All About Fitness

Fire fighters, law enforcement, first responders and military have something in common with professional athletes: they rely on their bodies to be able to perform their jobs and should have a high level of fitness to operate at their highest level of ability. The term 'tactical athlete' refers to those professions who have to use their bodies while serving others; some days tactical athletes may be required to operate a high pressure hose, while on others they may be required to remove a 300 pound person from a car wreck and on other they may have to scramble up hills to create a defensive fire break. Over the past number of years an entire field of study has developed around helping tactical athletes prepare for the ever-changing demands of their jobs. Dr. Jay Dawes is an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University who conducts research on and consults with law enforcement and first responders. On this episode of All About Fitness, Dr. Dawes talks about how the field of strength and conditioning has evo