By Tom Diesel
During the years that I have trained law enforcement officers and soldiers, I have both heard and witnessed incidents where they have been overpowered and hurt in the line of duty. Recently, I assisted two California motorcycle officers who were overpowered by a suspect. A mean right hook wielded by the suspect knocked out one officer and the other ill-prepared officer zapped himself with his Taser X26.
Neither of the officers were in the best of shape.
This brings me to the point—I cannot stress enough the importance of physical fitness and combatives training for military and law enforcement officers. The purpose of this serial column is to not only make you fit for duty but to give you the tools which will enable you to come home to your families and loved ones at the end of each night.
In both the military and in law enforcement, soldiers and officers receive minimal combatives and physical fitness training. Here is the rationale as to why this is so. Soldiers and police officers have all the backup in the world.
For example, in the Special Forces, for us to really resort to hand-to-hand combat, the following must happen: My M4 is out of ammo, my sidearm is out of ammo, I have broken parts off my M4 while I bludgeon the enemy with it, my .45 also broke parts off of it while I pistol whipped him, and after I stabbed the enemy with my long blade several times, it stuck in some ribs; my trusty tomahawk was also missing at this time because I lent it to a buddy who planted his in someone’s skull…only then I might have to resort to hand-to-hand combat—and that’s if the rest of my SF team has not emptied a few well-placed rounds into the poor bastard by then. Point made, right?
Military and police have backup and for this reason they do not place a heavy emphasis on hand-to-hand combat.
But there are always instances where having mastery of hand-to-hand combat comes in handy. This is especially true in law enforcement applications. How often do we see suspects making accusations of excessive force? With the utilization of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) joint locks and restraint techniques, officers limit their liability and protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits and physical harm. If you’ve ever punched someone’s skull, you know that it hurts like hell, you can get teeth embedded into your hands, get an infection, and you are out of commission for a month.
By utilizing Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and MMA combat techniques, soldiers and officers can employ a variety of techniques that will effectively control and subdue a confrontational suspect or enemy.
However, it is imperative for the soldier or officer to be in peak physical condition in order to effectively employ these defensive strategies.
If any of you watched the last UFC 101, you saw how BJ Penn entered the ring in peak condition compared to his other fights and as such, he easily defeated Kenny Florian in their match. BJ Penn actually had a new strength and conditioning coach for this last fight and he really focused on this aspect of his MMA arsenal.
Thus, in this first installment of our combatives column, I will discuss a versatile physical fitness and nutrition routine that can be easily adapted to your training.
This is the point at which I must add the following: if you are just beginning a fitness regimen, please remember to start slowly and keep realistic goals. Please consult your physician prior to commencing any workout routine or nutritional plan.
MENTALLY PREPARE
First, as we all know, our mental preparation is 90% of the battle. Only 10% is physical. Those of you in the Special Operations arena are well aware of this. You must be mentally ready to undertake this assault on your bodies. Ask yourself, why are you doing this? To be better at your job? To be healthier? To survive day to day physical encounters with dirtbags? To crush your enemy? Whatever the case, you better know the answer to that question. Then, visualize your success … believe that you can achieve it. Just remember, there is nothing you can’t achieve if you put your mind to it. Nothing worth having is easy to obtain. You must toil, work hard, and overcome obstacles along the way. Anything anyone else can do, you can do. No one is any better than anyone else. It is all about mental jiu-jitsu. You must think two moves ahead of yourself. Keep a journal…write in it about what you want to change. Set realistic goals that you can reach step by step. Hold yourself accountable if you fail to meet a certain expectation. Get family, loved ones, and friends to buy into your goals and make them understand the importance of them. Try to get the whole unit/team involved. Set a physical fitness goal or challenge for the unit. It is easier when like-minded people facing the same challenges surround you. You have a core support structure around you.
CALCULATE YOUR BMR
Once you are mentally prepped and are ready to declare war on yourself, start by evaluating your diet. What are you eating? Write down everything that goes into your mouth for one week. At this time, you also want to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The BMR is the minimum calorie requirement needed to sustain your current weight. It can be looked at as being the amount of energy (measured in calories) expended by the body to remain in bed asleep all day!
