Biggest tip to pass the PARE (or any police test for that matter)

                Time and time again, I’ve seen recruits start the PARE test way too fast. I’d say 70-75% of the time, someone will jump out and sprint their first 2 or 3 laps, then suddenly realize they can’t hold that pace anymore and die by the last couple laps. By the time they get to the push/pull machine, they have no gas left and struggle mightily. For some they end up getting a slower time than expected; for others, they end up failing.

                I always tell everyone I train: PACE YOURSELF. Whether you’re an elite level athlete or you’re a beginner to fitness, you always want to pace yourself. Obviously you want to run fast, but you need to sustain your effort level. My general rule of thumb is to have no more than a 3 sec difference between your fastest lap and your slowest lap. Five seconds is still acceptable, but once you start getting beyond that you will experience difficulty by the end of the test.

                If the first lap or two feel easy, stick with that pace. By the time you hit lap 4 or 5, your effort level is going to be higher for the same pace. I would prefer that you pick up your pace in the latter half of your run then to go fast and sputter by the end.

What Do You Think About?

                When I meet a new client, or whenever I’m helping someone new to the gym, I always assess how they are with basic movements. For example, I like to ask them to perform a push-up, even if it’s knee push-ups. When they’re done, I ask them where they feel it. Quite often it’s in the arms, specifically the triceps.

                 And herein lies the problem. Whenever people hit the gym and lift weights, they go through the motions. They perform the movement, but they’re not really performing the movement, if you know what I mean. Let’s go back to the push-up example. Push-ups are a great upper body exercise that primarily targets the chest, yet people use their triceps to push. They think because the arms are moving that it's the arms that do most the work. So I tell them, focus on your chest to do the pushing (which is what they should be doing in the first place), and they immediately notice a difference. They find it’s a little easier to perform them now. Why? Well the pec major is a primary mover and meant to do the lifting; the triceps are secondary and shouldn’t take on the entire load. When you focus on the primary mover, you make it a little bit easier and you will see greater strength gains.

                Pull-ups are another great example of an exercise people don't perform correctly. People use their biceps too much instead of their lats. When done right, you should feel it behind and below your shoulders. One of the best exercises out there, the squats, is another one that people don’t think to perform correctly, but that is an article in itself.

                The next time you’re in the gym, think about the movements you’re doing and the muscles that should be working. When you start thinking about the movement, you should see quicker improvements in your performance.

The Importance of Technique

                Never underestimate what good technique will do for you. The other day I was performing the deadlift, an exercise I’ve performed countless times. I wasn’t lifting very heavy, but a momentary lapse caused me to tweak my lower back.

                Before anyone starts thinking that the deadlift is a dangerous exercise that no one should perform, let me assure you it’s not the exercise at fault; it was me. When performed right, it’s one of the best strength training exercises out there. But just like any other exercise, it must be performed right. Any exercise can injure you if you do it carelessly.

                The point is, technique is always important in everything that you do. In this context, it’s lifting. But it can also be when you’re running, when you're swimming, when you’re shooting a basketball, heck it could be when you pick up a pen from the ground. The moment you stop paying attention to your technique, or when you get sloppy with it, that’s when you hurt yourself.

                So, the next time you’re exercising or training, don’t forget about technique, even if it’s light weights or light intensity. You never know when you’ll get hurt.

Tackling the Push/Pull Machine (PARE/POPAT/COPAT/SOPAT)

This post has been moved to its current home at www.rlconditioning.ca

You can find it here: http://rlconditioning.ca/blog/62160/Tackling-the-Push-Pull-Machine-PARE-POPAT-

What's Next

                Yesterday I completed the Show and Go program, and I feel much stronger than before. I would love to know how much I’ve improved my one rep max for the bench, squat and deadlift, but unfortunately I didn’t do any pre-test before the program. But even though I didn’t do any pre-tests, I know I’ve accomplished much.

                So what’s next on the agenda? Race wise, I’m signed up to do the Delta Triathlon in April. It’s one of my favourite races to do, and although it won’t be the focus of my training over the next 3 months, I will be starting up some run, bike, and swim training. The next performance goal is to improve my vertical jump. All throughout high school when I was really into basketball, I was always a few inches shy of touching the rim. Now, without any formal jump training, I’m able to touch the bottom of the rim, although barely.

                Starting tomorrow, I’m going to do some tests to measure my vertical jump and my one rep back squat. In 8 weeks time, the goal is to go from barely touching the rim to grabbing it with ease. The program I’m testing to get me there is Kelly Baggett’s Vertical Jump Bible.

                There’s several programs to follow, depending if you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced jumper. After reading the descriptions of each program and the prerequisites, I would fall under the intermediate. Even under the intermediate program there are sub-programs, so the one I’m going to follow is a mix of strength training and reactive training.  Frequency of training is twice a week, so I can supplement the training with some tri training for Delta. Now, because I am doing strength/plyo work and endurance training concurrently, I understand I may not get the full results that I’m looking for. But if I limit the volume of endurance training, I should still see improvements in my vertical leap. I may focus more on my swim during this training period.

                Stay tuned everybody, I’ll report my progress over the next 8 weeks.