NZ officers tested at Police Crossfit Championships in Rotorua

POWER: Constable Jade Snare, of Tauranga, performs a front squat during the New Zealand Police CrossFit Championships in Rotorua. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Police officers from all over New Zealand have put their fitness to the test in Rotorua.Competitors at the 2017 New Zealand Police Crossfit Championships, held at CrossFit Rotorua today, ran, skipped, squatted, lifted, pulled, lunged and jumped through a series of gruelling workouts to find New Zealand's fittest men and women on the force.

CrossFit workouts incorporate elements from high-intensity interval training, Olympic weightlifting, plyometrics, power lifting, gymnastics, strongman, and other exercises.

It has been used for years by members of the military and emergency services in the United States and a growing number of New Zealand police men and women are using the sport to achieve the functional fitness required on the job.

Championships organiser Sergeant Anton Maisey, of Counties Manukau, said the event had been running for about 10 years, in a different location every year.

"There are six workouts in total, from 7am to 3pm, and it's a mixture of cardio and strength. Five of the workouts are here at Crossfit Rotorua and the last one is at the Rotorua International Stadium.

"CrossFit is functional fitness, it gets you ready for any sort of movement and anything out there in the big bad world. Running, strength, cardio are all things we can use out there," Maisey said.

There were a range of different athletes competing in the championships and there were divisions for each ability level.

Maisey spent hours creating workouts that would provide a true test of fitness for competitors.

"You get the big guys with a lot of strength but not so good at cardio, and the smaller guys who are better at cardio, so it all evens out. The workouts are a mixture of both.

"The championships are a chance to test yourself against your peers as well as being a chance to socialise," he said.

Acting Senior Sergeant Dylan Robinson of Kaikohe police said it was "an awesome event".

"There are people here from the Far North, all the way down to the bottom of the South Island, it's really good.

"It's a chance to pit yourself against people you don't normally train with, but also it's building relationships within the police. It is competitive, there are some big fellas throwing some big weights around," Robinson said.

Robinson has been with the police for 16 years and has been participating in CrossFit for the last two years. He said it had made a "massive difference" to his fitness.

He expected to have a few aching muscles after the event.

"Six workouts in a day is a lot, but it's good fun."