Personal Health, Fitness And Nutrition
Aerobic Fitness:
The tactical environment is physically demanding and mentally stressful. You should be “fit for duty” and mentally, physically, and emotionally balanced before you come to camp so you are an asset and not a liability to the team. The physical initiatives and tactical training we provide are not designed to be a “boot camp,” and this program is not designed to get you into shape. You must be physically and mentally fit to be an effective tactical EMS operator. Smoking is not allowed during our training, so if you are nicotine dependent you should not enroll. We offer the following guidelines so that you may evaluate yourself:
- Travel 1 mile on foot in 8 minutes;
- Perform 10 straight-back push-ups in 1 minute;
- Perform 20 bent-knee sit-ups in 1 minute;
- Perform 3 pull-ups in 15 seconds.
We take nutrition and hydration seriously. Your course fee includes lodging and meals, 3 squares each day that are prepared by a professional caterer. We changed our program format significantly in 1993 and began keeping the teams together during mealtimes. This is not only a team and morale builder but one of the many positive attributes of our training style and curriculum that set us apart from other programs.
A team from our 2005 program catches their breath in the pre-dawn light of Minnesota. We get up at 0600 for stretching, team initiatives, and tactically addressing and solving problems together. We also take advantage of a time when “lesser operators” are still sleeping! If you are looking for an 8-5 seminar with regular breaks, death by PowerPoint, and instructors who let class out 2 hours early…you won’t find those conditions here!
Physical Conditioning:
You need not be a powerlifter or a marathoner to participate, but we do ask that you exercise the highest degree of maturity and professionalism in this matter and come to class prepared. Those who are currently participating in a regular regimen of aerobic exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 times weekly are likely to be well-prepared for this class.
Medication and Dietary Needs:
As part of your application, we will ask for you to list medications, allergies, and special dietary needs. These are confidential yet important pieces of information that we use in operational preplanning just as you should with your own team. As stated before, all of our meals are professionally prepared for reasons of morale, proper health and readiness. We model this behavior because meals must also be a part of a tactical pre-plan and not an accidental afterthought. If you have special dietary needs let us know in advance on your application or contact the program director. We will do our best to accommodate you.