Category: 2021 EPD SWAT Challenge

It’s that time of year again! The 2021 SWAT Challenge is on May 1st, 2021 in Evansville, IN. Sign up HERE.

We are currently eight weeks out from the Challenge, and SHIELD is once again providing a free training program leading up to the challenge. Let’s get started!

This post will be the most lengthy of the program posts, as it will cover all of the specifics of the program. If you have questions after reading it over, please let us know!

Before we get into the specifics of the program, let’s briefly cover what the SWAT Challenge is and discuss the physical demands required to perform well.

What is it?

The SWAT Challenge is an Urban 5K Obstacle Course, and the physical demands are as such:

–Aerobic Capacity– At its core, the SWAT Challenge is a 5k run, which means that having the ability to run three miles in the fastest time possible is essential to performing well.

–Strength – Spread throughout the three miles course will be twenty or so obstacles that one must overcome to continue the race. Tires will be flipped, walls will be climbed, sandbags will be carried, donuts may or may not be eaten, monkey bars will be…eh…monkeyed…you get the idea. The obstacles require strength.

The unique thing about the SWAT Challenge is that it requires both aerobic fitness and muscular strength at the same time. It’s not enough to just be aerobically fit, as you will be required to lift, carry, push, or pull either yourself or an external object to continue on. Further, it’s not enough to just be strong. The obstacles are difficult enough by themselves, but we make you do about twenty of them in between running the entire course.

So how do we train?

*We must spend time doing traditional aerobic work. The training program will incorporate LISS (Low Intensity – Steady State) aerobic training and HIIT (High Intensity – Interval Training) using traditional modalities such as running, cycling, or rowing. This will improve our base level of aerobic fitness and contribute to the specific development for the running portion of the challenge.

*We must spend time getting stronger. The training program will incorporate traditional strength training using compound, multi-joint movements. This will improve our base level of muscular strength and develop our ability to do large amounts of mechanical work in short periods of time.

*We must spend time training strength while under fatigue. The program will incorporate HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) via circuit training. This will “focus in” our strength gained through the traditional strength training and contribute to the specific development of the obstacle portion of the challenge.

The Program Outline

Frequency: This program is a 3 or 4 day per week program. (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and a Bonus Day). A common approach would be to train Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri or Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat, but it really doesn’t matter what days you train, as long as you get all of the work in each week. For instance, you could train four days in a row (ex – Mon-Thu) and do just fine.

Time Commitment: The workouts are designed to be completed in about an hour. Some may take less time, and some may take longer depending on your ability to recover during the workout. You could also do some program manipulation to get the workouts done faster. More on that towards the end of the article.

Equipment Required: This program will require things like barbells, dumbbells, or machines, so a commercial gym or an equipped home gym is required. The bonus day also includes things like sled pushes and tire flips, but these are not essential.

Exercise Selection: You will see below that we’ve given you options for which exercise to choose (EX: Trap Bar Deadlift OR Barbell Sumo Deadlift OR Barbell Conventional Deadlift OR Dumbbell Sumo Squat). They are listed in the order of which we like (ie – We’d rather you do Trap Bar Deadlifts over Sumo Squats), but it’s not critically important which one you choose. Just pick one and use that variation for the duration of the program. You can also pick a similar movement that we’ve not listed depending on your preference and equipment limitations, as long as it is similar to the movements provided.

Progression: The first four weeks of the program will see an increase in volume (sets and reps, workout time, circuit rounds, etc…) for the strength training, aerobic training, and circuit training. Everything starts small and gets bigger to develop your ability to tolerate a lot of training during the first four weeks. This allows folks new to training to ramp up the total workout stress appropriately, and it allows trained folks an opportunity to dissipate some accumulated fatigue the first few weeks before ramping back up again closer to the Challenge. If the first week or two are easy, trust me, it’ll get harder.

For the the last four weeks, the volume for the strength training will decrease, and the volume for the aerobic training and the circuit training will continue to increase. This will “fine tune” your fitness to be more specific to the SWAT Challenge and ensure you’re ready to perform at your best.

