 One of the main goals of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is to increase its students' efficiency through a well-administered physical fitness program. As part of that program, Flutsy has developed a series of tests which will indicate your individual fitness at the beginning of your training here, and then measure the progress you have made during your stay. The series of tests is called the Physical Efficiency Battery, and this videotape will familiarize you with its history and purpose, and then demonstrate each test you will be required to perform. As law enforcement officers, you are subjected to danger as a daily part of your job, but there are also internal dangers you may not be aware of. Research shows that cardiovascular deficiencies and back trouble are the two single greatest causes for early retirement in the law enforcement field. In addition, they account for more limited assignment duties and any other health condition. It was felt that a system should be developed that could identify an officer's deficiencies and areas that could cause or contribute to debilitating conditions in his or her career. For this reason, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center began looking into a way to measure an individual's fitness in certain specified disciplines, and in 1980, the Physical Efficiency Battery, or PEB, was developed. The PEB consists of five separate tests designed to measure your overall fitness. The first is a skin-fold caliper test to measure body fat percentage. The second is the Illinois Agility Run. The third is a sit-and-reach test to measure flexibility. The fourth is the bench press to measure relative strength. And the fifth is the mile-and-a-half run walk to measure cardiovascular endurance. As a student, you will be required to take each of these five tests, but before you can take any part of the PEB, you must be screened to make sure you are medically clear to participate. Anyone with a disqualifying medical history will not be allowed to take the test. A further restriction to your participation could be the weather. During the summer months, the weather conditions outside may keep you from running. If the temperature is too high, a black flag will be flying out of the track, forbidding anyone from hard physical activity outside. The skin-fold caliper test is a test which measures the overall percentage of body fat. It can determine that obesity is very prevalent in the law enforcement career field. This condition can lead to heart disease, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, hernia, intestinal obstruction and other health problems. Therefore, a way to control and measure fat in law enforcement officers is essential. To determine the fat content of an individual, a caliper is used to measure the double layer of skin and underlying layer of fat at various points in the body. Different sites are used for the male and female. In both incidences, the results are recorded and the millimeter readings are converted by computer into a percentage of body fat for both males and females. The next test you will be administered is the Illinois Agility Run. Agility is defined as the ability to successfully alter or change directions and speed in a quick and fluid manner. During encounters with your adversaries, your success may depend on your agility. There may be times when you could be confronted with a variety of obstacles entailing in quick and accurate neuromuscular decisions. The Illinois Agility Run was selected to measure your ability to perform in an agile manner. Although not a component of physical fitness, it consists of such fitness elements as strength, speed, balance and coordination. The Agility Course consists of two parallel lines on a floor separated by 30 feet. One line is designated as the start and finish line. The other is the end boundary line. There is a folding chair placed on each line. In addition, two other chairs are placed within the 30-foot course. The test begins in a flat prone position with hands on or behind the starting line, legs straight and heels together. When the verbal starting signal is given, immediately rise and sprint to the end boundary line and then sprint back to the original starting position. This time, however, you should zigzag in a figure 8 pattern through the other two chairs in the course. Turn around and sprint back to the end boundary line. When you cross the line, your time will be recorded to the nearest tenth of a second. You are allowed two attempts with the best time recorded for score. The third area in which you will be tested is lower back flexibility. The highly sedentary nature of law enforcement contributes significantly to chronic back problems. Long hours behind the wheel of an automobile, coupled with a generally overweight law enforcement community is a major cause of this problem. The test developed to measure your flexibility is called the SID and REACH test. Before taking this test, ensure you are properly warmed up with some stretching exercises. You will be required to sit on the floor with your legs extended at right angles to a box, measuring 8 inches high, 12 inches wide and 24 inches long. The feet are placed against the near edge of the box and are 8 inches apart. This 8 inch separation is denoted by two vertical lines painted on the side of the box facing the student. The legs must remain fully extended with the knees locked at all times during the test. A yardstick and movable slider are fixed to the top of the box midway between the two vertical lines. The yardstick is attached so that the 15 inch mark corresponds to the near edge of the top of the box. For the test, you will be required to reach slowly forward with both hands and push the slide back as far as you can. The distance reached on the yardstick as measured by the slide is recorded. Ballistic bouncing or jerky movements are not permitted. Just a slow reach forward as far as you can. You will be given three trials and the best of the three will be recorded as your flexibility score. The next area in which you will be tested will be the bench press to measure relative upper body strength. There are minimum strength requirements for most physical actions in a law enforcement officer's daily routine. Since the majority of these requirements involve the upper body, the strength of the arms and shoulders will be measured in this test. The equipment required for this test is a fixed bench press station in the gym's weight room. The test is unlike most strength tests. For even though it requires only one repetition of maximum weight as in other tests, this test uses the body weight as a standard from which scores are determined. The determining of the maximum weight pressed away from the body in a single repetition involves a trial and error approach. A comfortable weight that the student can press is determined. Once this weight is pressed, more weight is added. The goal is to reach the maximal lift by the fifth effort. Once this weight has been determined, this figure is converted into percent of body weight and recorded as your score. The final test in the PEB is the mile-and-a-half run walk, which is designed to measure your cardiovascular efficiency. It will be run on a quarter-mile track. You will be required to negotiate the track six times as quickly as you can. This can be accomplished by running, walking, or a combination of the two. When you cross the finish line, your time will be taken and recorded. You will then be required to walk an additional lap to cool down. With the completion of the mile-and-a-half walk run, you have completed the PEB. The results of the test will be tabulated and fed into a computer, which will keep a permanent record of your score. You will receive a percentile ranking on how well you performed within your age and sex group. For example, the agility run has been broken down into three age groups for the male and female, with different standards for each group. As shown on the table, the minimum score for most groups is 70 percent. All other tests are standardized in a similar manner. The physical efficiency battery is a tool to help you identify your weak points, so you can improve on those areas either through a structured physical fitness program or through your own personally initiated fitness activities. One word of caution, if at any time during the test you feel sick or hurt, report immediately to your instructor who will refer you to the athletic trainer's office for the appropriate treatment. Otherwise, do your best and get a good score.