TACTICAL FITNESS - SEARCH AND RESCUE
Hello and welcome!
The goal of this page is to provide fitness education and information for Search and Rescue responders.
Please, consult your physician before starting an exercise program.
NASAR SAR Fitness -course (free) gives the foundation and reasoning for the fitness and exercise programs below. You can find it here https://saracademy.thinkific.com/courses/sarphysicalfitness
Thank you for your service!
Tommi Paavola, MS, CSCS, FAFS
NJSAR
SAR STRENGTH - 5 PATTERNS
SAR STrength - 5 patterns
Strength training gives you the greatest return of your investment of time and effort. Just a regular session or two a week can be enough for a meaningful change in strength. By increasing the force production capability, all aspects of movement are improved.
Strength training provides additional energy for the cardio, it enhances the movement efficiency, protects the joints and allows you to 'pick things up and put them down' with greater ease. Additionally, resistance training can stimulate muscle growth if paired with complimentary nutrition and adequate rest. Just keep in mind that strength training exercises should always be performed with correct technique for safety and optimal development. The pdf-file includes hyperlinks to exercise videos, courtesy of Precision Nutrition.
SAR READINESS - WARM-UP
SAR readiness - warm-up
'SAR Readiness Warm-up' that you can incorporate into your SAR drills, missions or your workouts . A proper warm-up can elevate your performance a great deal (up to 20% according to research).
You can also perform the 'Readiness Warm-ups' as 5-10 minute mini-workouts, especially if you are not able to do the full challenge.
SAR - READINESS TO RESPOND
SAR Responder Preparedness vs. Readiness
SAR READINESS to respond
- Readiness is the acute physical and mental state of a SAR responder.
- Readiness affects the quantity and quality of one's function and performance.
- Readiness can change daily and even hourly.
- Readiness is influenced by physical activity, stress, rest (or lack of), nutrition/hydration and mental state, in general.
- Readiness can be improved acutely by taking correct measures to optimize it (movement, nutrition, hydration, mental/spiritual disciplines)
Download 30-day Readiness Tracking log here.
Download SAR Readiness Handout here.
SAR - GRIP STRENGTH
Grip strength & endurance is one of the key elements of fitness for the litter carry. It is also one of the physical characteristics that has a high potential for improvement. If you have done rock climbing, you know how fast your forearms tire out the first time on the wall. But, if you continue to climb regularly, you will notice the improvement in muscular endurance (forearms) pretty quickly. Grip strength and endurance can be developed reasonably fast, especially if you are not used to doing activities requiring the strength of the hands and forearms.
Here are some of the grip strength exercises, you can do at home with minimal equipment:
- Water jug hold and carry
- Kettlebell or dumbbell carry
- Hang hold
SAR - FLEXIBILITY ( Posterior chain/stride)
As you might already know, most movement-related injuries are associated with soft tissue. Some of these injuries may take months to rehab and can take you out from fielding for a while. With age, the ligaments and tendons become less elastic and increase chances of injury. Time and energy spent on the prevention of injuries is a worthwhile investment.
Flexibility and mobility exercises in this challenge aim to optimize the function of the posterior chain and increase our active stride length making the movement more efficient and resilient. The posterior chain refers to the linked system of muscles and connective tissue that starts from the plantar fascia (bottom of the foot), achilles tendon and calf and continues through the hamstring and back all the way to the back of the neck and head. Lack of motion in the posterior chain affects our gait pattern, lifting movements and is associated with pain in the feet, calves, knees and back.
1. Test/measure your posterior chain flexibility and active stride length (see the attachment)
2. Perform the stretches at least 5 times a week for total of 4 weeks (only takes 3-5 min a day)
3. Re-test your flexibility weekly and in the end of the month
4. Was there improvement? Did you feel the difference?
SAR - STRONG ANKLES AND KNEES
strong ankles & Knees
This program (attached) can be adjusted according to your own needs. The goal is to strengthen the muscles/joints needed for hiking uphill and downhill.
Knee pain is often caused by poor mobility in the ankles or lack of strength in the hips. In other words, the knee is a joint 'stuck' between the ankle and the hip, and needs the support of the neighboring joints for optimal function. This program is designed to address that.
The exercises are designed to be performed on a ‘compass’ that provides directional help and an opportunity to measure the length of the reach for comparison and re-testing purposes. A simple ‘compass’ can be drawn oneself.
SAR LEG CIRCUIT - STRENGTH & ENDURANCE
SAR leg circuit
Lower body strength and endurance are key characteristics of a fit SAR responder. You can develop lower body performance and fitness even if you don’t have access to the gym equipment. This program starts reasonably easy, but build up week by week if the progressions are followed. The three simple exercises performed correctly and regularly can dramatically enhance your hiking as well as load carriage abilities.
