Most people came to the gym because they want to become healthier, look better, and have more self confidence. Often times they first learn about functional fitness from Youtube, or watching fitness competitions on ESPN. These top level athletes have amazing physiques, rivaling natural bodybuilders. This leaves most athletes wondering how muscular they can become. Keep reading to find out where the sport is heading in terms of natural muscular limits, and the timeframe to achieve that type of development.
Jake
Defending Yourself: Robbery, Carjacking, and Use of Force
Most readers of this site regularly carry a firearm, both concealed and when they are on duty. We also practice regularly with our weapons to keep our skills sharp, but often times we don’t practice the necessary skills that will save our life in a real gunfight. This article is a tactical analysis of many common instances where we might be called to use our firearms. There are many commonalities in these situations and a few principles that will allow us to prevail in the fight.
Predicting Maximal Strength of the Functional Athlete
The fitness industry has changed enormously over the last several years. Initially it started out as a training methodology, and now it has become a popular strength and conditioning sport. As any athlete knows, it requires huge amounts of work, conditioning, and strength, but just how strong is the top level athlete, and how strong can they become? Keep reading to find out where the practical strength limits are for both top level athletes and for the above average athlete in the gym.
Tier Three Tactical Top 10 Tactical Skills
Readers of this website come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are military members, others are law enforcement professionals, but the vast majority of Tier Three readers tactical enthusiasts who don’t necessarily fall into any of those categories. Never the less, anyone who is interested in firearms and the tactical lifestyle needs to have certain skills. This article will cover the top skills and abilities you need from a tactical perspective, and I bet you have some major holes in your tactical game.
Fitness Supplement Review: Blonyx HMB+Creatine
Normally I’m very skeptical of supplements. I’ve always felt that many companies are less than scrupulous, and many of their products leave much to be desired. It was with this in mind that I contacted Blonyx after my review of supplement research indicated that HMB and Creatine were the only supplements that have broad scientific validity. They were kind enough to send over a sample of their HMB+Creatine product for me to conduct a 30 day self experiment. Spoiler alert, it works, but not exactly how I thought it would.
Gear News: Haley Strategic Disruptive Grey Flatpack
Haley Strategic is one of the up and coming tactical gear manufacturers. They make a variety of equipment from plate carriers to weapons accessories, but they are rapidly becoming known for their clever chest rigs and packs. The Flatpack is no different.
You can see in the photo that it quite compact and slim. It also does not have MOLLE webbing hanging everywhere and at a casual glance does not scream that it is a tactical pack, which I tend to think is advantage. Most of us don’t really use the webbing, and it is definitely out of place in most settings.
Functional Fitness Strength Training with Bands and Chains
Anyone experienced in the iron game can tell you that after a certain point, doing the same old thing will stop yielding results. Most of the time, we then try to change a few details of our training plan, vainly hoping that will put us back on the gainz train. I’m here to say that isn’t enough.
If you’ve spent some time under the bar, and aren’t making progress, then you need a change. You need some variable resistance, in the form of bands and chains. Not only do they look badass, they can give you nearly twice the results in the same time period. Read on, to learn how to implement them into your training plan.
Pattern Recognition and Deadly Force Encounters
The difference between survival and death, in a deadly force encounter, is pattern recognition. I doubt that you have heard this before, but it is a fact, and yet we as self defense minded enthusiasts spend all of our time on the mechanics side of self defense. We practice our draw, our reloads, shooting and moving, and still we’ve left the hardest and most crucial part out of our training plan, practicing when to shoot, not how. This article will discuss how to enhance your ability at pattern recognition, which will drastically increase your abilities when it comes to using deadly force.
Absolute Strength: Stronger Than You Think
If you are reading this article you are stronger than you think. Most people do not have a realistic understanding of how strong they really are. This occurs because we can see videos of extraordinary athletes moving mountains of weight as easily as typing “strong dude” into a youtube search bar. This phenomena is known as the availability heuristic, which means that because of the many instances of seeing something, you assume that it is the norm. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially when it comes to strength training. This article will show you how strong you really are compared to novices and elite athletes, using actual data, not broscience.
Knife Review: Zero Tolerance 0350
A good knife is something you should never leave the house without. Sure, you may not use it everyday, but when you need it nothing else will do. There are a huge variety of knives to choose from, including your cheap Chinese blades, and your thousand dollar custom works of art, but for a reasonably priced hard use knife, there really are only a few manufacturers to choose from.
One of the best of these is Zero Tolerance and one of their most popular blades is their 0350. This review will cover the 0350, it’s technical details, and my experiences carrying it for several years.
