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After a recent CHIP test, we spoke to a candidate who had failed. Based on his age, he needed to perform 38 sit-ups to receive a passing score. He could only do nine.
The young man was surprised by the result, but when we asked him whether he exercised on a regular basis, the answer was no surprise. Not only did he not exercise, he said the last time he had done a sit-up was when he was a junior in high school, six years before.
Learning from Failure
In the case of this young man, the CHIP Test served three functions.
- It identified an individual who has an absolute lack of self-awareness. Effective police officers have a high level of self-awareness, which allows them to understand their strengths and weaknesses, utilize their strengths, and mitigate their weaknesses.
- It identified someone who wasn't willing to prepare and wasn’t committed to achieving a goal. Preparing and training in law enforcement and public safety is mission critical. As my football coach often said, "You play how you practiced." If you don't practice well, you won't play well.
- The CHIP test identified an individual who is not currently ready to enter the academy, withstand the rigors of training, or safely carry out the duties of the job.
Preparing for A Better Result Next Time
The good news for this candidate and anyone else who fails the test is that with commitment and training he will be able to pass the test.
There are many types of physical ability tests. Some require access to special equipment for training purposes, but that is not the case for the CHIP fitness assessment.
Anyone and everyone can perform sit-ups and push-ups at home, and preparing for the 1.5 mile run and the 300 meter sprint can be done on a track or on the road.
If you’ve failed the CHIP test, a simple training regimen can mean success the second time around. For more information on how to prepare for the test, see our blog post Are You Ready for Your CHIP Test?