CrossFit Journal - Issue 61.pdf - CrossFit Journal - Gozluk

CrossFit Journal • Issue Sixty-One • September 2007

ISSUE SIXTY-ONE

September 2007

CrossFit Training for Law

Enforcement

Jacksonville Five Years Later

TJ Cooper

and Phil Canto

page 1

A Large-Group Workout

Solution

Michael Rutherford

page 7

Basically Barbells

The CrossFit Basic Barbell Cer-

tiication Seminar

“CCT Joey”

page 9

Close Quarter Form

(Video Article)

Tom Arcuri

page 12

Human Weapon System

(Video Article)

Robert Smith, M.D.

page 13

CrossFit Training for Law Enforcement

Jacksonville Five Years Later

Assistance Sequence for

the Snatch

Mike Burgener,

with Tony Budding

page 14

TJ Cooper and Phil Canto

Sokoudjou’s Inside Trip

Becca Borawski

page 16

After several years of providing CrossFit training to law enforcement personnel at

varied stages in their careers, I have picked up a few things that might be beneficial

to those among you preparing to do the same. I would like to share with you the

process of CrossFit implementation, sustainability, and improvement that we use

for training recruits at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Much of what I have to say

may be what you are already doing. If that is the case, then see this as confirmation

of your approach. For those of you hoping to implement similar programs at your

agencies, I hope this description of our program and principles will be a useful

example.

Ring Row Variations

Tyler Hass

page 18

Strong Enough?

Mark Rippetoe

page 20

Strength on the Mat

Gant Grimes

page 24

History

In 2001, Greg Glassman came to Florida to give a CrossFit seminar for the Florida

Police Corps at the request of Training Specialist Derek Ray. At the time, as a

continued page ... 2

CrossFit Journal • Issue Sixty-One • September 2007

CrossFit Training for Law Enforcement

...continued

sergeant in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, I had been running

a parallel program in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Florida

Community College’s Basic Law Enforcement (BLE) Program.

The CrossFit program I was implementing had been quietly

supported, tweaked, and tested via correspondence and advice

from Coach Glassman; recruits in both programs were showing

remarkable results. (See “ Police Training ” in CrossFit Journal

issue #3 [March 2003].) In fact, the program was indeed “forging

elite fitness” among our recruits, just as its founder promised.

Now, in 2007, the program continues. This article describes our

current implementation and standards for recruits from day one

to graduation.

As reported in the March 2003 issue of the CFJ and recorded in

our internal documents, CrossFit led to a reduction in injuries

among recruits. The Florida Police Corps Program was seeking

training protocols that produced fitness and performance results

above average compared to what was being used in traditional

training programs. From the academy and agency standpoint, we

had three additional requirements:

•Reduction of injuries

•Adaptability to all tenure periods

•Recruits’ successful completion of the program physical

fitness exit exam.

The results of the program in 2003 were better than expected.

Injuries in my programs were down 80 percent in the first year.

The few injuries that did occur happened under fill-in (i.e., non-

CrossFit) instructors when I was not present. In these instances,

the substitute instructor “freelanced” and used unstructured

protocols inconsistent with CrossFit’s standards. Since that first

year, we have had no physical training injuries related to our

model of conditioning. None.

Jacksonville’s three-phase program

We have trained BLE classes since 2001, encompassing

approximately 970 recruits for the college and an additional 375

hired police recruits for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. During

training at our agency, I observed an increase in skills and abilities

and an acceptance of conditioning by our agency personnel

at all levels. More importantly, it forced us to realize that our

“traditional” standards were not as demanding as they could have

been. The fitness exam being used at the time required very little

in the way of functional fitness. The exam was essentially one

minute of push-ups and sit-ups, a one-and-a-half-mile run for time,

and, finally, the Job Task Obstacle Course. The existing program

was in need of adjusting if the officers we wanted to produce

were to be fitter and more capable than the average citizen we

swore to protect.

During Florida Community College’s Basic Law Enforcement (BLE)

Program, and the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office Recruit Academy, our

CrossFit implementation was introduced to recruits in a three-

phase process. During the three phases, we lecture on fitness,

teach new exercises, and mete out a variety of workouts. With

this focused introduction of the basic CrossFit principles, our

goal is not only to prepare recruits for the immediate demands of

the job but also to give them the tools to continue their training

and progress after graduation and remain involved in an ongoing

pursuit of better performance and lifelong health.

In Phase 1, recruits are introduced to our training program with

a 4-hour foundations lecture. We explain the concepts of fitness,

discuss nutrition, and explain how the program will prepare them

for patrol and specialized unit training. Recruits are given forms

that they will use to record their food, sleep, and activity for three

days. We use this to make it clear that the program is broadly

based and requires solid foundations across the board, including

a proper diet. It is not an isolated once-a-day PT session. We

expect them to integrate it into their lives.

