The Effect of a Daily Undulating Periodization Program on the Physical Performance of Trainee Tactical Police...

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Occupational Fitness

Background:

• Specialist tactical police officers require high levels of physical performance.
• Operational demands often limit structured physical training opportunities.
• Daily undulating periodization (DUP) offers a potential solution for varied fitness development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a 12-week DUP program on the physical fitness of trainee tactical police officers.
• To assess improvements in strength, power, anaerobic, and aerobic capacity.

Main Methods:

• A within-subjects, repeated measures cohort study involving eight police officer trainees.
• A 12-week DUP resistance training program incorporating hypertrophy, max strength, and power development.
• Pre- and post-training assessments of strength (deadlift, bench press, pull-up, split squat), lower limb power (loaded counter movement jump), anaerobic capacity (Repeated Anaerobic Sprint Test), and aerobic fitness (Maximum Aerobic Speed, V̇o2 max).

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in pull-up and split squat strength (p < 0.001).
• Enhanced lower limb peak velocity and power output during loaded counter movement jumps (p = 0.005–0.04).
• Significant gains in Repeated Anaerobic Sprint Test performance (p = 0.02) and Maximum Aerobic Speed/V̇o2 max (p = 0.006).

Conclusions:

• A DUP program is an effective strategy for enhancing the physical fitness of specialist police officers.
• DUP training can concurrently improve strength, power, and both anaerobic and aerobic capacity.
• This training approach is suitable for improving occupational task performance within workplace constraints.