Physical Performance in SWAT Operators: Demands, Training, and Research Advances. Jay Dawes PhD, CSCS*D Brian Schilling, PhD, CSCS

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2 Physical Performance in SWAT Operators: Demands, Training, and Research Advances Jay Dawes PhD, CSCS*D Brian Schilling, PhD, CSCS

3 Special Thanks U of M Lisa Smith Richard Easter, MS Matt Davis Elizabeth Longo Jon Carlock (US Army) Memphis TACT Unit SCSO SWAT Brent Alvar, PhD UCCS COS SWAT Corpus Christi SWAT Broomfield SWAT Corey Luby Mick Stierli Robb Orr Tyler Christiansen

4 Objectives Essential Job Tasks related to SWAT Current literature related to SWAT Potential critical importance of physical tasks, training procedures, and future research on SWAT physical performance

5 SWAT Defined A Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team is a designated law enforcement team, whose members are recruited, selected, trained, equipped and assigned to resolve critical incidents involving a threat to public safety which would otherwise exceed the capabilities of traditional law enforcement first responders and/or investigative units. NTOA (2008). SWAT Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies. National Tactical Operators Association

6 Essential Job Functions ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS OF SWAT Crawling Jumping over, off or across obstacles UNDERLYING FITNESS COMPONENTS Agility; Flexibility; Muscular Endurance; Body Composition Anaerobic Power; Leg Power and Strength Maintaining balance while traversing a narrow object or wall Maintaining a tactical position for an extended period of time and remaining alert Climbing fences, walls, elevator shafts, and multiple flights of stairs, ladders, fire escapes, ropes, poles and trees to gain an objective or tactical position Lifting and carrying necessary equipment -rams, breeching tools, ladders, shields over rough terrain (snow) a reasonable distance (400 yards) Lifting; dragging wounded officers; citizens to safety in a reasonable time across a reasonable distance. Running to escape an area of danger or to cross an open area. Running to pursue a suspect or rescue a hostage. Functioning up on roof tops, ledges and high positions. Functioning in crawl spaces, tunnels, vents, shafts, etc. Low and high crawling to objectives (100 yards) Muscular Strength; Muscular Endurance; Agility Muscular Endurance Aerobic Power; Anaerobic Power; Muscular Strength; Muscular Endurance; Agility; Body composition Muscular Strength; Muscular Endurance; Anaerobic Power; Agility Agility, Aerobic Power; Anaerobic Power; Muscular Strength; Muscular Endurance Aerobic Power; Anaerobic Power; Agility Aerobic Power; Anaerobic Power ; Agility Agility, Balance Agility; Flexibility; Muscular Endurance; Body Composition Agility; Flexibility; Muscular Endurance; Body Composition Dawes, 2011; NTOA2006; CIAR, 2006

7 Essential Job Tasks of SWAT Tactical officers, have one of the most physically demanding assignments in all law enforcement, and possibly one of the most physically demanding and dangerous non athletic, civilian occupations (Mijares,1993).

8 Importance of Fitness Most agencies understand that the physical fitness demands for the tactical officer exceed those of standard patrol and other law enforcement officers (Alexander, 2010; Kleiner, 2008). In the United States agencies are responsible for the implementation and development of their own physical fitness standards, assessment and selection criteria

9 Research on SWAT and Fitness

10 N= 11 male SWAT from a Suburban SWAT unit Body Comp: 3 site Jackson Pollock Flexibility: Sit and reach, Lunge Strength : 1RM Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Leg Press Power: Vertical Jump Aerobic capacity tests: Bruce Protocol Core strength: lying prone w/a platform beneath the hips. Held back in ext. with shoulders flexed and arms extended off the ground for as long as possible( up to 60 sec.) Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: March 2012 Volume 26 Issue 3 pp doi: /JSC.0b013e318225f177

11 Variety of job related tasks were also analyzed (No data on physiological demands) Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: March 2012 Volume 26 Issue 3 pp doi: /JSC.0b013e318225f177

12 Data were compared with age and gender based normative data. Officers ranked high on tests of muscular strength (leg strength, 90th percentile; bench press, 85th percentile Body Composition BMI = 82% overweight or Obese BF% estimation = (55th percentile) Core body strength, and flexibility ranked lower. Aerobic capacity and muscular power had a wide range of scores and were also not ideal to support maximal performance during routine operations.

