Scenario and Shooting Performance in Incumbent Deputy Sheriffs/Police Officers, Cadets, and Cadets Who Worked in Custody/Corrections Facilities.

Lockie, RG, Young, MA, Lanham, SN, Orr, RM, Dawes, JJ, and Nagel, TR. Scenario and shooting performance in incumbent deputy sheriffs/police officers, cadets, and cadets who worked in custody/corrections facilities. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-Job-specific fitness of law enforcement personnel can decline during their careers.

Profiling the Occupational Injuries Sustained by Custody Officers: A Systematic Review.

Background/objectives: Custody officers (CO) are often exposed to workplace hazards when monitoring prisoners, managing prisoners' recreational time, or searching for contraband, yet research into their injuries is limited. This review aimed to identify, appraise, and synthesise research investigating injuries in CO.

Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol and registration with the Open Science Framework, a systematic search of five databases (PubMed, ProQuest, Embase, CINAHL and SportDiscus) using key search terms was conducted.

Retrospective Analysis of Grip and Index Finger Strength, Job-Specific Scenario, and Shooting Performance in Incumbent Law Enforcement Personnel and Cadets.

Lockie, RG, Young, MA, Lanham, SN, Orr, RM, Dawes, JJ, and Nagel, TR. Retrospective analysis of grip and index finger strength, job-specific scenario, and shooting performance in incumbent law enforcement personnel and cadets. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-This study investigated grip and index finger strength, and scenario performance, of incumbent deputy sheriffs/police officers.

Can Lower-Body Strength and Power Alleviate Load Carriage Performance Decrements (Tactical Deficit) in Simulated Law Enforcement Job Tasks?

Law enforcement agencies typically have recruits complete fitness assessments without personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE negatively impacts performance. Greater strength and power could alleviate performance decrements due to the extra load, termed the tactical deficit (TD).

The Use of Musculoskeletal Fitness Measures as Indicators of Performance in Police Occupational Tasks.

Fitness testing is employed by some law enforcement agencies to assure performance in occupational tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between musculoskeletal fitness assessment scores and performance in police occupational tasks. Retrospective data from 106 law enforcement officers who completed five musculoskeletal fitness assessments (vertical jump (VJ), hand grip strength, leg back dynamometer, 1-minute push-ups and sit-ups) and three routine occupational tasks (1.

Physical fitness profile of a large urban fire department: Exploring age and rank dynamics.

Background: Firefighter physical fitness (PF) plays a crucial role in mitigating health issues and supporting occupational performance. The influence of rank on firefighter PF remains understudied and previous research is often limited by small sample sizes of firefighters volunteering for research studies, potentially biasing results towards fitter firefighters not representative of entire departments.

Objective: To examine the PF profile of firefighters in a large urban fire department and the influence of age and rank on PF.

Relationships Between Strength and Power With the 74.84-kg (165-lb) and 90.72-kg (200-lb) Body Drags.

Moreno, MR, Dawes, JJ, Orr, RM, Dulla, JM, and Lockie, RG. Relationships between strength and power with the 74.84-kg (165-lb) and 90.

Shoulder Taps: Relationships Between a New Movement Screening Assessment with Body Composition and Physical Fitness in Law Enforcement Recruits.

The overhead squat, as part of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), can analyze total- and lower-body mechanics. Shoulder taps, which incorporates a push-up position and challenges shoulder, trunk, and hip stability, may identify movement deficiencies indicated by multiple FMS actions which could be useful for law enforcement recruits. This study determined overhead squat and shoulder taps relationships, associations between these screens with body composition and fitness, and differences in body composition and fitness according to overhead squat/shoulder taps scores in recruits by sex.

Relationships Between Physical Ability Test Performance and Fitness in Recruits From a Southeastern U.S. Police Department.

Lockie, RG, Orr, RM, Sanchez, KJ, Gonzales, SM, Viramontes, E, Kennedy, K, and Dawes, JJ. Relationships between physical ability test performance and fitness in recruits from a southeastern U.S.

Age-Related Differences in Body Fat and Fitness of Firefighters Participating in a Health and Wellness Program.

Lockie, RG, Dulla, JM, Higuera, D, Ross, K, Orr, RM, Dawes, JJ, and Ruvalcaba, TJ. Age-related differences in body fat and fitness of firefighters participating in a health and wellness program. J Strength Cond Res 38(6): 1127-1135, 2024-Fitness tends to decline, whereas body fat increases, with age, which could impact firefighter occupational performance later in their careers.

A Retrospective Analysis of Southeastern U.S. Police Recruit Health and Fitness From 4 Points in Time Within a 16-Year Period: Implications for Physical Fitness Training.