SAR - MOUNTAIN RESCUE S&C -PROGRAM
This fitness challenge is designed to improve the physical performance of a high angle rescue mission. This program is not trying to cover every aspect of mountain rescue, but is focused on the specific demands of a mission that involves:
1. An approach walk/hike to the rescue site by foot with the rescue equipment
2. A high angle rescue operation that requires safe and effective maneuvering ofthe equipment, litter/subject in various body positions
3. Evacuation/carry-out of the subject in a litter
Physiologically this operation is combining several components of fitness that are not all included here. In this program we will focus on a) cardiorespiratory and b) functional strength -demands of the rescue.
- The approach cardio is simulating the walk/hike to the rescue site. This can be done on the treadmill (or outside). The incline is progressively getting more demanding and the relatively fast speed together with the load carried is going to be a challenging start for the workout.
- The vertical strength is designed to improve specifics of vertical force production, such as the patterns of ascending a steep incline or lifting a heavy load in different body positions associated with high angle rescue operations.
- The horizontal strength -portion is focused on improving the functional strength needed to manipulate objects horizontally, such as shifting weight left/right, pushing something away or pulling towards oneself. Many aspects of rescue ask for uncommon movements, ‘uncomfortable’ positions and awkward objects to handle. These demands require a dynamically strong core and muscular system that work well as a team.
- The positional strength improves movement abilities in specific positions such as kneeling. Some tasks also demand the rescuer to hold the position for a long time whether for treatment or just for stabilizing the litter. We should not only improve our performance in dynamic movements, but also in isometric and static postures/positions that could take place during a rescue.
- The carryout cardio is the grand finale of the already extended workout. Optimally this could be performed on the decline (downhill) with a one-arm carrying task that challenges the grip strength, but also the side core due to the one-sided load. This can certainly be individualized or custom-built to represent a typical carryout terrain and a task.
SUPERLEGS-SERIES FOR SAR PERFORMANCE
The goal is leg strength, endurance and power. These lower body fitness elements are crucial for a SAR responder. To achieve this important goal we will give you the ultimate exercise progression called 'Superlegs'. This exercise requires no equipment or tools other Gravity, ground reaction force and your body (and some grit, too). The level of challenge can be scaled to your own starting level and progress from your personal starting point.
'Superlegs' will challenge you physically and mentally, but it also produces results better than your average gym exercise. Before starting the superlegs progression, you should be able to do at least a bodyweight squat, bodyweight lunge and a squat jump with correct form and technique. You should also have no musculoskeletal issue in your ankles, knees or hips to avoid any injury. If one of the moves in the series bothers your joints, you can still perform the series by replacing/removing the movement that does not agree with you.
SAR CORE -FROM THE GROUND UP
SAr core
The core is often misunderstood as 'the abs'. Subsequently the training of the 'core' can easily be imbalanced and dysfunctional due to too much focus on one muscle group instead of the whole 'team of muscles and body parts'.
A more comprehensive view and definition of the 'core' involves all sides of the trunk as well as the hip complex and the rib cage. The training of the core is also much more comprehensive and movement-based than just crunches and sit-ups.
The core is needed for nearly all human movement and is particularly critical for activities such as navigating in challenging terrain, load carrying (pack, litter) or performing tasks in awkward positions (moving a person or an object).
SAR HOME EXERCISE PROGRAM
SAR home program
The goal of this program is to build foundational total body strength. It includes a short warm-up with mobility exercises and a body weight exercise program. In the end, a few suggestions are given about how to use a backpack for additional resistance. Also, a list of various tactical fitness and health links is attached.
Consult your doctor before starting to exercise!
SAR - INTERVALS FOR CARDIO PERFORMANCE
Most of our cardio-based fitness challenges so far have been focused on building an 'aerobic base', the foundational cardiorespiratory fitness capacity. This aerobic base is generally speaking built with low to moderate intensity activities performed frequently. Once the aerobic base has been established over some months of training, we are able to build 'performance fitness' on top of that foundation. This can be achieved for example by increasing intensity of the workouts while decreasing the quantity/volume of the training session. So, "harder but shorter".
One of the ways to build higher intensity sessions in the training program is by a way of 'interval training'. Interval training can be done through various methods, but can be described as a format where work and rest alternate. This work-rest combination allows us to include high intensity exercise as a tool to build cardiorespiratory fitness. The secret is in prescribing hard work with just the right amount of recovery in between to elicit the desired adaptations in fitness. With too much intensity or too little rest, the body can't adapt and get better. However, with the correct training progression the results from interval training can be seen as dramatic improvements in cardio fitness as well as in the loss of body fat.
The interval training chart (attached) describes a few different types of interval training. Some of them allow you to ease into it with less intensity and some might require only 10-15 minutes of total work, but are very demanding in effort. Many methods can be done walking/hiking/running, but the highest intensity and effort (HIIT) are easiest and safest to perform on a stationary machine, such as a stationary bike/airdyne bike.
Please, take a look at the interval training chart and choose a modality that you feel the most comfortable with.
Download SAR Intervals (pdf) here.
SAR - FITNESS TEST (CARDIO+LOAD CARRY)
Download the Fitness Test -article here.
SAR FITNESS ASSESSMENTS
Download SAR FITNESS ASSESSMENTS PDF here.