Pragmatic Solutions to Tactical Performance Training
Part 4: Managing Inputs > Maximizing Outputs
Part 4: Managing Inputs > Maximizing Outputs
Much of the physical preparation profession has been geared towards the enhancement of performance by focusing on improving the 5 biomotor abilities of speed, strength, coordination, mobility, and endurance. These are obviously all outputs, are easily measured, and training them is fairly straightforward.
In the 1980s, a Canadian track coach named Charlie Francis started to shift the paradigm of simply focusing on outputs to considering what inputs an athlete has to manage in their preparation. Inputs are general stressors - physiological, environmental, psychological - that can impact how an athlete adapts to the stressor of training.
His system was called “vertical integration” and it divided a training cycle into high stress days and low stress days, generally a high day, followed by a low day. Conceptually, this makes sense: stress, then rest. But in high performance sport or military environments, the first casualty is always rest.
An athlete or military operator can only withstand so many stressors before something breaks down. Unfortunately, the initial breakdowns are usually internal and not external, which makes identifying them challenging, especially in a field environment. Building active recovery into a training cycle all but ensures inputs can be managed more effectively.
Using the traditional 4 day PT cycle from Part 2 as an example (high days in red):
On the surface, this schedule looks like it allows for plenty of recovery on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Unfortunately and especially in high speed military environments, the stressors don’t turn off on those days.
Soldiers and operators generally do additional physical preparation work on their own because unit PT isn’t challenging enough for them, further compounding stressors. Long runs are generally performed at too fast of a pace to be beneficial for recovery as well.
A simple solution is to slow down long runs on day 2 per Part 2 of this article series, and if additional work is done it needs to be done on the already “hard” days.
See below (high days in red)
Obviously, a system like this requires a re-education of sorts, but for those in charge of unit PT or in special operations groups, this a simple solution to managing the flood of stressors operators experience through a more measured approach to physical preparation.