EXTREME EXERCISE FOR MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND SELECTION:
EFFECTIVE TRAINING OR ERRANT BULLYING? PART I
a. Examples of upregulation: Cue words, cue images,
attentional focus, music, etc.
b. Examples of downregulation: Tactical breathing, tactical
muscle relaxation, biofeedback, relaxation imagery, yoga and
meditation, etc.
c. Benefits: Controls physiology and psychology of stress,
maximizes focus, increases response readiness, reduces
mission anxiety, reduces “brain-lock,” enhances stress
resistance, and conserves energy
2. Concentration skills: The ability to concentrate and focus for
responding effectively in high-stress situations
a. Examples: Internal (form and skill) and external
(performance effect) focus, locus of focus (location of focus),
ambient, selective attention, etc.
b. Benefits: Enhances performance, decreases overreactions,
decreases reaction time, and maximizes situational awareness
3. Performance imagery: Mental rehearsal and anticipation of
involvement in any situation
a. Examples: Use of multi-sensory images, use of effective
perspective, and PETTLEP (physical, environment, task,
timing, learning, emotion, and perspective)
b. Benefits: Improves decision making, aids analyzing and
correcting errors, enhances confidence, reduces surprises, and
produces emotional control
4. Self-talk: Internal talking to self, the “inner voice,” as a
performance-related tool
a. Examples: Monitoring of internal dialogue, use of STEP UP
(self-talk for enhanced performance under pressure), short
cues, negative thought stopping, affirmations, etc.
b. Benefits: Encouraging self, encouraging others, avoiding
negative thinking, promoting proper focus, priming needed
responses, focusing attention on actions and skills, and
facilitating positive reinforcement
5. Goal setting: Developing and putting objectives, check points,
and an end point in place
a. Examples: Setting long-term and short-term goals and
setting time or distance goals
b. Benefits: Builds confidence, demonstrates progress,
maintains motivation, guides decision making, and creates
responsibility and accountability
The mental training skills allude to the abuse that occurs with the
coaches who confuse “selection into” or “screening out of” with
the actual physical and mental training of selection. Assuming
health and ethical considerations are met, there is a rationale to
putting applicants through grueling challenges or tests to push
their limits in order to assess what those limits are, what their
current status is, and to rank applicants in their pre-training—but
that is not training.
It is also appropriate, beneficial, and essential to make final testing
(and appropriate interim points) prior to selection as extremely
challenging or tortuous as necessary to simulate missions that will
occur. However, that supposes that selectees have already been
prepared, both mentally (by teaching mental skills, not assuming
they developed them because training was physically tough)
and physically. It is the job of tactical facilitators to implement
human performance systems that train mental toughness skills
and develop energy systems so that the tactical athletes have an
integrated platform to perform their technical tactical skills.
Mental toughness should be considered a combination of attitudes
and skills. Perhaps it is ultimately skill, as skill allows success via
execution, which in turn reinforces confidence and skills, such
as, self-talk or imagery of success (4). This reinforcement can
influence attitudes as well (4). The tactical athlete should develop
a performance platform through a well-rounded strength and
conditioning system with proper methods. They should not use the
method of puke training or “crushing” the athlete with poor form
as it may increase the chance of injury and deplete the central
nervous system on a daily basis.
When preparing a tactical athlete for selection into general or
specialized positions and assignments, tactical facilitators need
to be methodical and know when to increase intensity (load and/
or volume). Tactical facilitators should avoid applying random
exercises and sessions with the hope that they will somehow work,
overloading the central nervous system.
In addition, tactical facilitators should avoid starting at 100% effort
in order to evaluate how long it takes for a tactical athlete to
“break down.” For example, when first teaching a squat, tactical
facilitators should not load the bar with 100 kg and hope the
tactical athlete can perform the movement. They should first teach
the movement of the lift and then increase the load as can be
handled by the tactical athlete. The goal is not to beat the tactical
athlete into the ground until the day of selection and hope that
they have gained the mental toughness skills, physical platform,
and ability to recover sufficiently to sustain the selection process.
We should all be aware of the age-old saying that Hippocrates
was famous for, “above all, do no harm.” If we wish to abide by
Hippocrates’ wisdom, we need to develop a platform for strength,
power, energy systems, prevention, and management of injuries
with rehabilitation/prehabilitation, and mental toughness skills to
NSCA’S TSAC REPORT | ISSUE 32
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