Tom Holloway RFL

If you’re training to be an SFO, or any specialist tactical role in the police, this is the standard I’d expect from you.

Bleep test to level 6, vest on. Straight to 10.5.. That’s just the warm-up.

Then, vest on, 5 rounds of:
100m sandbag carry
25 second rope hang
Barbell complex: 5 cleans, 5 front squats, 5 push press
10 burpees over the sandbag
400m run

Target sub 35 mins

Then 90 seconds rest, and an all-out 800m run.

Target sub 3:45

This is how we train, and we train it this way because our coaches have passed these selections. So we don’t guess what it takes. We know.

Save this and see if you can hold it together to the end.

****ms

Your goal going down to CPC is to hit maximum reps in the PJFA, on all your bodyweight scores.

So this tests how long you can actually keep going, not how good you are fresh.

Starts with a 1k run
Then straight into:
60 press-ups
85 sit-ups
16 pull-ups
Complete each one before moving onto the next
The catch: any time you fail, stop, or rest longer than a second, you lose 5 reps and take a 10-second rest before you go again.

Finish with a 3-mile best effort run.

Time cap start to finish, in under 35 minutes.

Give it a go and comment how you got on.

My own standard, based on how I trained for the Royal Marines. Not official, not affiliated. Train within your ability.

The part very few people train for.

At CPC you’ll be expected to drag or carry someone, and if you’ve never done it, you don’t know how your body will react.

5 rounds - 20 minutes

40kg sandbag.
Run 100m up.

Walk it back down carrying the weight, because that’s what tests your grip.

Straight into
10 sandbag over the shoulder
10 press-ups
10 burpee over the bag
10 squats

Keep the weight high and stay tall.

The second your grip goes, you lean forward, the strain hits your lower back, and it gets ten times harder.

Training like this should be included before your tests.

If you’re ready to perform when it matters DM “READY” and let’s go through it.

My own standard, based on how I trained for the Royal Marines. Not official, not affiliated. Train within your ability.

Everyone thinks it’s 9.4 on the bleep, and once you’ve hit it, you’ve made it. That number’s where most people stop. It’s also where this actually starts.

You hit 9.4. Weight vest on, 10kg. Hit 9.4 again.

Then, still carrying the weight, straight into 4 rounds:
5 burpees
10 sit-ups
15 press-ups
20 squats

Because the role is never one effort fresh.

It’s effort after effort, under load, when you’ve got nothing left. If your training’s built that, you finish this. If it hasn’t, it finds you out.

Don’t train for 9.4. Train for everything that comes after it.

My own standard, based on how I trained for fi****ms.

Not official, not affiliated. Train within your ability.

****ms

At some point you will be expected to drag or carry another man while you’re already exhausted.

Casualty drags.
Fireman carries.
Baby carries.
Uphill in the elements.

That’s where people realise their training hasn’t prepared them for the reality of it.

If you don’t have a training partner, you can still prepare your body this way

This session was:
Find a 50m Hill
• 5 hill sprints
• 5 bergen drags (weight on the chest)
• 5 bear crawls uphill
• 5 baby carries
• 5 hill sprints
3 minutes rest.
Repeat.
This is just one example of how you can train for that type of fatigue.

A powerlifter wouldn’t avoid stepping into a gym, because that’s where they’re tested.

So why wouldn’t you train for the reality of what you’re walking into?

If you’re only training two days a week, this is the minimum standard I’d expect that training to produce.

This is an insight into a base level of what you’ll be faced with on military selection

The workout:
8 hill sprints 20 seconds up, jog back down to recover

Then 4 rounds of:
10 press-ups
10 squats
10 sit-ups
10 burpees
Target: finish all 4 rounds in under 5 minutes

Then a 1 mile best effort run
Target: sub 8 minutes

If you can hit those, your two days are working.

Two days done properly beats five done half-hearted.

Have a plan and execute it

Save this and see where you stand.

⚠️ These are standards I’ve created myself, based on how I trained in preparation for the Royal Marines. They are not official military tests and are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Royal Marines, the MOD, or any official military body.