Tactical Strength and Conditioning
Q: I was wondering if you can give me a few tips on fat loss. I am 28 years old and I want to become an Santa Clara County sheriff. I am 6 foot 2 inches and 310. Yes 310. I have a long way to go. I have a lot of strength, but I need to get lighter. Hitting the weights heavy has never been hard for me. Getting my 310 lbs over the wall in the academy and running: that's the challenge. Any tips would help!
-Matt
My Answer: Well, Matt, you need to take a long and hard look at what you're doing on a daily basis to keep you at 310. My recent article Return to Copland was meant for cops and their concerns for job relevant strength and looks. YOU on the other hand need to lose the weight and then focus on your performance in the academy. I submitted an article recently to Bodybuilding.com on strength training for fat loss, so look for that in the future.
In the meantime, focus on the 3 usual suspects: diet, strength training and cardio. By the way, did I mention diet? Yes DIET! Control what you eat by preparing and packing your meals for work. Quit eating out or getting takeout. Here's what you can pack for work:
Eat these foods throughout the day when you're hungry. As you can see, it's low cal, high fiber, high nutrient foods that are easy to pack. There's no cooking involved. Then at dinner time, eat whatever you want, but NO TAKEOUT OR RESTAURANT FOOD. You only get to eat out on the weekends. Don't fool yourself: you must diet. You don't have to do what I suggest here, but you better be honest with yourself and starting writing down what you're eating and how many calories you're consuming.
With regards to cardio, just run. You'll be running all the time in the academy, so you better get used to it. Try this: run for as long as you can, then when you're about to slow down, drop and do some pushups. Then walk till your breathing goes back to normal and start running again and repeating the process. Keep repeating this cycle for about 20-30 minutes and do it 3-4 times a week.
With regards to strength training, it will elevate your metabolism much more than cardio, but the program has to be designed a certain way. Chapter 15 of Strength and Physique: The Articles goes over seven different workout strategies to get ripped. So give that chapter of the book a good read.
Anyway, Matt, good luck.
-Matt
My Answer: Well, Matt, you need to take a long and hard look at what you're doing on a daily basis to keep you at 310. My recent article Return to Copland was meant for cops and their concerns for job relevant strength and looks. YOU on the other hand need to lose the weight and then focus on your performance in the academy. I submitted an article recently to Bodybuilding.com on strength training for fat loss, so look for that in the future.
In the meantime, focus on the 3 usual suspects: diet, strength training and cardio. By the way, did I mention diet? Yes DIET! Control what you eat by preparing and packing your meals for work. Quit eating out or getting takeout. Here's what you can pack for work:
- Coffee or green tea to go in the morning
- Apple
- Yogurt
- Nuts
- Spinach salad
- Water
Eat these foods throughout the day when you're hungry. As you can see, it's low cal, high fiber, high nutrient foods that are easy to pack. There's no cooking involved. Then at dinner time, eat whatever you want, but NO TAKEOUT OR RESTAURANT FOOD. You only get to eat out on the weekends. Don't fool yourself: you must diet. You don't have to do what I suggest here, but you better be honest with yourself and starting writing down what you're eating and how many calories you're consuming.
With regards to cardio, just run. You'll be running all the time in the academy, so you better get used to it. Try this: run for as long as you can, then when you're about to slow down, drop and do some pushups. Then walk till your breathing goes back to normal and start running again and repeating the process. Keep repeating this cycle for about 20-30 minutes and do it 3-4 times a week.
With regards to strength training, it will elevate your metabolism much more than cardio, but the program has to be designed a certain way. Chapter 15 of Strength and Physique: The Articles goes over seven different workout strategies to get ripped. So give that chapter of the book a good read.
Anyway, Matt, good luck.
-- C.L. Brown, BS, CSCS University of Connecticut
My Answer: Well my story is best explained by this
blog post.
First and foremost, I'm a peace officer. I'm a physical trainer, second. Which means I do the physical training, the articles and the book as a hobby and not as a full-time endeavor. I train my department in defensive tactics (which is police martial arts), but that's not TSAC. Whereas fire departments typically have trainers or exercise physiologists to point firefighters in the right direction as far as physical training, real TSAC is hardly addressed in most police departments across the nation. There is no formalized training for TSAC.
I've known a couple of personal trainers who became law enforcement officers. One still does his training, and the other let his CSCS expire. I would say that if you want to specialize in TSAC, then you would have to:
1) Become a peace officer. Know the physical, emotional and mental demands and rewards of the job on a personal level.
OR
2) Take the easier way and partner up with a peace officer so that you get an understanding of what physical demands are involved.
I've seen former law enforcement and ex-military become physical trainers and specialize in TSAC, or start their businesses of defensive tactics training or martial arts training. You cannot build a business solely on that niche, however. Just look at Pavel. He trains, writes and does videos for multiple niche markets.
Bottom line: if you want to train law enforcement in TSAC, then you should get to know lots of law enforcement officers. You'll be training them on an individual basis, but you will not be able to train entire departments unless you're a peace officer training recruits in the academy.
Comments