Thanks to all of our blog readers who sent letters to us throughout the month of October. We appreciate all of the contributions, and we have personally responded to each one via e-mail. Below are three letters we picked out to be included in our inaugural Letters From Our Readers posting. These letters are all from our loyal blog readers; some may have been edited for length or grammar. Enjoy, and be well!
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Hey Guys,
A friend turned me on to your blog, and I read it a lot for good tips and ideas. I noticed you write a lot about functional strength and its benefits. I am an LEO who is interested in improving the ability to safely, effectively and properly do my job. Are there any important things I could work on to help me in my profession?
Ryan
Charlotte, North Carolina
Hey Ryan,
First, thank you for your service to the community! We love working with police, fire, EMS and other service personnel to help you guys perform your honorable duties. Your request gave us a great idea for a posting about police/fire workouts – so, in the next couple weeks, look for an entire post with some detailed information about exercises and tips for service personnel. That being said, there are a couple quick things to work on – most namely, speed and endurance.
Speed work is crucial for the times when you may need to chase down a suspect (we have all seen the episodes of Cops where several officers need to run down a faster, younger suspect!). Try sprinting different distances at top speed – 100 yards, 200 yards, 400 yards, and a mile as quickly as possible, simulating running after somebody faster than you. Longer distance sprints are crucial to build up the lung capacity needed in order to chase somebody.
At the end of each sprint, instead of just slowly breaking stride and cooling down, immediately drop down and to 10 push-ups. Here’s our thought on this: when you finally catch up to a suspect, the hard work of the chase has just begun – capturing, holding and handcuffing. So, at the end of each simulated chase (sprint), do something intense before cooling down – we know your lungs will be burning at that point, but in the real world, a suspect is not going to let you cool down before apprehension. Sprint 200 yards as fast as possible, and without hesitation, do 10 push-ups as intensely as possible, to simulate using strength and stamina at the end of a sprint to bring down a suspect.
Endurance is an often over-looked aspect of police and fire training. After all, how is running a couple of miles slowly going to make you a better law enforcement officer when suspects are either sprinting away from you, or fighting back? Endurance workouts (whether running, swimming or resistance training) build focus – and focus is of course a crucial aspect of police work. Hours on end go by tediously everyday for an LEO, until, without warning, an important and dangerous situation immediately arises from nowhere – if an officer is well-trained in endurance, he or she will be far more focused and alert when a serious situation arises.
Distance running (in this case, 2-5 miles) and long-distance swimming build up improved focus, alertness, and mental preparedness, especially for those who work long, often tedious hours (such as law enforcement personnel) with quick and dangerous situations escalating from seemingly nothing.
Self-Defense is another crucial aspect of police work, and one that you probably get quite a bit of training and conditioning with as an aspect of your job. Officers today are very well-trained and re-trained in self-defense work – we will not delve into this too deeply here as there are a myriad of ways to train – be on the lookout for this as part of our upcoming post on Service Personnel Training Regimens. Thanks for the letter, Ryan!
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Hi FS,
I am a mother of four young boys (ages 2, 4, 7 and 9), and I am worried about their nutrition and health in the future. It gets hectic around here, of course, and sometimes my husband and I cannot feed them the proper health food I know they should be getting. What are some things I can do? Thanks! I love reading your blog – that is, when I get the time to do it!
Thalia
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Hi Thalia,
Thanks for reading! We get questions like this quite a bit. We know that raising children is one of the most stressful, hectic and continuously busy endeavors a person can take on. Of course, it is very difficult to effectively feed your children the perfect balance of nutritious food in every meal – no matter the situation, there are going to be inevitable trips to McDonald’s, parties with too much birthday cake, and candy and carbonated drinks at school. So, what’s a mother to do? Here are a few simple tips to consider.
Children Emulate Their Parents – Look at your diet the past few years. Has it been full of healthy choices, balanced meals, and proper portions? Children emulate what they see on a daily basis, and this includes how they make their food choices. If they see their mother and father eating at a fast food restaurant, or enjoying large portions of cake, for example, they will emulate that as the proper way to eat. If you are eating a less-than-perfect diet, your children may be taking some cues from you when making their own food choices. Evaluate your own diet, and that of your husband – you may find some less than desirable food choices within your own diet. Children can pick up on that, and they will eat according to what they are presented with from their parents.
Children Eat What You Give Them – Yes, there are going to be trips to McDonald’s; that is inevitable, and nobody should be expected to be perfect. That being said, young children do not cook for themselves – instead, they eat what is in the house, bought by their parents. Are you buying the right food for them to consume at home? If you have only healthy and nutritious food stocked up in the pantry and refrigerator for the family, when it is time to make dinner, your family will be presented with only healthy food choices.
Children Love To Learn – Children are sponges. They soak up information, always ask “why,” and want to know as much about things as they can. So, use that to your advantage. Instead of forcing them to eat healthy food “because I said so,” teach them cool facts about the health food that they are eating. For example, did you know that in England in the 17th century, carrots were a fashion accessory, with women adorning the tops of their hats with the vegetable? Or that in 2005, carrots were revealed to be the third most popular vegetable in Britain? There are countless other facts about a ton of other health foods out there – learn and enjoy!
To conclude, Thalia, children eat what they see and know. Promote good eating habits by making healthy decisions for yourself and your husband – this, in turn, will teach your children the right way to eat and the proper way to live a healthy lifestyle. Thanks and be well!
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Hi!
When should someone (currently not me) see a physician after an intense workout session? For instance, what are the warning signs that someone has injured his/herself doing exercises? Would appreciate your take on this issue. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Linda
Denver, Colorado
Hi Linda,
We appreciate your support from so far away! The basic rule of thumb in self-diagnosing any kind of exercise-related injury is time. That is, take a few days to reevaluate yourself when thinking whether or not you have been injured while exercising.
Of course, in the first 48 hours after an unusually strenuous or different exercise program, you should expect the general soreness and stiffness to be the most intense. If you are intensely or sharply sore after those first 48 hours, there may be cause for some concern. If the intense soreness or sharp pain lasts four or five days, with the same intensity after a workout, it may be wise to consult a physician.
Remember, soreness after a workout is normal, typical and ideal. If you are sore, in most instances, it means the workout was effective, challenging, and working positively for your body. But if that soreness becomes more pronounced, or stays just as intense, after several days of rest, there may be something else going on within your body. Thanks for reading Linda, and be well!
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If you want us to answer your letter in our next edition of Letters From Our Readers, just e-mail us at info@fusionsouth.com with your question. We will post a new edition of Letters on the final day of every month. And, if your question was not answered here, it will be answered back to you through e-mail. So, do not hesitate to e-mail us your questions, and be well!
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