Fitness Will Save Your Life One Day, Every Day

Dec. 15, 2014
A career in law enforcement is 100 percent physical, and the numbers do not lie.

How did we get here? As the population has gotten fatter and more sedentary so have cops. As the population has exercised less and turned to processed unhealthy foods so have LEO’s.

But why?

A career as a LEO is 100% physical and the numbers do not lie folks; your physical ability can and will make the difference of whether you go home at the end of your shift.

Instead of berating you about what you should be doing; you already know what you should be doing, let’s look at some of the reasons why you are not! As we have traveled around the country teaching departments how to safely design and run fitness / wellness programs for LEO’s a number of patterns have come to our attention; being the science geek that I am of course we had to research it and the data backs up the patterns we have been seeing.

1. Fatigue: There is no shortage of data on the perils of fatigue.  From impaired decision making ability, increased risk of disease, higher risk of obesity and hormone disruption fatigue is a major player in the game.  Chronic fatigue can come in the form of missed sleep from overtime work, late calls etc to the sheer inability to sleep.  As we see and you know quality sleep is a major issue for cops. Many LEO’s report an inability to sleep for 6-8 hours uninterrupted by stress related sleep disturbances like night mares or feelings of “tactical insecurity.” Plus many officers turn to alcohol or sleep aids and that a whole problem unto itself.

Without good quality rest on a regular basis there is simply no way for your body to heal and repair. This is also one of the primary reasons that LEO’s gain weight over their career. Stress causes you to crave specific foods (not the good ones) and then fatigue makes you crave even worse foods and then fatigue reduces your metabolism and the fatigue and bad foods make you feel sluggish so you have no energy to work out! See….if we know the how and why we can fix it.

Check Out the Fatigue Foods and Stress Foods List

2. Wellness: Keeping the effects of fatigue in mind we are seeing some interesting wellness issues surface. If I had to give you one major piece advice it is to get your yearly physical and have a full blood panel done. Make sure to ask the doctor/provider to test for vitamin D levels and testosterone levels.

a. Vitamin D is becoming a major issue for LEO’s and the general public. We see significant vitamin D deficiencies in LEO’s that work at night and work swing shifts. Research suggests that vitamin D could play a role in the prevention and treatment of a number of different conditions, including type1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis. The good news is that supplementing with 1000iu in the summer and 2000iu in the winter will take of this problem.

b. Testosterone levels can affect some of the following in LEO’s. Muscle mass/strength, fat distribution, bone density and red blood cell production. Low T can also affect sleep and how well you heal so get your T tested!

c. Thyroid is the last test you have to make sure they screen for. There are known correlations between shift work, high stress, sleep imbalances and thyroid issues.

d. Water is the final piece of the puzzle and the easiest one to manage. Good hydration fixes most of the issue we see in public safety. So some good guidelines to follow are 1) by the time you feel thirsty you are 2 bottles behind 2) you should have to go to the bathroom every 60-90 minutes 3) the number one key to injury prevention is a well hydrated body 4) The effects of fatigue are less when properly hydrated.

3. Fitness is a must; just as you would not check on duty without all your gear and weapons you must have your fitness with you. As a coach, therapist, trainer and martial artist the key to everything is your fitness. Go back to everything we just hit on above and guess what … fitness helps you sleep better, it helps you manage stress and reduces hormone imbalances. Plus LEO’s that workout on a regular basis also make better food choices and stay hydrated. There are lots of ways to get back into shape and we will include some resources at the end of this article; plus we have given you years of good advice and tips in this column, so read back a few months to determine your start point.

4. Mindfulness is so simple that it’s amazing more folks do not do it. Close your eyes and simply focus on your breathing; when your mind wanders refocus on your breathing. Research shows that even one minute of mindfulness will reduce stress and make you feel more focused. Major companies are teaching mindfulness to employees and for LEO’s it’s integral to what you do. On the range before your throw some lead down range what have you been taught to do….take a slow deep breath. During SCAT or DT a ‘breath’ before engagement makes you more fluid and can even increase reaction time. So take minute here and there and breathe. There was a great 60 minutes segment from 12/14/14 on mindfulness so check it out.

The focus and take home message of this article is to help you tie together some of the most common and most manageable/easily to change wellness issues we see.  As you just read it all ties together into one focused effort to eat well, stay hydrated, reduce stress and stay fit; in turn you will sleep better, lose weight and be more alert on the job.  Your fitness/wellness will save your life one day and every day! 

Visit Fitresponderfitness.com

About the Author

Bryan Fass

Bryan Fass

is a leading expert on public safety injury prevention.  As the president and founder of Fit Responder Bryan’s company works nationally with departments, corporations; state and local governments to design and run targeted injury prevention and wellness programs. He is frequently contacted for expert opinion and content contribution for all aspects of public safety fitness, ergonomics and wellness. Bryan authored the Fit Responder book used by departments and schools plus writes for numerous web and peer-reviewed journals including the NSCA-Tactical Strength & Conditioning journal, officer.com, ems-1.com & best practices in EMS. Bryan holds a bachelors’ degree in sports medicine with over 17 years of clinical practice, was a paramedic for over 8 years, and is certified as an Athletic Trainer (ATC, LAT), Strength Coach (CSCS) and the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). Fit Responder developed the nation’s first validated pre-hire Physical Abilities Test for EMS.  Bryan is a sought-after speaker on a variety of topics including risk reduction, employee self-care, real world wellness and How to Eat on the street.  www.fitresponder.com

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