The clock starts with a climb. From a kneeling position, candidates must sprint 50 feet and then scale a 6-foot chain-link fence in the Police Academy Gym. You get three tries to clear the fence.<\/p>\n
No rest for the weary \u2014 next up is the six-stair system, where NYPD hopefuls must complete three over-and-back runs, equal to a four-story climb.<\/p>\n
Still standing? The next step challenges candidates to resist or control force in a physical restraint scenario, using a weight machine designed to simulate a struggle with a suspect.<\/p>\n
From there, it’s a 600-foot cone run, followed by a simulated victim rescue where candidates must drag a 176-pound mannequin a full 35 feet.<\/p>\n
The final hurdle is the trigger pull. Wannabe cops must handle a dummy firearm, keeping it steady within a 9-inch target and pulling the trigger 16 times with their dominant hand and 15 times with the other.<\/p>\n
If that sounds tough, know that it used to be tougher.<\/p>\n
The NYPD has dramatically relaxed its fitness requirements in recent years, responding to a record wave of retirements and a shrinking pool of recruits.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the department extended the original 3:28 time limit by nearly a full minute to give more candidates a shot.<\/p>\n
In 2022, they swapped out a 6-foot faux wall for a more climb-friendly chain-link fence after a viral video showed out-of-shape, wannabe cops laughably trying \u2014 and failing \u2014 to scale it.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the NYPD ditched the 1.5-mile run, which had to be completed in 14:21 or less to graduate.<\/p>\n
Training chief Juanita Holmes defended the decision to eliminate the timed run, arguing it wasn\u2019t essential for police work and that it was preventing otherwise qualified candidates \u2014 particularly women \u2014 from moving forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo cop on patrol runs a mile and a half,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one\u2019s chasing anyone a mile and a half. Not to mention every day in the gym you\u2019re doing a mile and a half [as part of training].\u201d<\/p>\n
The NYPD’s physical fitness test is a grueling obstacle course that requires recruits to push their bodies to the limit. While the test has been relaxed in recent years, it’s still a challenging and demanding assessment that only the most physically fit candidates can pass.<\/p>\n
What is the NYPD’s physical fitness test?<\/strong> What are the obstacles in the test?<\/strong> Why did the NYPD relax its fitness requirements?<\/strong> Can I retake the test if I fail?<\/strong> Could you pass the NYPD’s physical fitness test? The obstacle course from hell The clock starts with a climb. From a kneeling position, candidates must sprint 50 feet and then scale a 6-foot chain-link fence in the Police Academy Gym. You get three tries to clear the fence. No rest for the weary \u2014 next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9984","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/www-youtube-com-watch-v-96642587.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024&w=1024&resize=1024,682&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9986,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9984\/revisions\/9986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe test is a series of six obstacles that must be completed in under 4 minutes and 28 seconds while wearing a 14-pound weighted vest.<\/p>\n
\nThe obstacles include climbing a 6-foot chain-link fence, completing a six-stair system, resisting or controlling force in a physical restraint scenario, dragging a 176-pound mannequin 35 feet, pulling the trigger on a dummy firearm, and a 600-foot cone run.<\/p>\n
\nThe NYPD relaxed its fitness requirements in response to a record wave of retirements and a shrinking pool of recruits. The department also argued that the original fitness standards were preventing otherwise qualified candidates from moving forward.<\/p>\n
\nYes, you can retake the test if you fail. However, you typically need to wait 90 days before you can retake it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"