Article about physical training for LEOs

I'll check it out.

From what I've seen, 95% of LEO would benefit simply by a little meal prepping. Unbelievable to me what so many LEOs are okay with when it comes to diet/exercise.

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I went to a local ham radio club breakfast meeting last weekend and there were some cops having breakfast a few tables over. To put it politely, they were quite obese and I'm surprised they could pass a physical qualification if there was one.
 
IrishCannon said:
I'll check it out.

From what I've seen, 95% of LEO would benefit simply by a little meal prepping. Unbelievable to me what so many LEOs are okay with when it comes to diet/exercise.

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The only 'leg' of emergency services that can eat normally without forethought and prep is fire, where you a kitchen, stove, and fridge. LE and EMS, confined to a car or bus and on the move, you have to be very intentional about meal prep and eating well. I learned this the hard way in EMS.

Regarding physical standards, LE just isn't that physical, most of the time. But that time you do need to be physical, you need to be on, 100%. Cops need the functional fitness, not be muscle heads who can't move from here to there.
 
My son's department tried to implement mandatory fitness tests for EVERY officer, not just pass it one time like they have been doing. Some office types have halted that with a lawsuit. All the guys in my son's unit are pretty fit though. Of course they are on a gang unit and get into scuffles quite regularly.so being a lard ass could be hazardous to their health.
 
I've seen both extremes, and have worked in a couple of these jobs. I tend to operate best with heavy weight training and some endurance a few times a week. Definitely see strength suffer when I add in a lot of rowing or running, but overall I know it's better for me.
Chuckman said:
The only 'leg' of emergency services that can eat normally without forethought and prep is fire, where you a kitchen, stove, and fridge. LE and EMS, confined to a car or bus and on the move, you have to be very intentional about meal prep and eating well. I learned this the hard way in EMS.

Regarding physical standards, LE just isn't that physical, most of the time. But that time you do need to be physical, you need to be on, 100%. Cops need the functional fitness, not be muscle heads who can't move from here to there.
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IrishCannon said:
I've seen both extremes, and have worked in a couple of these jobs. I tend to operate best with heavy weight training and some endurance a few times a week. Definitely see strength suffer when I add in a lot of rowing or running, but overall I know it's better for me.

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I think it's all about balance. Being a muscle head is fine, if you have the functional fitness and endurance to do your job.
 
Chuckman said:
The only 'leg' of emergency services that can eat normally without forethought and prep is fire, where you a kitchen, stove, and fridge. LE and EMS, confined to a car or bus and on the move, you have to be very intentional about meal prep and eating well. I learned this the hard way in EMS.

Regarding physical standards, LE just isn't that physical, most of the time. But that time you do need to be physical, you need to be on, 100%. Cops need the functional fitness, not be muscle heads who can't move from here to there.
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Ever notice that in the videos of obvious excessive force it is almost always obese out of shape officers involved? They get very upset when the donut break is interrupted.

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Chuckman said:
I think it's all about balance. Being a muscle head is fine, if you have the functional fitness and endurance to do your job.
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One need not be large muscled to be super strong. Look at free climbers. Dudes are ripped. Very lean. Not big, but they can crush your throat with two fingers. You need a wrench to remove a thumb screws they tightened with their thumb and pinky.

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IrishCannon said:
Definitely see strength suffer when I add in a lot of rowing or running, but overall I know it's better for me.
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How do you know that exactly? I quit distance running over a year ago and only do occasional GPP work now in favor of nothing but weight training and I'm doing fine.
 
GoWolfpack said:
How do you know that exactly? I quit distance running over a year ago and only do occasional GPP work now in favor of nothing but weight training and I'm doing fine.
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Just under the assumption that increased cardiovascular capacity is healthy. - I suppose if I did crossfit type lifting and kept heartrate elevated I'd be fine too, but strictly doing powerlifting style workouts don't really do that.

Rowing is such a phenomenal low-impact activity, and I can't even explain the difference I feel after rowing 5k meters.
 
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One of my favorite coaches coined the term “gas station ready.” I think everyone here gets that message without me explaining :)

He’s a strength coach.

Cliff notes:
A TYPICAL bodybuilder looks impressive but doesn’t move well since they focus less on tendons and movement. Fast, explosive movement results in years
A TYPICAL veteran powerlifter has become ridiculously strong but mobility can be an issue.

