Bulgarian Bag: Focus on Tactical Preparation and Application

Bulgarian Bag: Focus on Tactical Preparation and Application More than physical movement… “The mind is the athlete; the body is simply the means it uses to run faster or longer, jump higher, shoot straighter, kick better, swim harder, hit harder or box better.”

2012

Total Warrior

Stephen Nave Competitive Performance Strategies, Inc.

2/25/2012

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Bulgarian Bag: Focus on Tactical Preparation and

Application

Who is the Tactical Athlete The tactical athlete is anyone who engages in high-risk/high demand operations. These

operators/athletes require high levels of muscular strength, muscular endurance, speed, power, agility,

balance, joint mobility, muscle flexibility and mental toughness. They need to have a superior energy

system development and must be able to operate in an anaerobic environment for extended periods of

time to handle the rigors of these high intensity environments. The tactical athlete needs to have an

increased level of situational awareness as well as the ability to adapt quickly to an ever changing

environment.

Below is a quote from G.S. Patton, Jr. that I feel is very appropriate.

Maj. 3rd Cavalry

“Civilization has affected us; we abhor personal encounter. Many a man will risk his life, with an easy

mind, in a burning house, which recoils from having his face punched. We have been taught to restrain

our emotions, to look upon anger as low, until many of us have never experienced the God sent ecstasy

of unbridled wrath. We have never felt our eyes screw up, our temples throb, and the red mist gather in

our sight.

And we expect that a man, the result of all this, shall, in an instant, the twinkling of an eye, direct

himself of all restraint of all caution and hurl himself on the enemy, a frenzied beast, lusting to probe his

foeman's guts with three feet of steel or shatter his brains with a bullet. Gentlemen, it cannot be done -

not without mental practice.

Therefore, you must school yourself to savagery. You must imagine how it will feel when your sword hilt

crashes into the breastbone of your enemy. You must picture the wild exaltation of the mounted charge

when the lips draw back in a snarl and the voice cracks with passion.

When you have acquired the ability to develop on necessity, momentary and calculated savagery, you

can keep your twentieth century clarity of vision with which to calculate the chances of whether to

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charge or fight on foot, and having decided on the former, the magic word will transform you

temporarily into a frenzied brute

To use the words, which Conan Doyle puts in the mouth of his hero Gerard, you have equipped

yourselves with, "A heart of fire and a brain of ice."

To sum up, then, you must be: a scholar; a high-minded gentleman; a cold blooded hero; a hot blooded

savage. At one and the same time, you must be a wise man and a fool. You must not get fat or mentally

old and you must be a personal Leader.”

Personal History

The SEAL Experience For the tactical athlete, when conducting platoon workups or being operational, what impact does

“fitness” or “functional fitness” really has on operational readiness? Operational readiness does not rely

only on physical preparedness, but many other components, such as mental preparation, self-

confidence, being self-aware (which is different from self-confidence), skill development (such as

weapon skills, navigation), tactical proficiencies (mission planning, tactics, ability to observe and act

quickly), and the ability to operate under pressure in stressful situations are some of the requirements

needed to survive when out in the field or combat situation. So, if we really look at it, the physical

fitness element plays only a supportive role, which is the part that allows us to be able to operate from a

solid platform or base of support, but ultimately, it is the mind that needs to be developed and strong.

I served over twenty years in the U.S. Navy, with 18 of them as a Navy SEAL. And I wasn’t done when I

retired, heading over to the Naval Special Warfare Physical Training Center in Coronado, California to act

as a Navy SEAL Instructor, training the men in BUD/S who would go on to become SEALs. My

experiences in training physically, mentally, and emotionally, both and on and off the battle fields, as

well as in training 1000’s of BUD/S students gives me a unique understanding of what it means to take

people to the edge and beyond, testing physical strength, muscle endurance, aerobic and anaerobic

capabilities as well as mental toughness.

SEALs and Special Ops get the opportunity to use all kinds of unique, expensive, and cutting-edge

equipment. One perk was that we field-tested tons of products before they hit the market – shoes,

watches, weapons, fitness tools… you name it, if it was something pretty cool, we probably had our

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hands on it. Just a couple of years ago after leaving Coronado, I was looking online for some options for

grip training when I discovered what I wish would have been available when I was on the teams – the

Bulgarian Bag. We never got the opportunity to test this baby out, but if it had been available to us, it

could have made a valuable difference in training.

History of the Bulgarian Bag

Real World Application Based My partner, Ivan Ivanov, invented the Bulgarian Bag around 2005.

