Tactical Fitness Report 240 - Top Ten Questions About Tactical FItness and Selection Prep

See link for article version:  https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/transforming-weakness-the-top-ten-questions-received-by-readers-podcast-listeners

It is no secret that I receive countless emails, DMs, and texts from readers of my articles and listeners to my podcasts and LIVE QA sessions (Mon/Tues) each week. I enjoy answering them as they also give me ideas to write articles (StewSmithFitness/ Military.com) and even full programs and books.

Here is a list of the ones I said, "great question" before I answered it. There are links to additional articles and videos in these questions as individually, some of these have been answered previously. 

Peak performance or just surviving hard training days in extreme weather conditions can be blamed on or sustained by the quantity and quality of the fuel entering the body. Hydration, adding electrolytes, and nutrition choices are critical to success regardless of the intense activity, but your strategy of re-filling and re-fueling matters in high temperatures. 

Start with the basics of hydration, adding electrolytes when sweating profusely, and nutrition. Find foods and hydration supplements that work well for you.  Here is a list of ideas for you to try and see what works best for you and your situation:

Before the workout - Adding extra water in the heat (or cold) is needed before a workout. Continue drinking/sipping water throughout the workout, especially if you are sweating. But do not forget to replace what you are sweating out of your body. Add carbohydrate options before training so that you do not “bonk” with low blood sugar numbers and start to feel ill.  Many prefer bananas, apples, oranges, or plums. Find what tastes right to you and agrees with your stomach. You may find you prefer something different on running days than lifting days. I like bananas before working out before any workout.

During longer workouts, you may need to refuel and replenish the water and electrolytes you are losing in hot/humid training environments. Two essential things to remember when training hard in the elements are to hydrate and cool yourself. Find water sources (hose, pool, lake, etc.) to cover yourself with and help you cool your body. You may find that half of your fatigue is body heat-related. By cooling yourself, you may find a missing “second wind” and be able to continue training.  

Replacing sodium and potassium when you're sweating is a must. It's equally important to keep sipping water throughout your workout. When sweating profusely, add sodium and potassium to your water through brands like Gatorade, Liquid IV, LMNT, or Drip-Drop.  These are the priorities in my gym bag during the summer months. It is up to you to find what works, tastes, and agrees with your stomach.
 
After workouts, immediately strive to cool yourself with a cooldown swim, shower, or bath. Continue to rehydrate, eat carbohydrates and protein/fat sources to help you recover from the previous workout, and start the refueling process for tomorrow’s workout. A variety of protein, carbohydrate, and fat sources is recommended but find what you enjoy and keep them in a good balance. Find a ratio of macro-nutrients that works best for you as well. Many like 40-50% carbs, 30-40% protein, and 10-20% fats. But many diets are available with more protein/fats, less carbs, and the opposite. Finding what works for you is a series of trial and error. 

Still, suppose you want professional help with making a more personalized approach to hydrating and eating. In that case, a sports nutritionist will be an investment that might save you more errors with your attempts to find the perfect meals and drinks to go with your workouts. 

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The term “tactical” often finds its way into discussions to set apart the extraordinary as “military grade” or the stylishly functional as “tactic-cool.” About 15 years ago, this term extended into a new realm—tactical fitness, which focuses on the physical preparation essential for military, law enforcement, and firefighting professions. The transformation from athlete to tactical athlete is based on many similarities but some profound differences. Tactical fitness becomes your secret weapon when your mission demands versatility and resilience across a spectrum of athletic elements and tactical skills.

I look at it this way. As someone who has sought methods for over 25 years (and counting) to coach people preparing for military, police, and firefighter professions, I believe treating themselves as athletes is critical to being a capable sheepdog / public servant.  One of the most essential rules for tactical athletes is treating oneself as an athlete, which is crucial for those preparing for roles as protectors and public servants. This mindset necessitates adopting the habits of an athlete—consistent training, proper nutrition, hydration, and recovery—to build a resilient and capable individual. You don’t have to be a world-class powerlifter or a triathlete, but you need a versatile combination of job-specific skills to perform efficiently without risking injury. In essence, your training should be as if the lives of your loved ones depended on it.

Similarities Between Tactical Fitness and Athletic Training - see more at 
full article: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/tactical-fitness-fully-explained-compared-to-athletics-sports-specific-training

Check out related article: https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/summer-training-what-is-your-weakness-that-you-are-ignoring

The summer presents a unique opportunity to elevate your performance as you prepare for military or special operations service. Learn about Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization - https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/seasonal-tactical-fitness-periodization-what-is-it-why-is-it-important

This is your chance to transform every weak link into a strength, to build a program that propels you towards the elite. Remember, it's not just about training hard, but about training smart. This is your time to shine.

Let's break it down: if you're predominantly an endurance athlete, it's time to hit the weights. Focus on enhancing your strength, power, speed, and agility. On the other hand, if you're more of a strength/power athlete, the running trails and swimming lanes should become your best friends. The goal is to be well-rounded, as special operations demand versatile capabilities.

