Even though coach Joe is correct in opening today's guest article with this article not being for everybody; I would ask: "but is it completely?" Could it be possible that you may need to kick down a door or your own door? God forbid you are ever in such a situation, but wouldn't it be nice to have that level of core strength and power?-Nate
This is a technical article intended for folks who kick down doors for a living.
Definitely not intended for everyone.
Needless to say, the training principles are INDEED appropriate for anyone.
When a bad guy is inside a house, the good guys will use various breaching techniques to gain entry.
Today's article is about mechanical breaching.
The breachers are usually your powerlifting guys; they carry the ram and hit the door.
Problem is, if you don't train for this type of explosive, rotational activity, you can get into serious trouble.
Learn more in the guest article below, written by Coach Stephenson.
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Developing the Core for Breaching Officers
Mark D. Stephenson, CSCS,*D, ATC
As a SWAT operator there are many different tasks that you may be required to perform.
Being in top physical condition is not only essential but possibly a matter of life or death.
One such task that requires power and agility is that of the Breach Officer.
Breaching is a method of gaining forceful entry into a building.
Typically this is performed under adverse conditions and relies on the element of surprise
Breaching requires not only strength but also explosive power.
Combining those with proper technique and execution may increase the number of successful breaches. To develop a program for the Breaching officer first a needs analysis must be performed.
Needs Analysis
The proper mechanics when performing a door breach utilizing a ram requires the officer to approach the door carrying a 45-pound ram as well as being fully loaded down with appropriate tactical gear.
This could potentially bring the officer’s weight to an additional 110 pounds.
The distance from the drop off point to the entry is also a factor.
The approach is usually stealth-like and requires the officer to be agile.
It is critical to successfully breach the door with one hit. It is not always possible due to confounding factors such as location and debris around the door, barricaded or strategic bracing, etc.
However if one of those factors is due to lack of strength or power it is unacceptable.
Use of a circular saw may also be employed to cut bars in front of the door, window, or cutting a gun port through a wall using both vertical and horizontal cuts. The saw adds another 15 pounds to the officer and when turned on and running at full speed it creates a gyroscopic effect. This becomes very apparent when making a horizontal cut.
No matter which method of breaching is used, core strength and power are critical. Weakness in the core muscles may result in poor performance and possibly injury.
The Core
Developing the core of the body is like building the foundation of a house. It is the most important aspect of the structure and everything is built off of it.
The “core” is general thought to include all of the musculature of the pelvic, abdominal, and low back regions (1,2,3). Development of these muscles is the foundation for movement (2). The musculature involved helps in stabilizing the spine during movement by co-contraction and intra-abdominal pressure (2,3).
Due to the high demands of a tactical operator, increasing the core strength will help in the reduction and prevention of injury as well as increase performance (1).
Training the Core
When training the core it is important to realize that you are training for performance. There are specific exercises intended to train the lumbopelvic or low back region when addressing low back problems (3).
Training for performance is specific to the tasks that may be involved. The exercises should be dynamic and train the core in various planes of motion.
REFERENCES
1. Stephenson J, AM Swank Core Training: Designing a Program for Anyone. Strength Cond. J. 26(6):34 – 37. 2004
2. Faries MD, M Greenwood Core Training: Stabilizing the Confusion. Strength Cond. J. 29(2):10 – 25. 2007
3. Gamble P. An Integrated Approach to Training Core Stability. Strength Cond. J. 29(1):58 – 68. 2007
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Hope you enjoyed the article.
I wrote a training program that helps develop your core in a more “functional” manner.
In other words, this will help you in the event you need to kick down a door (or simply reduce back pain).
If you found this breaching article helpful, please forward to your fellow tactical athletes.
Train hard and stay safe,
Coach Joe
Joseph Arangio
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