While living the hectic life of a police officer, working out is important, but also a very challenging thing to do. It’s common to work long, inconsistent hours that make it tough to accomplish life’s duties, let alone find time to work out. Today we’re going to walkthrough what the optimal police officer workout entails.
Working out can be very beneficial to a police officer that wants to improve their performance. But, unlike most workout plans you’ll find on the internet, it’s critical to focus on functionality rather than gaining prominent results.
We will discuss the obstacles and objectives for a police officer’s workout.
Train When You Can
The most common reason police officers do not work out is lack of time. This is an understandable excuse, but it’s still an excuse.
Don’t be discouraged if you only have 30-minutes to devote to training. A 30-minute workout is better than no workout at all. And sometimes, an intense 30-minute workout can be more productive than a 2-hour workout with excessive breaks.
Just work out when you can and do your best to make it worthwhile.
Not Bodybuilding
Another important thing to remember is that police officer training should not compare to a bodybuilding workout. Bodybuilding training is very different from police workout training. Bodybuilders usually focus on increasing muscle mass and targeting specific muscles.
Police officers should not execute a workout like this because it’s crucial for a police officer to focus on the full body and muscle groups, rather than just building massive biceps to have an impressive flex.
Be Prepared
A lot of people that begin any type of training experience the pressure to push themselves to the point of being sore, but this should not be the case for a police officer workout.
Police officers should be prepared for all circumstances that could occur while on duty, and not being able to walk because the previous leg day was too intense isn’t being prepared.
Law Enforcement Workout
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of police officer workout training.
Flexibility
Flexibility is often overlooked but, in reality, being flexible is crucial for those with active jobs – especially for law enforcement. From jumping fences to breaching entry-ways, flexibility plays a key role in the job of a police officer; so don’t underestimate it.
One can achieve flexibility by regular stretching. It’s recommended to do stretching before and after a workout to reduce muscle tension. And as an added bonus, stretching also increases muscle mass.
Workouts to improve flexibility include:
- Standing hamstring stretch
- Shoulder stretch
- Standing quad stretch
Agility
Agility is a measure of how well you can move including speed, coordination, endurance, and balance – all of which are essential for police officers in numerous situations. Remaining agile will improve your ability to perform to standards while on duty.
Workouts to improve agility include:
- Cone Drills
- Ladder Drills
- Suicide Sprints
Strength
Building muscular strength is valuable for a police officer and should definitely be incorporated into any police officer workout. Improving strength will impact an officer’s performance in plenty of ways.
The areas a police officer will mostly want to improve are:
Upper Body
Upper body strength includes any muscle that is above the waist. These muscles play many functional roles in the day-to-day lives of police officers. Beyond function, these muscles will be the only muscles visible to others while wearing your uniform – a little intimidation can go a long way in the life of a police officer.
Workouts to improve upper body strength include:
- Pushups
- Pull-ups
- Incline fly
- Overhead press
Lower Body
The lower body includes anything below the waist. This muscle group is vital because it will directly improve stamina, stabilization, and balance. An increase in lower body strength will also alleviate back pain.
Workouts to improve lower body include:
- Lunges
- Bodyweight squats
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Conclusion
As you can see, there’s a lot that can be done for a police officer workout. Just remember to train when you can. Never push yourself too hard and always focus on the functionality of your training.
