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#1 A TRAINING TOOL FOR ANY GOAL

Depending on the program utilized, the sandbag can be used to develop strength, power, conditioning, endurance, and even mobility.

Strength? Load it as heavy as you see fit and lift it.

Power? Throw it, clean it.

Conditioning? Use it for a MetCon or any variation of high intensity training.

Endurance? Use a lighter weight for a longer period of time, more repetitions, or even carry it around like a rucksack.

Mobility? Try the Sandbag Get Up! Also… Train through full range of motion with load and your mobility is bound to improve.

FREE DOWNLOAD- Top 7 Sandbag Exercises for LEOs

#2 VERSATILITY

There are not many training tools available that can become the “all in one” like the sandbag can. It mimic movements of a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, weight vest, etc., all while adding the factor of instability which is crucial to the LEO. 

#3 TRANSFERABILITY TO OCCUPATIONAL...

It is no secret that being away from home and away from your own routine, your own grocery store, your kitchen, and your gym, seems like the perfect storm to allow your diet/clean healthy eating habits to go by the wayside.  However, it does not need to be like this.  With a little bit of planning, motivation, and structure you can stay on track for your time away.  

Most academies do not feed recruits the best high quality food.   When I was in the academy, we had worse-than-high-school-cafeteria food that was made by the inmates of the prison next door. You were not allowed to keep a cooler or any food in our rooms and only had food available at the three meals a day.

There are still academies that are the same way where you have to eat your meals with your class in a structured fashion with the food that they feed you.  However, even with that, the addition of protein shakes, bars, some homemade healthy snacks that you can make...

The Brain and The Impossible...

Some time ago, I came across a fitness challenge on social media that led to me putting 135 lbs on a barbell and squatting for max reps in one set. I got 55 reps, and, as a 155 lb dude, felt somewhat accomplished. The following week, I attempted the exact same trial (135 lb back squat for max reps); this time, I was able to perform 80 reps, a 45% increase. How was this possible in such a short time, with no notable changes in diet, training, or other factors?

This challenge opened up a discussion on the mental aspect of physical training amongst the Effective Fitness Training team. During text discussion (immediately after my first attempt at this trial) with the EFT crew, I typed the following:

“I had more but I think I gave myself a mental release once I hit 55. I didn’t know what to expect; think if I had told myself 65 was a bare minimum acceptable count, I would have gotten there.”

Free...

What is Concurrent Training and why is it required for LE and other first responders?

Concurrent training is when multiple energy systems are trained simultaneously, ie: training for strength gains and endurance (aerobic) gains at the same time.

It has been a big hype in the fitness world that you should NOT train those two things at the same time due to utilizing the energy systems required to train each individually would hinder gains for the other one. This is known as the Interference Effect. The Interference Effect is the negative impact aerobic endurance training can have on gains in strength, power/speed, and hypertrophy.

The current data suggests 3 major things:

1. We should do our strength training and your aerobic training on completely separate days
2. That if we are going to train both on the same day, do it at least 6 hours apart
3. If we are going to train them at the same time (same session), do the strength training first and the endurance...

One of the most common questions we get asked is,

“How do I become a better shooter?”

From our firearms instructors on the EFT Team, our answer is always along the lines of “Consistent, Intentional Dry Fire.”

Just as fitness is the foundation for survival and requires consistent, intentional reps in the weight room, dry fire is the foundation upon which all shooting skills can be built.  From precision rifle (PR) to pistol shooting and everything in between, dry fire, dry fire, dry fire will help you see results.  Shooters like Ben Stoeger, JJ Racaza and Rob Leatham all attribute much of their success to properly applied dry fire.

Safety warning: It is important to have a dedicated dry fire area, sanitized of any live rounds!

Free Download - 5 Dry Fire Drills for Police Officers to Train Daily

CONSISTENT

Our biggest piece of advice for finding consistency in a dry fire routine...

On a day to day basis, police officers around the world are lugging around 20-50lbs of gear on their body via their duty belt and/or outer carriers.

As you know, this is a necessary evil; officers need to be prepared for endless potential incidents, but this added weight can take a toll physically on the body and its structures/tissues, as well as impacting the officer’s mobility, speed, agility, coordination, heart rate, reaction time, V02 max, memory and cognitive function during operational tasks.

The good news is that we can optimize our body and brain to better handle this excess weight. Body composition and body fat percentage both play a huge role in load carriage ability. Having adequate strength, aerobic fitness and lean mass with a lower body fat content will improve your ability to carry external loads for long periods of time. This is known as Load Carriage Optimization. 

In this article, we will be reviewing the Top 4 Reasons Cops...

The majority of our Effective Fitness Team Members have endured the brutal night shift at some point in their career. The "night shift" is often referred to as dogwatch, graveyard, and midnights.

How can we make the best of it?

From experience, we have found some essential tools and tricks that have helped us stay healthy, both physically and mentally.

This article will break down these Night Shift Hacks in hopes of helping other officers around the world own the fact that working in the dark is probably one of the toughest things to do, but someone has to do it.

SLEEP

The most important aspect of working odd hours is a healthy sleep regimen.  Most folks are not used to sleeping during the day and staying up all night.  It takes time for your body to adjust to a different sleep schedule.  Especially if you’ve had a somewhat normal sleep schedule for 15-20 years before you work your first night shift schedule.

We have always...

We would like to preface this article with the definition of a supplement from Oxford Languages:

Sup·ple·ment

noun

/ˈsəpləmənt/

1. something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.

Ok, now that we got that off our chests…

Please remember that supplements are not magic. They are meant to be supplemental to a solid diet/nutrition protocol, 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep per night, a solid stress management system, good relationships with people, a fulfilling career, among other things that build well-rounded physical and mental health.

The point is this: If you are lacking any of the above, that are the true basis of healthy living, supplements will not be the solution to your problem. Master these things first, then take additional supplements, if you wish!

Below we will give a detailed breakdown of 3 supplements that are backed by scientific research and years of successful use! Each will have 3...

It is no secret that the world of K9 is not the easiest specialized unit to become a part of. 

Units all across the country typically only have from 1-6 K9 teams with the exception of your big cities such as NYPD, LAPD, Boston PD, and some of your larger Sheriff's Offices in Florida that may have 10-15 teams or more.  Notwithstanding those larger agencies that may have more turnover and positions available, the position of K9 handler can be very difficult to attain.

Your typical working K9 will have a working career of approximately 7-9 years based on the health of the K9, department retirement policies for K9s, department needs, etc.

This means that the turnover for a K9 handler position is about the same; that is if the handler chooses (or the department chooses) not have the handler work another K9.  

K9 is a position that it is either in your blood or it isn’t.  And when it is in your blood, you never want...

What Are "Macros"?

The majority of the foods we consume are classified as one of the three macronutrients or "Macros": Protein, Carbohydrate, or Fat. By definition from Precision Nutrition, macronutrients are “nutrients the body requires in large amounts.”

Now, that does not mean that a specific food is STRICTLY one macronutrient; most food is made up of 2-3 of the 3 macros, but the majority rule is what classifies it. Keep that in mind as you are learning more about macros throughout this article.

Aside from macronutrients, our food also includes micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), phytochemicals (nutrients from plants) and zoochemicals (from animal food sources such as creatine).

Seems silly to say, but all of this food contains ENERGY - energy and fuel that we need to

1) Stay Alive

and

2) To Thrive.

It is important to understand that what you consume each day will substantially affect your body composition (bodyweight, weight...