Strength

[Philly's finest]

For police officers do you think it is more important to have upperbody strength and endurance or lowerbody strength and endurance?

[krj]

Core body strengthening (specifically muscles in the trunk and pelvis) would be the most useful. Core strength is critical for the efficient transfer of energy from large to small muscle groups, and from large to small body parts, during physical exertion. As efficiency improves, performance will also improve. Ie. focusing on strengthening core muscles will produce increased physical power.

Core body strength is believed to also improve body balance, produces more efficient use of muscles in the shoulders/arms/legs, and lowers the overall risk for injury.

Having said that, I would also say that if I was a law enforcement officer with limited amounts of time to work out, I would concentrate on the cardiovascular component of fitness first, and then work the muscular strength and endurance and flexibility components.

Heart disease takes down more LE (both on and off the job) than any other reason. The conditions common to the civillian population that occur because of negative lifestyle choices (overweight/obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease)are the same conditions that occur so frequently in law enforcement.

Regular participation (min. 30 minutes most days of the week) in some form of cardiovascular exercise is one part of the equation to help reduce the incidence of the above mentioned conditions.


Stay Safe

[JRT6]

Studies have shown and the courts have upheld that the vast majority of the strength used during on the job tasks is upper body strength. Other than car pushing lower body strength is jus about never used. However working out the legs is good for a balanced body and overall good health. I don't think muscle endurance is that big a deal. I'd rather fight a guy who can do tons of push ups than a guy who bench over 300 for reps.

[Planetkillr]

Here are my thoughts on strength. Especially how it effects a police officers ability to defend himself or others durning physical confrontations.

I have been involved in powerlifting competetions and MMA competetions( Mixed Martial Arts events on a semi-pro level; similar to Ultimate fighting championship type events ). I have seen alot of different types of strength. What I believe most officers think of, when they think of strength, is "Power" durning physical confrontations. In Powerlifting you concentrate on how heavy a object is and your ability to move it with proper form. In fighting, this type strength may not always equal to their ability to use that same amount of "Power" durning a combat situation. Thats not to say that if you are fairly strong( example: bench press over 450lbs, squat over 650lbs, deadlift over 500lbs ) that you will not be strong on combat, because you will. But, don't be surprised if the same stregth in the weight room is'nt easy to re-create in the streets. I'm not going to go on about this topic; I could probrobly wite a book that would bore you to tears. But, here are some thoughts about officer training for combat type situations.

For overall fitness and strength, that will help you in situations like chasing a suspect or long physical confrontations with a suspect, run or jog. There are many exrecises that will also build up your cardiovascular endurance as well as leg strength.For overall stregth lift weights. For real upper body power you may wanna try something like Russian Kettlebells or even japanese push-ups; these will give to strength in akward positions, compared to traditional weight lifting. Then for actual fighting( Please remember these are only my personal view and I do not wish to insult anyone or any martial art style ) try a combination of several different martial arts-Hybrid Fighting styles. I persoanlly have studied several: Danzan-Ryu Hawaiian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Wrestling, Combat Hapkido, Krav Maga and Close Quarter knife and stick combatives. Also, do not think of fighting as being about who is the toughest. Its not!! Its alot of things;Knowledge, balanace, strength, muscle endurance, remember to breath, relaxation and many more. Training is'nt about getting to be the best in the world. Its about getting a little better today, than yesterday.

[kenpokev]

Planetkillr: Excellent reply.

I am a DT instructor with a tad over 20 years formal martial arts training (Danzan Ryu, Kenpo & some Muay Thai). The majority of officers I teach are stronger than me, yet I am quite capable of inflicting serious injury to them. The ability to move someone doesn't always rest on strength. Balance, leverage and mental disruption are effective force-multipliers.

However, when you step away from the self defense scenarios, I would submit that upper body strength is very important for other law enforcement daily tasks...ever have to lift heavy things?

For what it's worth, my training consists of the following:
1/2 mile run daily (yes, I know, I need to go farther, but that's the distance out to the street and back for the morning papaer :D)
Power rotation: 3 sets: bench, fly, curl, pulls front & rear.
Alternate with 1 minute rounds on the heavy bag
Alternate with 2-3 martial arts kata (solo forms)
I find that doing the alternates along with lifting keeps me loose and flexible.

I think the general focus on fitness should be cardio, coupled with explosive power training.

just my .02 worth.

Be safe.
KK