Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Took a follow up PT test and the last event was obstacle course with dummy drag.

I went to drag and tried to move fast but ended up falling down with the dummy on my head (lol). Once I got up again, I found the dummy harder to grip and hold. The distance was a 30yd drag. I didn't make it across the finish in time and was dropped.

It will be 3 months before I can test again, any advice on how to get past a dummy drag successfully?

any advice on how to get past a dummy drag successfully?

Make your own dummy and practice for the next three months.

Make your own dummy and practice for the next three months.

We have a winner!!! :yesnod:

If I had the money, I'd hire you to drag a few dummies out of this forum...

Do you have a picture of the dummy you were dragging? Also, how were you gripping/dragging and what shoes were you wearing/what surface were you dragging on?

Grab it from underneath the arms, lift with your legs, and beat feet. Basically like this:

http://www.airforce.mil.nz/nr/rdonlyres/9c83ec24-46b5-43d7-b2b7-349688df16d2/0/wn08003766.jpg


There's several ways to get it done, but that always seemed the easiest to me.

Grab it from underneath the arms, lift with your legs, and beat feet.

There's several ways to get it done, but that always seemed the easiest to me.

LOL. My first agency had an old seatbelt tied into loop handles around the chest of their dummy, and you just grabbed the handles for the test. (As if any citizen you REALLY needed to drag would have these convenient handles all ready to go...:rolleyes5:) :lol:

I wrapped my hands around the chest kind of like in the photo, but I gripped my hands together and I held the dummy up higher. I tried to keep the head just under my chin. Lean back a bit and keep your feet wide so you don't bounce your knees of the dummies back and just go as hard and as fast as you can. Also, as was already mentioned, wear the correct footwear for the surface you'll be pulling on. Combat boots, as one guy I watched fail miserably, are not the proper footwear for a gym floor.

Do you have a picture of the dummy you were dragging? Also, how were you gripping/dragging and what shoes were you wearing/what surface were you dragging on?

And were you wearing your hat??

See if you can drag Norm around for a few minutes a day.:smilielol5:

I lift from under the arms, but when I get to the dummy drag I have usually just finished the push pull machine. My hands are exhausted, so U usually squat, and get my elbows by it's armpits, lock my wrists in the front (by holding them with opposing hand), then stand up. Once I am up I just try to keep a steady pace. I am a little taller and more lankey than a lot of people, but that is how I do it.

If I had the money, I'd hire you to drag a few dummies out of this forum...

Sam...you crack me up!

Oh, and if you want somthing good to practice on go to the local feed store, and buy 3-4 cheap 50lb bags of grain. ductape em together, and drag.

How did you manage to land on ur head? I have seen the balace beam to face move, but not the dummy drag to crown combo.

I ordered an oversize military duffle bag off the internet for about $15- then did what ^^^ did with the sand. I got 3.5 mil bags from a hardware store and put 25lbs of sand in each. Taped and tied the bags off with twine then cut off the excess bag. I use a bungie cord ( a nice padded one) to cinch off the duffle bag. Sandbag workouts will make a man out of anyone.

Know a fat dude?

Has he got clothes you can have for free?

Tie the legs at the ankles fill with heavy stuff like grain or gravel.

Tie arms of top half at wrists fill with the above.

Fill old pillow case with same for the torso.

Attach together, I used cable ties at the waist of both garments.

Hey presto you have floppy grain/gravel filled me! Start at or around the weight the test dummy is at then increase it as and when it gets easier to drag.

If you can drag me I'm pretty sure you could drag the test dummy.

Perhaps 'floppy' wasn't the best term, but that's how unconcious people are.

Punisherthunder,

As Kimble stated, the most important part of the dummy drag in my opinion is lifting with the legs. There are certain exercises one can perform to mimic this movement, aside from sandbag carries, and creating your own dummy, the barbell deadlift is a terrific exercise when done with proper form. It requires the lifter to grip a heavy load (the bar), while pushing with your lower body in order to finish the movement in the top position. When done properly, the barbell deadlift is arguably the most effective muscle building exercise in existance, perhaps second to the barbell squat. Again, these are simply my opinions, if you have health issues with your lower back, then I would not recommend the deadlift. I would also suggest you watch videos online of strength coaches teaching the deadlift before you attempt to perform one. You could simply go to YouTube and type "teaching the deadlift" into the search engine and I'm sure you could find some excellent training videos. I would start light and progress from there.

In addition, developing a strong grip is important while carrying the heavy load over the specified distance, I believe you stated 30yds. Farmers Walks are an exercise in which one grips heavy dumbbells, often 100lbs are more, and simply walks quickly while holding one of these in each hand. These develop killer grip strength and also condition your body to carry a heavy load while in motion. You can look these up on YouTube as well I'm sure.

Again these are just exercises I have performed and found to be effective in improving my athletic performance, and I feel due to the mechanics of the dummy drag, they have carry over to that event as well. Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps. Good luck!

Hunters2012