Mini Study Results: Part-Time SWAT Team Sees Across-the-Board Fitness Improvements and Overall Increase in Fitness Culture After Completing the MTI Part-Time SWAT Fitness Assessment Training Plan

By Rob Shaul, Founder

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):

Eight members of a 20-person part-time SWAT team at a rural sheriff’s department in the Southeast U.S. completed MTI’s 5-week Part-Time SWAT Fitness Assessment Training Plan. Below are their pre- and post-training assessment results.

In addition to physical fitness, one of the goals of this cycle was to test and improve the team’s fitness culture. Initially, 10 of the 20 team members volunteered to complete the cycle. Nine began the training, and eight completed it. One athlete dropped out due to injury.

Post-cycle, the entire team—including those who did not participate—expressed interest in continuing with a formal training plan to be executed concurrently. This is a significant indicator of improved fitness culture.

Note: We've developed a training plan to implement and progress with the MTI Part-Time SWAT Fitness Assessment

---

Background

In early May, a sheriff’s deputy from a small rural department in the Southeast U.S. reached out to request help designing a fitness plan for his part-time SWAT team.

Across U.S. law enforcement, most SWAT and SRT teams are part-time. These teams consist of regular patrol officers and detectives who are pulled from their day-to-day duties to respond to SWAT callouts. In my experience, such teams typically consist of 10–20 members, with low attrition. Selection occurs once or twice a year and usually spans 2–3 days, involving a gate PFT and 48 hours of intensive evaluation. Candidates who pass enter a probationary period that can last up to a year.

Part-time teams typically train together once per month. Few of these teams have their own dedicated fitness assessments, and even fewer conduct recurring assessments outside of department-wide requirements. Continued team membership is usually based on tactical and training performance, not fitness.

Part-time teams exist at all levels of law enforcement—local, state, and federal. For example, most FBI SWAT teams are part-time and composed of agents who are selected annually and train together 1–2 times per month.

---

The MTI Part-Time SWAT Fitness Assessment

Unlike full-time SWAT/SRT teams, which often benefit from multi-day assessments, annual fitness testing, dedicated gym access, and daily training, most part-time teams operate with far fewer resources.

Rather than designing a base fitness program, I created a tailored Part-Time SWAT Fitness Assessment and accompanying 4-week training plan for this team. The assessment was administered before, midway through, and after the training cycle.

Of the 20 team members, 10 volunteered. Ultimately, 8 completed the full 4-week cycle—approximately 50% of the team.

Assessment Overview (4 Events):

1. 1RM Back Squat – Tests total and core strength
2. 1RM Bench Press – Measures upper body pressing strength
3. Max Rep Strict Pull-Ups – Evaluates upper body pulling and core strength
4. 9-Minute AMRAP in Kit – Tactical work capacity test involving:

• • 2x In-Place Lunge (4x total)
  • 4x 25m Prone-to-Sprint intervals
  • Assesses core strength, mission-direct work capacity, and leg strength endurance

Each event is worth up to 10 points, for a total possible score of 40. For strength tests, the score is standardized by bodyweight (i.e., 1RM ÷ bodyweight), which is then translated into a score.

---

Results & Discussion

Table Summary – See below for the full table of results:

These results align with MTI’s historical data for 4–6 week, assessment-based training plans. Typically, we expect a 5–20% improvement per event. More fit athletes show less improvement; less fit athletes tend to see greater gains.

While raw scores significantly improved, categorical ratings (“Poor,” “Good,” “Excellent”) saw less change. These tiers are based on total scores:

Only three athletes moved up a tier: two from “Poor” to “Good,” and one from “Good” to “Excellent.” This may indicate the need to revisit and potentially recalibrate the scoring thresholds.

---

Fitness Culture: The Most Critical Metric

Despite tangible fitness improvements, the most promising development is in team culture.

Fitness culture is difficult to quantify but essential. Unlike the military, most first responder units do not offer:

• High-jeopardy annual fitness assessments
• Paid time to train
• On-site gyms or equipment

Without institutional support, physical fitness becomes entirely the responsibility of the individual. SWAT teams—especially full-time ones—can be the exception, with dedicated resources and high expectations.

This specific part-time SWAT team does not have a required, annual fitness assessment. However, the full department does require two department-wide annual fitness assessments:

• South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy’s Physical Ability Test (PAT, found on the SCCJA website), which is a kind of obstacle course.
• A timed circuit starting with a 400 meter run, 40 air squats, 30 pushups, and 10 pullups.

Neither is “high jeopardy” – meaning poor performance may result in termination.

The department does offer time on duty to train, however, practically no officers take it, as it would leave a “hole” in the agency’s coverage. The department does have a gym to train in, and the county offers discount memberships to local YMCA gyms.

During the cycle, participating SWAT team members often tried to complete that day’s training together in groups of 2-3.

In this case, over half the team voluntarily participated in a rigorous training cycle, and post-cycle feedback indicates widespread interest in formalized, concurrent programming going forward.

---

Final Thoughts

True fitness culture change can’t be measured after a single cycle. The real test is whether team members are still training and progressing months from now. If they are, it will mean that a lasting culture of fitness has been established.