CLOSING REMARKS

The differences between a tactical athlete and a sporting athlete are minimal at best. Both require special skills such as endurance, speed, agility, strength, power, muscle stamina, coordination, and flexibility. The public servants in the military, police, firefighting, and EMS professions need to consider themselves athletes and take care of themselves because their lives and the lives of others can often depend on their fitness levels.

At the end of the day, sporting athletes win or lose, but it is the tactical athlete who either saves a life or does not. This life may even be his or her own. Fitness and health play a key role in the successes or failures of the tactical athlete every day—not just every six months during a fitness testing cycle, but every single day.

Mental toughness is an attribute which most people in tactical professions already have. But the same can be said for competitive athletes and successful people in any profession. Being mentally tough helps you to keep competing when your mind and body want you to quit. “Finding fuel when the tank is empty” is one of the best quotes I have heard to describe mental toughness. During Hell Week at BUD/S, I learned that we have a section in our brains that tells us to stop in order to prevent us from hurting ourselves. There are times when you have to shut off that part of your brain in order to survive, and training helps you tap into this mindset.

Being mentally tough can take us into another level of competition or into a survival mode with success. You will find that during survival situations, when you are more worried about living than about anything else, your body will do all the work for you and will not want to quit or die. When you are forced to be strong, you will never believe how strong you can really be. As humans, we are built to survive. One thing the military, police, firefighters, and other tactical training programming will give you is an ability to think in high-stress situations when most people shut down. But even then, it is the repetition of our training that enables our bodies to perform in order to survive or help others to survive. The training does not make you mentally tough, it only brings out what is already there, making you a person who takes charge and gets things done, and who people want to have their backs when they need help. Train hard to be someone others will depend upon when times get tough.

Good luck with the plan and if you need help with any fitness-related questions, please feel free to email me at stew@stewsmith.com.