All views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the United States Government, The Department of Defense, or The Department of the Air Force.

Strength and conditioning programs designed for law enforcement officers can overexert the conditioning in a workout. These men and women often carry a strong and “more is better” mindset that we love as coaches and is a requirement for their work, but it can be detrimental to their long-term training progress. If not programmed appropriately, the conditioning workload will catch up and lead to exercise burnout, potential injury, or, at a minimum, a lack of improvement.

At a minimum, a police recruit's time during the academy will feel overwhelming. These future officers are spending several months just trying to keep their heads above water with the goal of graduation.

In the popular book, Extreme Ownership, co-authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin discuss standard operating procedures (SOP's) extensively.  They describe SOPs as a means of creating a clear process to make commonly performed tasks as efficient as possible.

Question: Who plays a game of life and death with no time outs, no ability to periodize training for the big event, and often no knowledge or closure of if they even won or lost?  These games may be sporadic, clustered, or even non-existent for months, yet these individuals continue to train as if the situation is imminent. 

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or the position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.

Train 4 The Game is a renowned training center with a rich legacy of excellence, spanning over two decades of operation in Austin, Texas. They bring together a team of coaches with an impressive total of over 120 years of combined coaching experience. This esteemed group has successfully trained over 800 professional and college athletes to reach the pinnacle of their performance and guided thousands of individuals in their journey to regain full mobility after minor and major injuries. Additionally, they've helped numerous clients achieve their goals in weight loss and strength gain.

What sets Train 4 The Game apart is their team of coaches, all experts in Applied Functional Science, with bachelor's degrees in exercise science, and several holding master's degrees in exercise physiology. This level of expertise ensures that every client, ranging from age 9 to 92, receives personalized and top-tier training.

Every coach hears these questions without fail: "What weight should I use?" or "How hard should this set be?". Sometimes it's because the athlete didn't read their program but oftentimes it's on us as coaches to provide sufficient clarity when it comes to prescribing the appropriate weight for the given set and rep parameters.

This post has been adapted from a more detailed article that appears in BridgeAthletic’s new ebook called “Raising the Bar: How World-Class Coaches Elevate Their Programming”. You can download the complete eBook for free to get tips and advice from experts at Exos, FMS, Hyperice, Results Fitness, and more.