How Important Is Physical Fitness?

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Hey guys I was browsing around and I had this thought that popped into my head. How important is it to be in shape in order to use a carbine/pistol/firearm to its maximum potential?

We all spend thousands on our rifles, then hundreds more on a quality handgun. Then most of us go to a class or two, and some of the senior members have more time spent in well known shooting courses than I do for college credit ! Plus you have the literally thousands rounds of ammunition expended in order to keep up the perishable skill of shooting. Then finally you have the hours upon hours spent conversing and enjoying debate. How much time jogging or lifting? For me it would be very little, and certainly not in proportion to the time/money spent on the other endeavors.

Now I'm not an example of a person in shape by any stretch of the imagination, and I'm not going to pretend to be. But what I wanted to ask the senior board members who have spent time in law enforcement and may be military or veterans is just how important is it to maintain a high level of physical fitness?
Should all carbine users have the "Noveske body", 6 minute mile, 20 pull-ups, (insert physical test here)?
Or is a "Bushmaster body", can't run a mile, no pull-ups, (insert physical test here) ok?

In a civilian self defense situation the only time I can envision using a weapon is for home defense. I would think that this would be a pretty easy thing to do physically, but I've never done it so can't speak for certain.
Miltary/Law Enforcement would need to maintain a higher level of physical fitness in order to meet their demands. So, how much is enough and what do you have to say on the topic?

Thanks for you input!

[rob_s]

While not military/LE, I do go to as many training classes as I can and we have a monthly carbine match that I've been running for nearly 4 years.

From what I've seen, very few fatbodies can shoot worth a damn, and of those that can as soon as you add in shooting on the move, getting in and out of prone, etc. whatever target shooting skills they have go right out the window. Yes, eventually they can get into prone and get a shot off, but it's not happening in any kind of useful timeframe.

I see your point, that in a non-LE civilian encounter it is likely to be over too fast for long-term endurance to come into play, but there are other factors.

First is the fact that if you're too out of shape to practice and maintain proficiency with the firearm you are probably not as good as you would like to be. Second is the fact that people that are out of shape do not react as well to stress as those that are, and don't recover as well either.

The key here is to be honest with yourself. Are you a fatbody because you're lazy, and shooting is more fun than working out and not eating hohos? Or are you elderly with the physical infirmities that come with age?

If the former, you owe it to yourself to skip the range and hit the gym. Skip buying that new carbine and get an LA Fitness membership for a couple of years.

If the latter, then you need to assess your abilities, or lack thereof, and come up with a strategy to deal with them.

As a side note, and obviously not what you asked about, most "self defense" and "survival" enthusiasts have severely misplaced priorities.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control the top 10 causes of death in the US are:

1. Heart disease: 652,091
2. Cancer: 559,312
3. Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 143,579
4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 130,933
5. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 117,809
6. Diabetes: 75,119
7. Alzheimer's disease: 71,599
8. Influenza/Pneumonia: 63,001
9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis (kidney disease): 43,901
10. Septicemia (inflammation caused by bacteria): 34,136

Note that they are all health-related issues and are not the result of any kind of violent attack for which we might be preparing. Of "accidents", most are automobile accidents.

So, while not as "fun" or as "cool", frankly we'd all be better off eating healthy and getting some exercise as first priority. If you have to choose between time spent at the gym and shooting, the gym is far more "survival" oriented than any amount of range time. If you have to choose between an apple and a Ringding while sitting in front of the computer surfing m4carbine.net, the apple is the real "survival" food.

[Failure2Stop]

I guess I would have to say I have a Colt body-
Standard issue- nothing earth shattering, but enough to fight with.

I have met/shot with lots of folks of varying skill and physical condition. I would have to say that while some physical fitness is required for combative shooting, it is really not required (unless your definition of fit extends below the ability to remain standing with a gun in your grip for less than 20 minutes).

The crux of the matter is that all of this really isn't about shooting- you seem to be stabbing at something deeper. I read the implication to be shooting to live, or simply fighting.

When it comes to fighting, fitness is required. But beyond fitness, the correct mindset is required. Mindset will naturally drive training, of which physical training is a part. It's the path of least resistance- that which makes sense to the individual is how the individual lives. Only you know how much is "enough".

[chadbag]

Physical fitness also leads to confidence, more mental clarity, ability to deal with stress -- both long term and immediate, etc.

I am not physically fit and need to get out and do more. My "excuse" is that I am busy being self-employed. Not a very good excuse, though it is true.

