AN INVESTIGATION OF SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN THE FITNESS TEST PERFORMANCE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT RECRUITS

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine whether different seasons could influence fitness test performance in law enforcement recruits. Retrospective examination was conducted on data from four classes, which included 375 recruits (302 males, 73 females) from an agency. The classes were fitness tested during four different seasons in southern California (Fall: n=89, temperature=22-28°C, humidity=20-32%; Winter: n=84, temperature=18-26°C,humidity=8-11%; Spring: n=102, temperature=22-29°C, humidity=23-50%; Summer: n=100, temperature=21-25°C, humidity=39-71%). Fitness testing occurred in the week prior to academy and included: the vertical jump (VJ); push-ups and sit-ups completed in 60 s; and the 20-m multistage fitness test (20MSFT). A one-way ANOVA was used with Bonferroni post hoc (p<0.05) adjustment to calculate any between-class differences. There were no significant between-class differences for the VJ (p=0.197) and sit-ups (p=0.352). Winter and Summer recruits completed 16% and 19% significantly more push-up repetitions than Spring recruits (p≤0.029). Winter recruits completed 16-22% significantly more MSFT shuttles than Fall, Spring and Summer classes recruits (p≤0.009, 16%, 22%, and 18%, respectively). Variability in fitness test performance across the seasons may be due to class-to-class fitness variations in recruits. However, recruits in the Winter class were clearly superior in the 20MSFT, which is an aerobic maximal running test. Hotter temperatures can increase cardiovascular strain, while humidity can decrease sweat evaporation rates, which can impact a test such as the 20MSFT. Law enforcement staff may need to consider ambient temperatures and humidity during fitness tests due to potential negative effects on recruit performance.