Your summer training regimen should cover many activities, but a primary focus should be any glaring weaknesses you have. Start by integrating calisthenics and cardio into your daily routine. Push-ups, pull-ups, and various bodyweight exercises will increase muscular endurance and overall stamina. Throw in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to keep your heart rate up and mimic the high-stress scenarios you'll face during selection.

See more at StewSmithFitness.com - 

Here is a group workout I do with 800+ high school recruits / candidates at Naval Academy Summer Seminar. My goal is to teach them some strategies to improve on their entrance fitness test as well as the Naval Academy fitness test:  Plank, Pushups, 1.5 mile run - taken every semester.

Warmup
100-meter run or 20 jumping jacks or jump rope, 10 push-ups, 10 squats
200-meter run or 20 jumping jacks or jump rope, 20 push-ups, 20 squats
300-meter run or 20 jumping jacks or jump rope, 30 push-ups, 30 squats
Light stretching throughout each set, focusing on arms and legs.
Core Exercises
Sit-ups and plank pose will be tested as part of the Candidate Fitness Assessment for admission to the Naval Academy and at the Academy each semester.

The CFA consists of the following exercises:

Kneeling basketball throw
Pull-ups
Shuttle run: 120 feet (4 x 30-foot runs as fast as you can)
Crunches two minutes
Push-ups two minutes
One-mile timed run

Crunches/Situps are still tested on the CFA, and sit-ups will be tested on the Navy SEAL/EOD/Diver PST if you're interested in that career path.

Once you get into the Naval Academy, you will be tested with the plank pose for time and cadence push-ups (up and down in two seconds). (Note: The cadence push-up is for the Naval Academy only and not a Navy-wide test.)

Crunches: Focus on a pace of 20 repetitions in 30 seconds
Flutter-kicks 20
Crunches 20 in 30 seconds
Leg levers 20
Crunches 20 in 30 seconds
Scissors 20
Crunches 20 in 30 seconds
Stretch stomach

The reason why we focus on a pace for crunches and sit-ups is to prepare for a two-minute test. You need to learn to maintain a sustainable pace, because most people fail this test by starting off too fast in the first 30 seconds and then failing to match their performance in the next 1:30.

By focusing on a pace of 20-25 per 30 seconds, you can find yourself in the 80-100 repetition range in a two-minute test. The extra hip flexor exercises are a fun addition to the workout to give it more of a Grinder PT feel.

Add PT Reset Exercises to balance out front-side pushing and core/hip flexor work. These exercises should be part of transitions or cooldown periods.

PT reset:

Rev push-ups 20
Birds 20
Arm haulers 20
Swimmers one minute
Death By Push-Ups! Plank and Push-Ups (New USNA and Navy Test)
Stay in a push-up "up" position or plank pose for 10 minutes. Do not drop your knee, but you can shake out an arm when in a side plank position. Every minute, do a step of the push-up pyramid, decreasing by one each minute on the minute.

The workout looks like this:

Minute 1: 10 push-ups. Stay in a plank pose for the remainder of one minute.
Minute 2: Nine push-ups.
Continue in "up" push-up position or plank pose nonstop for 10 minutes, increasing the push-up repetitions by one each minute:
Minute 3: Eight push-ups
Minute 4: Seven push-ups. Keep going to minute 10 and one push-up. That equals 55 pushups and 10 minutes of plank. We call it Death by Push-Ups, but it is more Death by Plank.
Advanced level athletes can try 10 push-ups every minute on the minute for 100 total reps if you prefer.

Cooldown:
30 push-ups, 30 squats, 300-meter run or one minute of jumping jacks
20 push-ups, 20 squats, 200-meter run or 40 seconds of jumping jacks
10 push-ups, 10 squats, 100-meter run or 20 seconds of jumping jacks
Light stretches throughout each set.

Tyler Koch has a degree in psychology and a master's degree in exercise physiology. Developed and implemented the first-ever S&C initiative for Undergraduate Pilot Training. Former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the 71st Flying Training Squadron. Former Head of Human Performance for the 158th Fighter Wing. Current Physician Assistant Student at Penn State University pursuing orthopedic medicine. For LinkedIn connection - go to - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-koch-m-s-c-s-c-s-a0613963/

We talk about tactical fitness training and compare it to athletic training. Learning how to become a trainer is discussed with resources mentioned, such as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (https://www.nsca.com) and getting the CSCS certification. Also, numerous companies contract trainers to be military strength and conditioning coaches:

GAP Solutions
 Booz Allen
 Guardian Defense Group
 T3i

The Tactical Fitness Report is a fitness discussion with professionals in the tactical arena. Check out https://www.StewSmithFitness.com for access to the podcasts (audio and video) and for books, ebooks, online coaching, and a wide variety of training/coaching advice. 

You have to push yourself—YES, but programming smartly so you see improvements in your self-assessments (PST, runs, rucks, swims, lifts, etc.) is the goal of your training. Obviously, this is relative to your athletic history, as someone's "beat-down" could be another person's warmup. 