Luckily I am not a hoho and ringding eater too much. I am not gaining weight, but maintaining my over weight. Most of my weight gain happens at holiday time etc. Times when you have "excuses" to each extra treats... (It does not help that we have Halloween , Thanksgiving, and Christmas 3 months in a row, and then both my birthday and my 2 kids are in Jan.) I just am not physically active enough to shed it. My bad. I do down a lot of nutritional supplements, which helps in some ways (last physical I had the doctor was impressed that my blood pressure was so low and my pulse was not abnormally high for my weight [about 250]-- though not low and she attributed it to the fish oil and flax oil pills, OPCs, and other things).

Chad

[RD62]

I'd have to say at least somewhere in the middle between the "Noveske" body and the "Bushy" body.

Although this is just like any other discussion on good enough.... Why not get the best you can. Although Sam Colt may have made "all men equal", what if you can't draw fast enough, are disarmed, out of ammo, etc.... Now you have a problem.

As far as the true physical aspects of shooting go. You don't need a LOT of conditioning, but it does help. A siginificant part of putting rounds where you want them is being able to work the trigger when the dot or sight post is floating over where you want the bullet to go. If your arms are shaking from the weight and your chest is heaving from lack of cardio fitness, this task is gonna just be that much more difficult....

Guns as a physical equalizer are great for my Grandma who might be 5' tall and weigh 95 lbs to help her fight off an attacker whom she otherwise would be defenseless against, same holds for those who are disabled or otherwise infermed. But that is because they have NO OTHER means of defense. Most of us do! And I have no excuse for not staying in at least some type of shape. (heck it helps me keep up with my 3 year old!)

Unless we take some martial arts training we don't get in many fights. Often even in martial arts it's until submission or some arbitrary point is earned not til the last man standing like it will be on the street. My former dept held "ground fighting" training during part of our bi-annual week-long cycle. The first time I went through this was a real eye opener for me! We had to pair up and run wind-sprints for 1 min (to simulate) a foot chase, then square off, it usually went to the ground very quickly, you then had to defend against your attacker who was literally ON TOP of you! Shield yourself from their blows, while trapping their leg and throwing them off! You don't realise how quickly you are sucking wind and your strength begins to fade! I played soccer for 20 years and lifted heavy for years, and could not throw my attacker a 2nd time, and I was 4-5" taller and 30# heavier then him. And vice versa.

I hadn't been in a fight since high school and never one like that, but that was when I really made a concious effort to incorporate endurance training into my routine. Now we might not all be chasing bad-guys but what if we have to run to someones aide? Or we are taken by surprise and unable to draw our CCW before we hit the mats? Food for thought....

Just like spare mags, side arms, etc. I'd rather have the ability and conditioning and not need it than the alternative. But that might just be me.

Sorry for the long post!


-RD62

[SIMPLYDYNAMIC]

In Dynamic situations, targets can present themselves without warning. Therefore, it is essential for you to maintain proper balance and control of yourself and your weapon at all times so you can quickly assume a firing position, present the weapon, and accurately engage the target. or you may have to move off line of attack or retreat.

Also mastery of physical skills (tactical fundamentals) and making those skills second nature allow you to concentrate on the mental aspects of target engagement and mission accomplishment.
The more physical skills that you can perform automatically with out any exertion, the more concentration you can give to the mental side of target engagement.

Just being able to meet the standard your brain sets for reaction times under stress means maintaining your body just to keep up with the brain:

For the average shooter It takes approximately 0.75 seconds from the time you perceived danger until you react to the threat
Then .25 seconds for each reaction after that
Each additional .05 seconds you take to make a decision to deal with the threat cuts your chances down by half!
Take 2-3 seconds to deal with it and your chances approach 0% survivability. So this is a no brainer... the better physically fit you are the better your chances are to react faster.

Now there is a flip side of the coin here... So far in the thread its been about out of shape overweight people... I have had a lot of shooters that were skinny and weak and couldn't even control the recoil of a weapon and had trouble in improvised shooting positions. like Chad said... its a confidence builder to be stronger which for for example shows in shooters that over anticipate recoil because mentally they know they are weak.

Shooters should drive towards mental and physical excellence. Some of us have obvious limitations but if you take on the responsibility to carry a firearm and understand all that is involved in using that firearm then we need to take mental and physical preparation just as serious as we do with the basic fundamentals of shooting. If we dont becasue its outside our comfort zone... well then maybe we should re consider carring a firearm.

Oh I would say that I am a Noveske body.... but when the ACR comes out I will have a Bushmaster body!

