Fitness and Wellness
What the exam tests
Fitness and Wellness tests the physical and psychological demands of the job and the habits that sustain a career. ND questions focus on shift work, stress, injury prevention, and critical-incident recovery.
Core rules
- Physical readiness: aerobic capacity, strength, mobility, and job-specific tasks such as dummy drag, stair climb, and fence climb. Train the tasks, not just the test.
- Shift work: protect sleep with a consistent wind-down routine, a dark and cool sleeping space, and limited caffeine late in the shift. Fatigue impairs reaction time and judgment like alcohol.
- Nutrition: eat regular protein and fiber, carry water, and avoid relying on energy drinks and fast food.
- Stress: cumulative stress and critical incidents affect sleep, mood, and decision-making. Use peer support, EAP, and a clinician; asking for help is not a fitness failure.
- Injury prevention: warm up, use proper lifting, and report pain early. Ignoring an injury leads to chronic problems and lost duty time.
- Wellness is a continuum: fitness, sleep, relationships, finances, and spiritual health all affect performance.
Worked example
After a fatal crash, an officer cannot sleep, snaps at family, and starts drinking to fall asleep. The officer tells a peer support member, who connects him with the EAP and a clinician. The officer also requests a temporary shift change. The response is not to tough it out; early intervention prevents worsening PTSD and protects the officer's career.
Traps
- Using alcohol as a sleep aid.
- Skipping annual medical and fitness checks because I feel fine.
- Treating a critical incident as weakness.
- Overtraining for the academy test and neglecting mobility and recovery.