Part two of the 8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Program is finally here! Now you have full access to both cycles of the program. I’ve also included a FREE PDF download for those that like to keep it on their phone. You can expect this program to maintain the overall structure, and programming goals specific to tactical athletes. Keep reading for all the details.
As with all of my programs that are split into parts, I highly recommend starting with the first four weeks of the program. It’s not unsafe to jump in here, you’re just not extracting the most benefit from the program. You’ll find the first portion of the program here. Check out a quick overview of the program below.
8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Plan: Overview
- Ideal for First responders, military personnel, and law enforcement officers
- 8 Weeks in length, with two 4 week cycles
- 5 Day split with 2 rest days
- 1 Dedicated conditioning day per week
- 1 Partner WOD per week
- Best for intermediate or better tactical athletes with safe lifting form
Remember this exercise plan is designed with some specific programming goals in mind. First, we need to build full body strength. I do this by choosing exercises that rectify common issues that I see with tactical athletes. You’ll also see that I’ve included some conditioning in the form of functional fitness workouts of the day or WODs. Those serve a dual purpose.
They allow you to work common movement patterns, with high power output. They also give you a strong stimulus for muscle growth. Lastly, I’ve included some moderately hard conditioning to hammer your energy systems. Not to worry, I’ve sequenced them so it won’t affect your functional strength or muscle mass.
Don’t forget that I’ve included a FREE PDF to go with this individual training plan. You can download that below. Without further ado, let’s get into the first week of this portion of the tactical athlete program.
Click Here to Download 8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Program PDF
8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Plan (Part 2)
Please make sure to read through each week. I know it’s tempting to just look at the weekly programming and go from there, but that can backfire. I include some coaching advice for each type of workout in subsequent weeks. You don’t want to find out that you’ve been doing a workout wrong for the last four weeks!
If we take a look at Session 21, we can see that we are hammering the core with GHD sit ups, and sumo deadlifts. If you don’t have a GHD you can simply anchor your feet with heavy dumbbells and do situps off of a bench. This allows you to go below parallel, like you do in a standard GHD sit up. This is what I do in my home gym.
I’ve also included weighted eccentric nordic curls, because research consistently shows they’re great for injury prevention when sprinting. After those, take a few minutes to warm up for the WOD, which is a killer!
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8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Plan: Week 6
This week we start to build with heavy weights. You can see that most of the compound lifts are now 1-2 RIR, which stands for reps in reserve. This is one of my favorite functional training methods for prescribing the proper weight to lift. It's an easy way to build a structured strength progression without complicated percentages.
Simply put it tells you how many reps you should be able to do after you finish your set. A set of bench press at 1 RIR means you pick a weight that would leave you able to only finish one more rep if you kept going.
If we look at Tuesday the 27th session, we see that it's a bench press, and pull up day. If you're time crunched you can perform these like a superset, but you certainly don't have to. You'll finish the tactical strength programming up with rear delt raises. These will help keep you shoulder joints a bit healthier, supporting your bench press strength gains down the road.
We have a partner WOD here which is an increasing back squat, and rowing ladder. The great thing about this WOD is that you can do the exact same WOD without a partner, you just don't go as far. Isn't that a metaphor for teamwork in general?
8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Program: Week 7
This week is hard. When I tested this program with a very active SWAT team, there was just the right amount of bitching, which is one of the key components of fitness. As a coach, I like to hear people complain a bit in the third week, otherwise I know I've made the program too easy.
If we look at Session 33, we can see that we're working on some weighted sit ups and reverse hyper. This particular team has a heavy grappling session in the morning so I've included a lower volume day.
Because this team is grappling dominant, I've included heavy core work. This keeps their lower backs in better shape to resist injuries, and it allows for better performance on the mats, as grappling requires high core strength. If you want a specific workout program for Jiu Jitsu and grappling check this one out.
The optional Zone 2 work is a dual purpose inclusion. It allows for recovery from the heavy grappling, as well as building your aerobic base, without incurring high recovery costs. If you're new to Zone based training then check out this article where I cover all the pertinent details.
8 Week Tactical Athlete Fitness Plan: Week 8
This week is a lower volume week or deload, to use weight lifting terminology. I still have you working up to heavy loads, however, you can expect about 30% lower volume, in the resistance training. This week is really where your body has time to grow, and build the structures that actually improve your overall fitness. Doing extra work is going to negatively affect your body's ability to recover. Don't do it!
If we look at Session 39, we can see that it's an upper body, lower body split, working a lot of muscle groups. You'll start with the shoulder press and then move into reverse barbell lunges. These are one of the best exercises for tactical athletes as they build overall strength in the legs, without over taxing the spine.
It also teaches your body to exert force one leg at a time, which is more similar to job requirements in the real world. I do finish with one high rep squat set as I've found its a great way to promote quad growth.
After the lower body work you'll move into the WOD, which is a fun one. Choose a weight that allows you to get 7-8 reps per set. You're going to hate life if you end up doing singles and doubles a few minutes in!
Now that we've finished this program, I might recommend checking out one of my most popular premium programs below. It will build a tremendous amount of strength and conditioning, dovetailing nicely with this plan.
Follow on Fitness Programs
Without a doubt your next step is picking a follow on fitness program that is appropriate for your goals. If you want to try my best and most details plans, you can find those premium programs here. Many of those programs have free versions which are less detailed. They work well, and will still keep you building peak performance. Check those out below.
- 6 Week Beginner Hybrid Program
- 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 3 Day Strength Training Split Program (Free PDF)
- 4 Day Split Strength Training Program
- 6 Week Muscular Growth Program
I recommend following the links to these tactical fitness programs. Check around to see which one is most appealing to you. The hybrid programs will be most similar to this one, but I've included a few maximal strength programs for those that just need a lifting program, and want to DIY their conditioning training sessions. Now, let's wrap this article up.
Final Thoughts
This program is tough, and it can be very demanding with the high operational tempo that most tactical professionals face. If you're busy, do your best to get some portion of the program in on your normal workout days. I find that just getting the main lift, or the WOD will give you about 70% of the benefit of doing the whole thing. You can certainly push it off to another day, and do the whole thing, but that can be a slippery slope!
Keep in mind that this isn't a program that is aimed at specific fitness tests, or a selection course. It will surely help with those specific goals, however, I've designed this plan to build a well rounded athlete, not a specialized one. Physical fitness and overall work capacity are the goals here.
If you have any comments or questions put them in the comments section below, and I'll get you an answer. Don't forget to join the email list below so you don't miss out on anymore programs. Now, get out there and get training.
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