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14 Fitness Tests *Significant at p < 0.01

15 Fitness Tests *Significant at p < 0.01

16 Fitness Tests *Significant at p < 0.01

17 Table 4: VERTICAL JUMP COMPAIRED TO CIAR NORMS FT-SWAT PT-SWAT Age (years) n height + (cm) Percentile* n height + (cm) Percentile* th th th th th + centimeters; *CIAR norms Dawes, JJ. et al (2013). Description of selected physical performance measures and anthropometric characteristics of part and full time special weapons and tactics teams. J. Aus. Strength and Cond. 21(2): 51 57

18 Table 6: 300 METER RESULTS COMPARED TO CIAR NORMS FT-SWAT PT-SWAT Age (years) n time sec Percentile* n time sec Percentile* th th th th Dawes, JJ. et al (2013). Description of selected physical performance measures and anthropometric characteristics of part and full time special weapons and tactics teams. J. Aus. Strength and Cond. 21(2): 51 57

19 Category n Full-Time Part-Time Minimum Maximum Range Age (years) ± ± Height (cm) ± ± Weight (kgs) ± ± Body fat (%) ± ± Lean Mass (kgs) ± ± Fat Mass(kgs) ± ± Body Mass Index *Significant at p < ± ± Dawes et al. Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning

20 Conclusions FT SWAT leaner and more fit than PT SWAT Environmental Differences based on geographic location FT SWAT were allowed time on duty to train (3 4 hrs/wk) FT SWAT team had trained subject matter experts (CSCS) that developed training programs Greater %BF and FM may have contributed to performance differences between groups Practical Application Allowing PT SWAT officers time on duty to train may help improve health and fitness Employment of a qualified strength and conditioning professional to assist in the development of safe and effective training programs may help improve health and fitness of PT SWAT

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23 201.7 m

24 Results/Conclusion

25 teams rely on training in eachsituation/ Load Demands

26 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUSTAINED ANAEROBIC POWER AND CHANGE OF DIRECTION SPEED AMONG TACTICAL OFFICERS Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between measures of sustained anaerobic power (SAP) and change of direction speed (CODS) of tactical officers assigned to a multijurisdictional Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT)

27 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUSTAINED ANAEROBIC POWER AND CHANGE OF DIRECTION SPEED AMONG TACTICAL OFFICERS N= 21 male tactical officers age ± 6.20 HT: ± 3.23 in WT: ± BMI: ± 3.79) Methods Retrospective Data 300 m run Illinois Agility test Statistical Analysis Pearson s correlation (p 0.05) Results Moderate positive correlation between 300 m times and CODS (r =.600, p < 0.05) r 2 = 0.36) for this group of tactical officers. Practical application Both CODS and SAP should be trained separately to maximize performance in each.

28 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELECTED MEASURES OF POWER AND STRENGTH AND LINEAR RUNNING SPEED AMONGST SPECIAL WEAPONS AND TACTICS POLICE OFFICERS (IN PRESS) Dawes, JJ, Orr, R. Elder, C.L, Krall, K, Stierli, M. Schilling, B.

29 Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selected measures of power, strength and sprint speed over 5m, 10m, and 20 m among Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members.

30 Methods Vertical jump height: Just Jump (ProBotics Inc, Huntsville, Al) Isometric strength: of the legs and lower back was measured using a leg/back chain dynamometer. (Medico Inc., Phoenix, Az.). Sprinting speed: measured at 5m, 10m, and 20m intervals using the Smartspeed timing system.

31 Methods Peak power output was calculated using the Sayers Power equation This information, along with body mass and estimated lean mass, was then used to calculate power to weight ratios for each officer.

