Well, it's January and everyone is making those "fitness changes." So, I couldn't think of a better month to bring on my friend Carl Lee Throckmorton. He is a 26 year veteran of the fire service, joined the Virginia Beach Life Saving service in 1993, and has been a strength and conditioning coach since 2008. He has a passion for fitness in the fire service and 100% believes that we are tactical athletes (I agree with him.) Listen in as we discuss all things informal leadership, tactical athletes, and functional fitness. This is Part 1 of a 2 part episode! Check back next week for Part 2! 

Guest Bio:

Carl Lee Throckmorton has over 25 years with Norfolk Fire Rescue in Norfolk, Virginia and has just recently retired as a Lieutenant. He did a significant amount of that time as a firefighter/paramedic and was a proven informal leader in the fire service. Lee also has a law enforcement background. He was appointed to the Norfolk Fire Rescue’s fire Marshal's office in 2009 and graduated from the police academy in 2010. He served as a fire investigator until 2012 when he returned to operations. Lee is also the founding member of the Norfolk Fire Rescue fitness committee and has been passionate about moving fitness forward in the department.

In 1993 Lee joined the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service. Lee was part of a team of lifesavers that guarded and patrolled more than 5 miles of public oceanfront beaches in one of the busiest tourist destinations on the east coast. He was trained in surf lifesaving, surveillance and rescue techniques, as well as emergency medical response. He worked his way through the ranks and left the lifesaving service in 2015 as the First Lieutenant of Operations in charge of 250 members at the Virginia Beach OceanFront.

And there’s more…

Lee has also been a Strength and Conditioning Coach since 2008 and owned his own Gym from 2015-2018. His wife currently owns a strength and condition gym that he is very much a part of. He has degrees and certifications that I can’t even begin to mention, but most important of all has the experience matched with education. He recently founded a company called Kaizen Athletics. He specializes in making sure all your needs are met as a tactical athlete as it pertains to fitness.