Friends of the Budo Blog I hear your cries. Kasey, where have you been? What are you up to? Why are there no new blogs? Who is going to write stupid jokes and post pop culture and comic book references? I hear you and I understand. The Budo Blog is awesome, and it is hard
enough to have to wait a week until the next one. Almost unbearable to wait longer if the blog
is delayed. So fear not the Budo Blog is
back with the tales of where I’ve been and if I do my job right what you can
learn from those adventures.
I posted the last blog October 9th
On October 10th we had a high risk felony search
warrant. The following day I had Sniper
Training. Then that weekend I left for Socorro
New Mexico.
Why Socorro you ask?
I had the opportunity to attend the prevention of and response to
suicide bombing incidents class. New
Mexico Tech hosts the EMRTC (energetic materials research and testing center)
Check out the videos on this link
I figured I would be able to post a blog about working out
in your hotel room, body weight training, making the best of what you have,
etc…
However, the folks at New
Mexico tech were nice enough to let us use their
athletic facilities.
I talked a buddy into training with me. We decided to do strength training Monday and
Wednesday and running Tuesday and Thursday.
We flew out on Friday
Working out with a friend and trying to use the free time we
had for training in the most efficient way we decided to work the military
training pyramid.
1 Pull Up
2 Push Ups
3 Sit Ups
4 Sumo Squats
What can you learn from that adventure?
Well first that work out is a fast and efficient way to get
good strength training in quickly. Also
because there is no rest between exercises or sets it gets your heart rate into
the cardiovascular training zone for around 20-30 minutes too.
Another thing you can learn from this adventure is a point
I’ve made on several other posts.
Surround yourself with good people.
1) People that will actually work out with you
2) People that not only work out with you but push you past
where you are comfortable and get you to work harder.
My training buddy liked the pyramid workout we did on
Monday. So for Wednesday he decided that
we needed to do a 7 step pyramid. That
is only two extra sets, but those two sets kicked my ass.
My training buddy is also a much better / faster runner than
I am. Trying to keep up with him,
chasing him through the desert so I didn't get lost and eaten up by coyotes
forced me to run faster than I am comfortable with.
Something I learned for this adventure – altitude training
I asked one of the instructors if there was somewhere cool
(sight seeing wise) to go for a run. He
said we should check out the Kelly mine.
He didn't mention the Kelly mine is on a mountain.
I am from Minnesota ,
so I’ve never trained at altitude before.
We have lakes not mountains. Holy
shit that is hard. We got out of the van
and found the trail which basically goes straight up. I ran for about a whopping 10 yards and
started to wonder who poured needles into my lungs. I’m proud I finished the run but it wasn't pretty.
When I got home I didn’t blog because I wanted to spend time
with my daughters that I hadn’t seen in a week.
So the wife and I took them to the Mall of America. They had gift cards from their birthdays to
spend at the American Girl Doll Store.
Counter Terror training, hell even running up mountains, is much more fun than shopping for
dolls at the Mall of America
My first day back to work was a training day for the WMD
tactical team. That training day
included the annual PT (physical training) test
The requirement for the mile run is 8:30. I have never run a mile under 9 minutes in my
life, so to be honest I was a little worried about it. But I wasn't going to fail. I figured if I had to puke and collapse so be
it, bring it to me. Luckily for me my
training buddy in Socorro is also on the WMD team. So just like the desert I just tried to keep
up with him. The team kind of naturally
broke into three groups as the run went on.
The fast guys (guys who have been training for marathons), the middle of
the pack, and the slow guys. I couldn't quite keep up with my buddy (fast group), but there was no way I was going to
be one of the slow guys. I am happy to
report I ended up at the tail end of the middle group with a 8:15 mile. Not record setting by any means, but the
fastest mile I ever ran. I guess all
that altitude training paid off.
The next day was SWAT training and we had our new applicant
testing. Firearms skills, physical agility,
and a stress shoot. Long day!, I acted
as a range officer so I had to come early to set up the range and stay late to
clean it up
What can you learn from this?
You are what you routinely do.
You can’t cram for tests like that. Chance favors the prepared mind. To be successful you have to work on those
skills and attributes everyday. Dry fire
drills every day for a year will make you a better shooter than going out to
the range a week before a qualification.
Maintaining physical fitness serves you better than killing yourself
trying to get into shape for a PT test or peaking for one event. If you have to change your life style for a
test than you are already behind the 8 ball.
The flip side of that is, if you need a test or challenge to
inspire you to train certain skills and attributes on a regular basis then seek
out those challenges.
Competition breeds excellence, even if you are just
competing against yourself. Sing up for
a warrior dash, or mud run. Test
yourself, if you don’t belong to an organization that routinely tests your
skills / fitness steal a test from the Military
This website is awesome, here is an article on military / law
enforcement fitness testing preparation
Run yourself through the test a couple times a year, see how
you improve.
Now you may be asking ok Kasey, why didn’t you drop these
nuggets of wisdom on us after the SWAT test.
Because we had another high risk felony search warrant the
next day. We have been very busy this
year
Even my weekends have been busy with the addition of the Sunday
classes I mentioned in previous blogs.
But it is worth it, the classes have been going very well, and I am
working out the logistical kinks of pulling off this type of training.
Along those lines I have also been dong personal training / one
on one instruction as well. It is a new
and interesting challenge, but it is rewarding to see the progress you are
helping to achieve.
So after all that, time to blog? Nope, guess what - another high risk felony
search warrant. Did I mention we have
been busy?
So then it was time to be a good dad and take the kids trick
or treating, check out our awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Costumes
By now you must saying, Kasey – surely after all this you
would take a day off and find some time to devote to your readers.
Nope the next day I taught Control Tactics to my department.
Then, a weekend of Dojo classes and personal training.
But now, finally I am all caught up. I can get back to blogging and writing the
book.
However, there are big things on the horizon. Too soon to go into detail, but just now if I
disappear again in the non too distant future it’s because I’m doing awesome
stuff I’ll fill you in on as details become available.
So bottom line, what can you take away from today’s blog?
- I am very busy
- I don’t make excuses but on occasion I offer explanations
- Surround yourself with good people.
- You are what you routinely do. To be successful you have to work on fundamental skills and attributes everyday.
- Seek out challenges
- Test yourself regularly
- Lastly I am the coolest dad ever
Thank you for taking the time to read these blogs and to
check in to see when a new one comes out.
See you next Tuesday.
Until then - Train
hard, Train smart, Be safe
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