Are you FIT for the job?

There are many career's in the world today that encourage you to stay or get into shape.  I recently read an article written by a police officer about the physical condition of cops these days.  I dont even know where to begin.  I am not a cop, I am a trainer.  I dont understand how so many in the field of law enforcement can be so ridiculously lazy.  I have trained some amazing athletes and to see them physically excel and push themselves is incredible.  They do it because they want to train, they want to lose weight, get stronger, just be better.  Chances are that their fitness is not going to be a deciding factor as to if they get to go home and give their kids a goodnight kiss or be able to climb into bed with their wife.  It is not going to determine at the end of the night, whether they get to go home or not.  That is not the case with being a police officer, your life truly depends on your ability to survive and lets face it, fat and lazy is good prey.  In the article it talks about 4 really bad guys that are either cop killers or have assaulted a police officer.  These guys are not your run of the mill gang bangers, they trained and were ready to kill anything that threatened them.  Going up against a class of criminal like that unprepared is not just risky its stupid, and when asked why they attacked to police officers the answer was common among them.  Sized him up and knew I could take him. They all spoke about the officers either being fat, lazy, no commanding presence, and it got those cops assaulted or killed.  What is it that makes, in my experience, police officers so lazy?  Hard times on the job, hours suck, make a decent paycheck and buy toys. Could being in better physical condition have helped these officers?  I think so.  Is it always going to save your life? No, its a dangerous job, but I would rather build my arsenal to the best of my ability.  Dont let your physical weakness be a deciding factor in whether you live or die.  Its like what Mark Riptoe says "Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general".  

This is all to common nowadays