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SEPTEMBER 2007
TSAC REPORT
The Tactical Athlete
Mark D. Stephenson, CSCS,*D, ATC
Contents
1.1 The Tactical Athlete
A new breed of athletes help to protect our communities.
ho is the Tactical Athlete? The Tactical Athlete is anyone whose operational readiness requires speed, strength, agility, endurance, and quickness. In other words, most military, police, reghters, and rescue personnel that are forced to perform in the tactical environment to execute their mission/ operations. Based on the physical needs and skills required to successfully carry out their job duties it is necessary for these individuals to physically condition and prepare themselves as if they were professional athletes.
eld events1. However, unlike the modern day athlete, these soldiers were not training for specic sports. They were training to be stronger, and more powerful and agile than their enemies on the battleeld. Their superior athletic prowess was developed for the primary purpose of becoming physically prepared for battle. Ironically, the traits that we generally consider to be components of athleticism were requisite based on the demands of war. Thus, many of the rst competitive athletes were actually soldiers. Typically, the tactical operator devotes time to improving operational skill without much focus on improving operational strength, conditioning and/or nutrition. Unfortunately, this does not adequately prepare the ocer/operator for operational tness or readiness. As with a professional athlete, a professional operator in the law enforcement community is obligated to maintain a certain level of operational tness. By implementing the latest cutting edge training methods and fundamental scientic principles, the TSAC program focuses on enhancing athleticism for todays tactical operator. Thus, the tactical athlete is born.
The Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) programs primary purpose is to develop operational tness for Military and Law Enforcement personnel. When developing a comprehensive strength and conditioning program, operators and ocers must consider the physical demands of operational related activities in order to optimize physical performance. Physical training for operational performance is not a new concept. In fact, throughout history warriors and soldiers physically trained by performing various strength and conditioning exercises that later evolved into athletic events, such as boxing, wrestling, and many track and
Pangrazi, R.P. (2004). Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children (14th ed. ). Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.
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experience, intensity, and volume increases, so should recovery time. As a result experienced athletes may train with 72 hours of recovery between workouts of the same muscle group. This is the key to building more time into workout sessions. Beginners only require 48 hours of recovery between workouts, and they are most likely performing full body workouts. The advanced athlete requires more frequency, intensity, and volume to achieve their goals, while working with a larger recovery period. So their workouts are divided or split so that opposing muscle groups or body parts are targeted on consecutive days. For example, a common split is to perform upper body exercises on Monday and Thursday and lower body exercises on Tuesday and Friday. This provides four training days per week. Although each area is only targeted twice per week versus the three times per week with the beginners program, more time is available to train each area (see Table 2 next page). Now there is more time in each training session since only half of the body is tar-
raining is a key component for any recovery time required between workouts athlete. As a tactical athlete, you un- depends on several variables. These variderstand how improved strength, power, ables include: training history, training or whatever parameter you are work- intensity, volume, and program goals. ing on will benet you in becoming operationally t. You also understand that As more years of training are accumulated, training will help you improve in these less recovery time is needed because the areas to allow you to maintain a high level body has adapted to the training. Howof operational readiness. The question is ever, as the tactical athlete gets older (40s when do all the sets and repetitions pay 50s) the more time they may need to o, when do the adaptations occur? These recover. Beginners require more recovery adaptations occur during recovery, which time than experienced athletes. Beginis why recovery is such a vital component ners should train with 48 hours of recovto your training. However, recovery often ery between strength training sessions. is not seen as important. In reality, the A program with this type of frequency bottom line is that without proper re- lends itself nicely to a Monday, Wednescovery, your body will not achieve all the day, Friday design (see Table 1 below). potential benets from training. More experienced athletes require highSo how do you determine how much er intensities and volumes to continue recovery time you need? The amount of seeing gains with training. As training
Monday
Bench Press Squat Row Shoulder Press Leg Curl Lat Pull Down Triceps Extension Bicep Curl
Tuesday
Recovery Day
Wednesday
Bench Press Squat Row Shoulder Press Leg Curl Lat Pull Down Triceps Extension Bicep Curl
Thursday
Recovery Day
Friday
Bench Press Squat Row Shoulder Press Leg Curl Lat Pull Down Triceps Extension Bicep Curl
Table 1
Sample Beginner Workout with 48 hours rest.
