Description

• Pete's Role in the Police Force:

  • Currently serves as the Training Sergeant and FTO Coordinator.

  • FTO Coordinator: Responsible for new hires' field training, including setting up a month-long "mini academy" and four phases of training, assigning trainers, and ensuring officers are ready for solo work.

  • Training Sergeant: Organizes all agency training, including high-liability scenarios like active shooter drills.

  • The hosts emphasize the importance of police officers being in shape.

• Defining Machines vs. Free Weights:

  • Free Weights: Include dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, sandbags, and anything not fixed in a machine. TRX systems are considered more on the free weight/calisthenic side.

  • Machines: Equipment where you typically sit or are put in a fixed plane, such as those found at Planet Fitness. Cables are also considered machines.

• Cons of Machines:

  • Fixed Plane of Motion: Machines restrict movement to a single plane, forcing the body to adapt to the machine's movement rather than natural sequential movement.

  • Reduced Athleticism: Over-reliance on machines can lead to less athletic movement and a "robotic" feel, as they don't engage the full body in a coordinated way.

  • Lack of Systemic Load and Core Engagement: Machines take away the systemic load on the body, meaning you don't have to create tension throughout the entire body to stabilize the weight. Pete's personal experience highlights this: getting strong on a reclined shoulder press machine, but struggling with free weight overhead presses due to lack of core stability.

  • Poor Transferability: Strength gained on machines often doesn't transfer well to free weight exercises or real-world athletic movements.

  • Hides Mobility Issues: Machines can mask underlying mobility problems that would be evident with free weights.

  • Rigidity: Excessive use of machines can lead to a buildup of rigidity in the body, even more so than with certain free weight programming.

• Pros of Machines:

  • Beginner-Friendly: Machines offer a safe and easy introduction to working out, often with illustrations and single-plane movements that reduce the risk of injury.

  • Good for Injuries/Limitations: Excellent for individuals with injuries or physical limitations.

  • Accessory Work/Targeted Muscle Growth: Useful for advanced individuals to add volume to specific muscle groups (e.g., hack squats for quads) without over-fatiguing the central nervous system, especially in bodybuilding to avoid systemic fatigue.

  • Coaching Advantage: Coaches proficient in free weights find machines easy to incorporate, as they already understand movement patterns.

• Balancing Machines and Free Weights:

  • Ideally, machines should be used simultaneously with free weights as support tools.
  • Prioritize big compound movements with free weights (e.g., back squats) and then use machines for accessory work.
  • For beginners, it's advised to start with basic movement patterns using free weights (e.g., goblet squat to a bench) before relying too heavily on machines to avoid losing natural movement.
  • It's crucial to include functional movement patterns (squat, press, pull, carry, hinge) regardless of the tools used.

  • Even with free weights, incorporating rotational and fluidity movements is important to prevent rigidity