Wearing a Vest

Everyone knows you should wear a vest, we have heard it millions of times. Still everyday I see deputies exposed to the public, not wearing body armour.

I wonder if those that choose not to wear body armour understand how it effects others around them? I would be willing to bet, they don't. Think about this, if you respond to a call to assist me in searching a house and your not wearing a vest, then you have effectively put me at risk.

Wear your vest, it's not just for you and your family, it's for me.

Tracking Your Workout with Your IPhone

A lot of people like to use a journal to guide and record workouts. I have always liked the idea of this, but I just don't have it in me to carry a book and pen and write everything I do down. I do, however, have my iphone plugged into my head for music, not to mention it keeps most people from interupting your workout. If you want to look even more busy, you could use an app to record your workouts and much much more.

I have been using Gym Buddy, $2.99 last check, on my IPhone to record and track all kind of personal information about my gym efforts. There are several programs out there and once you get use to recording your sets and reps it comes natural. Some people find that it can help with motivation, "got to fill out my log", and if you miss a workout looking at that empty square on the calander can provide another form of motivation. One interesting bit of information that I like to look at is the total amount of weight lifted durning a session. I was shocked to see numbers over 27500 lbs for a chest tri workout and 55000 lbs for a leg routine. Check it out, it might be what you need to spark some new interest and get to see actual progress.

I want to be a cop.....

I read and take part in a few "forums", I think they can be useful, full of information and fun. Jeep Forums, Fitness Forums, Gun Forums, etc., I'm a forum junkie.
I came across an interesting thread in a jeep forum's off topic section lately. A member was wanting to change his career and go into local LE at the age of 33 and he was looking for advise.

The response from other members, some cops, some not, seemed strange and hollow to me. A few suggested being a firefighter over a cop, some advised to start in other fields like corrections.

This was my post
Some things to consider:
# SOME PEOPLE WILL THANK YOU
# SOME PEOPLE WILL HATE YOU WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING YOU
# YOU WILL SEE DEATH AND HEARTACHE
# YOU WILL SEE HOW THE SYSTEM FAILS MOST PEOPLE AND HELPS A FEW OTHERS
# YOU WILL PUT YOUR LIFE AND SAFETY AT RISK
# YOU WILL SLOWLY GROW TO HATE AND DISTRUST MOST PEOPLE
# YOU WILL BE BORED MOST OF THE TIME
# YOU WILL FIND SOME GREAT BROTHERS TO WORK WITH
# OTHER PEOPLE WILL TREAT YOU DIFFERENT, YOU ARE THE COP AT THE PARTY
# YOU WILL SEE OTHER COPS THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR EVERYONE
# YOU WILL MAKE A LOT OF MISTAKEs; IF YOUR LUCKY YOU WILL GET SECOND CHANCES
# YOU ARE HUMAN BUT OTHERS WILL NOT UNDERSTAND THAT
# YOU MUST WANT TO DO THE JOB
# IT IS LIKE NO OTHER JOB ON THE PLANET, FOR GOOD AND BAD

My 2cents

Sneaky Bags from www.sneakybags.com

My MSAR with the small rifle bag and active shooter bag.

Equipment Heads-up!

I just came across a line of products that seem like a great idea and thought I would share.

I'm not ate up with the Tacticool look of most police products. I like taking a below-the-radar approach if it is possible.

The idea behind Sneaky Bags, is not to attract undue attention, hence the "Sneaky" part. The popularity of "blackops" super tactical products is all over the place. You can get tactical cell phone holders and active shooter bags to carry all your gear. The problem with most of these items are the attract attention and look the part. There is nothing wrong with this, sometimes function over form is necessary, but, there is something to be said for a quieter approach.

These products from Sneaky Bags maintain a high degree of function while not attracting a lot of "look at me, I have a rifle" attention.

I have been using a small rifle bag and an active shooter bag from them for over a month now and I can say that I am liking the "sneaky tactical" side of these bags. They are well made in the USA.

Check them out and think about how it can be tactical to go unnoticed.

Goal Setting

If your going to lift weights, then ask yourself, "What's my Goal?"

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE: The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to perform repeated contractions against light loads for an extended period of time.

• Use lighter weights, complete 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions, take a shortened rest period of 60 seconds or less between sets

MUSCULAR HYPERTROPHY (GROWTH): Increase in muscle size and mass.

• Use a moderate to heavy weight complete 2-4 sets of 6-10 reps; rest 30 to 90 seconds between sets

MUSCULAR STRENGTH: The maximal force a muscle or group of muscles can generate in one maximal effort.

• Use heavy weight; complete 3-8 sets of 1-6 reps, rest 2+ minutes between sets

Chances are, if your lifting weights already then your doing something along these lines. The best option is to rotate every 4 weeks or so, from one method to another.

Change Things UP!

SUPERSETS/CARDIO/TREADMILL/BIKE/JOG/GROUP CLASSES/HEAVY LIFTING/HIGH REPS/LOW REPS/NEGATIVES/SLOW REPS/SPORTS/SWIM/HIKE/YOGA/BOXING/ETC.

You have to mix up your program if you want to see results, avoid injury and keep your body burning calories at its max.

Change your program up every 4 weeks at least and any day that you need a change make it.

BURN MORE CALORIES/BUST PLATEAU/REACH FULL GROWTH POTENTIAL/INCREASE ENDURANCE/STAY MOTIVATED/HAVE FUN/GET CUT

BE YOUR BEST

Increase Strength on the Bench

Negatives

Having trouble breaching that plateau on the benchpress? If you have access to a Smith Machine give negatives a try.

