Welcome to my premier blog. London Tacfit level 1 Instructor certification has just past and I guess a great way to open. Don Graham (another trainer at The Field) & I both passed after a tough but amazing weekend.
Diego Core introduced me to Tacfit in 2011 and I’ve been practicing it for quite some time now. I would never heard of it until I came to The Field. Having met the founders a few times now I’m more than excited to get started and applying all I have learnt and experienced.
Tacfit Origin: Scott Sonnon the founder of Tacfit went on a journey to discover the difference between the forces(police, firemen, army) athletes and amateur athletes. He discovered that as people serving in the forces grew with age the stress their workouts placed upon themselves was actually detrimental to their health. Accelerating injuries and illnesses. He found 2 things in general. Over & under conditioning. He formulated a system of how to train maximally and pain free, a solution of hardcore intensity and active recovery. The best thing about Tacfit is that you don’t have to be an elite athlete to benefit. It includes 3 levels of movement to master so you can perform at your own level. This discussion can go on forever but tactical fitness movements have evolved or even originated from the hunter gatherer of over 100,000 years ago. Tacfit is fitness for a purpose. To help move freely, without pain and to stimulate the nervous system. Something that is sadly lacking in today’s amateur athlete. Tacfit is not only a fitness program but a skills support system.
Tactical fitness is a new frontier of fitness training that is gradually making its way into the realm of the fitness industry. Essentially tactical fitness is all about matching every single element of a workout program to the specific goals of the trainee, so that nothing is extraneous or unnecessary. Tacfit is health first, includes incremental progression & scalability in all programs, along with concentrated injury prevention methods, among other things.
A class lasts 20 minutes with 4 different choices of each exercise. This regression/progression system ensures that EVERYBODY who takes part can perform to their level. As I mentioned earlier Tacfit is not just for athletes. The entire Tacfit commando program is body weight only and can be completed in very limited space hence many advantages. No equipment, gym or huge square footage required.
The weekend of September 21st 2013 saw the Tacfit Commando certification held at The Field – Training Lifestyle Centre. Tacfit Commando is a challenging, body weight training program that integrates a broad range of workout, diet & lifestyle training methods in one comprehensive, plug and play system to help you burn fat, build muscle and improve your conditioning in a variety of tactical movement skills.
It was an amazing, tough but a very rewarding experience. We started with the pre qualifying rehearsal for the certification. This is basically a mock run at the actual exam. We then trained 6 different protocols over the next 2 days. Each has a specific name and the certification course is completed in a specified order:
-Pre qualifying rehearsal: 20/10×8+60(20 seconds of exercise, 10 seconds recovery, 8 times with 60 seconds rest before commencing the next exercise).
-4/1×4(4 minutes continual exercise, 1 minute rest x 4).
-EMOTM. Every minute on the minute.
-AMRAP(as many reps as possible).
-[90/30×5]2(90 seconds performance, 30 recovery, x5 sets x2.
-AFAP(as fast as possible). The qualification exam.
For the Tacfit Commando exam each exercise is performed (take a deep breath) 8 times totaling 4 minutes with a minutes rest in between. There are 5 different exercises designed specifically to test your muscular, neuromuscular and central nervous system. Add in the mental stress and you have Tacfit Commando. The athlete must accumulate 50 points to certify(stay with me). Each exercise is scored on the total number of reps you perform consistently 8 times. You mark down your lowest score(nearly there). For example if you perform 10 press ups for 7 circuits & 9 for 1 your score is 9.
Anyway taking all this information and breaking it down is for another day. Let’s not confuse you too much. The whole weekend was one of immense learning, pleasure and pain. How else better to spend a weekend at The Field?
Now I have an abundance of new exercises for my clients. The best thing I have taken from the weekend is all the new warm up and cool down techniques I can use with my boxers. On the course we ran through a system of neck, wrist and elbow stretches all of which are essential components of boxing. This is where the most common pain areas or problems arise. Already this week my clients have mentioned how much better prepared they feel when punching. The wrist is more solid and I’ve noticed an improvement in the snap of clients jabs. Im very excited to see the results in a month or so.
For me personally I have taken all the information and knowledge and will start to integrate them into my own workouts. I’m working on improving my flexibility and posture. I’ve always known this needs improving but the course brought home exactly just how much. Flexibility is vital for strength, progress and a healthier joint. I can only improve with all I have learnt. Tacfit was one of the best courses I have ever done. With correct training Ill be doing the next one very soon.
Nick Crispin – Trainer at The Field.