Can you pass the NYPD physical fitness test?

Think you’re as fit – or fitter – than the NYPD? Before you can earn the badge, you’ll need to beat the clock.

Aspiring cops looking to join the nation’s largest municipal police force must first conquer the Standard Job Test, a grueling obstacle course that will test your speed, strength and endurance under pressure.

To qualify for the NYPD’s six-month training at the police academy in Flushing, Queens, recruits must complete six punishing tasks in less than 4 minutes and 28 seconds, all while wearing a 14-pound vest.

Fail one section and you’re out.

Obstacle course from hell

The clock starts with an ascent. From a kneeling position, candidates must run 50 feet and then climb a 6-foot chain-link fence in the Police Academy gym. You get three attempts to clear the fence.

No rest for the weary—next up is the six-step system, where NYPD candidates must complete three back-and-forth runs, the equivalent of a four-story climb.

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.

From there, it’s a 600-foot cone run, followed by a simulated casualty rescue where candidates must pull a 176-pound mannequin a full 35 feet.

The final hurdle is pulling the trigger. Wanted cops must handle a dummy firearm, holding it steady within a 9-inch target and pulling the trigger 16 times with their dominant hand and 15 times with the other.

After the 31st trigger pull is complete, the clock stops. Finish on time and you move on.

It falls short, and it’s game over—for now. Those still determined to join the NYPD can get additional training and chances to pass the test, but you usually have to wait 90 days before you can retake it.

Facilitating fitness

If that sounds tough, know that it used to be tougher.

The NYPD has dramatically relaxed its fitness requirements in recent years, responding to a record wave of retirements and a shrinking pool of recruits.

In 2021, the department extended the original 3:28 time limit by nearly a full minute to give more candidates a shot.

In 2022, they swapped a 6-foot artificial wall for a more climb-friendly chain link fence after a viral video showed unsuspecting, innocent cops hilariously trying — and failing — to scale it.

And in 2023, the NYPD dropped the 1.5-mile run, which had to be completed in 14:21 or less to graduate.

Training chief Juanita Holmes defended the decision to scrap the timed run, arguing it was not essential to police work and was preventing qualified candidates – particularly women – from moving forward.

“No cop on patrol goes a mile and a half,” she said. “Nobody’s chasing anybody a mile and a half. Not to mention every day at the gym you’re doing a mile and a half [as part of training].”

But the move drew backlash from high-ranking and retired law enforcement officers. A veteran Brooklyn cop called the decision “disgraceful,” noting that most of the recruits are in their early 20s.

Eugene O’Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who is also a former NYPD cop and Brooklyn and Queens prosecutor, told The Post in 2023 that the changes could jeopardize public safety.

“This is not driven by some considered research,” O’Donnell said. “It’s being driven by sheer desperation because you need someone.”