[armakraut]

Been fairly heavy twice in my life and compared to being skinny, I far prefer skinny. I always had good blood pressure and could lift or move at roughly the same rate as the rest of humanity when heavy. After I was losing weight the 2nd time I had my doc do some bloodwork on me, testing for cholesterol abnormalities, and sure enough, a bunch of stuff was out of spec. As I got down to normal weight the cholesterol came right back in line. I didn't change what I ate, just how much of it I ate overall. Reducing food intake was infinitely easier than trying to burn off the excess.

Aerobic exercise seems to be one of the more beneficial things you can do for overall health (back strength & stamina). There's a variety of things you can do for your upper body, swimming, free weights, etc. Stretching and maintaining a normal range of human motion (flexibility) is pretty important also. Hamstrings tend to tighten up over time if you do a lot of desk work.

The worst thing you can do is overkill and get burned out on exercise. Yeah, it might be ideal to do 1-2 hours worth a day, but dedicating 30-45 minutes most days a week is preferable if you can actually keep doing that.

[RogerinTPA]

I was watching the news where mississippi won the most over weight category again, having 75-80% of it's population as being such due to the traditional southern fried foods diet. I look at physical fitness as being very important that most people don't or won't put forth the effort to be even moderately in shape. Physical fitness, for me, prepares and enhances performance for everything I do and enjoy: "Straight" sex, boating, water skiing, diving, shooting, climbing, hiking, martial arts, biking, etc... That said, I am no gym rat and not where I should be, but I do knockout 50 push ups/50 sit ups 4-5 days a week, work out with the home gym when I have the time and use those work out rubber bands when I'm in hotels.

Building on what Rob_S said, most of it is nutrition and eating the right food, in normal portions, not overdoing it and avoiding like the plague those damn cinnabuns in what ever airport I'm in. My problem is I love pasta and anything Italian, bread, etc... I'm 5'11, 220lbs and can easily reach 250 or 260 in no time if I eat recklessly. If I'm not careful, I'll be wearing a cow bell around my neck! I try to eat healthy during the week and cheat on the weekends. Just my .02 cents.

[tomalibrando]

Physical fitness can't be stressed enough especially for anyone ina confrontational profession like most here have. If you've read "On Combat" and "On Killing", Col Grossman discusses the physiology of what happens to the body under extreme stress. Your body can tear itself apart under certain types of extreme stress. Whether in a foot pursuit with a suspect or humping a ruck at high altitude, in the end, there has to be something left over for the fight. I only remember one callout where I felt "refreshed" and ready. Mindset is obviously the more important of all factors, but fitness provides a degree of mental clarity and addional energy when it is needed. the longest day we had as a team was 23 hours from hell. We had a 12 hour training day followed by a 9 hour callout. Between the adrenalin, the cold and the duration of the call, we were exhausted. But I don't think we would have been as prepared as we were if our boss wasn't so big on our PT. We had a different test (which was harder than the departments) and all of our times were VERY public to the rest of the team. Am I saying that you need to be a PT rockstar to be effective, no. It does enhance what skills you already have. The skills we have may be "good enough" for most problems. We fall into a false sense of security because it always has been good enough. But what about that extreme?

[HolyRoller]

Around here, LE doesn't "need" physical fitness, judging by the fitness levels of successful officers and deputies. Most patrol work consists of riding in cars and standing around chitchatting. However, my current chief is big on PT. He can't make us do anything and there are no in-service PT tests. But, he has mentioned his displeasure with an officer or two who, in a fight, wound up incapacitated in the fetal position, not from being beat up, just out of breath from being out of shape. The chief leads by example, benching 320.

I suggest the Army Physical Fitness Test as a benchmark for where you should be. It's pretty simple, pushups in two minutes, situps in two minutes, two-mile run, and adjusted for age and gender. Max score is 300, no-go is below 180 total or below 60 in any one area. My minimums are:

30 pushups--no problem, just did that yesterday.
32 situps--slight problem, only felt like doing 20 yesterday, even if I can do 300 crunches per set.
Two miles in 18:42--big problem. I'm the world's slowest runner, even if I'm getting to like running, and the best I've done lately is 25:30. Must work on this.

If I don't like to run fast, I can at least run longer, so what I usually do is alternate 1-hour sessions on the Body Peak cardio machine with 4-mile runs. I end up doing at least 2 hours of cardio and 8 miles running every week. My resting pulse is below 60 so that's good as far as it goes.

To address the OP, if you like to shoot and take training but can't make yourself stay in some semblance of physical fitness, your risk management model is jacked. In which case, get out and play an hour a day at whatever keeps your pulse up and makes you stronger and more durable. You get out of it what you put into it.