This article provides methods used by tactical facilitators, related research articles, and professional interviews to demonstrate how physical conditioning facilitates the transition from practice to duty for service members, including law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel.
The path to actual integration of mental and physical training for the tactical athlete is paved with growing empiricism. The current challenge is to sustain creative development of functional approaches and demonstrate that integration can deliver potential benefits.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise TechniqueProgram designtraining resiliencymental strengthtraining for tactical athletestactical strength and conditioning
Learn how to design programs with maximal effect within the tactical population. In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 TSAC Annual Training, Cal Dietz explain differences between tactical and conventional athletes and identifies the six performance qualities needed by tactical athletes. CEUs available.
TSAC FacilitatorsProgram designstrength and conditioningathlete conditioningsports performance
Rob Orr, co-lead of Bond University’s Tactical Research Unit, explains the differences in load carriage requirements and contexts between different tactical forces, and how to prepare tactical personnel for load-carriage tasks. This session from the NSCA’s 2018 Tactical Annual Training also looks at how to employ fitness assessments to determine future load carriage requirements.
TSAC FacilitatorsProgram designTesting and EvaluationLoad Carriage
Just as any athletic team can benefit from sport-specific training, tactical professionals can benefit from occupational task-specific training as well. Combining pushing, pulling, pressing, and total body movements into complexes may help mimic the demands and movements of job tasks that tactical personnel may encounter.
Tactical jobs are fast-paced, physically and psychologically intense, and failure can have tragic consequences, making it vital to train tactical athletes to perform better under stress.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceProgram designSafetyperforming under pressurestress management techniqueshow to deal with stressstress managementstress reliefHow to handle stress
Recent advances in research and human performance programs (HPP) has made it possible to learn more about the tactical athlete while creating enhanced methodologies and implementation. This review draws on the past three years of research focusing on strength and conditioning within military communities, exploring the current themes of research and the implications of future studies.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise TechniqueProgram designstrength trainingHPPhuman performance programstactical strength and conditioningTSAC
This article explains the specific considerations of building a tactical training space and how to maximize the potential of the dedicated space by having a stable of equipment that reflects the needs of the audience.
Mick Stierli, a Sargent with the New South Wales Police Force and the creator of both the Physical Training Instructors program and the New South Wales Police RECON program in Australia, discusses his holistic approach to providing care and training to police officers over the course of their career from hire to retire at the 2018 NSCA Tactical Annual Training.