He is a former Bulgarian Greco-Roman Olympic athlete, and at the

time was working as the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling coach

at the Olympic training center in Marquette, Michigan.

He was looking for a training tool that would allow his Olympic

wrestlers to improve explosive actions and dynamic movements

involved in pushing, twisting, swinging, pulling, bending, rotating, squatting, lunging, and throwing in a

safe yet effective manner.

Although the Bulgarian Bag was initially designed for Olympic class wrestlers, it has come to be adopted

by fitness trainers and professional athletes for its ability to increase muscular strength and endurance,

neurological integration, mental toughness, grip strength while providing a transition from traditional

training methods to non-traditional. Through a unique collaboration between Ivan and me, we founded

the International Bulgarian Bag Confederation (IBBC). The outstanding line of Suples training equipment

merged with functional movement principles based in research, science, industry, and sport-specific

applications have united in the IBBC’s respected ability to provide high quality education and support for

Bulgarian Bag enthusiasts and athletes around the world.

In order to truly understand the benefits of training with the Bulgarian Bag, full comprehension can only

be gained through education and understanding the “Why’s” and “How’s” behind the biomechanical

benefits of this innovative, dynamic 3 dimensional movement-based, functional training tool.

We are constantly researching traditional training methods and theories and adapting them to the

Bulgarian Bag. To obtain superior results with your training, you must apply physics, kinesiology and

physiology principles to movement, strength development, development of superior joint specific

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muscle endurance, and metabolic rate increases. With knowledge of how to manipulate these variables

you will be able to have better carryover to practical application and performance increases, particularly

the correct techniques in the development of force with the Bulgarian Bag.

The Current Operation Environment (COE) The contemporary operational environment (COE) is the overall operational environment that exists

today and in the near future (out to the year 2020). The range of threats during this period extends from

smaller, lower-technology opponents using more adaptive, asymmetric methods to larger, modernized

forces able to engage deployed U.S. forces in more conventional and symmetrical ways.

In real-world operational environments, soldiers and leaders must be aware of the variables

representing the “conditions, circumstances, and influences” that affect operations. In the training

environments, these variables and effects must, therefore, be present to provide realistic and relevant

training. Now, you are saying, “Steve where are you going with this.” Well if we are talking about

training for the tactical athlete (warrior) the same principles apply for physical preparation as in War

preparation. As athletes we must be aware of our “conditions, circumstances, and influences” that can

affect the outcome whether in battle or on the job (fireman, policemen).

The concept of asymmetric warfare is critical to understanding the COE. Asymmetry is a condition of

ideological, cultural, technological, or military imbalance that exists when there is a disparity in

comparative strengths and weaknesses. As in War as is for the tactical athlete, the opposing force,

(OPFOR) will seek to avoid our strengths while exploiting perceived weaknesses. In this way, they hope

to achieve their own goals. Bringing our attention back to fitness and physical training, we could call this

“Asymmetric Conditioning” where we adopt an adaptive approach to avoid or counter our threats

strengths without attempting to oppose them directly, while seeking to exploit their weaknesses. If we

understanding these COE variables we can then provide realistic or RBT (Reality Based Training) training

conditions that challenge us to produce certain training outcomes for the desired effect.

Reinforcing Operational Skill Set Should our training methods just enable us to run longer, perform more push-ups and pull-ups, carry a

heavier ruck farther? Is this style of training even going to help us perform better in the field or on the

job? Just because someone is in great physical condition does not make them a great warrior or fighter.

However, if we properly understand the components that make up the required demands of the

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potential situations that we may be required to confront - not only on a physical level, but also on

mental and emotional levels - we can then adapt the training protocols to support and mimic those

conditions as is realistically possible. It is important to note that there is a tremendous difference

between the performance impact of a heart rate increase caused by fear, (i.e. sympathetic nervous

system flooding stressor hormones into your body) and heart rate increase caused by physical exercise.

When your heart is pounding to physical exertion, your face will usually be bright red, as every vessel

dilates wide-open to get blood to the muscles. But with a fear–induced heart rate increase, your face

will usually turn white, due to vasoconstriction. Now ask yourself again, will attention to only physical

fitness be as effective when this athlete is put in the situation to react under pressure, fatigued, heart

pounding, breathing uncontrollably and overtaken by fear?

Unlike motor skill training, survival skills will be formed in the stress of combat. According to Kenneth R.

