Policemen's physical fitness in relation to the frequency of leisure-time physical excercise

Summary

Ninety to ninety-five men (aged 27 to 46 years) from the police academy were the study subjects. Their prior habits of physical excercise, estimated aerobic capacity ($\dot V_{O_{2max} }$), muscular performance, and thickness of subcutaneous fat were determined. The policemen were taller (181 cm vs 175 cm) and heavier (84 kg vs 74 kg) than the average 20- to 40-year-old Finnish man, and their $\dot V_{O_{2max} }$(1 · min⁻¹) was higher (3.41 1 · min⁻¹ vs 2.96 1 min⁻¹ The frequency of prior physical exercise significantly correlated with most of the variables studied. Those policemen who did not exercise at all (n = 12) were inferior to the average 20- to 40-year-old Finnish man on all the physical fitness tests, whereas the results of the most active policemen (n = 23) were clearly higher. The results indicate that the selection of heavier and taller men for police training guarantees a certain absolute level of physical performance capacity. However, the physical activity involved in police work is insufficient to maintain a high level of physical fitness, which must be achieved through participation in regular and effective physical training.