Gas station ready adds strongman competition elements in for HIIT. Heavy pushes. Heavy pulls. Sleds, Conan wheel, farmers carry, log press, kettle work. Sprints. Box jumps. It also adds mobility training. I spend a huge amount of time working mobility. The result is my old ass ain’t gonna blow a hamstring as soon as I start moving fast and aggressive.

From what I’ve seem if you sacrifice training specificity for generality you end up just sucking lol. Progress is slow. Wanna get strong, run real strength programs like 5/3/1, conjugate, juggernaut, cube or whatever. They all work. Wanna bodybuild...do that. But add the conditioning work to either. Progress goes faster with specificity and you can always change at the end of a cycle.
 
Functional fitness like @Chuckman mentioned is the key. What I see pretty regularly is the guys who are all about strength training... the dudes who have to have their shirt sleeves let out, with the massive arms and legs... have no endurance, stamina, flexibility, or stamina. Sure you can bench press 400lbs, but can you do it after you have run 75yds, and up two flights of stairs when your HR is 150? That's actually when you will need it.
Fitness doesn't equal strength and the inverse as well.
EMS folks don't get hurt because they aren't strong...EMS folks get hurt because they are sedentary, fatigued, dehydrated, not stretched or flexible, and eat like a starved raccoon in a Las Vegas buffet dumpster.

I've done more to prolong my career with a yoga mat, Brute Force sandbag, a TRX suspension training knock off and a foam roller and a better diet than I could accomplish with a weight bench.
 
NCMedic said:
Functional fitness like @Chuckmanthe guys who are all about strength training... the dudes who have to have their shirt sleeves let out, with the massive arms and legs...
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Psssst....that is absolutely not strength training, that is the guy who says he is strength training. :) What you are describing is the modern commercial gym bro culture.

Strength training involves proper linear or non linear periodized plans and not just random workouts. It also involves a metric ton of mobility, prehab and rehab.

Flexibility IMHO is overrated. I haven't found a use for flexibility, except yoga poses. Mobility is where it's at. The ability to move joints in the full range of motion as designed (or randomly put together for the atheists out there :p I don't do much static stretching and warups, there are a few yoga poses I have in the toolbag but they're honestly inferior at getting MY problem areas warmed up and moving. For that I use alot of banded resistance and even some olypic lift partial movements.

I also spend time with mobility specialists and sports chiropractor...who is essentially another opinion on mobility. Continuing to strength train is big priority and it takes a ton of work.

but yeah...the guy showing off today's pump isn't strength training
 
You know, when I quit stretching and jogging I had more time for getting stronger and I haven't seen any negatives from it yet. I have the same level of mobility and the same level of "funtional fitness" as I always did. I'm just more jacked and tanned than I used to be.

You need to see the Barbell Medicine YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcGFPjX2aQy31KYdEvT2-Q

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Certainly people who only run are missing something. People who never leave the squat rack and dead lift station are missing something. People who drink the kool-aid and do nothing but CF miss something. Fitness is a diet, and like a good diet, needs reasonable serving sizes of different foods.
 
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Chuckman said:
Certainly people who only run are missing something. People who never leave the squat rack and dead lift station are missing something. People who drink the kool-aid and do nothing but CF miss something. Fitness is a diet, and like a good diet, needs reasonable serving sizes of different foods.
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I agree with this. I've ventured out into many different areas of fitness. There are douchecanoe in all of them. I have a...had...a friend and I stuck up for him once when he was getting roasted. As a calisthenic guy he was very functional and could do some amazing feats...but strength wise he got destroyed in any olympic or power lift. As soon as I stuck up for him he countered with "yeah but none of y'all can blah blah blah blah." It's pretty simple. Runners outrun everyone. People who train a little bit of everything are around average at all the things compared to people who specialize. Powerlifters are good at power lifts. Olympic lifters are athletic and explosive. Bodybuilders look impressive. The golden rule still applies...don't be a dick and proclaim how great you are in comparison. I don't run around bashing people's squat because I'm not a dick and for most people their squat proficiency needs aren't the same as mine. Likewise, I can't stand someone telling me how I need to be LESS specific. I encourage folks to be specific if they want to be, there is no shame in specificity...be general if you want to be...be anything except dick :)

If I did get to go back to the beginning in my teens...I do say I'd be more involved in olympic lifting. :D I use a bunch of olympic lift variations in my training (mostly in warm-up sets when working up to working weight) but my snatch along with my clean and jerk are ugly. At my age I don't have the recovery necessary to compete in powerlifting and become more technically proficient in those.
 
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