In the demanding world of law enforcement, prioritizing quality sleep is paramount for officers' physical and mental health, although the job is not always conducive to proper sleep. If and when possible, you should be aiming for 7-8 hours of quality sleep. We know from experience that isn't always doable, so making the best quality out of the minimal hours of sleep is the next best thing.   Here we will discuss tailored strategies for police officers to cultivate a relaxing bedtime routine, optimize sleep environments, and manage caffeine intake. By implementing these practices, officers ..read more

Weight loss is the same regardless of your occupation.  It is simple in that weight gain or weight loss is the sum of calories consumed and calories burned.  Calculating calories burned is far more complicated with exercise and non-exercise activity, the thermal effect of your food, and your resting metabolic rate going into that equation.  However, at the end of the day it’s CICO (Calories-in and calories-out).  With that being said, here are 5 tips to stack that equation in your favor for weight loss.     Increase Activity Level (not necessarily exercise) &nbs ..read more

The 1.5-mile time trial is a common assessment in law enforcement.  This running event tests your aerobic endurance, an attribute linked to not only good health but effectiveness in the field.  Sometimes you’ll have to run to the problem before you can solve it.     Below you will find 3 tips to train smarter so you can run faster.   Progressive Overload Each week of training should progress you closer and closer to your goal.  To do this there are many variables to take into consideration: duration, distance, pace, and rest intervals.  Any one of these can ..read more

Mental fitness includes, but is not limited to, the following:   Resiliency – The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties.   Fortitude – Courage in pain or adversity.  Toughness – The ability to deal with hardship or to cope in difficult situations.   Perseverance – The steady persistence in a course of action or purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.     The following skills, when diligently practiced, become powerful tools in navigating challenges and enhancing performance.   From s ..read more

Demanding careers like Law Enforcement where we're working long, stressful shifts with irregular sleep and eating patterns makes achieving optimal health and fitness become an even more intricate puzzle.   It's critical to address the unique challenges that come with a demanding profession while still factoring in time for additional training, family, friends, hobbies, and fun.   Here's our best advice on how you can find a good balance between your professional responsibilities and your personal well-being:   1. Nutrient-Dense Eating On-the-Go: Plan and prepare healt ..read more

Law enforcement officers are the unsung heroes who tirelessly dedicate their lives to keeping our communities safe.   The demands of their job, particularly long and stressful shifts, typically with significant overtime, make prioritizing health a challenging feat. Trust us,... we've been there. But we do our best to get the highest quality sleep we can, whenever we are able, because we can't deny the health, wellness, longevity, and performance benefits.   In this blog, we'll explore the importance of sleep for police officers, focusing on recovery from training, mental clarity, dec ..read more

  Toxin: [noun] a poisonous substance which, when introduced into the body, causes harm.    Several months ago, I was in my baby’s room, and while I can’t remember what exactly I was supposed to be doing, I was not fully present for it because I was completely engrossed with what I was doing on my phone. My wife (who saw my absentmindedness from another room with the baby monitor) stormed in and took over. She didn’t have to say anything… I knew I screwed up. As someone who grew up in an era without phones, where on the average Saturday, I’d be miles away from home on my bicycle ..read more

  While civilians are captivated by the high-octane escapades of law enforcement, often made popular by binge-worthy police dramas, those who are actual boots on the ground know the unsung "excitement" that comes with the badge. That's right, the exhilarating world of paperwork. Who needs a high-speed chase when there's a never-ending hunt for that missing form, or the satisfaction of a smoothly flowing keyboard workflow of another encounter with the resident drug addict on the street corner?  Sarcasm fully intended.      While paperwork might not be every officer ..read more

  All adaptations, all improvements, obtained from training are the result of a stimulus.    Effective Fitness Training (EFT) exists to provide guidance to a very specific stimulus so law enforcement officers around the world can obtain very specific adaptations.  At the end of the day, these adaptations will make you better, more qualified, more capable, and a safer law enforcement officers.    Building muscle is one such adaptation.  Flex Friday’s in the main training program are intended to build muscle and we have an entire track of training (Tactical Bod ..read more

The thing I love most about surrounding myself with high performers?  We’re constantly pushing ourselves – and each other – to new limits.   On the range – we’re running our guns as hard as we can… until the wheels fall off.  Constantly shooting standards to see where we stand.  Once we identify where our breaking point is, we can continue to move forward.  This is how we get race-time splits out of our service weapons.  We’re always competing with each other – not to show who’s better, but to see how much better we can be.         View this ..read more