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Tuesday
Leg Press Leg Curl Leg Extension Calf Raise
Wednesday
Recovery Day
Friday
Leg Press Leg Curl Leg Extension Calf Raise
Table 2
Sample Advanced Workout with 72 hours rest.
geted that day. This way more exercises, or higher volumes and intensities, can be used. Additionally, longer rest periods can be used in between sets. This four-day spilt provides 72 hours of recovery between upper body exercises. Additionally, it will provide 72 hours of recovery between lower body exercises. This longer recovery time is vital for adaptations to occur with advanced programs. Program goals also aect recovery. A program that places you in a phase of training where the goal is to improve power (such as pre-season), then the training intensity should be very high. As a result of high training intensity, recovery should be high as well. A program that places you in a phase of training where the goal is maintenance, not improvement, intensity and volume should decrease. Consequently, less recovery is needed when the goal is maintenance. Although it does little good to recover so rapidly from a workout that may not be repeated for a week, it does play a part when complete recovery from the workout is needed for executing operations/missions.
need to be mentally aware that you are recovering, and act accordingly.
Optimizing Recovery
If your recovery time is too short, you may reach a state called overtraining. During overtraining performance decrements occur, along with feelings of fatigue and staleness. On the other end of the spectrum, if too much recovery time is used, the maximum possible potential at that time will not be realized. Worse yet, in a program that is properly designed you may actual detrain, or lose the attributes you are trying to improve. Recovery is a key component of any training or conditioning program, but not one that many individuals consider. The weight room is important; however, all the changes you are driving for need time to occur. The only time that any changes may occur is during your recovery time. It may not be the most exciting part of your training program, but it is just as important as every set and repetition that you perform. So be sure when designing your training program to include appropriate recovery periods.
This article originally appeared in the NSCAs Performance Training Journal 4.2
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Day 2
Suspended Oblique Crunch 2 x 10 each side Suspended Pendulum 2 x 10 each side Body Saw 2 x 10 Suspended Pikes 2 x 10
Suspension Training
Mark D. Stephenson, CSCS,*D, ATC
or Special Operation Forces (SOF) and elite law enforcement personnel (SWAT), keeping themselves in top physical condition is a matter of life and death. Deployment issues and lack of facilities or funding may limit the ability of these elite forces to maintain the high level of tness required. Finding an aordable method to maintain operational physical readiness has been dicult until recently.
Looking for ways to maintain his and his teams operational readiness, Randy utilized parachute cords and materials that he looped over elevated beams to increase resistance for rows and presses using only body weight and gravity, thus suspension training was born. Randy realized by adjusting his position in relation to gravity he could increase and decrease the resistance. His team trained with these materials and discovered that they not only maintained their strength throughout deployment but increased it as well. Suspension training uses only body weight and simple physics such as gravity, fulcrums, and vectors. This simplicity allows for unlimited creation of full body exercises and functional movement patterns. Resistance can be adjusted from 5% to 100% of the users bodyweight. All that is required is the suspension training straps and an anchor point that can hold the bodyweight of the user. Today suspension training is used not only by the military but by all levels of athletes. Suspension training has several advanpage 1.4
Now a new method of training called suspension training can be used for those facing deployment and/or a lack of proper training facilities. Suspension training was re-introduced as method of training by former navy SEAL Randy Hetrick who was responsible for the physical tness of his team members2. Deployed soldiers do not necessarily have weight training facilities and often have to resort to implement training for resistance.
SEPTEMBER 2007
Figure 1
Figure 2a
(figure 1)
Suspended Crunches
Figure 2b
Start in a prone position with the feet in straps and the hands in a push-up position. Begin by lifting the hips up and pulling both knees into the chest before returning to the start position.
