Tactical Training

Time is winding down folks. Most of my gear should be on the way, although some appears to be floating around out in the ether. I went up to my dad's place in the foothills where I did some conditioning work with the kettlebells and tire dragging. I also subjected my brother to the tire dragging, and he was less than pleased to find that his cardio was pretty much worthless when put to the test.
I also ran some drills on the .50 caliber rifle and 9mm pistol. My primary weapon will be a rifle, but if I have a sidearm it will be the 9mm beretta. A good weapon, and I should know as I carried one in the Marines and only had it jam twice on me in two years with the anti-terror unit, and thousands of rounds put through it.
Below is some footage I strung together. The music is kind of depressing, I know. What can you do?
One thing of note if you're an operator or weekend shooter is the use of the kettlebell swings to elevate my hear rate and get my breathing more labored before getting on target.
And yes, I know my eye was too far off the .50 scope.

The fun never stops...

I am currently in the process of ramping up my training, which means targeting it to more combat specific applications. Of primary importance are building up my endurance, back, and legs. Carrying loads over a sustained period of time while performing feats of strength and complex movements is key.
Today I did a 2.5 mile tire drag, followed by some kettlebells. Not really that much. The only pain about the drag was a lot of it was on pavement, which acts like a magnet on that tire and really slows me down.
Tomorrow I'm going up to my dad's place where I'll be running some drills on the pistol. I'm highly proficient with the rifle so that's not a problem, but I know my pistol work needs some help. I'm going to work on banging out a series of kettlebell swings, then drawing the pistol and trying to stay on target with an elevated heart rate and labored breathing. Should be interesting to see what effect that has as I haven't done it in a couple years.
The photo above is of some PJ's in Afghanistan that I found on the crossfit site. I didn't figure they would mind.

"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."
- George Patton, George Hyman Rickover, Chinese Proverb, etc.

"Capable across a wide range of ahtletic activities"

This is a quote taken from the trial edition of the Crossfit Journal describing Olympian and Crossfit trainer Eva Twardokens. What does this really mean to you though? Think of this as establishing a base of fitness and then becoming more specific as you ready yourself for your individual event. For myself this means that now that I have established a good base of cardiovascular fitness and strength I will now become more specific toward my event (combat) by integrating things into my training that more directly address the rigors of said event. This means more interval training that requires bursts of speed and strength, with rest. More long distance hiking over uneven terrain, more max effort followed by sustained measured low output.
If you train crossfit, or another random interval style of training you will find that you never really 'succeed' in the traditional sense. This is due to the fact that your 'event' is always changing, therefore your body is never able to adapt to it and settle into a rhythm.
Take a highly skilled runner, someone who can knock out 3 miles in 15 minutes. You must assume has has a ton of endurance. So you throw him on a bicycle and he is promptly destroyed by a biker who would normally be considered to have less endurance when you compare their standings in their respective events. This is because each of these athletes is preparing for a very specific sport.
Now we break this down into a numbers game. Take your average Crossfitter of Girevik and put them up against a skilled runner. They are beaten in a foot race. You then select nine other events and watch the Crossfitter or Girevik systematically destroy the runner event after event. It is because the former is training for a wider range of events and is able to adapt more easily than the runner.
This form of training is more and more falling into favor with the elite community of firefighters, police, Soldiers and Marines, and the spec ops community. This is because they never know what their next event will be.
Now think about your day to day life. You may not be fighting insurgents or putting out fires, but surely you face events with unknown factors. Working an 18 hour day at the office, carrying a stroller down a flight of subway stairs, carrying heavy boxes, chasing your children around the park.
Which system do you think will best prepare you for that?

http://www.crossfit.com
http://www.dragondoor.com

40 lb. Bag Drag/Carry up the Dish

Today I went up to the Dish in Palo Alto, which is a sort of trail loop with some good steep hills. I brought a 40 lb. duffel bag and attached it to the harness. I alternated running or walking as I drug it, or carrying it on my shoulder. This was an ass kicker, as you don't really have the option of giving up, you have to get the bag back. I made sure to put stuff I needed in it so I wouldn't be tempted to ditch it. I highly recommend it.

32 kilo kettlebell snatch

Today I finally snatched a 32 kilo kettlebell with my left hand, as my right hand is still fairly useless. It was a good day.

I am not a crazy person

Dragging the tire has become a core part of my routine, as since I started doing this my strength and endurance have both increased a good deal. Working the entire body, in particular the back and legs, is essentially supercharging the body whole. The tire alone is about 80 lbs. I think. This became a little too easy, so I dropped a 24 kilo kettlebell in the middle of it, and also used this to perform snatches at either end of the drag.
One of the other Equinox trainers, Lisa, decided she wanted to drag the tire as well. At no point did she cry, fall apart, or burst into flames. She did quite well, dragging it the length of the parking lot and back, as well as performing some rows/pulls with it.


So once again, there is no reason women cannot pursue strength training in much the same way (if not exactly the same way) that men do.

Training through an injury

Getting injured is the worst, particularly if you are an advanced athlete. I recently sustained a sprain to the pinky on my right hand. This may not seem like a big deal, until you realize that my right hand is effectively useless. Any gripping action will only inflame the injury. The first thing I did (after trying to 'tough it out' for a week) was to think of exercises that required no hand use. Running of course, and tire draggin sprang to mind. With the arrival of my new dragging harness from everythingtrackandfield.com I have been getting faster and stronger on the tire drag. I then decided to do left hand kettlebell movements like swings and snatches. I integrated these with my tire pull. Prior to my injury I was snatching a 24 kilo kettlebell easily with my right hand, but was shakey on the left. Now that I must use only my left hand, I am easily snatching the 24 kilo with what was previously my weak hand. I have used my injury to turn a weakness into a strength.
When trying to train through an injury you must use good judgement. With enough knowledge you can train through nearly any injury, but you have to be a realist and know when to say when. You cannot always use an injury as an opportunity to break through plateaus, sometimes you must settle for maintenance.
Next blog I am going to take a hypothetical (Erin :) ) of someone with a messed up ankle to work out an effective training program to give you some ideas.