On April 13, 2014, CrossFit Law Enforcement Liaison Greg Amundson joined Redlands Police Department on opening day of their new CrossFit Law Enforcement Affiliate, CrossFit Theseus. Over 30 Offices participated in the inaugural event, which included a keynote address from Greg, and the Redlands Chief of Police Mark Garcia. Redlands Police Officer Esteban Valenzuela worked extremely hard to create the Affiliate for his Department, and his efforts were recognized by both his Chief, and the entire Department.

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“I have had the opportunity in my career to be a part of our Gang Unit, SWAT team, Narcotics unit, and Patrol teams. During my time on each unit I have witnessed first hand the benefit of implementing CrossFit into my life and those around me at the Redlands Police Department. High Intensity and Constanly Varied, Unknown and Unknowable? Imagine jumping out of a car without any notice while carrying 30 pounds of extra gear, chasing a suspect over a 4 foot fence and then a 6 foot fence, and taking him into custody after wrestling with him for 30 seconds to a minute. And in the end you’re not even breathing hard! I can tell you there is no better way to prepare for that scenario than CrossFit, and I have found no other program that has a more direct application to what we could possibly face on a daily basis. I can personally tell you that CrossFit has changed the lives of several members of the Redlands Police Department and will continue to be the primary strength and conditioning program for years to come.” Redlands Police Officer Esteban Valenzuela 

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“In the Law Enforcement profession, Officers need to be prepared for the unknown and unknowable. CrossFit is a great fitness program to meet and surpass these needs and instill confidence in our Officers to handle any incident they encounter. I strongly support CrossFit to achieve our Law Enforcement fitness goals.” – Chief of Police Mark Garcia, Redlands Police Department

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On March 24, 2014, Greg Amundson and Josh Murphy from CrossFit HQ dropped in on the Border Patrol Agents of Honor First CrossFit in El Paso, Texas. Joshua Gutierrez of the USBP is a Senior Patrol Agent who is assigned as the Head Coach at Honor First. Their CrossFit Affiliate averages 150 Agents a day who participate in the WOD, as well as develop foundational CrossFit skills. The USBP is a great example of the tangible and intangible benefits of the CrossFit program at a Law Enforcement Agency.

On January 22, 2014, 17 Law Enforcement Officers, representing seven different Northern California Law Enforcement Agencies, gathered for the CrossFit Law Enforcement Seminar. The Seminar was hosted by the Contra Costa County Law Enforcement Training Center. Special thanks to all the Officers for attending, and to Captain James Harbinson for helping coordinate the event.

Congratulations to our friends at SEB (Special Enforcement Bureau) CrossFit, located at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. On December 16, 2013, several neighboring Agencies, including D-Platoon from Los Angeles Police Department, Santa Monica Police Department SWAT Team, and Torrance Police Department SWAT Team, gathered at SEB for their inaugural CrossFit workout. Greg Amundson from CrossFit HQ was on scene to present a check on behalf of CrossFit to SEB for $5,000.00 to help supply the new gym with equipment. If you are interested in bringing CrossFit to your Law Enforcement Agency or Academy, please send an e-mail to CustomerService@CrossFit.com.

SEB Inaugural Workout:

50 Deadlifts (225lb.)
60 Burpees
70 Shoulder to Overhead (135lb.)
80 Pull-ups
90 Front Squas (135lb.)
100 Hand Release Push-ups

“Opening Day at SEB CrossFit” with Greg Amundson and Steve Longan -CrossFit Journal video [ipod] [mov] [HD mov]

The goal of the CrossFit Law Enforcement Seminar is to educate the Officer on the application of CrossFit for the Law Enforcement profession. Attendees will learn how Law Enforcement Agencies have successfully implemented a CrossFit program into their Academies and In-Service training days. The Seminar includes information on how to create a successful non-profit CrossFit Law Enforcement Affiliate. Attendees receive data, operational plans and talking points for accurate representation of CrossFit to their Administrators and peers. Lectures include programming, Law Enforcement training context, case studies and nutrition, as well as physical instruction on foundational CrossFit movements and their direct application to the demands of the Law Enforcement Profession. The day includes two team building workouts and an opportunity for Officers to network and forge winning partnerships between Agencies.

The next CrossFit Law Enforcement Seminar is scheduled for January 21, 2014, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Contra Costa County Law Enforcement Training Center. This Seminar is open to only 30 participants. You can register for this event by clicking on the link below. We look forward to seeing you there!

The CrossFit Law Enforcement Seminar is now Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Certified in California.

REGISTER for the January 21, 2014 Seminar.

CrossFit has been successfully implemented in numerous Law Enforcement Academies across the Nation. One of the best case studies and models for Academy adoption has been the Jacksonville County (Florida) Sheriffs Office. Results from a study of the program in 2003 revealed that injuries normally sustained during the Academy were down 80 percent in the first year. The few injuries that did occur happened during the use of unstructured protocols inconsistent with CrossFit’s standards. Since 2003, there have been no physical injuries related to Jacksonville’s CrossFit training model – not one.

Since the implementation of CrossFit at the Jacksonville County Sheriff’s Office, Academy graduates who have been recruited by outside LEO Agencies have been highly regarded for their physical and mental combat readiness and street confidence. The top CrossFit performers in the Jacksonville Academy quickly moved on to tactical assignments where they publicly credited their survival in deadly force engagements and extended stressful incidents to their “CrossFit Mentality.”

For more information on the success of the Jacksonville County Sheriff’s Office, please see the CrossFit Journal Article “CrossFit Training for Law Enforcement.”

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

The CrossFit program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

CrossFit is ideally suited for the Law Enforcement professional. Because the demands of police work are unknown and unknowable, it is imperative that Officers fitness training be as inclusive as possible. CrossFit’s contention is that Law Enforcement Officers are professional athletes. Once this paradigm shift has occurred in the mind of the individual Officer, it’s easy to see why the CrossFit program is the perfect solution for combat-ready levels of physical and mental fitness.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. Numerous Law Enforcement Academies from around the Nation have successfully implemented the CrossFit program into recruit training classes. Increased physical fitness, improved morale and self confidence, decreases in injury rate and street-ready generalized athletic capacity are commonly reported themes after adoption of the CrossFit model.

CrossFit has been formerly adopted by numerous SWAT Teams from around the Country. Santa Monica Police Department SWAT Team was the first Agency to not only adopt the program, but select one of the most demanding CrossFit workouts as their entry test for Team selection.

Santa Monica SWAT choose the CrossFit Hero WOD (Workout Of The Day) “Murph” as their Team physical fitness selection test. “Murph” was named after Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Michael Murphy of the US Navy SEALS. The workout consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pullups, 200 pushups and 300 squats, and then concludes with another 1 mile run.

A true testimony to the physical and mental fitness of Santa Monica SWAT, all of their Team members successfully completed the test under their self-imposed one hour time limit. Furthermore, one year after the inaugural test, the Santa Monica Chief of Police completed “Murph” alongside his Team.