It is often assumed that the ‘Push’ station of the Police Physical Abilities Tests (PATs) are a measure of upper body strength or endurance. While upper-body pressing power is a major factor, the ‘Push’ requires whole body involvement. If you only train for pressing, you still won’t get anywhere if you fail to transfer force from your core...
Read MoreRunning is the most dangerous sport.
But does it have to be?
If you are engaging in regular sprinting sessions, you NEED to be doing this exercise.
Read MoreIn order to avoid losing time on your POPAT or PARE laps, you need to be proficient at the speeding up and down the stairs. There is an obvious solution: train stairs more. BUT, if you struggle with it there are more effective ways to train.
Here is what NOT to do: do laps on the stairs to exhaustion...
Read MoreDon’t ever complicate it. Follow these 3 principles instead.
Read MoreWarning: this is the most boring article you will read this week.
Straight up. I am going to talk about some super simple, straightforward NON-ground breaking stuff... It isn't the most exciting. BUT.... if you take what you read to heart and actually USE IT you can significantly decrease your chance of injury or even address some of the injuries you may already have.
I have already written about WHY so many cops get back pain and how they should train to maximize their performance. I highly recommend checking those article out.
The focus of this article is teaching 'Spine Sparing' strategies. These strategies will help you learn to use your shoulders and hip properly, instead of your back...
Read MoreSimple. Not easy.
Strength and Conditioning isn't rocket science, though some of the programs I see suggest otherwise.
The best way for an officer to avoid injury is to have a simple, well rounded and consistent program. No fancy gimmicks or equipment, just solid fundamentals. That doesn't mean we can't have fun.... battle ropes, airdynes, medicine balls... they all have their place. But the bulk of your training should be focused on the highest ROI.
When I train officers, I focus on the 7 Fundamental Movement Patterns. These are: Pressing, Pulling, Lunging, Squatting, Hinging, Twisting and Running. As human beings, everything we do is a hybridization or variation of these 7 movement patterns. Sometimes it can look more complex than that, but the reality is everything can be broken down into its' movement building blocks. (Kinda like Lego! And who doesn't love Lego?).
How often you train is going to affect what each training session looks like, but the sessions don't have to vary dramatically. I have already written extensively about the 7 Fundamental Movement patterns, so if you are unfamiliar with them I suggest checking out the series I wrote about them: Part 1: Push/Pull, Part 2: Lunge/Squat, Part 3: Hinge/Twist and Part 4: Gait/Running.
Here are a couple of examples, depending on frequency, of how a training session would look...
Read MoreIt is super important not to burn yourself out during the first few laps of the POPAT, and then suffer to complete the test in the time limit. At the same time, going too slowly is going to end up leaving you without any time to spare for the Push/Pull and the Vault.
Below I break down how long you should spend on each portion of the test, depending on what time you want to get...
Read More
