Blog Post # 7 Timing Physical Preparation for the Law Enforcement Officer

Adequate physical preparation is paramount for law enforcement officers.  At any moment, officers can be required to chase a suspect, grapple with an opponent, and otherwise physically maneuver to keep themselves safe as well as the public that they are sworn to protect. 

In order to do all that their position requires of them, law enforcement officers need to do more than exercise.  They need to execute a structured strength and conditioning program with intent, focus, discipline, and purpose. 

But between the strenuous demands of their job, their long and sometimes shifting hours on duty, and the high level of stress that police work entails, it can be difficult for some law enforcement officers to find the time for the kind of high-caliber training their job requires.  This blog post is designed to help law enforcement officers capitalize on any and all training windows available to them.

Before a shift:

A law enforcement officer’s shifts can be long, and this can take a mental toll.  What you don’t want to do is go through a grueling workout only to feel exhausted and sore for the next eight hours of your shift. However, some athletes feel invigorated following a lift, and love to lift prior to their day. If this sounds ideal for you and your lifestyle, that puts you at an advantage.

For those who want to exercise prior to their shift without dragging the rest of their day, remember that you have to adjust the intensity or the type of training you are doing.

If you have time before your shift to fit in a workout, consider doing mobility work to help you feel loose and to help with the orthopedic demands of your job.

Another consideration is some light cardiovascular work, again, in an effort to leave you feeling lose and yet still energized prior to your day.

After a shift:

For those who work early mornings or have other obligations taking up their time prior to their shift, an after-work lift may be more ideal from you.  For those who either use supplements, a nap, or other strategies following your shift to feel ready to get after it, great! 

For those who need help figuring out their after-work lift, consider an extended warm up.  This will help get rid of any stiffness you may be feeling as a result of your shift.  It will give your body a chance to shift gears so that you can get the quality work in that you are after. 

You also want to consider the order of your programming.  Perhaps energy system work like jogging or biking needs to come first (following the warm up, prior to the lift) so that your heart rate has a chance to elevate, blood flow will be stimulated, and hormones have a chance to help you start to enjoy what it is you are doing. 

If you find greater joy in the strength portion of your program, start there.  Just make sure to utilize appropriate prep sets and dynamic warm-ups first.

On off days:

On your days off, it is logistically easiest to fit in your program, but it’s also mentally perhaps the most challenging. You may prefer to spend time with family or friends, and by all means you should do that, but that shouldn’t keep you from taking care of your tactical performance needs. 

Carve out a specific time on this day devoted to your program. 

If you can workout at the same time every day to create some normalcy, that is great, but make sure that you have time to dedicate to the work you need to do so that your mind and body both can prepare to put in quality effort.

As a law enforcement officer, you do work that helps your community. That is why we value your service.  Whether you decide to reach out to us at FranzFitness.com to see if we can help you with your physical preparation needs or not, we hope that you make sure that you are training intelligently, frequently, and with purpose so that you can keep doing the work you love, work that serves us all.

 Thank you for the work you do.

-Franz Fitness