The Program – Week 1

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Week 1 – Day 1: Strength and HIIT Circuit

Exercise #1 –
-Trap Bar Deadlift OR Barbell Sumo Deadlift OR Barbell Conventional Deadlift OR Dumbbell Sumo Squat –
-Prescription – 2 working sets* of 10 repetitions @ 2RIR**
-Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets

Exercise #2 –
-Standing Barbell Shoulder Press OR Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
-Prescription – 2 working sets* of 10 repetitions @ 2RIR**
-Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets

Exercise #3 –
-Chinups (palms facing you) OR Pullups (palms facing away from you) OR Lat Pulldown Machine
-Prescription – 4 minute density block***

HIIT Circuit:
1-Dumbbell RDL + Dumbbell Row x 15
2-Dumbbell Thruster x 15
3-Get Ups x 8
4-Rest 45-60 seconds
x 3 rounds

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Week 1 – Day 2: Low Intensity Steady State Cardio + Abs

Exercise #1
-Running OR Cycling OR Rowing OR Incline Walking
-Prescription – 20 minutes @ a moderate intensity

Exercise #2
-Ab Wheel OR Front Plank OR Hanging Knee Raise OR Situps
-Prescription – 4 minute density block***

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Week 1 – Day 3: Strength and HIIT Circuit

Strength
Exercise #1 –
-Trap Bar Deadlift OR Barbell Sumo Deadlift OR Barbell Conventional Deadlift OR Dumbbell Sumo Squat –
-Prescription – 2 working sets* of 10 repetitions @ 2RIR**
-Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets

Exercise #2 –
-Standing Barbell Shoulder Press OR Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
-Prescription – 2 working sets* of 10 repetitions @ 2RIR**
-Rest no more than 2 minutes between sets

Exercise #3 –
-Chinups (palms facing you) OR Pullups (palms facing away from you) OR Lat Pulldown Machine
-Prescription – 4 minute density block***

HIIT Circuit:
1-Jumping Jacks x 45 seconds
2-Pushups x 15
3-Lunges x 10 each leg
4-Rest 45-60 seconds
x 3 rounds

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Week 1 – Day 4: Bonus Day

HIIT Circuit OR HIIT Cardio Sprints (pick one)

HIIT Circuit:
1-Sled Push x down and back
2-Farmers Carry x down and back
3-Tire Flip x 45s
4-Burpees x 10
5-Rest 90-120 seconds
x 3 rounds

OR

HIIT Cardio Sprints:
Exercise #1: Incline Running Sprints OR Cycling Sprints OR Rowing Sprints OR Flat Running Sprints
Prescription: 30 seconds sprint / 90 seconds rest x 7 rounds

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Important Information

Exercise Demonstrations

Check out the videos below for a demonstration of each exercise. Despite what you may read on the internet, your technique doesn’t have to be textbook perfect. If your form slips a little, it’s not the end of the world and you’re not at any increased risk for injury. Do your best to get close to the “proper” technique and you will see results. For more information, feel free to check out the resources from our “Influences” page. Those organizations have tons of free content related to exercise technique.

Ab Wheel
Burpee
Chinup
Conventional Deadlift
Dumbbell RDL + Row
Dumbbell Sumo Squat
Dumbbell Thruster
Farmer’s Carry
Front Plank
Get Up
Hanging Knee Raise
Jumping Jacks
Lat Pulldown
Lunge
Pullup
Push Up
Sit Up
Sled Push
Standing Barbell Shoulder Press
Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Sumo Deadlift
Tire Flip
Trap Bar Deadlift

Notes

*Working Sets vs Warm Up Sets – You’ll notice that the prescription is given in “Working Sets” (eg – 2 sets of 10 repetitions). This doesn’t mean that you’re only doing two sets. You will need to “warm up” to that weight on each exercise by using warm up sets.

For example, let’s say that for your deadlift, you plan on doing 200lb for 2 sets of 10. You don’t want to just throw 200lb on the bar and go to town. Start with a light weight (even the empty bar!), doing sets of 10, and slowly add weight each set until you have found your “working weight”. As a general rule, you should only need 3-5 warm up sets before you’re ready to do your working sets. Also, the only rest you should take during your warm up sets is however long it takes to add weight for the next set. Keeping your rest times short will improve your capacity to do a lot of work in a short time, and it will reduce your total workout time.

It might look like this for the deadlift:
Empty bar x 10 reps, no rest
95lb x 10 reps, no rest
135lb x 10 reps, no rest
185lb x 10 reps, no rest
200lb x 10 reps, 2 minutes rest
200lb x 10 reps, DONE


**Reps in Reserve (RIR) – This program will use “Reps in Reserve” as a way of prescring how much weight you should use for each exercise. Because everyone is different, I can’t just say “do 200lb for this”. I also can’t say “do 65% of your max” because 1) you may not know what your max is and 2) your strength will fluctuate from day to day, week to week. Reps in Reserve is a simple tool that allows you to select the correct working weight on each day of the program.

It’s really simple. If the program calls for 10 reps @ 2RIR (2 “reps in reserve”), then that means that you will work up to a weight that you could do twelve reps with, but stop at ten, leaving two reps in reserve. This allows you to select the appropriate weight each training session depending on how you feel, and it provides you with feedback on how heavy to go if you’re not sure how strong you are (like if you’re new to training a particular exercise).