Have you considered teamwork drills, communication, and problem-solving with your workouts? You cannot do this by yourself, true, but you will find that really tough workouts can be divided by a team of people to reduce the total load on the individuals and involve significant training in strategizing, thinking while tired, and working together to accumulate reps to complete the workout.

Take the Sand Baby Devil Murph for instance, we did this workout the other day with 4 groups of 4 people:  https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/the-official-sandbaby-devil-murph-workout-log-pt-plus-simulation

Each team of four had to discuss their strategy to complete the workout, then work together, keep track of reps, distances, and times, and communicate effectively. Using the strengths of each team member to offset any weaknesses of others worked well for the teams, as did a simple group division of 4 on each event. Some teams divided and conquered. Some teams doubled up some events with a single member to balance a weakness or injury that prevented a team member from being helpful on a particular event. 

All in all, the teams finished the tasks at about the same time, completing them in four different ways. Discussing those methods and best practices in the debrief again demonstrated the need for more communication throughout the team. Now, let's take some questions.

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There are moments in every runner's journey when they face setbacks like tendonitis, shin splints, sprained ankles, or foot pain. It's a common experience, with over half of all runners encountering a running-related injury yearly. However, these challenges don't have to stop your progress. By incorporating these effective alternative training options, you can maintain your cardio training habit even when you cannot run for a few weeks or longer. 

It is possible to take some time off from running, heal up, and get back to running again even faster than before you were injured, but let’s explore these options:

The bike workouts listed below are not your typical leisurely rides. They are designed to replicate the intensity of your running efforts. Even zone two biking, considered moderate, requires a level of pacing that is work. These workouts are intense, pushing your leg, lung endurance, and muscle stamina to the limit. The result? You'll likely return to running faster than before you were injured.

Bike Workout #1:  Bike Tabata Intervals – This high and easy intensity interval works in 20-second fast / 10-second easy segments. Hold the 20 fast / 10 easy intervals for the time of your timed running event. If you run your 1.5-mile run in 10 minutes, these intervals will last 10 minutes. However, take an easy 5-minute rest (slow bike) and repeat the 10 minutes of the Tabata Interval again. 

Bike Workout #2:  Bike Pyramid (increase resistance EMOM) – For this pyramid workout, you start at 80 RPMs at level one on the resistance scale and keep it in between the range of 70 and 90 RPMs the entire workout. Every minute on the minute you increase the resistance by one or two levels depending on the amount of time you have. You can apply the Tabata interval for any cardio machine, but many have also used it for work-to-rest ratios for calisthenics and kettlebells.

Bike Workout #3: 100-calorie burnout set – as fast as possible - This is meant to be a higher-intensity workout. That would be like a sprint workout if you were running. Then, it is your job to go as fast as you can for as long as you can until you reach 100 calories.  This workout/test estimates caloric burn, but it feels like you are timing yourself and a mile run. Typically, 100 calories burned on a bike or elliptical takes about the same time to run a mile fast with similar effort. This is one of those workouts that takes five and seven minutes to bike. After you burn 100 calories, rest with easy peddling for 5 minutes and do it again for a second set. If you have anything left in you, try for a third set after another 5-minute easy period.

Let's not overlook the power of rest and recovery, especially from impact exercises like running. Sometimes, the body needs a de-load. Occasionally, you can take an easy week, or an injury will dictate your de-load weeks. Give it to yourself and allow your body the rest it needs

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This is one I can talk to a long time on as I have written and done podcasts that you can find here:  https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/recovery-training-systems-periodization-rest-de-stress-mobility-nutrition-and-sleep

Check out the LIVE QA and we will discuss many other topics as the questions roll in and you can watch as I critique some CSS swims live as well:

See this link for CSS Series:  https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blogs/news/css-help-series-quick-fix-to-crushing-the-swim

What is the best way to grip the pullup bar? It depends. I think a wide variety of grips can make your pullup workouts more enjoyable and diversify the strain on wrists, elbows, shoulders, joints, and muscles. But what is the best way to grab the bar? That also depends.

Grabbing the Bar
Depending on the grip you select and how many pull-ups you plan to do in a workout, you may want to consider how you grab the bar. One of the ongoing debates in the fitness world is where the thumbs go when the bar is grabbed. I call these grips the barbell grip and the mountain climber grip. 

A classic workout incorporating all the grips is the half pyramid repeated five times, one for each grip. This workout totals 150 pullups in a single workout, but you can adjust to 100 total repetitions by not doing the 10-rep set below:

Regular Pullup – 2,4,6,8,10
Reverse Pullup - 2,4,6,8,10
Close Pullup - 2,4,6,8,10
Wide Pullup – 2,4,6,8,10
Commando Pullup - 2,4,6,8,10

Discussions on pull-ups are popular mainly because they are so difficult. The percentages of men and women able to perform one unassisted pullup are low, as this exercise is the “heavy weightlifting” of the calisthenics world.  As a nation that is increasingly getting heavier and heavier every decade, the statistics will likely continue in the negative direction until we get stronger and lose weight (generically speaking).