Academy Prep Advice

[tgunsmoke]

Well, it's official! I've been accepted into the police academy and start in August.

So from all of you vets, what's your advice in prepping for and going through the academy? I'm really excited to finally start this journey and land a job in my dream field.

[Rockit]

Get used to running to avoid shin splints.
And push ups.

[jdubs71]

Congrats! What academy are you attending? Are you being sponsored? My advice would be to lock yourself in a room for the next 6 months and study. Become very familiar with an iron and keep your uniforms pressed. Learn to put a good spit shine on your boots and have fun! Okay it won't be much fun, but when you look back on it you'll realize it wasn't so bad.

[rcslotcar]

Remember this is a career. No drinking, parties, nothing that get you terminated for the next 6 months. Study hard and help others that might have problems. You will make life long friends and have a great job. Good luck and keep us posted how you are doing.

[1CavScout]

^^^ All good advice. I did nothing but study when I was in the academy. We usually had study groups a couple times a week at someones home. Your number one job is to make it to graduation. Along with studying, I would start running and doing pushups right now. Don't hurt yourself though.

[003]

Brush up on your English composition skills. More cadets fail the academy/FTO program because of poor writing skills that a lack of physical fitness. Unless you are 100% comfortable with your writing skills, spend a bit of time with a good English tutor.

[Samuelx]

How do you feel about taking someone else's life? (what you yourself actually feel, NOT what you Think someone else would want to hear from you...)

[BoJackUSMC]

Don't ring the bell or quit....
If you are sponsored by department, remember they are basically paying you good money to workout..

[1CavScout]

How do you feel about taking someone else's life? (what you yourself actually feel, NOT what you Think someone else would want to hear from you...)

We had a guy quit on "Officer Safety Day". The whole day was high stress getting smoked physically, and showing us scenes where officers had been killed and had to kill someone. This guy went through the whole process to get hired, and figured out on this day that he would not be able to take someones life.

[veeklog]

Long career, and this is the start. The academy, believe it or not, is the easiest part of the job. It is a structured environment where they tear you down and build you up. All of it is designed to weed out the weak before you go 10-8 in the field.

Best advice is what everyone says: stay fit, run, study, don't fool around, and like all training, don't take it lightly. Even if you graduate the academy your performance there follows you into the field. Once you finish the academy, the really hard part starts, which is actually interacting with the public. There is no time out, not re-do practicals, and if you screw up, it could mean your or your partners lives.

[mixicus]

Can you get into your academy's (or associated community college) pre-academy prep class? It will show you what to expect in many areas of the academy including PT.

Get all your personal affairs in order now. Get your car service (tires, oil change, etc.). You don't need it taking a crap on you when you need to be at the academy. Set a budget. Get your gear and square it away now (or as soon as possible). You don't need the extra stress of trying to find something the weekend before Black Monday. Have a talk with family, friends and your significant other to set expectations. It should go along the lines of "I need your support, patience and understanding. This is what I want to do with my life. I'll see you in 6 months." Take a few days off to relax and clear your mind before it all begins.

The running and PT testing/ qualification at the academy is not a huge hurdle. An active person with a few months of training can make all the minimum numbers without issue. The more difficult issue (and it's a mental one) is the shear amount of sets you do throughout the day outside of PT. 400-600 reps of push-ups, burpees, mountain climbers every day on little sleep were normal before getting to PT.

As for running at the academy and a good starting program, check out the "couch to 5K" program on the Cool Running website. Also save some pain, head for a runners shoe store (not Dick's or Big 5) and have them find the right shoe for him. It will cost a bit more but it's worth it.

At the academy, we only hit the weight room a few times and there were no quals on any lifts so save the weights for after graduation. Focus the prep workouts on basic body weight exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts/burpees, mountain climbers, pull-ups and running) with the idea of multiple sets of 25 reps (except for pull-ups). Oh...and they are back-to-back sets meaning 25 push-ups, 25 squat thrusts, 25 mountain climbers, 25 sit-ups...repeat with ~10 second breaks between sets.

Another suggestion, is to head for a boxing or muay thai gym. The conditioning aspect is outstanding and you can develop some cross over skills along the way (i.e. hitting things). You can also use P90X, Insanity, T25 or another intense DVD; you can follow the "Navy SEAL Prep" program found on the web or head for a crossfit box.

Good luck. Remember they can't eat you and if your heart is in it...this is the start of the greatest show on Earth.

[ElvenSoul]

Memorize every line from Police Academy and your guaranteed to pass!

[nobody33]

Remember this is a career. No drinking, parties, nothing that get you terminated for the next 6 months. Study hard and help others that might have problems. You will make life long friends and have a great job. Good luck and keep us posted how you are doing.

I think not drinking at all or going to social functions is misguided advice. Drink responsibly and in moderation, but work hard play hard. I made some great life long friends and work connections from grabbing a beer on Fridays with the guys. If people are holding social functions you should go. Just pick your friends wisely and don't be a part of people being stupid. I think we are scared from horror stories of dumb recruits doing stupid things drunk, but there are plenty of people who can have a good time without being morons. Camaraderie is one of the best parts of being in LE. If you are the odd guy who doesn't partake in functions you will be left out. Just don't turn what is supposed to be a study session into a goof off and get wasted session every weekend and show up hung over on Monday.

If you find the academy so hard that you need every hour of free time on weekends devoted to studying, than you are in for a rough career. A few hours should be enough.

Make sure you get plenty of rest.

[rcslotcar]

^^^^ I don't agree,,, if any of the others do a stupid act, everyone will be standing tall. Don't take a chance of being fired before you even start. You have no "GUARANTEE" others will behave after drinks are served. You can't "guess" about others you don't know well. Telling you to go out and drink is like telling you to quit. You will have plenty of time after you pass probation to do as you like without chancing discharge.

[dicker3957lasd]

nobody33 is right, but do that after the academy and after probation. Good Luck

Work your butt off, stay home at night and weekends don't call in sick. WHILE AT THE ACADEMY DON't COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING TO ANYONE THE WALLS HAVE EARS, BIG *** EARS.(Not even to your best friend)

ACADEMICS are very important, you can over come any writing skills and others things, My opinion is you NEED to be PHYSICALLY FIT., hardcore fit, Before you go to the academy, big time, if you wait until your first day of the academy you are up that proverbial creek. This is why if you are physically fit as you should be. The rest of the stuff doesn't seem so hard. It's one less thing to worry about.
My class started with 125 Cadets and we graduated about 60 . Then loss about 10 more when they got to a Station.

Most of the Cadets that were fired during the Academy did stupid things, HUA

Another trick is have 2 of everything, it may not be possible, but if you can do it. Keep some of the little things in your car/locker. Be careful what you put into your locker/lockers. Also make sure your vehicle is locked and clean. RE: your vehicle don't have anything in plain view. The DI's will find it and the instructors will hear