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Perseverance is a key quality in law enforcement resilience and it is also a very helpful quality in police fitness training.
What is resilience?
Resilience is defined as the ability to bounce back from adversity, being elastic and having the capability to endure hardships.
Resilience is what we in law enforcement have to strive for in order to survive our careers with a sound mind, body and spirit. It is what we need to be able to muster to be able to function well enough to enjoy many more happy and productive years after retirement from the job.
At CopsAlive.com we promoted the concept of Tactical Resilience which is a set of comprehensive wellness systems layered over each other, and working in concert, to build a healthy and effective law enforcement people and organizations.
The concept of tactical resilience is about creating effective wellness tactics that combine to develop efficient habits, that in turn construct superior survival, and performance, systems which promote healthy, competent and professional law enforcement officers. One of those individual wellness tactics is the ability to persevere. As in the old saying: “When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going!”.
Our CopsAlive Fitness recommendation is for you to find the mental toughness needed to… persevere in whatever you are undertaking. Whether that is pursuing a suspect in a foot chase or finding the willpower to maintain your regular workout schedule. We are here to encourage you, just as we are encouraging Chief Silverii, Warden Timme and Lt. Lane. In the next couple of weeks we are going to give you some specific training ideas to help improve your mental toughness and enhance your ability to survive this job.
Scott Silverii’s Shaping Up – Week 9
Thibodeaux Volunteer Fire Dept
Though I’m not a big fan of this word, it describes last week’s shaping up efforts; NO.
No weight training. No cardio exercises. No adherence to Lt. Lane’s diet.
Have I fallen off the health wagon? No. Times like last week can come out of nowhere, and rob us of the luxury of time we thought was ours to schedule.
What does it mean for me personally? Well, it does no good beating myself up over it. Most importantly, having a support network in place allows for an auto-restart based on the sound foundations learned at the beginning of this process.
Regaining a holistically healthy lifestyle is a lifetime event not measured in snacks, meals, days or weeks.
It is vital to set short-term goals as someone who regularly contributes (Amber) preaches. Over this week I will set those goals, and use them to continue the forward progress.
I do have a concern upcoming though. The guy whose amazing fitness reclaim inspired me asked what were we going to do about this upcoming weekend? I knew just what he was referring to.
Chad Mire is the friend I ran into one afternoon while worrying about my weight. He just appeared! WOW Dude, you look great I said. He had followed Lt. Lane’s diet strategy and had lost about about 30 lbs.
Chad is an Assistant Fire Chief for the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department. Created in 1874, it is one of the largest all-volunteer fire departments in the United States. His question referred to this weekend’s Thibodaux Fireman’s Fair, and most specifically to the famous Cajun dishes served Thursday – Sunday.
Actually, they have world famous Fireman’s Fair hamburgers that I’ve grown fond of since my youth. Being the Chief of Police sometimes entitles me to get a donated hamburger or three.
Yes Chad, what shall we do??
Anyway, since I have not much on fitness to share, I want to take this week to thank the Firemen who selflessly serve our cities. Whether volunteered or paid, they are our heroes. Thank you, and if you find yourself blessed to be in Thibodaux, Louisiana this coming weekend, stop in for the largest and most entertaining Fireman’s Fair ever.
Week 8
Here’s to holding each other accountable when the couch looks inviting and the snacks endless.
Weight
– 213.4 lbs (Making a public profession – I’m back on track)
Exercise
– I miss it.
Eating
– Did you know choclate Easter candy is still good?
– Overall, a horrible weak (Purposefully used this weak)
UNO Ring & BP
– BP stayed in the 130s range. Consistency.
Monday – Sunday Goals:
– Return to pre-planned meals.
– Weight at 212 lbs
– Add more endurance training.
– Set short term fitness goals (EX: Run a 5K, Cycle 40 miles, etc)
How are your efforts going? Don’t just read this and dismiss it. Make a commitment today. You have peer support, CopsAlive.com expertise, and a champion fitness advisor all ready to help.
As we have mentioned, in addition to Scott and Kim, we are also following Rae Timme and the CNN Fit Nation promotion. Rae is a 57 year-old mother of three and a 25 year corrections officer who now serves as the warden of a medium custody men’s prison for the Colorado Department of Corrections. Every year CNN selects iReporters to race in a triathlon with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and the Fit Nation team. This year we’re giving six lucky readers a road bike (with all the necessary accessories), a wet suit and a gym membership to help them prepare for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on September 8.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/fit.nation/
Rae said on the CNN site that she has read all the scary statistics about the mortality rates of people who work in corrections and found that they have the second highest mortality rate of any job; on average, a corrections officer’s 58th birthday will be their last. That motivated her to apply for the CNN Fit Nation team.
It sounded like Rae had a challenging week too as she Tweeted: “A really bad week always gets better on Sat! Back on track with a 30min endurance run, then off to spin since my bike wo a name is in FL”
Keep up the good work Rae we are rooting for you!
Photo Credits:
Do It Yourself Motivational Posters at www.Automotivator.com
EDITORS NOTE: Our Fitness Monday articles are an ongoing feature as CopsAlive.com follows Police Chief Scott Silverii, Ph.D. on his quest to lose weight and get into better shape, and Lt. Kim Lane as she prepares for the NPC Masters Nationals in Pittsburgh, PA. We are also keeping track of Warden Rae Timme with the Colorado Department of Corrections, a member of the CNN Fit Nation Team, as she prepares for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on September 8. We all know that fitness is critical in law enforcement, but we don’t always do what we know is right. Over the next couple of months you can follow Scott, a Police Chief; Kim a Patrol Shift Commander; and Rae a Department of Corrections Warden, as they open up their lives to you. We invite you to also participate in any way that you choose to improve, your fitness and, your ability to survive a career in law enforcement. We also encourage you to support Scott and Rae with your comments, emails, Tweets and Facebook entries.
Follow Rae on Twitter at: @TriHardRae
Follow Scott on Twitter at: @ThibodauxChief
Please encourage them and let us know about your efforts at improving your fitness in the comment boxes below
CopsAlive is written to prompt discussions within our profession about the issues of law enforcement career survival. We invite you to share your opinions, ask questions and suggest topics for us in the Comment Box that is at the bottom of this article.
At The Law Enforcement Survival Institute (LESI) we train law enforcement officers to cope with stress and manage all the toxic effects and hidden dangers of a career in law enforcement.
Our “Armor Your Self™: How to Survive a Career in Law Enforcement” on-site training program is an eight hour, hands-on, “How to” seminar that helps police officers and other law enforcement professionals armor themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to survive their careers in police work. To learn more CLICK HERE
The concept of “True Blue Valor™” is where one law enforcement officer has to muster the courage to confront a peer who is slipping both professionally and personally and endangering themselves, their peers and the public. It takes a system of organizational support and professional leadership to support and foster the concept of courage and intervention. We will train your trainers to deliver this program to your agency.
To learn more CLICK HERE
Our “Armor Your Agency™: How to Create a Healthy and Supportive Law Enforcement Agency” Program includes critical strategies that you will need to build a system of support and encouragement for a healthy and productive agency. To learn more CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE to read more about The Law Enforcement Survival Institute.
CLICK HERE if you would like to contact us to learn more about training for your organization.
John Marx is the Founder of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute and the Editor of CopsAlive.com. Connect with him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
CopsAlive.com was founded to provide information and strategies to help police officers successfully survive their careers. We help law enforcement officers and their agencies prepare for the risks that threaten their existence. Thank you for reading!
