How to Prepare for the Tactical Games (VIDEO)

Do you want to be a tactical athlete? You can be if you enter into the Tactical Games. This event is new to the shooting sports genre and is a mixture of shooting and physically demanding activities. It spans two days and comprises of six or more stages. The Tactical Games draws a lot of the former/current law enforcement officials and military, but anyone can sign up. But please be advised, this is an event you will definitely want to prepare for.

Best Prep Exercises

To get an idea on how you should prepare for the Tactical Games, we should start with some of the tasks you may run into there. All the movements and exercises are inspired from the Special Operations community. This means rope climbs, long distance runs, sand bags, and generally uncomfortable body movements.

At the end of a stage you will be doubled over, panting, and praying for more oxygen to enter your body so working on your cardio is really important. Building your endurance will not only help with the physical portion of the stages but with your shooting as well. Holding your rifle or pistol steady is extremely challenging while your body is absolutely smoked. Any type of cardio that is intense enough will help improve your chances at the games.

Next let’s cover grip strength. Stages will have all kinds of objects that need carried or pulled over varying distances. Most commonly seen are 45 pound jerry cans, barbells, sand bags, and your own body weight. Building your grip strength will allow you to hold on to those heavy objects longer in addition to pulling yourself up ropes or over walls. In regards to shooting, your grip is the foundation of a good shot. If your hands are fatigued then your pistol shots will surely suffer. Farmers carries, bar hangs, and rope climbs/pulls are some exercises that I do to strengthen my hands.

Last, but not least, is mental toughness. The best exercise to improve your mental toughness is daily physical activity. “Get comfortable with being un-comfortable,” as they say. You need to be aware of what you’re currently capable of and push past those limits now, so you can endure the rigorous stages of tactical games later. You need to find out that when you dig deep, that there is always a little more left in the tank.

Get Started

Do not hesitate in starting to prepare for the Tactical Games. The more time you have to get ready the better. The event is advertised as a two day event but preparation starts months in advance. Start off by finding a good gym and range with a good trainer that is going to hold you accountable and push your limits. Be honest with what areas of your fitness  need improvement and make the changes.

This coming June will my third time attending the games and I most definitely plan to do more in 2019. I initially signed up to get a metric of my own person physical abilities. Competing in these matches has been a great motivator to not just improve my fitness but also my overall health. The fact that I get to include shooting with my overall self improvement is a win win in my book

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