It's the cliché that won't go away: the fat cop or deputy. His belly spills over his leather gear, dimming any chance of a quick, accurate draw. His uniform looks sloppy and poorly fitted. And he can barely squeeze behind the wheel of his patrol car, which is littered with empty fast food containers and cardboard coffee cups.

When the action heats up, he may have the bulk to bring the bad guys down to earth, but forget a foot chase or even a graceful take-down. The movies play this guy strictly for laughs, but in real life, out-of-shape officers pose a danger to both themselves and others.

Law enforcement has long been on the same page as military service, and the comparison works. The two professions require similar skills: highly honed combat readiness, the ability to follow orders and work as a unit, as well as tight discipline. But overweight, out-of-condition soldiers don't show up on the Army's rolls. The military sets the bar high when it comes to physical fitness because those who can't pull their weight create a liability that reverberates throughout the entire organization.

While not all law enforcement agencies field physically unfit officers, a surprising number have never established or enforced physical fitness standards. In some cases, it's a matter of outside organizational pressure, in others department executives have been reluctant to chase into retirement older officers who might have trouble meeting the standards.

While firearms qualification is mandatory and most departments regularly practice defensive tactics, all the training in the world won't help if the officer is a jelly belly and can't run more than a few hundred yards without gasping like a fish on a riverbank.

But the increasing influence good physical conditioning has on an officer's job performance, the department's liability and the public's perception of the agency has become more and more apparent. And savvy police executives aren't going simply for the hard body that looks good in a uniform, but for physical training that accurately reflects the work officers do daily on their beats and in the streets.

Looking for the six-pack Face it - spending hours in a patrol car or sitting on surveillance, eating fast food when there's time to grab a bite and sleeping at odd hours, can pack on the pounds. Derek Dodd, RN, a Florida-based lifestyle and fitness coach, says officers should start with honest self-assessment.

"If you take the elevator instead of the stairs, if you get a ride to your car because someone else is parked closer to the building and a work-out program doesn't even register on the screen - those are tell-tale signs you're out-of-shape," Dodd says.

Physical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol are also accurate indicators that an officer needs a fitness routine. But Dodd warns many make the same mistake when initiating a program and try to do too much too fast. "A lot of people start too hard, too quick and try to run a mile or lift really heavy weights," Dodd points out. And that can do more harm than good.

Dodd says professional help can cut to the chase but a lot of officers don't want to be bothered. "There can be a macho attitude that says, 'I don't want anyone telling me how to do training,'" he says. "And that can lead to mistakes."

Different strokes for different folks?
But officers aren't the only ones who miscalculate when it comes to starting a fitness program. Lots of police executives fall into the trap of worrying about fitting the training to the officer and not to the job. Tom Collingwood is president of Fitness Intervention Technology and co-author of the second edition of "Fit for Duty." In addition to writing books on the subject of police fitness training, Collingwood has helped set the standard for local, state and federal agencies as a recognized expert on the subject of law enforcement fitness. Make no mistake about it, Collingwood knows his subject inside and out, which is why his take on training older officers and women is even more surprising. v Collingwood says agencies first need to recognize, "It's about one thing: we're at war and police are the first responders. Agencies have to assure officers are physically ready to do what comes down the pike. It's not about being able to lift a house, the issue is being ready to do the job. I don't think some academies and administrations understand that this is what it is all about." Collingwood adds this inability to grasp the basics results in critical mistakes.

Police agencies become much too worried about age and gender equality, and structure their programs in such a way as to acknowledge physical differences. While, liability-wise that sounds great, take the concept and apply it to police work:

• Will a female or older officer have to chase a suspect a shorter distance than a younger male officer?
• Will a female or older officer have to fight lighter and less physically able suspects than a younger male officer?
• Will a female or older officer have to climb, crawl, sit, stand or perform any field tasks less often or in a different way than a younger male officer?

The answer to all of these questions is "of course not." Collingwood compares fitness qualifications to firearms. Everyone shoots and qualifies for that badge and gun. "There's no (false) argument you have to shoot at two levels," he says.

Collingwood's point, that police work is what it is and can't be tailored to the individual's physical capabilities, is a good one and one that's often missing when evaluating fitness programs. Here's what Collingwood says about it, "By not understanding it as physical readiness, the department administration gets bogged down in unimportant issues such as diversity and females in law enforcement. There's a problem with women making the standard thus it's not imposed because they can't hire women."

Collingwood says it's not a gender issue - it's a training one. Older officers and females must work harder. Avoidance of fitness issues altogether or - in Collingwood's words - "dumbing down" fitness requirements drag down the entire training program.

As Collingwood says, the solution is to fit the officer to the task, since the opposite is impossible. "There are a lot of misperceptions out there ... a lot of excessive concern over litigation and, in some cases, real administrative cowardice," he says. "We're not talking about living to be 100 or building super athletes. We're talking about ... being physically ready to handle what comes down."