Since the implementation of CrossFit, academy graduates who

have been recruited by outside agencies have been lauded

specifically for their physical and mental combat readiness and

“can-do” attitudes. The top performers in our physical training

programs have moved on to tactical assignments where they

publicly credit their survival in deadly force engagements and

extended stressful incidents to their “CrossFit mentality.”

CrossFit Journal • Issue Sixty-One • September 2007

CrossFit Training for Law Enforcement

...continued

In this phase, we introduce recruits to several of our general

fitness standards, beginning with a proper warm-up, body

mechanics, and movement standards. It is here that we begin

their metabolic conditioning and strength training. We also

give the first standards exam to set a benchmark we can use to

gauge progress throughout the training cycle. These standards

run alongside the still-required standard entry/exit fitness

exam, which is still required of law enforcement candidates for

acceptance into the training academy (at both the college and the

sheriff’s office). The candidates also must pass the same exam

to complete program, as mandated by the Florida Department

of Law Enforcement (the state governing agency and certifier of

police and corrections officers). In our program, the CrossFit

benchmarks are required exit exams as well, and these are the

instruments we care most about, since they better assess the

adaptations that officers actually need for work assignment. We

recognize, however, that recruits have widely varied degrees of

fitness upon entry into the program, and the benchmarks are

designed to allow everyone to participate fully.

We emphasize the very real importance of fitness

for saving one’s own life and protecting others.

During the training phases, the recruits are exposed to a regimen

of CrossFit workouts that we take from the current list of

benchmark workouts known as “the girls.” We essentially break

these down and focus on their components, building smaller

exercise cycles that end in the completion of the corresponding

full benchmark test. As an example of how we incorporate the

benchmark into the phase, we use “Angie” (100 pull-ups, push-

ups, sit-ups, and squats, for time) as the first benchmark. This

test requires an understanding of mechanics for proper pull-

ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. During this phase, we discuss

proper structure for each of the benchmark components. In

addition, we introduce skills needed for job performance. After

instruction and initial exposure, the exercises are repeated in

various formats that change up the duration, frequency, and load,

or, in some cases, that drill familiarization and skill practice. At

the end of this phase, the benchmark is retested. The benchmark

for the next phase of training is also introduced, as is the Tabata

protocol. Each process is layered over the previous phase, which

allows for a constantly varied but progressive theme in the

workouts. These phases are structured to provide better detail

in the program of instruction and allow for increased intensity

and understanding of CrossFit methodology.

CrossFit Journal • Issue Sixty-One • September 2007

CrossFit Training for Law Enforcement

...continued

Phase 1 (4 weeks)

Cycle: 2 or 3 days per week, alternating

Exercises and stretches

Samson stretch

Squats

Pop-ups

Overhead close-in stretch

Overhead squat stretch (PVC)

AbMat sit-up

Rollbacks

Push-ups

Pull-ups

Deadlifts

Gymnastics standards: handstand, hollow rock

Body mechanics standards: push-up, pull-up, air squat

Weight mechanics standards: deadlift, front squat, thruster

Metabolic conditioning: 1-mile run, ¼-mile run

Phase 2 (4 weeks)

Cycle: 2 or 3 days per week, alternating

Gymnastics standards: L-sits, burpees

Body mechanics: jump rope, box jump, sumo deadlift high pull

Weight mechanics: press, push press, overhead squat

Metabolic conditioning: 2-mile run, ½-mile run

Benchmark 3: Tabata squats

Benchmark 4: “Fran” (For time: 21, 15, 9 reps of thrusters and

pull-ups)

Recruit Complexes:

Complex 1: pop-up, burpee, rollback, bear crawl or handstand

Complex 2: sit-up, leg lift, hollow rock

Complex 3: overhead squat, sumo deadlift high pull, push-up, med

ball high toss, med ball broad jump

Phase 2 additional equipment

Olympic bars

45-lb Olympic-size plates

25-lb rubber bumper plates

Phase 1 equipment

In general, the first round of equipment collection should include

obtaining the basic equipment needed to complete Phase 1–style

WODs. The goal is to have the needed equipment available for

each participant, but working at 1: 3 ratio with the average class

size is more than acceptable. This equipment will get you started

with a large variety of movements and workouts. Many of the

listed items can be readily found, even at the most archaic of

facilities (1:1 indicates items we try to supply individually for each

participant).

