NEWS-PRESS
 POLICE PERSONAL TRAINERS: Officer John Eaton spots Sgt. Greg Gaffney as the two officers work out Thursday at the Naples Police Station weight room. Both men recently completed a personal trainer's course an, together with a third trainee, Officer John Warford, will be training other members of the department. |
Miami policeman Jim Sayih stopped by Southwest Florida recently to pump up area law enforcement officers.
Fifteen police officers deputies trained with Sayih at the Fort Myers Police Academy last week to become certified physical trainers for their own departments.
All of them passed their certification exams, Sayih said.
Sayih, founder and director of 911 Fitness Inc., said his mission is to rid the image of overweight cops.
"After five to 10 years, officers become complacent and develop routines," he said. "They suffer from high blood pressure and back problems."
Sayih said poor health carries over into their quality of life, affecting their families and shortening their life spans after they retire.
He Said training officers to train themselves and their colleagues is the best and cheapest way to do it.
They never have to hire a personal trainer outside the department," he said. "The officers are equipped to teach the ABCs of fitness management."
Participants came from the Fort Myers Police Department, Cape Coral Police, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Naples Police and Hendry County Sheriff's Office, he said.
Sayih has given his three day course in Orlando and Miami Beach before, but this is the first time it has been offered on the west coast, he said.
The course aims to certify participants as trainers using the guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine. "They are the recognized leaders in the field of physical training, he said.
The participants learn about nine different subjects: anatomy and physiology; exercise science; health; safety; nutrition and weight management; physiopathology; psychology; risk factors; and human development and aging.
On their first day of training, they learned how muscles work by going to a fitness center.
The training culminated in rescuing a dummy meant to stimulate and unconscious, overweight officer in distress.
"This is a physically demanding job, and and officer needs to be physically fit," he said.
On the last day, officers take a 100-question written exam on what they've learned.
Sayih said without formal training officers can hurt themselves.
"They can have structural injuries or muscular damage," he said. "It may have an effect on respiratory damage."
He suggested that officers be allowed to train at least half an hour a day on duty. "I'm a fitness fanatic," he said.
Sayih has worked as a city of Miami police officer for 12 years and has operated his company for five years.
Naples Police Training Officer Lt. Robert Bock said local training officers decided to invite Sayih to beef up officers' training.
"Everybody has the image of a police officer as unfit," he said.
Bock said many police officers who exercise train with friends but don't necessarily know proper exercise techniques.
"A lot of police officers think they are physically fit," Bock said. "You don't know the proper way (to exercise) until you have formal training."
Bock said he hoped the new training would help shed certain stereotypes about police.
"It bothers them about that image, such as they go to donut shops," he said.
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