Summer 2023 - 30

stress the entire time and during an FTX got
anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours of
sleep on an average night for two months of my
life. As tactical professionals, what do we have
to offer our athletes that are going into these
experiences? I believe that regardless of your role
within the tactical space you should be thinking
about exposure.
Are you providing your athletes with sufficient
exposure in order to be successful at whatever
they set out to do? Think general and specific
exposure. As tactical professionals, we need to
provide them with adequate general and specific
exposure to set them up for success. Our job is
to provide them with opportunities to train as
they fight.
Most of what we do is general exposure,
meaning it's not tailored to that individual athlete
but would generally benefit most athletes we
work with. Things like mindfulness, tactical
breathing exercises, plyometrics, aerobic work,
anaerobic work, and strength endurance
workouts are all great for most if not all our
athletes. It takes creativity and vulnerability on
our part in order to tailor that general exposure to
specific exposure, however. If you have an athlete
that wants to try out for a selection or go to a
course or school of some sort, then it is up to you
to find out what is going to be required of them.
We owe it to our athletes to be creative and
do the research required to offer the best service
possible. Go to the school or the cadre and ask
them if you can observe or even hop in and try
some yourself. Once you have experienced it
yourself, you can then go into your professional
toolbox and match the best tool for the job.
Then you can make an informed decision on
prioritization within your programming.
My profession calls this activity analysis. It's
essentially breaking down an activity into parts
30 | Tactical Training & Conditioning | Summer 2023
while considering things like the environment
or context it's performed in and the person
and their unique characteristics and skills they
possess. During my Combat Water Survival
Assessment (CWSA), I was able to utilize selftalk,
concentration, and arousal control effectively
because I had practiced using them in training
and had the confidence in my training to keep
cool and execute. Intellectually knowing how
to use a tool like self-talk, guided imagery, or
arousal control through a breathing technique
will not help if you don't practice it under similar
conditions that you'll face during your selection.
I had hours of specific exposure at the obstacle
course, at the pool, with a ruck on my back, and in
the gym utilizing these mental performance tools
that would set me up for success. I had plenty of
general and specific exposure. Enough so that
when I was 30m high over the water, I could rely
on my preparation.
Physical and Mental Readiness are about more
than numbers on a PT test. Are your athletes
healthy? Are they confident? Are they mentally
and physically resilient? Are they tough? Are they
team players? How's their sleep and recovery?
Regardless of your position on a Human
Performance team, these are all things that should
be considered within your programming. n
Summer 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer 2023
