Workout of the Week: Tactical Fitness Leg Days

It is difficult to be in a leg power/strength phase while trying to gain a faster run time. Runners never lift heavy when trying to run fast, and lifters never run when trying to get strong. Do them separately for better results in military, police and firefighter fitness.

This is called tactical fitness -- being good at all elements of fitness at the same time but not great at all of them (maybe one or two natural strengths). A way to do this is to use calisthenics for warmup and muscle endurance, then mix in short cardio bursts with heavy lift sets of exercises like squats, deadlifts and farmer walks (up/down stairs).  Then finish the leg workout with a form of cardio like swimming with fins, biking, elliptical, rowing or running.

While this will not yield the fastest run times or the strongest weightlifting results, you achieve better results at running, lifting and muscle endurance exercises. These include running hills, stairs or load-bearing exercises wearing ruck packs or weight vests and carrying heavy equipment.

Here is a workout we did this week that includes a calisthenics/dynamic stretches for a warmup. Some hill or stair running for cardio and leg endurance will cap the warmup.

Squat pyramid 1-20: Run 25 meters in between. Run five flights of stairs every fifth set.

Do one squat, run 25 meters; two squats, run 25 meters; three squats, run 25 meters. ... We do this on a basketball court or field.

However, every fifth set, find the nearest hill or stairs and run them five times (up and down).

The weight/cardio section:

Repeat 5 times

• Run or bike 5 minutes. Run a fast half-mile or bike, elliptical or row five minutes, using the Tabata interval.
• Squats 10. Moderately heavy with barbells or weights.
• Deadlift 5. Moderately heavy with barbells or weights.
• Lunges 20/leg: With or without weights -- your choice/capability.
• Farmer walk up/down stairs five times with weight.

Run, ruck for 30 minutes or swim 1,000 meters.

Lower back plan - do it later in the evening

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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