SWAT Team Goes CrossFit

Join members of the Santa Monica Police Department SWAT Team on training day. Each member is wearing close to 50 lb. of gear as the team simulates the pursuit of two suspects.

Since 1992, team members have been meeting in the mornings at the beach to work out together. Eventually, Scott McGee and another team member snuck in a couple of CrossFit workouts. Now, CrossFit is all the team does.

“These guys came along, introduced CrossFit and kind of changed everything,” says fellow member Greg Smiley. “I feel like I’m fitter—even though I’m 44 years old—than I was when I was 24 years old.”

And the workouts are ideal for the team’s line of work.

“Being good at CrossFit makes you, I think, physically fit enough to endure long SWAT operations,” McGee says.

Another team member, Mike Braaten, called the workouts “great.”

“I think it’s the best thing that’s come around for us as far as physical-fitness-wise since I’ve been on the team,” he says.

Video by Again Faster.

7min 29sec

HD file size: 219 MB
SD wmv file size: 97 MB
SD mov file size: 58 MB

Please note: These files are larger than normal Journal videos. For smoother viewing, please download the entire file to your hard drive before watching it (right-click and choose Save Link As...).

Additional reading: SWAT Shapes Up by Louis Hayes, published March 8, 2009.