letter came today. i can start in jan, or march. i'm thinking march. gives me a little more time to save some money, and get into shape.
i'll be 35 in april. 10 years ago, i got my ba in criminal justice. i have been in the wholesale business ever since. needless to say, my current industry is fading fast. i always wanted to be in public service anyway, so no better time to make the career change and be one of the good guys.
since i will have a couple of months to try to get into shape, what else should i be prepping for? i was thinking of memorizing the radio codes, and the alphabet. what type of physical training should i be ready for?
i'll probably know a bit more of what they expect when i go to orientation. but thats not till next month, and i wanna start now.
any words of wisdom? failing here inst an option. i'm not gonna get to many more chances at starting over in life, so i plan on putting in 110% here.
i'll gladly listen to any advise anyone has.

Keep your ears open and study diligently. Good idea to work on your PT. Other than that, keep that good attitude.

Seriously, unless you have access to the radio codes, laws, etc. of your jurisdiction, don't waste your time with it. They will provide you all that you need once you arrive. With regards to PT, pushups, running, and ab work. We would do front leaning rest, then push, then hold it some more.

Keep your mouth shut, and your ears wide open. Move with a purpose and be a team player.

sorry, should have said on the original post, i'm in florida. school is daytona beach community college.

1. Running

2. Push ups

3. Running

4. Situps

5. Running

6. chin ups/pull ups

7. Running.

As far as things to remember in class

1. Mouth shut

2. Ears/eyes open

3. Never one up the instructor

If you stick to rules 1-3, you will never be THAT guy. Dont ask what THAT guy means, you will find out soon enough. If you get halfway through the academy and you havent met THAT guy, then you didnt follow rules 1-3, because there is always THAT guy in every group.

Good Luck.....Be Safe....And check back in with us often.

They'll TEACH YOU what you need to know, as far as your radio codes, penal code, laws of arrest, car stops, high risk room entry, shooting, high speed chase, dealing with the mentally unstable/drugged/abusive etc., etc., etc.......

Good idea about working on your physical fitness, it can't hurt.

Since, you already have a BA in Criminal Justice is should be easy for you (if not, already familiar to you).  Stay below the radar with that knowledge......no one likes a sm@%^ a$$.  

Keep your future plans (IF you're planning an exit to another state) to yourself.  

The pay might be low (to start)........but, FL like HI, pays partially in sunshine.

Aloha, Mark

Run

you guys rock, thanks for all the feedback.
running is the only thing that concerns me. i'm flatfooted like a duck.
i used to be very fit when in college. not so much now. but that was a long time ago.
i'll get through it though.

another question, at 35, am i gonna be the old man in the class?

We had several people around 40 when I went through the academy. We had a 50 year old firefighter becoming an arson investigator too. He was in damn good shape... could have been the 16 years he spent as a SEAL though The average age of my class was 30.

I had a 61 year old Air Force Colonel in my class, and several guys in their mid to late 40's.

I think your gonna be ok.

the academics are department-specific.

the PT is going to be mental toughness tested by physical means.  You will be smoked when they decide you will be and it will stop when they decide.  They can't hit you, they can't kill you, and they can't keep you too much after five o'clock or they start having to deal with federal laws on overtime.  This is the advice I give to new fire cadets.

check out www.crossfit.com and start working toward the WODs (workout of the day)  Most are extremely difficult and are something to be worked toward.  DO NOT try to kick ass the first few days, start learning techniques and figuring out where you stand physically.  The conditioning is great and it translates to running endurance without mega distances.  You should still do some running, just make sure you don't give yourself shin splints or a stress fracture––definite academy killer.

Overall, eat well, hydrate, PT to get better, not break yourself down.  DO NOT get hurt, you can always do more PT tomorrow if you are not hurt, if you wash out due to injury, you may not be able to come back.  If in doubt, slow down, rest, whatever it takes to stay healthy.  The other side of the coin is you do not want to be dropped for lack of performance, but that shouldn't be an issue if you are still making gains and getting stronger.

glad to hear i wont be the old fart in the group.
training has started. i am have done crossfit in the past. i'll add that to the gym routine.
i also am using fitday.com to track what i am eating.
i also picked up two new good pairs of running shoes.