As a law enforcement officer, you know that staying in
shape is an important part of your job. You also know that
it's extremely difficult to find the time to work out
consistently.
Let's face it, fitting in an hour or two of exercise every
day is just not very realistic in your hectic, demanding
schedule. That's why you need to focus your work outs on
the type of exercise to give you the best results in the
shortest amount of time.
And the type I recommend is high intensity exercise -
especially hill and stair sprints. These techniques allow
you to get the most out of your precious workout time.
Helping you build strength, power, speed and stamina while
burning maximum amounts of fat - all in much less time than
a traditional workout.
There are numerous reasons that high intensity is the way
for you to go. Here are the Top 3:
1. Hill Sprints Build the Stamina Necessary For Your Job
Demands.
Endurance is something that every law enforcement officer
needs - but it is a special kind of endurance. If you want
to perform at your peak, then long, slow distance types of
cardio just won't work. Your endurance training needs to
mimic the demands of your job. Those needs being - short
bouts of intense exertion alternated with periods of long
periods of lower intensity.
Think about it. How often does your job require you to jog
at a low intensity for long periods of time? Or even run
at a steady, moderate pace for 20 or 30 minutes in a row?
Yet, these are exactly the types of demands that long, slow
cardio workouts prepare you for.
On the other hand, high intensity work, like hill
sprinting, provides you with interval training that meets
your needs. It will take your heart and lungs to
intensities far greater than those found in jogging or
traditional types of endurance training. Your body will
become used to reaching these higher levels, and recovering
quickly in between the "sprints." Not only that, with hill
sprints, you will be able to spend much more time training
at that high intensity than if you try to "go hard" at a
steady state.
This type of training can lead to more protection for your
heart and lungs than traditional "cardio". Long, low
intensity cardio can actually shrink the size of your heart
and lungs because your body is excellent at adapting to the
stresses placed on it. If you train long and slow, your
body will try to become more efficient to make this type of
exercise easier. The result: it shrinks muscle mass along
with your heart and lungs. This has the effect of
decreasing your reserve capacity - the ability of your
cardio-vascular system to respond to high stress situations
(exactly the kind your run into in your job). Without a
high reserve capacity, your heart and lungs may be at risk
during stressful events. High intensity training can help
raise your reserve capacity instead.
Not only that, but more and more scientific studies are
showing that VO2 Max (the traditional measure of aerobic
endurance) is improved as much - or more- by using high
intensity exercise like hill sprinting. This endurance is
due to the sprints upgrading your oxygen intake system with
new capillaries, developing stronger heart and lung tissue,
adding more energy producing mitochondria and increasing
your tolerance to lactic acid buildup.
Want the ability to respond to high intensity situations
(and recover quickly afterwards)? Then train the same way.
2. Hill Sprints Give You Results In As Little As 15 Minutes.
Sure, this training sounds great - but how much time does
it take?
Truth is, you can get these benefits in short workouts of
15 minutes or less - only 2 or 3 days per week.
High intensity work, especially hill and stair sprinting,
is an incredibly efficient way to exercise. This is
because you are forced to do more work in a shorter period
of time. In other words, hills and stairs are like the
perfect combination of weight lifting and sprinting - you
literally "lift" or "push" yourself up the incline. The
steeper the grade, the higher the demands placed on your
leg muscles. This intensity allows you to get in a
superior workout in a very short period of time.
3. Hill Sprinting: The Incredible Stress Buster
The bad news: Your position as a law enforcement officer
brings a great deal of stress along with the job. This
stress can lead to health-related problems like heart
disease and metabolic syndrome.
The good news: One of the best ways to "bust" that stress
is with exercise - more specifically high intensity
exercise.
Exercise in general relieves stress in a number of ways.
First of all, exercise stimulates your brain to release
substances (endorphins) that improve your mood. Besides
that, exercise can decrease cortisol levels, provide a
distraction from the source of stress and boost your self
confidence.
Any exercise can have these effects, but high intensity can
amplify your results. Recently, researchers at the
University of Missouri-Columbia showed that high intensity
exercise is superior in reducing anxiety and stress. The
2003 study even showed that the effects can be felt 30, 60,
even 90 minutes after an exercise session.
These are just 3 of the reasons that every law enforcement
officer should hill sprint. Take your stamina to a new
level and decrease your stress in only a few minutes of
exercise per week with this "old school" training. You,
your fellow officers and those you serve and protect will
be glad you did.
----------------------------------------------------
Tim Alan Kauppinen, or Coach K, has over 20 years
experience as an athlete,coach and personal trainer. He
has helped people of all ages and abilities get and stay in
top shape. Coach K is the author of the Uphill Fitness
Training, and publishes a FREE daily training email
newsletter. Tim can be contacted through his website at
http://www.makesyoufast.com
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