Murray, there are basically three elements that will enhance your ability to train these gross motor skills

so you can perform better under the stress of combat. These three elements include:

1. System design selection

2. Instructional delivery system

3. Motivational principles

Development of a system of skills which are appropriate for the arena of particular tactical performance

can easily be created using the Bulgarian Bag. Take a look at how primal movement’s patterns for the

Bulgarian bag are transferable in appropriate arenas of combat performance.

The instructional delivery system must ensure that the students can learn and develop confidence in the

skill quickly. Like I've always said, “the Bulgarian bag is easy to learn, but hard to master.” We can get

students up and running very quickly, teaching them basic gross movement patterns that will start the

learning process and start the programming of the neurological movement patterns that through

increased practice and experience help to develop superior neurological integration for all movement.

The final variable recognizes that the influence of motivational principles has a direct effect on the

students training intensity and subsequent skill development. Even though training with the Bulgarian

bag does not simulate the conditions of stress under combat situations, we can train in heart rate zones

(145 to 175 bpm) that mimic conditions that you may find under a combat situation along with

developing movement patterns that also occur under various stressful conditions. Skill development is

the ability to bring about some result with maximum certainty and a minimum outlay of energy, time

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and energy. Training with the Bulgarian Bag and mastering movement patterns will allow us to use basic

physics such as momentum, force production, gravity and inertia, which surround us in each and every

day and in every situation, including combat. As skill development increases, we learn to use our body

more efficiently, which allows us to use more weight (for loaded dynamic movements) and increase our

force production (mass x acceleration) with less energy. Using the Bulgarian bag and developing skills

with the Bulgarian bag can have a positive effect on our force production and our ability to create force

with a minimal outlay of energy that under a combat or stressful situation will carry over to the gross

motor skills that need to be performed. When looking at creating more force with less energy, by

conditioning our body and our mind, we create less of a mental strain required to exert the same

amount of force or energy than we would have created if we were de-conditioned. Once we have

trained our body and reached an exceptional physical level of performance, during combat situations we

may have to hardly pay attention to the physical demands. This will free up cognitive processes for other

requirements such as situational awareness, including fine motor skills, such as shooting a weapon

accurately.

Reducing the Possibility of Injuries We also need to adopt a training program that will train the body (joints, ligament, tendons and

muscles) to deal with the demands of the environment, as such, it is imperative to strike a balance

between joint strength, joint mobility, and adequate flexibility to deal with unexpected situations, and

adequate muscle strength and endurance in order to remain confident in our abilities and deal with the

changing demands of day-to-day operational or fighting conditions.

Training Options – Key to Usability and Sustained Fitness One of the factors when I look back to my SEAL days was sometimes the lack of having superior training

tools available when we deployed either by air, ship or vehicles in order to maintain our training

regimens. Space and weight restrictions often prevented us from taking anything useful. Sure, I know

you might be thinking this, but sorry TRX, you are not even in the same league as the Bulgarian Bag. The

great side effect is that this will reduce overall risk and helps us weather the physical demands we

encounter over a 20 or 30 year career.

Let’s look at the Bulgarian Bag in the deployment situation. This versatile training tool takes up only a

small space. Back in the day, I would have been able to outfit a 16-man platoon with only five kit bags,

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which could easily carry twenty 37 lb. Bulgarian Bags. Five kit bags can fit almost anywhere, anytime,

and with five kit bags I would have a complete, portable training solution. The leather Bulgarian Bags

are tough and can take a beating. They won’t rust, won’t roll on the deck on a ship or the back of a

truck, and again, take up a very small individual foot print, and do not need to be attached or secured to

anything, as is the case with TRX. In fact, I’ve had a student use the bag while underway on a small

cruiser during air operation, with 10 foot waves crashing against the flight deck!

If the guys on deployment or those who may need a mobile solution have the opportunity to train,

here’s what they want:

• They want a solution that is time efficient

• Requires little or no set-up

• Is movement-based

• Dynamic in nature

• Can provide a high volume (high density) of training in a short period of time (45 minutes or

less)

• Works on anaerobic capacity

• Has carryover to aerobic fitness (lower resting heart rate and increased stroke volume),

• Develops grip strength and endurance (direct carryover to day-to-day operational demands)

• Increases metabolic rate to potentially maximize body composition through continued use

The Bulgarian Bag delivers all the above, and more. We haven’t even addressed nervous system

integration and mental toughness. But just wait, I will.

