Prison officer fitness test training plan: 7 weeks to prepare

In shortThis is general guidance for healthy adults, not medical advice, and no plan can guarantee a pass.

This plan is general guidance for healthy adults and not medical advice. You will have to declare health conditions during the HMPPS medical anyway, and a conversation now is better than a surprise later.

None of this plan is a guarantee of passing, and nobody can promise that. What it can do is give you structured progress on the physical qualities the test measures: short aerobic efforts with direction changes, grip endurance, and holding weight in front of you for a minute.

In shortFour different qualities need four different kinds of training, and the test is short, so aim for comfortable reserve above the standard.

• Bleep standard (reported)35 shuttlesIn around three and a half minutes
• Shield hold (reported)1 minuteAt shoulder height; the 7 kg shield is official
• Grip (reported)25 kgIn each hand
• Agility run (reported)34 secondsCourse not officially described

The test has an aerobic and agility element and an upper body element. The bleep test is a progressive shuttle run, usually 15 metres between lines, at a rising pace.

A good plan gives you comfortable reserve above the standard rather than endless mileage, and it ends with a taper in week seven so that you are fresh on the day.

• Aerobic fitness comes from regular steady running and short intervals.
• Agility comes from practising changes of direction at speed, which also protects your ankles and knees.
• Grip and shield endurance come from holding things: carries, hangs and isometric holds.
• Do not skip the grip and shield work because running feels like the main event, since people who are fine at running can still tire quickly holding a weight out in front.

In shortFour sessions a week, with easy days between harder ones, small steps of progress, and no doubling up if you miss a session.

The plan uses four sessions a week: two running sessions, one strength and grip session and one agility and shuttle session. If you are starting from low fitness, drop to three sessions and repeat each week until you feel comfortable, because a nine or ten week build is perfectly sensible.

Always leave at least one easy day between harder sessions, and take a complete rest day at least twice a week.

• Every session starts with five to ten minutes of easy movement, such as brisk walking, arm circles and hip mobility, and ends with five minutes of easy walking.
• Keep the effort conversational on steady days.
• On interval days, the hard efforts should feel like a seven or eight out of ten, and not an all-out sprint.
• Progress is by small steps: a bit more time, a few more repeats, or a little more weight.

In shortBy the end of week three you should run 25 to 30 minutes at a conversational pace and hold a light weight for 30 seconds without pain.

1. Week 1: two steady sessions of 20 minutes, alternating one minute of easy jogging with one minute of brisk walking if you cannot yet run continuously.
2. Weeks 2 and 3: increase to 25 and then 30 minutes, with the jogging blocks getting longer. The aim is to run without stopping at a pace where you can still talk, and to finish feeling that you could have done a little more.
3. Strength and grip day: three rounds of a 20 second plank, ten bodyweight squats, ten push-ups from your knees or toes, and a 20 second dead hang from a bar if you have one (or a farmer's carry with two household bags for 30 seconds). Week by week add a set or a few seconds.
4. Shield: begin with a light isometric hold. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and hold a 2 to 3 kg weight, or a light pair of dumbbells, in front of you at chest to shoulder height for 20 seconds, resting a minute between three holds.
5. Shuttle day in weeks two and three: mark a 15 metre course with cones. Do eight repeats of 15 metre shuttles at a comfortable pace with a 60 second walk between sets, and try to turn smoothly rather than stopping dead. The point at this stage is technique and confidence.
6. Agility session: keep it gentle. Walk through the course shape and do slow side steps and light skipping.

In shortFrom week four add structured 15 metre shuttles, a practice bleep run every two weeks and longer shield-style holds, building weight slowly.

From week four, the steady runs stay at 25 to 35 minutes but you add structured shuttles.

A hard shuttle should take roughly five and a half to six seconds if you are aiming at the reported average pace of about six seconds per shuttle, but treat that as a guide and not a target, since the real test starts slower and finishes faster.

In shortTrain the skills of accelerating, braking and turning, because the reported 34 second course is not officially described.

The reported agility run is a course completed within 34 seconds. We do not have an official description of the course, so train the skills and not a course you cannot see: accelerate, brake, change direction and accelerate again.

Use cones in a simple pattern, such as a five metre box with a zig-zag section, and aim for smooth, controlled movement. Speed comes after control.

• Side shuffles.
• Backward jogs followed by a turn and sprint.
• Short five to ten metre sprints with deceleration.
• Keep the volume modest: six to eight repeats with a full rest between them is plenty.

In shortWeek seven is lighter on purpose: arrive fresh and slightly under-trained, then follow the assessment centre's instructions on the day.

Keep two short easy runs of 15 to 20 minutes, one gentle shuttle session with only a few repeats, and one very light strength session with no maximal holds. You should arrive at the test feeling fresh and slightly under-trained, not tired.

Do not try a heroic final practice in the last three days.

In shortThe main mistakes are doing too much too soon, training only what feels natural, using the wrong recording, and ignoring the rest of the process.

The fitness test sits between a medical and a final offer, after vetting has begun. Do not let a fitness plan push out the paperwork you need to gather, or the sleep and food you need to function.

• Do not increase weekly running time by more than about 10 per cent.
• Do not practise the bleep test to exhaustion more than once every two weeks.
• Do not take supplements, stimulants or crash diets before test day.
• Do get a medical opinion about any symptom that worries you.

In shortExperienced runners can compress the plan and focus on grip and shield; beginners should extend it to ten to twelve weeks and see a GP if unsure.

If you are older, returning after injury, or carrying extra weight, progress more slowly and talk to your GP.

HMPPS states that there is no upper age limit published, and the third-party guidance mentions a body mass index target of 30 or under with case-by-case consideration above that, but the official pages do not publish a weight limit, so we do not state one. Use the eligibility checker to see the published requirements.

In shortOnce you have a training routine, check the rest of your application and the published training you will face after joining.

Once you have a training routine, check the rest of your application. The recruitment process guide explains what happens before and after the fitness test, and the how long does recruitment take guide helps you time your preparation against a realistic calendar.

• If you are unsure whether you meet the basics, see our requirements guide and the age limit guide.
• To see how you will cope physically once in the job, our training and POELT guide describes the published training programme, including control and restraint.
• The joining hub collects every guide for applicants.
• For serious training support the Fitness Pass Suite offers structured plans.
• The Candidate Bundle combines preparation tools for the whole application.