This article describes the various strength training processes that can be implemented to build a soldier’s ruck march capacity.

This article addresses three main areas of resistance exercise that best prepares tactical personnel for load carriage.

This article addresses low back pain in first responders by examining three relevant studies.

This article is part of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.

This column reviews recent literature that investigated the appropriateness of a commonly utilized on-duty exercise training modality for firefighters and describes the occupational demands of specialist tactical police officers.

Given the high prevalence of injuries that occur during rucking, implementing an injury prevention program is paramount. Disseminating information on proper injury prevention training methods and reducing the risk of ruck-related back injuries can improve overall mission readiness with minimal lost training time.

The 3-minute all-out exercise test (3MT) was developed over a decade ago and enables the estimation of time for onset of momentary fatigue for a given speed or power output exceeding critical speed (CS) or critical power (CP), respectively. The 3MT has been validated for conducting high-intensity interval training, used with load carriage prediction and prescription, and validated for shuttle running. These prescriptions are novel because they allow for standardizing exercise intensities relative to metabolic parameters as opposed to a percentage of a given maximum or reserve. Research was identified using leading search engines (e.g., PubMed, Google Scholar, and Research Gate) and citations to similar articles. The objective of this review article was to summarize research that emerged on the CS/CP concept with emphasis on applications since the advent of the 3MT. The review concludes with application of the CS/CP concept to the frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise for exercise prescription.

This article seeks to explain the differences between males and females in training and adaptations, as well as provide actionable guidelines to improve performance.