Functional Movements Patterns

Pull/Push/Carry/Throw/Rotate/Squat/Lunge Functional movements can be defined as primal movement patterns. Pushing, squatting, lungeing,

throwing, rotating, pulling are all movement pattern that exists in our environments. Therefore it

follows that exercises are broken down into series of primal movement patterns, not muscle groups.

Many of the movements performed with the Bulgarian Bag during training are attempts at mimicking

the natural movement of a given task in order to improve performance. One of the strengths of the

Bulgarian Bag is the ability to train through a wide range of movement patterns, including simple single-

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joint movements, progressing up to dynamic compound-movements with high force production

qualities, allowing flexion, extension and rotation while under a dynamic load. The Bulgarian Bag is one

of the few tools that can provide this highly dynamic opportunity and compatibility.

When we look at functional movement patterns there are many descriptions as to what this really

means, but I believe the following elements must be included in the concept to fully understand what

functional movement is:

• Maintenance of your center of gravity over your own base of support - Balance/stability

component

• Improves relevant Central Nervous System (CNS) integration – Increases ability

• Isolation to integration – Movement

• Generalized motor program compatibility - Superior carryover to other activities

Forces in the Environment Aside from known threats and opponents, both the tactical athlete or weekend warrior are pitted

against further unseen forces in the environment that are always present, always workings and always

affecting physical performance: Gravity, Momentum, Vectors, Velocity, Mechanical Feedback-movement

as well as resistance that is changed as a result of force application, Ground reaction force (GRF), Mass,

Inertia (Working with acceleration and deceleration), Load distribution, Body position (joint angles and

moment arms).

At any given time, those forces in the environment are either working for or against us, and are

therefore obstacles we have to overcome. Having a technical understanding and applied practical

application on how to manipulate these elements can make the difference between victory, defeat, and

in the case of warfare, becoming a casualty.

One of the many outstanding attributes of the Bulgarian Bag is that we can use this tool to manipulate

the above elements, and not only manipulate, but learn to train our body to adapt effectively with these

forces which will increase our performance in whatever environment we may be in.

My experience of working with countless athletes has shown that the Bulgarian Bag can and will help

you cope with the unanticipated and unfamiliar increases in hormonal induced stress levels. The

benefits will be expressed in the ability to adapt and respond more quickly in virtually all experiences,

especially unfamiliar conflict situations.

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Objects in the Environment

What better challenge and training than to have to manipulate a physical opponent or obstacle in the

real 3D world environment. Depending on your job or sport, moving people around is harder than is

seems. Remember, these people usually don’t want to be moved! MMA and Jiu-jitsu athletes are

masters at this skill. Based on the writings of Kenneth R. Murray, Training at the Speed of Life, many

people in the in law enforcement and the military have never been in a fist fight and have usually very

little experience with violent conflict. That’s why I started with the quote by General Patton. It seems

as appropriate then, as it is now.

Learning to use the unseen forces for your advantage takes skill, physical awareness, but most

importantly experience to know what it feels like to be working against these elements. The Bulgarian

Bag can train you to become more aware and gain the experience of dealing with these forces on your

body and understand what it feels like as these forces converge on you while performing loaded

dynamic movements. This type of dynamic load based functional training and application has direct

carryover to real-world applications and situations that cannot be mimicked by other training tools.

Bulgarian Bag as an Integration Tool

Critical link between non-functional and functional movement The ongoing argument between what is functional and what is non-functional is not the point of this

article but if you were to ask 10 people, “What is functional training? ” you will get 10 different answers.

Regardless of the definitions provided, I do believe that resistive weight training (i.e. squatting, lunging,

pushing, pressing and pulling) should be incorporated in to any athlete’s programs, with the program

designed to reflect the physical demands of the sport or job. Having a solid foundation in strength

carries over to all activities and provides the base to build key components - power and speed – and is

the ultimate building blocks for functional movements.

The Bulgarian Bag is the perfect transitional tool between traditional weight training and the parameters

mentioned above for functional training. Training with the Bulgarian Bag during off days helps recovery

without overtraining. The relative loads are relatively light and force development can be controlled

based on how we manipulate two primary variables: mass (weight of bag) and acceleration (speed of

movement). Because the loads are light, there is relatively low muscular protein degradation compared

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to high intensity resistive weight training. Remember, we measure intensity for weight training based

on how hard we are working as a percentage of 1RM for a given rep range.

Intensity with the Bulgarian Bag can be measure by not intensity (per definition above) per se, but by

density. By density, I mean how much work we are performing in a given time frame. This again is

where the Bulgarian Bag excels by being able to produce very dense workouts with high relative volume

of weight moved.