Here’s an example using the same from above with the deadlift:
Empty bar x 10 reps (“that was super easy”)
95lb x 10 reps (“that was still easy”)
135 x 10 (“yup, still easy”)
185 x 10 (“that was harder, but I could definitely do more than 12 reps)
200 x 10 (“I think I could have done 2, maybe 3 more reps. I’ll stop here)
200 x 10, DONE.

It doesn’t have to be an exact science; as long as you’re in the ballpark, the program will work as intended. We just want to stay away from failure and from being way too easy.


Density Blocks*** – For the third strength exercise you will see that the prescription is given in a timed density block (eg – 4 minute density block). This means that you will do as many reps as you can in a bunch of mini-sets in the given time frame. The goals is total number of reps, so be sure to not take any of the mini sets to failure. Pick a resistance level that you could do 5-12 reps per mini set. Stop each mini set from 2-4 reps in reserve. This allows us to get a lot of volume in a short period of time, which will increase your work capacity and reduce your workout time.

It might look like this for the chinup during the four minute block:
Start,
7 reps, rest 30-40 seconds,
6 reps, rest 30-40 seconds,
5 reps, rest 30-40 seconds,
5 reps,
Stop

HIIT Circuit – For the circuits, there will be a list of exercises with either a set number of reps (ex – x15) or as many reps for time (ex – 45s), with a given rest period at the end of the list. The number of rounds required is also listed (ex – 3 rounds). Each round will consist of doing each exercise listed with no rest in between. You will rest the time given at the bottom of the list and then start the next round.

It might look like this:
*START
Dumbbell RDL + Dumbbell Row x 15, no rest
Dumbbell Thruster x 15, no rest
Get Ups x 8, no rest
Rest 45-60 seconds
Dumbbell RDL + Dumbbell Row x 15, no rest
Dumbbell Thruster x 15, no rest
Get Ups x 8, no rest
Rest 45-60 seconds
Dumbbell RDL + Dumbbell Row x 15, no rest
Dumbbell Thruster x 15, no rest
Get Ups x 8, no rest
*FINISH

Don’t sweat it if these concepts are new to you. You don’t have to get everything right on day one. The most important thing is showing up and getting in the work to the best of your ability. You might stumble through the first few workouts, and that is TOTALLY FINE. It will still work!

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Common Questions

Q: Should I do a warmup at the beginning of each training session?
A: A quick ~5 minute general warm up is fine to elevate your heart rate, get a quick sweat, and get things “flowing”, so to speak. Something as simple as walking on a treadmill is fine. You don’t need to spend 20-30 minutes foam rolling, stretching, and doing crazy mobility routines to get ready; they are unnecessary and not scientifically validated anyway.

Q: This is too easy. Can I do more?
A: Sure! Just be aware that the first couple of weeks might be really easy for those who train regularly; the workouts will get harder! However, if you wanted to add more training, I’d add 1-2 more Low Intensity Steady State cardio sessions on non training days, matching the prescription given for Day 2.

Q: This is too hard! Should I do something else?
A: Don’t sweat it if things seem difficult the first few weeks. You may feel winded with the short amount of rest and the fast paced nature of the workouts. Your body will adapt very quickly and you will be smooth sailing after the first few weeks. If you have specific concerns, let us know and we can help you modify the program for you.

Q: Should I expect to be sore? If I am should this concern me?
A: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is usually the result of a novel stimulus (ie – an exercise that is new to you). If you haven’t trained a particular exercise, then it is likely that the new (to you) workouts will cause some soreness. This is completely normal. Continue to do the program as written even if you are sore. We repeat, you should continue to train, even if you are sore. After a week or two you will have become adapted to the training and any soreness in the remaining weeks should be minimal.

Q: I’m limited on equipment. Can I substitute exercises given for something else?
A: Absolutely! Just pick a similar exercise to the one provided. If you need assistance picking exercises, leave us a comment and we’ll help you find a replacement with the equipment you have available.

Q: I’m limited on time. How do I make these workouts shorter?
A: The first step would be ensure that you’re not wasting time by resting between warmup sets, checking your phone, jawjacking at the water fountain, etc. If these are all in check, one option would be to combine the first two strength exercises and do them simultaneously, alternating sets back and forth. For example, while your “resting” the deadlift you could be working the press, and vice versa. Another option would be to decrease your rest time between working sets from 2 minutes to 1.5 or 1 minute. It may not be evident now, but in the later weeks of the program you will be doing multiple working sets (4+), so this is a big time saver as well.

Q: I’m old. Can I do this program?
A: Absolutely!

Q: Can children do this program?
A: Absolutely!

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Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoy the first week of the program. Tune in next week for Week 2’s programming, and let us know what you think!