The Overweight Tacticool Gun Guy is a Liability to Everyone
Being in the health and fitness space for over two decades has given me enough evidence of the “fat tax” on society. That said, it’s time we look at the armed citizen from a completely different perspective — something that doesn’t even relate to a gun. What am I talking about? The tactical gut. Yup, the overweight tacticool gun guy you see on the range should be considered more of a liability than an asset.
If that got you “triggered,” let me explain.
Your Tacticool Gun Guy Gear Won’t Save You
Now, before you go all cancel culture on me and claim fat shaming, I’m simply looking at a major issue that is quite common today that needs to be addressed, especially when it comes from those who claim they are an armed citizen out to protect and save lives, yet they’re 100+ pounds overweight.
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I’m not a firearms instructor, door-kicker, or veteran, but what I am is a certified strength coach, trainer, and sports nutritionist. How does that relate to the gun guy or those tacticool wannabes on the range? Actually, a lot.
When a life-or-death situation occurs, it’s dynamic. People are moving, bullets may be flying through the air, people are ducking for cover, and hopefully you’re not standing frozen on the X. The example doesn’t even need to be a gunfight. You can look at any situation where you are fearful for your life and need to move out of harm’s way.
I see far too many people playing the role of the tacticool gun guy who has all the cool guy kit and gear. He’s got a tricked-out custom firearm, a backup firearm on the ankle, two knives, three magazines, and a spare Twinkie in his shirt pocket (but no medical gear, *derp*). The only thing (other than medical) he’s lacking is his health.
If you can’t take care of yourself, what makes you think you can take care of anyone else? If you’re overweight, slow, and your mobility resembles a sloth, what good are you when it comes to saving lives? All the cool guy tacticool gear isn’t going to do you any good if you can’t move from the X and save your own life. You’re a liability.
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What good is fighting off an attacker if you have the strength of a six-year-old? The saying is cliché but, “A strong person is hard to kill.” It’s the absolute truth.
Criminals prey on weak individuals who they think are an easy target. Don’t be that. Make them look at you and think twice about engaging with you. Just because you’re a gun guy or you carry all the tacticool gear doesn’t mean you’re an asset. More than likely, you carry all that stuff because you know deep down that you’re truly a liability, and you’re hoping all that stuff can save you.
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Put Your Health and Fitness in the Ten Ring and Focus on It
I’m not going to toss out names of overweight instructors and specifically call them out, but I want to talk about some guys doing things right. You have guys like DJ Shipley, Paul Sharp, Craig Douglas, Tim Kennedy, and many others in the industry (I could list a bunch more, don’t be offended if you weren’t mentioned) who fully understand that your body is a weapon, and you need to treat it as such.
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Take one look at these guys, and you know they aren’t someone you want to test. They aren’t about the tacticool gun guy life. They are about that badass survival mentality and putting in the work to protect those around them. There’s a drastic difference.
Just like you do maintenance on your firearms, so they are in working condition and optimized to perform, maintaining your fitness and body is no different. If you can’t run from point A to point B without feeling like you’re going to stroke out because you put more emphasis on being tacticool than fit, healthy, and strong, that’s a problem. You’re a liability. If you can’t pick someone up and run them to safety, you’re a liability. If you can’t fight off and overpower an attacker, you’re a liability.
Is this making sense?
Get to the gym. Work on your cardio. Improve your strength. Drop excess body fat. Test your boundaries! If you’re not pushing yourself, you’re not progressing. Hire a trainer if you need to. Get someone involved with your workouts who knows what they’re talking about. There’s never anything wrong with hiring or working with someone smarter than you. You’ll come out better by doing so. Quit the tacticool gun guy nonsense and get stronger — both physically and mentally!
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This is all no different than going to a firearms class. You signed up because you want to get better and more proficient. You don’t know what you don’t know. Stop building poor habits on the range and with your health!
When you put on your gun in the morning and walk out the door, are you filling your gun up with blanks? No. You’re putting in defensive ammo that is designed to perform and do work. Think of your nutrition the same way. Don’t feed your body junk, or it’ll cause you to perform like a blank — a lot of noise but nothing else going on. You can’t optimize your body if you’re filling it with empty carbs, unhealthy fat, and liquid sugar.
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Load up on lean protein sources, fruits, and vegetables. Make your own meals. Don’t eat out as often. Plan ahead.
If you are overweight, you are slower and a bigger target — making it much easier to attack you if you find yourself a victim.
Think of it like getting tactical training. You can be a tacticool gun guy who goes to a class to say you have training, or you can go there and drink from the firehose and take in as much information and value as you can that you can take with you to practice and get in the reps. The same goes for your health and fitness such as your tactical training workouts. Get the information, understand the information, apply the information, and get stronger, fitter, and harder to kill.
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As John Vernon said in Animal House, “Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” Quit being an overweight tacticool gun guy who is a liability to everyone around them!
And as always, go out and get the proper training needed to be proficient with your firearm(s) and EDC gear. I am not an instructor, tactical ninja, or tacticool gun guy, and I don’t pretend to be one on the weekends. I’m simply someone who seeks knowledge, improvement, and proficiency when it comes to self-defense and the ability to protect my family and those around me. You are your own first line of defense, seek the training of a certified and experienced instructor. And if you want to learn more about how to improve your health, strength, fitness, and life, I have thousands of articles on my website that are free and at your disposal.
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