Nervous System Integration: Recruit More Muscles During Movement One of my favorite Bulgarian Bag benefits is the direct carryover to resistive weight training or

movement enhancement for the tactical athlete; in other words enhanced nervous system integration.

Let me describe this for you, and unless you use the Bulgarian Bag on a regular basis (3 to 5 times a

week) you won’t really be able to relate, but basically here is how it works. Many Bulgarian Bag

movements such as the Spin, Power Snatch and Arm Throw require full body integration/activation to

perform the movement with correct technique. That means a bottom-of-your-foot-to-the-top-of-your-

head type of integration. As you progress and master the movements, you develop an increased ability

to recruit more muscle through developing neural pathways that quickly communicate with muscles to

work together to efficiently load and unload the body during highly-dynamic load-bearing rotational,

sagittal plane and frontal plane movements.

Flow: Using the Bulgarian Bag to get into Flow What is flow and why is it important? How we feel toward what we do and the experience it offers

often directly impacts our performance or ability to perform at continual high or optimal level. Mihaly

Csikszentmihalyi describes this experience as “flow.” In his book “Flow is Sports” he describes what

various athletes have said about being in the flow. Some descriptions are:

• “In the zone.”

• “In the groove.”

• “Focused.”

• “Everything clicks.”

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But, being in the flow is more then just the words above. Flow is a “harmonious experience where mind

and body are working together: effortlessly. Victory or defeat is irrelevant; flow is a state of mind

regardless of the outcome.”

These points are being discussed to help you understand how important the mental factor is to finding

flow. Remember, flow is a psychological state and can be attained through control of the mind – or

attention. The physical and technical components all need to first be in place to experience flow.

Creating the Proper Mind Set Mihaly believes it is the mind-set that opens the possibility for flow. He mentions 9 components that

need to be place:

1. Challenge-skills balance

2. Action-awareness merging

3. Clear goals

4. Unambiguous feedback

5. Concentration on the task at hand

6. Sense of control

7. Loss of self-consciousness

8. Transformation of time

9. Autotelic experience

All are important but beyond our scope. The two that are the most relevant to the topic are the

Challenge-skills balance and the Autotelic experience.

So what is this challenge-skills balance and how does it affect how we train, and more important what

tool do we use for the tactical athlete? Challenges may come in many forms - physical, mental

(emotional) or technical. Challenges are not always driven by the obvious, like the challenge to win the

fight or accomplish the mission. Many times they are defined in a personal way, and may be far different

then the demands of the structured competitive or tactical environment. A key point to remember

according to Mihaly is, “It is what the athlete chooses to define as the challenge that determines what

skills are needed to match the perceived opportunity.” We all vary in our relative skills and capacities,

however, the objective skill is not critical for the challenge-skills balance, it is how we perceive our skills

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in relation to the relevant challenge. Mihaly states, “It is more important to realize that what you

believe you can do will determine your experience more that your actual abilities.”

Putting All Together: The Autotelic Experience What is the autotelic experience? Simply, it is “flow.” This state of mind can be so rewarding to

athletes, once experienced it is sought out, over and over again. You may focus on many aspects of how

it feels; some focus on how the movements feel, so that you “feel like a champion-like a true athlete.”

Performing perfectly may be another component of enjoyment and is a result of being in flow. So, how

do we find flow for the tactical athlete? For our purposes completely understanding the challenge-skills

balance and creating the proper mind-set is a great start.

Fundamentals for Reinforcing Operation Skill Sets

Belief in Self and Being Self-Aware The importance of self-confidence cannot be underestimated. Without a belief that, “I can withstand

challenges that will come from many fronts” you may never get the chance to experience flow. Self-

belief refers to cores ideals that we hold about our abilities and ourselves. This is built up over time and

is a consequence of our experiences and our environment. Typically, tactical athletes are at the mercy

of their job or operational commitments. Meaning, their confidence is based on performance in their

job and can be affected from mission to mission. Having self-belief is much deeper and it not related to

specific performance but a belief in self.

So what is the difference between belief in self and being self-aware? Being self-aware means we have

the ability to quickly make adjustments to skills, or objectives depending on the opportunities in the

environment. Mihaly states, “Self-awareness simply means paying attention to the cues provided by

movements and reactions, and making adjustments to what you are doing when something is not quite

right. Without self-awareness the tactical athlete misses important cues that can lead to a positive

change in performance.” Being self-aware is not thinking about the self at all; we just process in

formation about the fine nuances of our involvement in the activity, which may save your or your

teammates life.

