The purpose of this article is to provide education surrounding the importance of recovery in tactical populations, identify key aspects of the mental recovery process, and identify strategies Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitators® (TSAC-F®) can implement to promote mental recovery when working with athletes.

This excerpt from NSCA's Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning explains the importance of wellness programs for tactical athletes.

Brice Long, Director of Human Performance Experience at O2X, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about O2X’s holistic approach for fire, police, military, and federal agencies. Topics under discussion include the value of training as a firefighter, physical tests and assessments in the National Guard, and being diverse in your skill sets as a coach. Find Brice on Instagram: @o2xhumanperformance or Twitter: @o2xhp | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This article reviews electromyography (EMG) procedures as well as provides examples of how EMG data analysis has been used in tactical populations.

The path to actual integration of mental and physical training for the tactical athlete is paved with growing empiricism. The current challenge is to sustain creative development of functional approaches and demonstrate that integration can deliver potential benefits.

From the NSCA’s 2019 Tactical Annual Training, Nathan Dicks explains the Critical Speed Concept. He presents the normative data, parameters for tactical professionals, and how it can be modeled with load carriage for use in prescribing high-intensity interval training.

Learn the basics of conducting a needs analysis for tactical athletes based on the athlete’s goals and desired outcomes, assessments, limitations on workout frequency and duration, equipment availability, health and injury status, and occupational physiological demands.

In order to move patients, gear, and equipment properly, the first responder must be able to move well themselves. Both unloaded and loaded movement should be examined and trained. One way to achieve this is to train frequently and properly with a constant focus on both mobility and strength in the various positions that are commonly required of first responders.

Physical assessments have evolved as a result of developments in scientific research, equipment loads, operational environments, and doctrine.

This article is part of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.