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With any physical exertion, whether it be moving a chair or working out at a gym, there’s an inherent risk that something could go wrong. In today’s C1 training tip, you’ll learn how charting your fitness level can help you train safely and effectively to meet your goals.
One way to do this is with a simple-sounding device that has come a long way in recent years: a heart rate monitor.
Fitness expert James Di Naso, police performance director of Police Kinesiology Company and an instructor for North East (IL) Multi Regional Training academy said he has incorporated Polar heart rate monitors (Polar USA) into his fitness courses so officers can get instant feedback from their bodies as to whether or not the exercise is too strenuous, or not strenuous enough.
“This data is captured by a monitor that we can easily download onto a thumb drive,” Di Naso said. “This is nice because not only can the officer see what is actually going on, but he can send the information to his doctor.”
Recently, Di Naso conducted a training with tactical officers who had all been medically cleared as fit for duty, however, after the drill, one of the officers could not bring his elevated heart rate back to normal levels, which was a strong indication that something was going on.
But remember, Di Naso cautions, a heart rate monitor can serve as a safeguard, but nothing is 100% foolproof. There are always conditions that are unknown, and things can go wrong.
“In my experience, many of the officers are medically cleared for duty, but when it comes to having the performance-specific fitness to actually go out there and perform their job under high stress situations, like during an adrenaline dump, we found that many aren’t fit to do that,” Di Naso said. “We’re trying to change that by educating correctional officers and police. By bringing exercise science and kinesiology to the world of law enforcement.”