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Using the Bulgarian Bag to Facilitate Flow How do we use the Bulgarian Bag to facilitate flow? Training with the Bulgarian Bag offers a different

challenge then most of us are accustomed too. People often wonder, “What can I do with a light 26 lb.

or 37 lb. bag?” Remember, that’s the weight while it sits still on the ground, not moving. Once we start

to move the bag and manipulate the variables the whole game changes. I mentioned above that getting

to that psychological state of flow depends on many variables, but the ones we can impact and develop

with well-designed training is self-confidence and self-awareness.

Bulgarian Bag training and workouts can be extremely difficult and can provide challenges at physical,

mental and emotional levels. What this does for us as tactical athletes is to build our self-confidence by

truly believing, “I can live through this, I am ready physically for any challenge.” If as a coach I can help

my athlete overcome any mental obstacles associated with the challenges, then we create the

environment for flow to exist. One of the amazing benefits is the short duration to experience, feel and

see the benefits from this type of high intensity training. Twenty to thirty minutes workouts, performed

3 to 4 times a week will rapidly start to show results.

The second check block for facilitating flow is by training to be more physically self-aware. To do this

the athlete has to be so tuned-in to how his body feels, reacts and responds to movements patterns that

may effectively mimic the potential external stimulus that be experienced in the combative

environment. This stimulus must be quickly interpreted as environmental feedback and the athlete has

to have the ability to react and adjust. Because of the raw nature of the movements with the Bulgarian

Bag, you will become body-aware. For many movements, no muscle escapes the stimulus and demands

of the bag. To endure the training you will develop a more keen sense of movement-based reaction;

essentially you become a fine-tuned neurological response machine.

Integration of the Bulgarian Bag into Current Training Protocols The Learning Cycle is a systematic approach for integrating a new tool or method into an already

established protocol or regimen. It requires the following:

1. Create a need for the skill

2. Students must believe they can learn the skills quickly

3. Students must have a positive training experience quickly

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4. Students must quickly feel results that provide increased job performance and efficiencies

1. Time and Money. Time is precious these days and if I am already stressed and loaded, dealing with

my work and personal responsibilities integration of a new training tool without really asking the

question, “It is this time spent to acquire a new skill worth it?” and “what will be the potential benefits

in job performance?” I feel that in the previous paragraphs I have shown that there is real need and

benefit to taking the training and time and money to integrate the Bulgarian Bag in any current training

protocols.

2. Easy to learn, but Hard to Master. The Bulgarian Bag is experiential in nature. A hands on application

is the key to technical proficiencies.

3. But what is beautiful about using the Bulgarian Bag is that results can be very quickly even without

technical mastery. Because the movements are so dynamic your body is forced to adapt. Basic

movement patterns can be performed that have high training carryover value right from the first day of

training. As technical mastery increases into the conscious competent and on some levels unconscious

competent, you mind focuses on the actual movement, not how to perform the movement. Even

though you may be performing a gross movement pattern, you mind can control fine nuances of motor

control to adjust muscle tension, contraction and relaxation. This is where our nervous integration and

opening of neural pathways occur.

4. Based on personal experience and working with number of athletes, I have seen increases in

technical (job skill) proficiencies almost immediately. Once the differences are felt for practical on the

job demands, then we have belief. This is a quote I can up with that really holds true, “You must believe

that winning/goal attainment/mission accomplishment is possible. As long as you truly believe that you

can reach your goals and objectives, you will. That belief in yourself and abilities is real. Tangible. It’s

that belief that creates the passion that will drive you to willingly pay the price for your success”. In this

situation once people feel the changes it will motivate them to commit to scheduled training

Conclusion They are many aspects to performance and longevity for the tactical athlete. I have shown that the

Bulgarian Bag is a versatile tool that can be taken and used virtually anywhere in most any condition.

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Functional and non-functional training all has a place in our physical and mental preparation, and the

Bulgarian Bag is a great integration tool. Creating the correct mindset can have a direct impact on our

tactical performance regardless of our physical conditioning. Our psychological state and our belief in

our abilities often will determine our outcome whether in the field or on the mat. The Bulgarian Bag will

start to mitigate personal injury and lower risk (on many levels) through adequate dynamic movement

preparation. In my opinion, the Bulgarian Bag should be a key component in any serious training

program for the tactical or combat athlete.