I’ll let you in on a little secret. No one knows how to program for functional fitness. Even coaches for top athletes will be the first to tell you they don’t have everything figured out. There are several reasons for this; however, the real reason is functional fitness has not been around long enough to have been well researched by the scientific community. This leaves us stealing bits and pieces from a variety of sources to help us program workouts, in order to achieve our fitness goals. Keep reading to learn a simple method that I use to program for my athletes.
Jake
Physiological Pistol Improvement: 3 Techniques to Increase Shooting Accuracy
Shooting is about controlling variables. The more experienced you become, the better you are able to eliminate those that negatively impact your shooting. This is true of any shooting sport: three gun, IPSC, skeet, long range shooting, etc. Each sport has a different set of variables that are more important, and will have more of an impact on shooting outcomes. This article will cover the most important variables for the tactical shooter, with particular emphasis on pistol shooting. Keep reading to find out which variables you need to control to improve your shooting game.
Natural Muscular Limits of the Functional Fitness Athlete
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.
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.
