In recent years, there has been a tremendous shift of the tactical world (Military, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Response) looking to implement the concepts of Human Performance into their organizations. Like any concept being newly executed, there have been mistakes made and lessons learned. In this article, we will be exploring the perspectives and concepts involved in applying human performance systems for tactical groups in order to pursue progress and improvements.
When we talk about “Human Performance Optimization” (HPO) we are often drawn to the most popular application of this industry, sports. For obvious reasons the sports industry has dominated the health and fitness industry with almost unlimited funding and brilliant minds to improve the players’ performance on the field. The best part about it, is that the fruits of their labors and innovation are seen by the eyes of everyone watching games. World Records being broken, limits being overcome, athletes that are now running faster, jumping higher and are overall stronger.
There is an obvious attraction for tactical element to want to become stronger, faster and powerful “athletes” and there are many practical advantages of helping this community accomplish the mission. However, the most effective way to accomplish this goal goes beyond the fundamentals that we have learned through successful strength and conditioning programs.
PERSPECTIVES:
Bearing in mind that Human Performance covers an extremely vast array of applications. Performance is relative the to the task at hand. This can be sports performance, business, health, recovery, etc. It is negligent the say that simply an increase in strength, speed, or power (SSP) in any 1 specific movement is an adequate definition of improving human performance. There has to be a goal or task to take into account to measure performance. If athlete ‘A’, being a defensive lineman in American football, increases their bench press 1RM max by 15%, but fails to increase their number of sacks during games or fails to plug their hole to block runs, then performance was not improved.
Human Performance cannot be gauged solely by the increases in SSP in specific athletic movements. Strength and conditioning systems have been shown to play a positive role in the likelihood of successful performances and increases in game time abilities, but without the compliment of sport specific practice, it falls short of improving an athlete’s performance on the field. For example, increasing athlete ‘A’s bench press by 15% has a potential to transfer over to position specific duties like overcoming the offensive lineman, pushing them out of the way to reach the QB. Decreasing the Soccer Forward’s 40yd dash time can potentially help the player outrun defenders. However, we have to take perspective into account as well as the systems being implemented and the whole program in order to analyze it’s effectiveness in optimizing human performance.
Take a company’s warehouse department for instance, when the conversation about improving human performance for this kind of group takes place, the idea of implementing a professional sport team’s strength and conditioning system is not ideal. Training warehouse employees like professional athletes would be detrimental to the company in a number of ways including.
- Wasted efficiency of movements and performance indicators that have 0 bearing on workplace performance. (The ability to correctly perform Olympic lifts, for example, realistically provides no added benefit to the employee’s ability to perform their job. Likewise, the time needed to teach the techniques would be lost in the employee’s time on the job performing their duties.)
- Failure to provide cost-effectiveness. The goal for health and wellness initiatives in businesses is to provide services that reduce the frequency or work related injuries and improves the employee’s ability to perform better and produce more effectively on the job. (Training warehouse employees like professional athletes can cause the opposite effect by increasing injuries pushing performance limits and taking away time to perform and produce more earning for themselves and the company.)
To boil this down into a very simple concept, training needs to be tailored to specific needs of the tasks being performed. Marathon runners can’t train like powerlifters and expect to reach elite levels of the sport. Same goes for tactical groups, they cannot train like sport specific athletes and expect to perform their job specific functions to the highest level.
Like any other profession demanding high activity levels and physical output, human performance optimization systems for tactical groups need to be tailored specifically for the goals and mission of the unit. Form follows function, if we want combat soldiers to be MMA fighters, then an MMA traning system needs to be implemented. The duties of combat units however, are much more inclusive then just any one specific sports skill set. While the limits and physical prowess of many professional athletes is impressive, setting goals for tactical groups to imitate similar abilities will inherently create gaps in the performance spectrum of individuals who need to be able to perform at high levels in a large variety of skills, only a portion being “athletic” in nature.