Side Planks
Figure 3
(figure 3)
Hamstring Bicycles
Start in the supine position with the feet in straps and the hands along side the body on the ground. Keeping the legs straight, push the heels into the strap, lifting the hips o the ground. Begin by pulling one heel towards the buttocks and then return it to the start position while bringing the other heel towards the buttocks. Continue to alternate for the desired number of repetitions.
National Strength and Conditioning Association www.nsca-lift.org/TSAC page 1.5
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Figure 4
Figure 6
Figure 7
(figure 4)
(figure 6)
Start in the supine position with the feet in straps and the hands along side the body on the ground. Bend the knees to 90 degrees, keeping the feet exed towards the shins. Begin by pushing the heels into the strap and lifting the hips towards the sky, keeping the knees at 90 degrees. Return to the start position.
Start with the feet in straps and the hands in a push-up position. Begin by piking at the hips, bringing the feet toward the hand on one side of the body, then return to the middle and pike again, bringing the feet toward the hand on the other side of the body. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
(figure 5)
(figure 7)
Body Saw
Start with the feet in straps and the hands in a push-up position. Begin by bringing both knees towards the arm on one side of the body, then return to middle and bring both knees towards the arm on the other side of the body. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Start in a prone position with the feet in straps and the body supported by the elbows and forearms. Begin by pushing the forearms forward causing the body to move backwards, hold, and return to the start position.
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(figure 8)
Suspended Pike
Start in prone position with the feet in straps and the hands supporting the body in a push-up position. Begin by slowly piking at the hips, pulling the feet towards the hands. Hold this position, and then return slowly to the start position. Suspension Training is an innovated way to train the entire body and may give you a logistical advantage to implementing a physical conditioning program for your team. As with any training method, the emphasis is greatly dependent on your or your teams needs.
1 2
Gamble P. (2007). An Integrated Approch to Training Core Stability. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 29(1):58 68. TRX Suspension Trainer Manual, Origins of the TRX; Fitness Anywhere, Inc., San Francisco, CA; 2005
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SEPTEMBER 2007
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
n many operational situations the tactical athlete may be required to hold an item or implement overhead, such as when holding equipment or weapons while crossing water, in order to successfully complete their mission. The Turkish get-up is an old strongman exercise used to develop strength and stability in the muscle of the trunk (abdominals, lower back, and shoulders) and requires total body coordination, awareness, and agility.
until the foot is in full contact with the ground and tuck the opposite leg underneath. Then extend the arm and press the weight into a position directly over the chest (Figure1)
Ascent
(Upward Movement)
Equipment Needed
Dumbbell, barbell, ruck sack, or other weighted implement.
While keeping the arm fully extended and the weight in the air, shift your body weight to the free, supportive hand (Figure 2), get up on one knee (Figure 3), and stand without allowing the arm to ex or the weight to touch the ground (Figure 4).
Starting Position
Begin by grasping a dumbbell or barbell in one hand, and while keeping the weight close to the chest, slowly sit down and lie back until your back is at against the ground. Bend one knee
(Downward Movement)
Return to the starting position by kneeling down on the same knee as in the ascent, and using the support hand to assist in retuning to the starting position previously described.
Descent
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The TSAC Reports purpose is to disseminate peer reviewed information specifically targeted to the training of the tactical athlete.
Purpose
Staff
Managing Editor Keith Cinea, MS, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D Content Editor Mark Stephenson, CSCS,*D, ATC Art Direction John Conner
Contributors
Keith Cinea, MA, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D
Keith Cinea is the Publications/Communications Director for the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
NSCA Mission
As the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, we support and disseminate research-based knowledge and its practical application, to improve athletic performance and fitness.
Contact
NSCA TSAC 1885 Bob Johnson Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906 phone: 800-815-6826 email: TSAC@nsca-lift.org
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