Greetings all, have a question that that i have been pondering over. For those in the military and first responder proffesions that have occasional training events such as long ruck marches, obstacle courses, taxtical exercises, etc. That can happen over several days with lack of sleep and nutrition. Theses events seem to outpace the bodies ability to recover and adapt at least in the short term. My question is this, in between these events is it better to follow a “regular” exercise program with an appropriate dose of volume and intensity and simply take ultra-taxing events as they come and then resume exercising normally. Or would it be better to regularly expose one self to ultra taxing training that is beyond the bodies ability to recover in order to be ready for an excessive dose? Any insight is appreciated!
Hey Cole,
Thanks for joining the form and for your question.
Regarding preparation for known tasks, yes, I do think that it is beneficial to have some exposure to the types of things someone is going to be asked to do.
Whether or not that has to replicate the task perfectly, e.g. duration and intensity, depends on many factors such as fatigue costs and risk.
Perhaps the marathon analogy would be useful here.
To prepare for a marathon, people will benefit from previous exposure to a substantial amount of running in training. That said, there is generally little benefit from running an entire marathon in training due to the costs.
I think sport- and job-specific prep should be a part of most people’s programming, if applicable.
-Jordan
Thank you for the clarification!