(Hoover, AL) WIAT- The Alabama Tactical Fitness Competition is not your typical fitness competition, but these aren't your typical athletes either. 
 With rock music blasting five SWAT and tactical teams pushed their strength and endurance to the limit today at Combat Fitness Training in Hoover. There were five heats in all.  First participants hammered out an18 foot rope climb. Next they put on gas masks for an intense rowing session with reduced breathing capacity.

 "Then they had to immediately recover, come back outside, and go back into a strength episode of flipping the tires. Those tires are 500 pounds. Once that was done they had to regain composure and move to a spotting scope, identify a target and memorize that target then move on for some more endurance events," said Shawn Dickson, Owner of Combat Fitness Training.
 
Later they had to answer questions about the targets or face time penalties.
  "So in their most exhausted state they still had to pull their brain back in and answer the questions about the target they were looking at because that's what a tactical operator has to do," said Dickson.
 
 "This was probably a really good check on your endurance and your strength training," said Andy Herron, Hoover Fire Department.

"We have been told to get in shape for it so several of us have been in training, but it was certainly tough and the heat didn't make it any easier," said Sgt. Kevin Holden, Hoover Police Department.

Teams from Chilton County, Shelby County, Homewood, and Hoover all took part in the competition today.

 Sean Dickson says the Shelby County Sheriff's Office won by just a handful of repetitions, but all of the teams did so well that he plans to ratchet up the difficulty for the next one.