Chester Treadmill Police Walk Test: Protocol and Standards

All Chester tests: guides and tools

The Chester Treadmill Police Walk Test (CTPWT) is a prescribed treadmill performance assessment. Use this guide to identify the protocol, check the applicable requirement and keep a clear assessment record.

It is distinct from the Chester Step Test, the general treadmill prediction test and the police run test. See the Chester test comparison before choosing a method.

Confirm the required standard before testing

Do not assume that an older target-time table is the current requirement for your force or role. Obtain the authorised procedure and its version from the responsible fitness or occupational-health team before administering or preparing for an assessment.

There is a documented difference between sources: the College of Policing’s August 2021 implementation guidance describes a ten-minute walking benchmark in its protocol. Its May 2024 public and personal safety training equality impact assessment refers to nine minutes at 12% gradient as the equivalent of shuttle level 5.4.

These documents have different purposes. The later statement is not, by itself, a complete operating protocol or a replacement table for every specialist role. Confirm which instruction your organisation has adopted; do not choose between nine and ten minutes yourself or combine parts of different versions.

What equipment and records are needed?

• A suitable motorised treadmill with documented speed and incline checks, maintenance and a functioning safety system.
• The authorised test instructions, applicable effort scale and any monitoring equipment required by that procedure.
• A trained administrator familiar with the treadmill, participant briefing and the local response to concerns.
• A recording method that identifies the test, protocol version, required endpoint and actual outcome.

For equipment support, contact Cartwright Fitness with the protocol and capabilities required. Equipment suitability must be established for the procedure being delivered.

Suitability, familiarisation and stopping

Complete the screening and suitability process specified for the setting. Resolve questions about symptoms, illness, medication, mobility or treadmill confidence through the responsible practitioner before the test. Do not change prescribed medication to meet a test requirement.

Explain the task, the monitoring process and how the participant can ask to stop. Follow the authorised warm-up, familiarisation, termination and recovery instructions. An apparently acceptable elapsed time does not override a safety concern.

The 2021 guidance includes stopping for distress or an effort rating of 18 or above on the Borg 6–20 scale. This is not permission to continue until that number despite symptoms, and Step Test stopping percentages must not be substituted for treadmill rules.

Questions to resolve before the appointment

• Which test and protocol edition will be used?
• Which role or assessment purpose does the requirement relate to?
• What preparation and screening information has the testing team supplied?
• Who should be told about a change in health, medication or ability to use the treadmill?
• How will the outcome and any need for follow-up be communicated?

Ask the testing team to resolve unclear or conflicting instructions. General website advice should support the appointment information, not replace it.

Walking stage structure: identify the version

The 2021 source describes walking at 6.0 km/h, with gradient increasing by three percentage points every two minutes. The table below identifies that published structure; it is not a current pass-time chart. Stop at the applicable authorised endpoint or an earlier stopping criterion.

A target can fall within a stage. The existence of a later row does not mean that every participant should continue to it. Confirm the required duration using the source and version check above.

What the outcome means

Record whether the prescribed task was completed under the applicable procedure. Keep that distinct from a directly measured VO₂max or an individually extrapolated aerobic-capacity estimate. A task’s reference oxygen demand must not be relabelled as the participant’s measured maximum.

Any occupational decision belongs within the organisation’s authorised process. Do not transfer a Step Test fitness category or another treadmill protocol’s completion time into this assessment.

Copyable assessment record

Participant/session reference: [ ]. Assessment purpose and role: [ ]. Authorised protocol and version/date: [ ]. Required endpoint and issuing authority: [ ]. Treadmill ID and equipment-check reference: [ ]. Screening and consent record references: [ ]. Familiarisation completed: [ ]. Observations required by the protocol: [ ]. Actual elapsed time and stage: [ ]. Completion/stopping reason and deviations: [ ]. Recovery/follow-up: [ ]. Outcome reviewed by/date: [ ].

This is an original documentation aid. Use the fields required by your organisation and retain the original observations; the template does not issue a pass or clearance.

Common reporting errors to avoid

• Using the wrong walking speed: identify the police protocol rather than importing a general Chester treadmill setup.
• Treating an old table as current: record the authority and edition behind the required endpoint.
• Turning completion into measured VO₂max: describe the actual output of the test performed.
• Omitting deviations: document interrupted timing, equipment concerns or departures from the procedure so the responsible reviewer can decide their significance.

Use the team standardisation pack to agree how these issues are recorded and reviewed.

Sources and related Chester resources

Sources checked 19 October 2026: College of Policing, Implementation guidance for fitness testing, August 2021, especially pages 11–16; and Public and personal safety training: Equality impact assessment, May 2024, page 12. Both are linked above. A force’s current authorised procedure is still needed to establish the applicable endpoint.

Read the police run guide and comparison of prediction and performance tests. The Chester treadmill prediction software serves a different calculation purpose; confirm the required workflow before ordering.