Set up a smith machine with a bench and heavy weight that you can bench maybe twice in a regular fashion. Have your partner do most of the lifting phase and you resist the negative (downward) phase of the lift. Try for a count of 5 before the weight touches down. Use the machines safety stops to prevent the weight from touching your chest.

Superset Extra:

On Bi- Tri day throw in:

1 set of dips, as many reps as possible, followed up by one set of pull ups, as many reps as possible- Repeat this for 5 sets.

SUPERSETS

Supersetting is a great way to bust through a routine or to move to the next level in your training. It is considered more advanced method of training. Basically, supersetting is moving from one exercise to another with no rest. The exercises can be for the same muscle group or different muscles, often opposing, like chest and back or bicep and triceps.

Advantages:

saves time

increase intensity

overload muscles

variety

Examples:

Pre-exhaustion sets: Doing a isolation movement like one set of LEG EXTENSIONS followed by a compound movement like one set of SQUATS. Repeat this for a total of 4 sets each.

Opposing Muscle sets: Combining one set of bench press followed by one set of dumbbell rows. Repeat each set 4 times.

Supersets can be a challenge and might require more rest and you should maintain a higher heart rate during your workout.

Pull-ups

Pull-ups take practice and determination, but can benefit your upper body strength like no other single routine. Often the bench press and bicep curl get all the attention when it comes to showing off at the gym. One reason you don't see the big tough guys showing off at the pull-up bar is they can't. To do an impressive set of pull-ups, it takes practice.

Try this 1 - 2 times a week:

4 sets of Pull-ups

4 sets of Lat pulls

4 sets of Cable Rows

(shoot for high reps, 10-15, to failure)

Basic Resistance Training -Where to Start

Give me a Routine

A very common request with a difficult answer. However, there is a basic idea that is easy to understand, Nike says it best, "Just Do It".

Exercising outside: Know the OZONE LEVEL

Click here for Houston's level
When the summer starts winding down more people move outside to exercise. Air pollution is much higher during the summer months and we have had several "Ozone Warning" lately.

It has long been known that high levels of ozone exposure are dangerous to health, and levels of ozone are monitored in most metropolitan areas. In 1979, the Federal Health Standard for "good air quality" was set at .12 parts of ozone per 1 million parts of air for one hour (abbreviated as ppm/hour). The Canadian level is set at .08 ppm/hour, and experts in the U.S. have seriously questioned the margin of safety provided by the national clean air standard.

• Avoid exercising during rush hours (the CO level peaks during rush hours).
• Avoid high cigarette smoking areas prior to and during exercise.• Avoid combinations of high temperature, humidity and air pollution.
• Keep the amount of time spent in high pollution areas to a minimum (physiological effects of air pollution are both time and dose dependent).
• Be aware of seasonal variations in ozone levels. The ozone level is usually low in winter, increases during summer with a daily peak around 3 p.m., and reaches maximal values in early autumn.

Bust out of the routine!

Have you been doing the same routine for the past 6 months or longer? If so it is past time to switch things up. The most effective change you can make is in your number of reps and weight used.

Make a Change

If you have been lifting heavy and aiming for 5-10 reps then lifting lighter and aiming for 15-20 reps would be a big change. You will feel it.

• Adding a different machine or substituting one exercise for another is also a good option. That could mean something simple like changing the handles on the lat pulls or trying a machine that you have never used before.


• Adding a set can make a big difference. That is the first thing I recommend to more experienced lifters when they come to me. Most people get stuck on the 3 sets, I do 5 and sometime 6 on more compound movements. The only drawback is time, it will increase your workout time, just keep moving.


• Reorganize your workout. Try supersets or adjust your rest time between sets.


• Treadmill for eliptical or one of the other cardio machine that you have never tried.

Change is not easy and messing with your routine is a challenge, but it is very necessary. Your body and is an amazing machine and able to adapt, it has to be challenged to improve.

Little Weight, A Lot of Effort

It doesn't take much to get a good workout. The most important thing is doing something and remember a little weight can go a long way.

1. The Jump squat using a medicine ball

Hold the MB at your chest. Begin by lowering yourself down to a fully squatted position as you did in the standard squat. When you have reached the depth of the squat, reverse motion and jump up into the air as high as you possibly can. When you land from your jump, go immediately into your next squat.

2. My favorite, the Close Grip pushup, check it out on previous post.

3. The Chop Squat

Combining the Squat with a bicep curling motion

Combine these 3 movements, 3 sets each with 30 seconds or less of rest between sets.

Heart Reat Monitor

I use a polar heart rate monitor that allows me to, not only monitor my heart rate during exercise, but I can download the data onto my computer for further analyses. This is great for serious athletes and novices like the rest of us. For me it helps motivate me and keep me interested. Polar makes lots of cool tech to help you reach your goals check them out here .

Here is a sample of my heart rate during a spin class at the gym.

The graph helps you see how hard you are working, the peaks in the red are around 85% of my max.

To get your heart rate estimates click here.

The "Murph"

Workouts come in all shapes and sizes. You don't have to go to the gym to get a good workout.

Here is a hardcore one I found on Crossfit:

"In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005".

For time:

1 mile Run

100 Pull-ups

200 Push-ups

300 Squats

1 mile Run

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it. Of course not everyone is can do 100 pull ups or 200 pushups, but you might be surprised what you can do if you really push yourself.

Cooper Institute Law Enforcement Fitness Program

Cooper Institute gym

This is my first attempt at a mobile entry on the blog. I will send some pictures through out the week while I'm here getting my certification.

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