It does not take into account the amount of exercise that you are doing.
There are several good BMR calculators online that you can search. Just plug in “BMR Calculator” into a search engine online. These will calculate the exercise into it as well. I will list the formulas for you below.
The equation to calculate your BMR is:
MEN
BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in years)
WOMEN
BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in years)
Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs
For example:
A 25 year-old, 200-pound male would have a BMR of 2056 kcals.
(66+1245.47+914.4) – (170) = 2055.87 round up to 2056 kcals.
DETERMINE YOUR DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE
Once you have the BMR calculated, you can figure out your total daily energy expenditure by multiplying the BMR by the appropriate activity factor listed:
Low activity = BMR x 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Slight activity = BMR x 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Moderate activity = BMR x 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
High activity = BMR x 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Insane “Mad Max” activity = BMR x 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, e.g. marathon, 2-3 hours of jiu-jitsu, etc.)
If you work out insanely, like “Mad Max” for example, your total daily energy expenditure would be 2056 kcals multiplied by an activity factor of 1.9 to give you 3906.4 kcals.
So in order to stay 200 pounds, the individual listed in the example would have to eat 3906.4 kcals to sustain his 200 pounds. If he wants to gain weight, he just adds 500 kcals to this number and if he wants to lose weight, he subtracts 500 kcals from this number. It’s that simple. Now, you will eventually plateau as everyone does. When this happens, all you have to do is either lower your calories a little more if you are trying to lose fat or increase your activity level and this should kick start your weight loss once again. If you are having a difficult time gaining weight, add a protein shake to your diet and that should help you out.
Also, when planning your diet, just keep these simple rules in mind and you will always be successful. Eliminate all salts, fats, and sugars. Furthermore, keep your carbohydrates to a minimum. This is easier said than done. And when you have a choice, always pick fibrous carbs rather than starchy carbs. Some examples of starchy carbs are corn, potato, pasta, and yams. Examples of fibrous carbs—cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, and celery.
Your intake of carbohydrates should peak approximately 1–1.5 hours prior to any workout. That way, your body uses the carbs as energy to fuel the training session.
Now that you are mentally prepared like a warrior and are eating like a warrior, its time to train like a warrior.
WARRIOR TRAINING
Warrior conditioning can best be described as a sort of “triathlon” type of training. Most SF guys look more like triathlon athletes rather than muscle-bound Rambo types. This is because the training is so diverse in the Special Operations community—running, lifting, swimming, calisthenics, etc. To be in tip-top condition, these warriors undertake insane amounts of exercise.
For our readers, I am going to start us off with an intermediate level of exercise. I recommend doing this diet and exercise regimen at a pace of 12 weeks on and two weeks off. Use the two weeks off to increase your calories and carbs. Enjoy some good food (without overdoing it of course) and then jump right back on at the end of the two-week break. Also, remember to take a good multivitamin, glucosamine and chondroitin for the joints, and a protein shake to supplement your diet.
Here is a typical exercise regimen for a twelve-week conditioning program:
Day One – MONDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 7:30 pace for 3 miles (4.82 km)*
Intense weight training for one hour: Chest and Triceps
Day Two – TUESDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 8:00 pace for 4 miles (6.43 km)*
Intense weight training for one hour: Back and Biceps
Day Three – WEDNESDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 8:30 pace for 5 miles (8.04 km)*
Intense weight training for one hour: Shoulders
Day Four – THURSDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 7:30 pace for 2 miles (3.21 km)*
Intense weight training for one hour: Legs
Swim 5000m if you have a pool available
…or Bike 25 miles (40.23 km).
Day Five – FRIDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 8:30 pace for 5 miles (8.04 km)*
Intense weight training for one hour: Chest and Triceps
Day Six – SATURDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 8:00 pace for 4 miles (6.43 km)*
Intense weight training for one hour: Back and Biceps
Day Seven – SUNDAY
15 minutes stretching
Running at 7:30 pace for 3 miles (4.82 km)*
OFF from weights
*As your running improves, start running with a weighted vest.
In the next issue, I will present various exercises that you can use in the above routine in order to give you some variety. For now, keep forging on and fight the good fight. Diesel—OUT!
