LOA (Limit of Advance)

At this point this blog will be placed on hold in order for me to focus efforts on another blog that I am in the process of making. If this upsets any of the few readers I did have rejoice knowing that I will still answer any fitness related questions via email. The new blog will be created shortly and will consist of short stories and such like that I write in addition to a daily writing prompt. You may be saying to yourself wow that seems like a radical shift from someone intent on paramilitary fitness. that is a justified conclusion to which I have to say, I have a back log of short stories that no one has ever seen and I have more passion for writing for the sake of writing than I do writing about fitness. If there are any questions please feel free to comment or email me.

-Jack

Designing a combat fitness test/ Shout out to Law enforcement

So I've been diggin through a mountain of field manuals and I think I've boiled down the components of fitness essential to livelihood in a hostile environment. Basically, a soldier needs to be physically capable of performing certain tasks in order to be effective on the battle field.  The list is fairly simple Ruck/Backpack with gear amounting to no less than 70 pounds uphill for 2-3 miles, drag an adult male weighing no less than 300 pounds a distance of 2-6m behind cover, repeatedly sprint distances up to 50m, rapidly regain a calm breathing rhythm after sprinting, and climb obstacles while maintaining a low profile. All of this is to be done wearing about 20 pounds of just body armor. Now that I have my list boiled out I plan on working on a comprehensive test specifically for soldier's. The problem I have is that I have no experience in law enforcement. If there is an officer out there who can provide me with a list of skills that could be commonly used I would appreciate it.

Down to business

Picture this: You are driving in your squad car on what has turned into another lazy summer day. Your radio is quiet as there seems to be a lull in criminal activity. Pulling up to a stop sign you observe a man who appears to be cornered by another individual. The first individual looks nervous so you radio dispatch that you're going to take a look. After parking your car you approach the two individuals. Suddenly the nervous individual crys out and slumps over a knife protruding from his side the other man flees across the nearby park. Your partner urges you to run after him while he tends to the other man. The pursuit across the park is exhausting and what seemed like a short foot chase takes the better part of a mile and a half. Weary you corner the suspect and at gun point he surrenders. Back up arrives as you handcuff him. You're on the verge of collapse the pursuit really taxed you of energy. What would have happened if he hadn't surrendered or back up took longer to arrive? You'd have been alone and exhausted from the foot chase maybe overpowered and killed.

The above scenario is all too real and in the course of day in and day out work we're all lulled into a false sense of security. The important thing to remember is your life may very well depend on your fitness. To counter this its important that you stay in the best shape you can.

This is a cardio workout I use to keep in shape currently and its pending revision once I develop some tests to use to evaluate it.

M-W-F: Distance Run (2-3Mi)
Tu-Th: Sprints ( 3x 200m, 2 x 400m 1 x 800m)
Sat: Rest
Sun: Tempo Run 8 min/mile until tired.

For anyone who has an easy time with these try it with some gear on. Anyone who has a reliable fitness test let me know because I'm hurting for one.

Blog Creation "Hello World"

So I was inspired to make this blog because I've had trouble finding fitness programs that work for me on the internet. I plan on posting here things I've tried and their results. You may wonder what a tactical athlete is. Put simply it is anyone whose job and/or well being depends on their level of fitness. I will focus primarily on paramilitary fitness as that is the type of fitness that best suits me.