32 Results Table 1: Descriptive anthropometric and performance measurements in SWAT officers (n=21) Variable Min Max Mean±SD Age (years) ±4.06 Weight (kg) ±9.44 Height (cm) ±6.64 BMI (kg m 2 ) ±3.21 VJ (cm) ±6.66 Leg/Back Absolute Strength (kg) ± meter (s) ± meter (s) ± meter (s) ±0.13 Sayers PP (w) ± Sayers P:W (w) ±4.63 Sayer P:LM (w) ±5.28

33 Variable VJ Displacement Leg/Back Strength VJ Leg/Back Sayers Sayers Sayers PP Displacement Strength P:W P:LM m ** m m *p.05; **p.01; p.001

34 Conclusions Given the nature of their duties, SWAT officers require the ability to express force rapidly. VJ is practical means of assessing this capability. VJ is significantly related to forward linear speed over short distances.

35 Conclusions As such, conditioning that improves VJ should be transferable to the ability of the SWAT officer to seek cover from adversarial gunfire. While strength was not shown to have a significant relationship with power or forward linear speed, these results should be viewed with caution given that strength is an underpinning requirement for power.

36 Current Work Underway 1. Survey of active SWAT officers (Schilling et al.) 2. Cross sectional study of SWAT physical fitness (Smith et al.)

37 Purpose Expand on the NTOA standards by examining frequency, importance, and difficulty of tasks Rank the most physically demanding tasks based on frequency, importance for mission success, and difficulty Gather information on physical fitness training Compare full and part time SWAT personnel

38 Demographics Gender Height and weight Years of service Rank SWAT team size Full time/part time Affiliation Population served

39 Physical Requirements Weight of average tactical load Ranking lists based on perception of Frequency Importance Difficulty

40 Ranking Tasks Lift something from floor/knee height > 150 lbs Push something > 150 lbs Pull or drag something > 150 lbs Clear an obstacle (less than 6 feet) Clear obstacle > 6 feet Rappel from heights over 10 feet Manually break door Sprint for < 30 seconds one time or several times with short rest Walk briskly or run continuously > 10 min with tactical load Walk or run > 10 w/o load

41 Ranking Tasks (continued) Walk or run on very uneven terrain Control heavy breathing for marksmanship/tactical advantage Go from prone to sprinting Jump down from height > 3 feet Climb elevator shafts, stairs, ladders, etc., for several stories Perform sustained effort of any combination of tasks for > 2 hours Crawling > 100 feet Maintain balance while traversing narrow object/wall Maintain tactical position for more than 15 minutes Physically subdue/restrain suspect

42 Physical Fitness Training Training format Supervision By training personnel Unsupervised Combination Hours of training Training location Focus of program

43 Focus of Training Program Cardiovascular Endurance Muscular Endurance/stamina Muscular strength Flexibility Power Speed Coordination Agility Balance

44 Practical Applications; Survey Develop training plans for SWAT personnel based on interaction of the three factors Difficulty Frequency Importance for mission success Develop tests to assess officer capabilities Screen applicants? Test training program effectiveness

45 SWAT X Sectional Research Aims 1. To assess physical fitness of healthy SWAT officers to add to the body of literature 2. Use non parametric regression to preliminarily test the ability of physical performance variables to predict subjective overall operator ranking done by commanding officers 3. To cross validate the some of the current fitness tests used by the TSAC program in CS

46 Schedule Session 1 Anthropometry* 1 RM back squat* Session 2 CMVJ* Cadence push ups DXA Treadmill GXT Session 3 Isometric Mid thigh pull Illinois agility 300m sprint* Session 4 FMS Beep Test* NSCA HQ

47 Upper Body Muscular Endurance US Coast Guard Academy cadence push up test Up & down on cadence # of push ups in two minutes Good form, at least 90 when down Max of 60

48 Statistical Analysis Means ± SD Compared to normative data from healthy population Non parametric rank order correlation To determine predictive value of fitness characteristics to overall performance Rank lists by commanding officers Similar to American Football study (Barker et al. JSCR 1993)

49 Practical Applications; X sec Cross validation of tests and populations will assist in determining utility of tests Adding to body of literature for development of normative data

50 Summary Some good quality information exists Much more can and needs to be done While other populations have much to offer SWAT is unique enough for in depth inquiry

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