right. :)

Laying on an exercise ball (having it rest at the small of your back), do 25 crunches. Then immediately hop off the ball, hold it between your ankles, with your knees nearly straight. Now, with your hands interlaced behind your head, raise your feet and shoulders to form a "V" 25 times. Rest and repeat 2-3 times.

Then, I like to take a medicine ball (been using the 7kg, as it is wider and a little heavier, making things a little more challenging) and hold it between my knees. Now, hang from a pull-up bar and curl your knees up to your chest. Do 4 sets of as many reps as you can do.

2 Times per week do Abs Training with weight, a lot of weight.
1 Time per week, do Abs Training with your bodyweight (Like sit-ups, leg raises).
Each 2 weeks, try do to the max situps you can. To see the progress.

If you situps, declined, 25 times with a 45pounds plate on your chest
You can situps 80 times bodyweight on flat easily.

It's my advice.
I can do right now, cold 115 situps, and i never use high rep training.

Use weight. WEIGHT.

A weekly sample routine, I Always do abs and lowerback in same time
It's your choice to do it or not.

Monday
Machine Crunch 4x12-15 with max weight
Hanging leg raises with 10pounds ankles weight 3x15-20
Cable Crunch 3x8-10 with max weight
Hyper-extension 4x12-15 with a 45pounds plate in my hands

Wednesday
Full sit-ups 4x Max
Lying Leg Raises 3x Max
Russian Twist 3x Max
Barbell Good morning 3x12-15

Friday
Deadlift day, 5x3-5 with max weight
Cable Crunch 3x12-15 with max weight
Dumbell Side bends 3x15-20
Situps Declined with 45pounds on chest, 4x Max

Situps are an endurance test NOT a strength test. Weights are a nice tool, but I would not rely that heavily on them when training for a fit test. He is training for a fit test, not body-building. There IS a difference.

Situps are an endurance test NOT a strength test. Weights are a nice tool, but I would not rely that heavily on them when training for a fit test. He is training for a fit test, not body-building. There IS a difference.

It's hard to explain, i'm not english.
If you want to gain endurance, it's not a question of just doing situps for 100reps.. everyday.

You can make a really good endurance and strenght gain in abs with weight.


I never used to train myself 'endurance' with my abs, and i'm able to do 100+ situps anytime. I repeat... if you are able to lift yourself 25 times on a declined bench with a 45pounds plate on the chest, you are able to do 80situps easily.

You dont have to train yourself to do 100 situps, to do 100 situps.
You have to build strenght and endurance. The weight do it easily.

Nobody talk about bodybuilding. I talk about strenght and endurance gain.

Well, I'm happy to say that I was able to pass everything on the physical agility test without too much trouble and I'll be getting my written test results back during the first week of December. Thanks for all the tips guys! :)

Awesome!

I head to Chesapeake Virginia on Dec 8th for my physical agility test & written test for the CPD.....I am training hard.

BTW: I am 44 :D