Just do it
Every detective, special team member and crime scene processor has at one time or another reached for the phone from the throes of a deep sleep and been wide awake and pumping adrenaline a couple of minutes later. It is the nature of the business that officers must be able to come to full operational level in the blink of an eye.

Dr. Bill Howard, director of the Sports Medicine Center at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, sympathizes. He's been awakened and summoned to the operating room many times. And he says being physically fit not only helps him do his job better but allows him to sleep better when he's finally able to go to bed.

This, of course, doesn't apply only to medical professionals. Law enforcement officers who regularly exercise also achieve a deeper, more restful sleep, as well as build up a higher tolerance for the odd hours and stress their jobs encompass. And the only way to get that benefit, says Howard, is to bite the bullet - so to speak.

"Some days you know you ought to work out and just don't feel like it," Howard says. "But it's even more important to work out as you age."

Science has proven that as a person gets older, he can retain more flexibility, sleep better and keep his mind sharper if he exercises. That stiffness felt when getting out of bed, which afflicts people beginning in their forties, is a natural by-product of getting older, according to Howard. And while you can't reverse aging, proper exercise will reduce some of the physical effects. Thus, not requiring older officers to meet physical standards not only reduces their effectiveness on the street, but also shortens their careers, as well as their lives.

But Howard is bullish on today's law enforcement officers. He says that, overall, they are in much better shape than they were years ago. "They have to be - police work has changed," Howard says.

And it has. With the proliferation of higher-tech weapons and criminals who've been working out themselves, officers can't leave anything to chance. And Howard says police agencies are responding to this trend.

"Should an agency have a fitness program in place? Absolutely. Many businesses do," he says. "There's nobody more competitive than police officers."

Howard says agencies that are behind the trend toward more physically fit officers, need to stop procrastinating. "Officers need to quit smoking, lose weight, work out and pretty soon they're healthier," he says. "It's a cascade effect and they're better for it."

SWAT
Special teams obviously need special programs and most agencies already have one or two in place. John Chipko, founder of Body Goals, concentrates on strength and conditioning. Chipko works with various government agencies, police departments and SWAT members to hone their physical excellence.

"With law enforcement you never know what situation you may be thrown into," Chipko says. "Typical gym training with machine-based workouts are not adequate for today's law enforcement agency."

He emphasizes each position in law enforcement may require a different set of skills. "A corrections officer may need to have a better grip strength for altercations that may occur with prisoners, whereas a SWAT member will need stronger trunk muscles to compensate for the body armor and/or the ruck sack he will carry into a situation."

Starting a program
The Menomonie (Wisconsin) Police Department has only 28 officers. How can a small department such as this come up with its own gym? The answer: Through inventive thinking. Unlike some departments that have magnificent multi-million dollar facilities at their disposal, most lack the resources and the government commitment to move forward with a program with heavy equipment requirements. But Sgt. Steve Chronis, who is the fitness officer for the Menomonie PD, says the department worked around their dilemma.

First, the county donated the use of a room they already had, then local agencies banded together to drum up money to outfit the facility. In order to maintain their gym, users pony up a small fee.

Chronis also offers a twice-yearly physical challenge for the department. Both male and female officers voluntarily take part and enjoy the competitive aspect, Chronis says.

"Probably 30 to 40 percent of the department participates," he says. "The overall health and fitness level has gone up for everyone involved, and that includes less sick days, better officer safety and an improved ability to deal with subjects on the street. I think it keeps us mentally sharper and more alert."

Many agencies have recognized the benefits of physically fit officers and have started or are in the process of initiating programs. Collingwood, for example, has worked with many agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania and Maryland state police and the Department of the Interior to establish programs.

Get your motor running
The advantages of officers being in tip-top shape for their jobs are many and obvious - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. In addition to an added safety factor, officers who are physically trained with an eye to their real-life duties also lead better quality lives in their off-duty hours.

Need more impetus to look at a physical fitness program? Here's an interesting equation from Collingwood.

"Thirty minutes (of exercise) buys you an hour of not being fatigued," says Collingwood. "If in the end if I spend three hours a week exercising, I gain six hours of more energy."

And that's not all. Officers who are physically fit are more confident about their ability to handle a job. Being in top-notch physical shape helps officers make better decisions about which level of force is appropriate to a situation. And it helps them relax and suffer less stress, which benefits personal relationships and frame of mind.

The question really isn't whether to institute a job-appropriate fitness program, but how to start one. The answer is to begin with properly trained fitness instructors on staff. They'll help analyze and correlate appropriate exercises and work-outs and kick the program off. Remember - start small and take it one step at a time. Once the entire department - including upper-level management - is on board, staying fit will become second nature.