Pull-up bars (1:1)

6-foot lengths of 1-inch PVC pipe (1:1)

Jump ropes (1:1)

30- or 35-pound dumbbells (1:1)

Parallettes

Plyo boxes

Dynamax medicine balls

AbMats

Phase 3 (4 weeks)

Cycle: 2 or 3 days per week, alternating

Warm-up: traditional CrossFit warm-up

In Phase 3, we begin to implement the CrossFit WOD, scaled as

needed. We also begin to have squad events, and begin using the

white board for recordkeeping and competition.

CrossFit Journal • Issue Sixty-One • September 2007

CrossFit Training for Law Enforcement

...continued

Sustainability

should also discuss how you will implement the program, the

timeframe, and how you will support future training. Finally, the

bigger picture in your summary should show how simple an

approach to super wellness this is and how the foundations are

based on well-grounded, thoughtful, field-tested principles.

One component of our programs success has been our

willingness to open the doors for others to watch and question.

Successful sustainability allows management to see your work

and the accompanying documentation. We’re always available to

answer questions and respond to suggestions when presented.

We use several of the better students to show proper form

and attitude. The administrative staff is also invited to look at

the structure of the program. We offer weekly early-morning,

lunchtime, and after-work programs for continued and enhanced

learning. Lastly, we use the websites (ours and CrossFit.com) and

the posted white board to help provide information and foster

esprit de corps.

An important part of making CrossFit work at your agency is

having the right people, with the right attitude and approach in

implementing the program. Here are some key concepts that we

make sure are understood by everyone involved in implementing

the program.

Check your attitude

Often during training, we tend to single out subjects based

on our perceptions of their attitudes. “Breaking a student”

is a term often used to make a point about the ability of

an individual who has either too much or not enough ego.

However, a coach is responsible for the needs of a team, and if

you single someone out, it must be purposeful, not spiteful or

personal. The flip side of assessing ability based on attitude is

assessing mental fortitude and character through the physical

training itself. Your trainees need to be challenged, but they

must also be enabled by the trainers to feel they are capable

of accomplishing the goals. The phase system seems to aid in

this process and prepare trainees to complete the WODs, if

not outright excel in them. If you throw a full WOD at them

too early in the process, a percentage will be lost to you. The

phase system builds both skills and confidence—and does so

incrementally. We have seen raw recruits enter with little or

no physical prowess, commit themselves to the program, and

later exit as top-tier performers.

We have seen raw recruits enter with little or

no physical prowess, commit themselves to the

program, and later exit as top-tier performers.

The program has also utilized the SWAT team members for

feedback and program enhancements where appropriate. This has

allowed us to develop more intensive programming suggestions

for the more physically capable and those performing at higher

levels of physical and mental acuity.

Looking forward: Betterments

As we continue to grow, we are looking for ways to have our own

space. The existing gym has slowly allowed us dedicated space,

and our equipment requirements are now built into the budget.

In order to accomplish this, we tracked our equipment use, class

sizes, and student performances. These reports include meal plans,

student feedback and testimonials, and instructor profiles, as well

as information on the potential for further lectures, training, and

certifications. This emphasizes our perspective that teaching is

about more than physical performance alone. Forcing students to

think is critical. The instructors need to be able to do this as well.

Treat the student like an athlete: Pain is part of the

game

Performance is directly linked to training. Athletes preparing

for game day must be prepared to face all the challenges of

their game. Serious athletes know and accept that pain is an

unavoidable part of the game, and therefore it is also part

of the training. Preparation of a law enforcement officer

for winning “game day” performances should include this

concept. I don’t mean unreasonable or debilitating damage,

of course, but realistic physical stress the accompanying

discomfort. In the past, students have been trained as if they

had no requirements with regard to actual performance, and

because of this, sometimes the guy on the bench has had to

step in and save the day. The student must understand the

differences between discomfort and injury, and be prepared

to “push through” the pain to win. Experiencing and

tolerating pain in the gym can make a real difference in how

they experience and cope with pain and stress on the street.

We emphasize the very real importance of fitness for saving

one’s own life and protecting others.

Keys to implementation

When you begin your process of introducing the CrossFit

program, be sure to prepare a summary of your ideas and how

they relate to functionality. Part of our initial problem was egos

and the “us vs. them” mindset. Your summary should include a

list of other agencies that use the program and contacts within

each of them—a functional reference list, if you will. The contacts

should include officers at every level in their respective agencies.

Of course, your summary should describe the highlights of

your program and explain the fresh perspectives behind your

approaches. (Information from the CrossFit “ Foundations ” and

“ What Is Fitness? ” documents will be helpful.) This summary

CrossFit Journal - Issue 61.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: