One summer day my family and I went to a state park situated on a pristine lake to spend the day. After dragging the cooler, camp chairs, plastic shovels and pails from the car to the beach I set everything down and selected our spot. Tipping my head back I breathed in the fresh air that was blowing in off the lake and let the sun warm my pale midnight shift complexion. When you work graveyards you need all the Vitamin D you can get.
Judge Not
I kicked off my flip-flops and set up our chairs while the kids went straight for digging in the sand and wading in the water. I sat down, looked up and down the shoreline and saw the lifeguard tower. There, manning the most important post on the lake, was what appeared to be a beached whale wearing sunglasses and red shorts.
Yes, it’s true, we’re not supposed to be judgmental … so I was immediately judgmental of this large person who was supposed to be guarding my life and the life of my children. And swim? I doubt he could swim — float maybe, but not swim.
For people in uniform, physical fitness does at least two things: one, it projects an image of competence, and two, it affords you the ability to actually do what you’ve been trained to. The opposite, however, is also true. Looking like the kind of person who can’t say No when asked if that order should be super-sized projects an image of incompetence and steals your ability to execute. That may hurt your feelings, but it’s simply a fact of life.
Skinny Genes
I had zero confidence that if I went snorkeling and swallowed some water and went under that the enormous man-child would be able to swim out, grab onto me, and haul me back in. Zero. And I’m not fat-shaming this guy. If he were a 97 pound weakling I’d feel the same way.
The truth is, I was a 97 pound weakling and have been skinny my whole life. I’ve heard all the comments, all the criticisms, and most of the jokes. It has never bode well with me. I will never be Arnold or Sylvester, it just means I have to work a little bit harder to add an ounce of muscle. Let’s face it, I have skinny genes.
A Story
Whether you are overweight or underweight I came across an interesting perspective you may be interested in when thinking about becoming a tactical athlete. Be it Patrol or SWAT, I’ve found that the necessity for physical fitness is real and the physical demands we face are similar if not the same. You may agree, but then we come to the next question: what kind of physical fitness regimen or workout routine is the best? CrossFit? Running? Bodybuilding? Yoga? The list is endless. I don’t know the answer but I read about a guy who might. His name is Jerzy Gregorek.
Jerzy Gregorek emigrated to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1986. He was an alcoholic by the age of 15, and a bad one by his own admission. In short order he was expelled from school and spiraled out of control over the following three years. Jerzy discovered weightlifting by accident after his friend needed a place to store his weights because his dad had thrown them out of the house. Jerzy offered to store all his friend’s equipment at his place and one workout turned into another, which led to less time with alcoholics and more time with weightlifters. In a year Jerzy found sobriety and worked his way to winning four World Weightlifting Championships, became a world record holder in weightlifting, founded UCLA’s weightlifting team along side his wife, and has become a mentor to many.
In Tim Ferriss’ book Tribe of Mentors Jerzy tells the story of a conversation he had with a fitness guru who trained marathon runners, triathletes, and New York firefighters. He believed that cardio was important — seemingly more important than strength training — because he said, “Sometimes (firefighters) have to run up 40 flights of stairs, so they need cardio training.” Well, Jerzy disagreed.
To make his point, Jerzy asked him one question. “If I put firefighting gear on the winner of a marathon and the winner of an Olympic sprint and sent them to the 40th floor, who would be faster?” After over a minute of silence Jerzy landed the coup de grâs, “Now you know how you slowed down firemen in New York by training them for endurance and not power.”¹ Ouch.
The Purpose Of PT Tests
When I first read that story I laughed at the image that formed in my mind of a tiny, frail little marathon runner loaded down with heavy gear and wondered how far would he would actually get. That story made so much sense and opened my eyes to a lie I had believed for so long. I had never thought of fitness in those terms before.
I don’t know what the PT test in your state or city looks like, but mine includes a mile and a half run. Okay, that’s great, but why? Is it a measure of your fitness only, or does it have a practical application to what we do? Plus, you don’t run that test in your uniform and duty belt, so again, what is the purpose behind it? When is the last time you ran a mile and a half on duty in full uniform? Probably not ever. I am no fitness expert by any stretch, but I think Jerzy Gregorek is, and what he says makes sense.
The only PT test that I have seen that comes close to actually being applicable to what we do on any given shift — short distances, heavy gear, with bursts of strength and power — is the NTOA Physical Fitness Qualification, or PFQ. Read about my assessment here or watch it on YouTube.
Last Question
Now, back to the question of what kind of physical fitness regimen or workout routine is the best for police work. If it’s between strength or cardio, I’m going with strength. How about you?
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- Are you taking care of your physical body?
- Does your appearance in uniform project competence or inspire doubt?
- What is your approach to fitness as it relates to your job?
- Are you willing to try something new?
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Thanks for reading! Do you have a story that you think we could learn from and that you’d like to share with Johnny Tactical nation? Fill out the contact form and include your name, rank, and department, or email it to [email protected] and follow these guidelines:
– It must be a firsthand account
– True
– Have a lesson, principle, or tactic to apply
– Cleaned of names, dates, and places
– Include your call sign
If your story is selected and published in our blog you’ll get the credit using your call sign and we’ll send you a free Johnny Tactical morale patch.
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¹Tim Ferriss, Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice From The Best In The World (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2017), pp 113-119.
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