CONCEPTS:
Tactical groups come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They also come with varying mission sets different from one to another. While there are many principles of human performance that can be applied to all of these units or groups, the HPO professional needs to bear in mind the specifics of the units duties and develop programs based around that rather than fit their preferred system’s concepts into the unit’s training. Implementing a successful Human Performance Optimization system will be one that is highly specific to the needs and demands of the unit’s members and mission. Currently, there is a mindset of bringing top coaches from other athletic backgrounds and implementing their sport specific systems for tactical groups. While there is benefit from making soldiers more athletic and working on increasing SSP in core lifts and other athletic movements, these systems have the potential to miss certain aspects and essential concepts of tactical units, including the following (but not limited to):
- Injury Prevention
- Ability to perform instantly
- High levels of strength in awkward positions
- Covering distance under load
- Staying calm under pressure
- Carrying personnel
- Performance in extreme conditions (High Altitude, low oxygen, G-forces)
- Maintain High Output for long periods of time
- Resistance to fatigue
While pieces of different strength and conditioning systems can be used to assist in improvements of performance, the complete success of the system lies in the hands of the HPO professional and their ability to ready the unit to overcome the stresses and demands of combat/situational situations. Special circumstances need to be taken into consideration. On deployments, soldiers will often not have a moment to “warm-up” or go through a routine to make sure their glutes are activated to reduce potential injury. While at home, precautions can be used to warm up and make sure that injuries don’t occur during training, but there should be protocols implemented that help the group prepare for the realistic circumstances of combat readiness. Improving 1RM can be beneficial for stabilizing joints and reducing injury, however in many cases strength in combat needs to be produced in less than optimal body positions. Individuals will often not have the ability to brace appropriately or set up the perfect stance. Time should be taken to program, safely, the ability to be strong in less than ideal circumstances.
Ground combat units also differ from other combat units. Pilots, for example, require high levels of physical fitness in VERY different circumstances. The HPO professional can effectively develop a plan for pilots understanding their unique stresses. Understanding the effects of hypoxia caused at high altitude or how the body strains under g-forces can provide tremendous insight to the specific training needed for these units. This training may include: postural support, high ventilatory thresholds, and spatial awareness. These can greatly influence the performance of pilots in combat situations.
There are even a number of differences between tactical groups. Every unit has a different mission set and speciality and each is going to place the member under unique circumstances and require unique physical abilities. Some will be in the air, other under the water, many work in the dark at night time while others operate whenever called. Human Performance Optimization ultimately needs to address the successful completion of the mission, not just the physical performance or increases in SSP.
CONCLUSION:
The typical set-up for sport specific strength and conditioning misses many of the unique demands that the tactical community requires to truly perform at their highest levels. While the HPO professional can utilize core principles of Exercise Physiology to improve physical fitness, there is more to be developed in order to cover the Human Performance spectrum that this community requires. The most effective program does not lie in the mind of any 1 coach or at any 1 gym or with any 1 team, rather the most effective way to enhance human performance for tactical groups lies in the individual’s hands that is currently working with the group.
Tactical groups need to be generally physically developed in a large variety of skills: Strength, Speed, Endurance, and Power. General Physical Preparedness (GPP) is a good, solid place to start with most tactical groups. There is nothing wrong with programming core movements like Squats, Deadlifts, Presses and Pulls. Resistance training is always going to be a beneficial way to assist in optimizing human performance, even in tactical groups, however, stopping the program there is a mistake. The HPO professional needs to understand the unit’s mission, skill sets, demands, stresses, and weaknesses in order to develop a fully comprehensive and SPECIFIC plan for the group. This will in essence expand the program’s ability to address areas of greatest need. This will also allow the professional to understand that tactical groups will never likely be the most elite in any 1 movement or exercise routine, rather the most elite of their job as a whole.
The role of Human Performance Optimization for tactical groups is an ever developing area of much interest. Governments are investing heavily into smart individuals and state-of-the-art equipment to make these individuals physically, mentally, and emotionally strong to perform as best as they can throughout their careers. Much is left to be learned about how to best approach tactical performance and these advancements along with new and better ideas will come about when the Human Performance Optimization community comes together to openly discuss what is working, what isn’t working, and where the gaps exist as well as where success has been experienced. I invite all members of the tactical community as well as civilian performance professionals to become a part of this discussion.
