Tactical Athlete programs for Efficient Fitness

"Tactical Athlete" Jeff Martone demonstrating the use of kettle bells to develop functional fitness.

Functional Fitness is all about exercising in a way that efficiently prepares you to use your body to participate in sports, live your daily life, perform you job and, possibly, get through a life threatening situation with as little trouble as possible. “Functional Fitness” is a buzz-term that has been made popular by Crossfit and similar programs. Crossfit has become the preferred choice for law enforcement, military and others who are interested in being fit to survive. Jeff Martone’s Tactical Athlete programs are the epitome of Functional Fitness and are aimed directly at those who would remain safe in the face of extreme danger.

Martone has an amazing ability to juggle kettle bells... flipping, tossing and spinning them almost effortlessly.

I first met Jeff several years ago at a training conference, where I attended a short seminar that he conducted. His seminar was fun, informative and represented a very different approach to exercise from what I was used to seeing. Personally, I’ve never been much of a “fitness” guy. I am lucky enough to have genetics that have lead me to find most typical programs offered a very little return for the time invested. Of course, as I get older, the “just get it done and be a little sore the next day” approach is giving way to a “soreness lasts longer and injuries come more often” response from my body.

I took the opportunity to attend Jeff’s Kettle Bell Instructor Certification Course at Atlas Crossfit in Chicago last weekend. I wanted to learn more about the proper use of kettle bells in a fitness routine and, most importantly to me, how to teach it to other people. With a really low financial investment (less than $100) and for very little time every day, many people believe that kettle bells are the most efficient way to achieve “Functional Fitness”.

While only becoming popular in the USA over the 8-12 years, kettle bells have been a staple of strength & conditioning work in Russia for decades. Jeff was a typical Type A athlete and law enforcement officer who pushed himself to injury and beyond and was facing some harsh realities about his body, his limits and the damage that had been done when he discovered kettle bells. He has become a firm believer in their use in training programs, teaches their use all over the world, has written articles and produced several DVDs. Most importantly, he formed the company Tactical Athlete to help him spread the word about kettle bells and the importance of fitness in general. The company name, and Jeff’s approach, come from a conversation he had with a doctor many years ago. In that conversations, the doc pointed out that Jeff needed to think of himself as (and train like) an athlete if he was going to expect to be able to perform his job at the highest level.

All Kettle Bell exercises combine aspects of strength and balance... but some are very simple, like the floor press.

Many people rely on the idea that skills or tools will get them through worst case scenarios… especially in the law enforcement and personal defense arenas. The professional military man has long held that physical fitness was important, but I get a lot of people coming through classes who seem to think that the type of gun they have or the group size they can shoot will overcome a clear lack of physical conditioning or strength if they really had to defend themselves. The most frequent excuse for lack of fitness I hear is being busy or being injured. Kettle bells, used properly, can overcome both hurdles with their efficiency and scalability. Kettle Bells are available in a variety of weights, allowing anyone to use them safely and productively, moving up as their injuries heal or their strengthening allows.

The two day course with Jeff was truly instructor development, including a block on program development and teaching motor skills. Of course, a lot of work was done as well. We spent the majority of the two days moving kettle bells around while performing various prescribed exercises and learning the fundamental teaching points, common errors and corrective measures. The course ended with a certification test.

-RJP