Gonzales, SM, Orr, RM, Coburn, JW, Hoffmann, MD, Kennedy, K, Dawes, JJ, and Lockie, RG. A retrospective analysis of southeastern U.S.

Strength Training Frequency and Athletic Performance in High School Girls Basketball Players.

This study investigated the effects of a six-week strength training intervention on the physical fitness of female high school athletes, with a focus on training frequency. Twenty-three female high school basketball athletes were recruited and split into two groups: one group participated in strength training once per week (S1), while the other participated in two training sessions per week (S2). The groups were not random as training sessions were voluntary, and some participants were only able to train once per week.

Lower-Body Strength Relationships with Sprint, Jump, and Sport-Specific Skill Performance in High School Girls Softball Players.

Softball athletes require multiple fitness traits (e.g., strength, speed, power) and sport-specific skills (e.

Expanding Research on Firefighter Trainee Fitness, Reasons for Academy Release, and the Predictive Capabilities of Fitness Tests.

Lockie, RG, Orr, RM, Montes, F, and Dawes, JJ. Expanding research on firefighter trainee fitness, reasons for academy release, and the predictive capabilities of fitness tests. J Strength Cond Res 38(4): 724-733, 2024-Firefighter trainees need a level of fitness to be admitted to and complete a training academy.

Exploring the Impact of Firefighter Trainee Fitness on Academy Graduation or Release.

Lockie, RG, Orr, RM, Montes, F, and Dawes, JJ. A research note exploring the impact of firefighter trainee fitness on academy graduation or release. J Strength Cond Res 38(5): 999-1003, 2024-This study investigated the impact of fitness test performance on firefighter trainee ability to graduate an academy using ordinal logistic generalized linear models.

Determining the Changes in Law Enforcement Recruit Aerobic Fitness Using the 2.4-km Run and 20-m Multistage Fitness Test. Does the Type of Test Matter?

Campbell, P, Maupin, D, Lockie, RG, Dawes, JJ, Simas, V, Canetti, E, Schram, B, and Orr, R. Determining the changes in law enforcement recruit aerobic fitness using the 2.4-km run and 20-m multistage fitness test.

A profile of two different applicant test batteries with regards to sex and age in successful law enforcement applicants.

Background: Law enforcement (LE) applicant assessments and initial academy training vary greatly across the United States of America (USA), with 820+ academies operating across 50 different states. Rising obesity and declining physical fitness underscore the need for benchmarks of applicant physical performance.

Objective: Create a "point-in-time" descriptive profile of the performance of LE applicants and determine any differences between males, females, and age using two applicant test batteries (ATBs).

Effects of implementing a mandatory and consequential annual fitness assessment in a fire department over the initial 4-year period.

Background: Despite the physical nature of the occupation many firefighters have low levels of physical fitness which is associated with poor performance of occupational tasks and increased injury rates. For many fire departments an initial step in promoting health and wellness within the department is to conduct annual fitness testing.

Objective: To examine the effects of implementing a consequential fitness assessment within a fire department.

Physical fitness test performance in firefighter trainees: Differences between graduated and released trainees and predicting academy graduation.

Background: Fitness tests have been previously used to predict academy graduation and highlight specific capacities to be targeted in applicants/trainees to optimise their potential for academy success.

Objective: To compare the fitness of graduated and released (did not complete academy requirements) firefighter trainees and explore using decision tree analysis to predict academy graduation via fitness tests.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on 686 trainees who completed an occupational physical ability test (OPAT): Illinois agility test; push-ups; pull-ups; leg tucks; estimated maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max); backwards overhead 4.

Introduction of an applicant Job-Related Task Assessment (JTA) and the effects on the health and fitness of police recruits.

Background: In 2020, a police department in the south-eastern USA introduced a Job-Related Task Assessment (JTA). The JTA included running, climbing, crawling, balance, direction changes, stair climbing, dragging, pushing, and simulated controlling of a struggling subject and needed to be completed by applicants in 6 : 57 min:s. It is not known whether introducing the JTA in the hiring process affected the health and fitness of hired recruits.

Relationships Between Anthropometric Measures and Body Composition With Individual ACFT Event Performance Among Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps Cadets.

Thompson, MB, Lawson, DJ, Orr, RM, Lockie, RG, and Dawes, JJ. Relationships between anthropometric measures and body composition with individual ACFT event performance among army reserve officers' training corps cadets. J Strength Cond Res 38(4): 749-754, 2024-The U.

A Research Note Investigating the Leg Tuck and Plank With Potential Impacts for Occupational Testing.

Gonzalez, SM, Withrow, KL, Rubin, DA, Lynn, SK, Dawes, JJ, Orr, RM, and Lockie, RG. A research note investigating the leg tuck and plank with potential impacts for occupational testing. J Strength Cond Res 37(10): 2076-2079, 2023-The U.