Six pillars of physical reserve tactical athlete

Readiness is not one trait

If you ask several people what it means to be physically fit, you will get different answers. One will mention fast running. Another great strength. Another the ability to endure long circuit training. Each of these answers describes a part of performance, but none of them describes the entire profile of a tactical athlete.

Service tasks vary in length, speed, load, and environment. At one point, maximum strength may be crucial, at another, the ability to use it quickly. Long work relies on the aerobic system, while short, intense stretches increase the demands on anaerobic capacity. All this must be endured by the muscles, tendons, feet, back, and grip.

In Tactical Ready, I divide physical reserve into six pillars. The division helps determine where a person has sufficient capacity and where weakness arises. The pillars do not work separately. They support each other and in a real mission they almost always combine.

Force

Strength is the ability to generate force against resistance. In service, it is manifested in lifting, pulling, pushing, transferring, overcoming obstacles, or working in contact. Higher maximum strength can reduce the relative cost of a common load.

If a person's maximum capacity is one hundred kilograms and the task requires sixty kilograms, they will use up a large part of their capacity to do so. A person with a maximum of one hundred and fifty kilograms will handle the same load with a greater margin. However, this is only true if they can apply the force in the appropriate position, maintain their grip, and continue moving.

For the tactical athlete, I look not only at absolute strength, but also at relative strength to body weight. Excess body weight can increase the energy cost of running, climbing, and moving. The goal is not to gain weight without limit or maximize your powerlifting total. Strength must support the task.

Performance and power

Power describes the ability to develop force quickly. A person can be strong, but if it takes too long to generate high force, they may not be able to use it when jumping, accelerating briefly, standing up quickly, or overcoming an obstacle.

Power is developed by jumping, medicine ball throws, short sprints, lighter Olympic variations, ballistic exercises and dynamic efforts with appropriate loads. Quality is crucial. Each repetition should be fast and technically clean. Once the speed or height drops significantly, the training is already aimed at another ability.

Power is important for both soldiers and police officers. The only difference is the situations in which they use it. A police officer may need to quickly go from standing to sprinting or from sprinting to contact. A soldier may use power to overcome an obstacle, make a short move, lift a load, or quickly change position.

Speed

Speed does not only mean the maximum sprint for one hundred meters. For most service tasks, the first meters of acceleration, the ability to brake safely and change direction are more important.

A police officer can start from a sitting, standing or after exiting a vehicle. A soldier can lift himself off the ground or change direction in terrain and equipment. The training therefore includes different starting positions, short distances and gradual development of braking.

Speed is a high-stress activity for the nervous system. It belongs in training when you are fresh. Repeated sprints with short breaks are a different method. They develop the ability to repeat intense efforts, not maximum speed on each attempt.

Aerobic capacity

The aerobic system forms the foundation for long-term work and recovery. It doesn't just work during slow runs. It helps replenish energy between sprints, power sets, stair climbs, and other intense stretches.

A person with a better aerobic base will recover faster between tasks, tolerate training volume better, and often maintain more stable performance. Aerobic capacity is built primarily by regular work at low to moderate intensity. Depending on the goal, you can use running, walking uphill, cycling, rowing, swimming, or air biking.

The choice of means depends on the profession and health condition. Running has a high specific value for both soldiers and police officers, but it is not necessary to complete all the aerobic volume in an impact manner. A bicycle or rowing machine can add work without additional strain on the feet and lower legs.

Anaerobic capacity

The anaerobic system supports short, very intense efforts. These include sprinting, hard stair climbing, intense contact work, rapid weight transfer, or repeated bursts with limited rest.

Training varies depending on the goal. Long rest periods between short bursts help maintain high performance. Shorter rest periods develop the ability to repeat the performance under increasing fatigue. Even longer work intervals can target high-intensity tolerance, but also create high fatigue.

The most common mistake is doing too much anaerobic work. High-intensity intervals are hard, so people do them several times a week for no apparent reason. The result is heavy legs, stagnant strength and speed, and gradually worse quality of all workouts.

Endurance

Endurance is not a single exercise or the ability to ignore pain. It is the ability of tissues and the entire organism to withstand repeated loads. This includes core strength, grip, posterior chain, calves, feet, upper back, range of motion, and progressive tolerance of running, equipment, or ruck.

A resilient person is not indestructible. They just have sufficiently prepared structures and increase the load in a way that they can adapt. Sharp, growing or neurological pain is not a test of character. It requires training adjustments and possibly professional assessment.

I also include availability for duty in resilience. Training that increases performance in the short term but leaves a person unable to perform their job or constantly injured has not served its purpose.

The pillars must meet in one profile

A strong person without an aerobic base will lose performance during a longer task. An endurance person without strength will reach near maximum when handling a load. A fast person without the ability to brake increases the cost of changing direction. A person with good results in all tests who cannot tolerate regular equipment may be limited by shoulder or back pain.

That's why I don't use the same volume for each pillar. In one training block, I determine the main ability that has the most room for development. I support one or two other abilities with a smaller dose and maintain the rest. I call this principle train all emphasize one. We train the entire profile, but in each period we have a clear priority.

Self-assessment

Rate each pillar from one to five. One means a significant weakness, five means a high and stable level.

• Force

• Power

• Speed

• Aerobic capacity

• Anaerobic capacity

• Endurance

The lowest number does not necessarily determine the entire program. A weakness is only important if it limits the target task or creates a risk. A police officer with low long-range ability does not need to address this trait. An infantry soldier with the same deficiency probably does.

In the next article, I will explain the difference between general and specific preparation and why there is no need to imitate a service task in every training session most of the year.

A call for further work

If you don't know which of these six pillars is limiting your performance, write to me about online coaching. We will evaluate your tests, service tasks, and recovery and select the ability to be the priority for the next training block.