Workload demand in police officers during mountain bike patrols

To the authors' knowledge this is the first paper that has used the training impulse (TRIMP) 'methodology' to calculate workload demand. It is believed that this is a promising method to calculate workload in a range of professions in order to understand the relationship between work demands and aerobic fitness. The aim of this study was to assess workload demand in police officers from the Utrecht police department in the Netherlands, during patrol by mountain bike. Maximum oxygen intake, maximum heart rate (HRmax), ventilatory threshold (VT)1 and VT2 were determined with a maximal exercise test on a bicycle ergometer. Heart rates were registered throughout three shifts in 20 subjects using a heart rate monitor. Exercise intensity was divided into three phases: phase I (between 40% of HRmax and VT1); phase II (between VT and the respiratory compensation point (RCP)); and phase III (>RCP). The total TRIMP score was obtained by summating the results of the three phases. Average daily workload demands of 355 TRIMPs per day and 1777 TRIMPs per week were measured. Workload demand approached and in some cases exceeded the upper limit of 2000 TRIMPs per week threshold level for physiological stress demands in professional male cyclists.