On the Importance of Physical and Mental Fitness

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by Allan Howard, PCI #001
Dayton (OH) Police Department (retired)

By the time you read this, three decades will have passed since the first governing board of IPMBA was elected in Las Vegas, Nevada. In some ways it seems just like yesterday; in others, a lifetime ago. One of the things that makes it seem so long ago is the progress public safety cycling, through IPMBA, has made. To say that it’s “different and better now” would be a massive understatement.

Sadly, we have suffered losses over the years. However, I know we’ve prevented injuries and deaths by offering the highest quality and up-to-date training available for the specific nature of our work. That is exactly what we had in mind sitting at that Sands Casino restaurant table in 1992. Our next conference will be held in Dayton, Ohio, and I’m looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and enjoying our organization thrive.

By the time you read this, winter will be over (for those of us in the Northern hemisphere), but it is still winter as I write it. For many of us, winter can be a time when we aren’t able to go out and do the things that bring us true joy and happiness. Consequently, it’s very easy to fall into the dark mental abyss that can prevent us from seeing just how wonderful our lives are. In many cases, despite having it better than we ever had it before, we aren’t “happy”. I’m not here to sell the idea that anyone who isn’t truly happy and/or grateful for their lives can change things completely with introspection and an attitude change. But I am here to say that being physically and mentally fit can add an immense amount of quality to our lives.

As a bike patrol and academy instructor, I sold recruits on the idea of fitness as a way to add more “life” to their years. No one can say for certain how many years we’ll get, but we can certainly control how much “life” we get in the years we’re allotted. Whether it be a potentially deadly encounter with a violent offender, an accident with injuries, or a disease that would otherwise be fatal, being physically and mentally prepared can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Money is hard to beat when it comes to solving problems, but being physically and mentally fit is one of the few things that trump a fat bank account when trouble comes to call.

To be able to achieve this state of fitness for life, we must control several things.

WHAT WE TAKE IN

No physical fitness plan can overcome what we put in our mouths. You can work out intensely seven days a week and not achieve the goal if you’re indiscriminate about what you put in your body. This is widely known, yet under practiced. I’m not saying we can’t have special foods/treats, alcohol, or other things considered to be unhealthy. I’m saying we can’t have them all the time or in large quantities. It takes far more discipline to monitor what goes into the body than it does to exercise daily. With exercise, we only have to get past the mental hump once a day. With intake choices, we have to get over the hump every waking minute of the day. Heck, there are times where I even dream about brown sugar and cinnamon Pop Tarts .

The facts about nutrition are out there and easy to find if you look past the fads. Start with small changes and work from there. Drastic changes usually don’t last, but small, incremental changes do.

To close out the “intake” piece, I submit that we also need to be careful about what we “take in” mentally. The jobs we do have more than enough negativity; seeing the suffering and pain of others is enough. We don’t need to seek out more to wallow in like a pig in mud. Unlike the pig who gets cool from rolling around in the mud, we get nothing from rolling around in things that offend our sense of right and wrong; especially ones we can do absolutely nothing about. The only one that dies from drinking poison is one who ingests it. Moreover, all that time we could spend grinding our teeth over things that don’t suit us could be better spent appreciating friends, family, and the good lives we truly have, even if we don’t always recognize it.

WHAT WE PUT OUT

Our personal foundation starts with our bodies. To that end, exercise is good for the body and mind. It teaches us how to physically and mentally persevere when things get tough. Deciding to do what it takes to stay fit and doing it to our maximum ability is the true strength builder. You can measure the output of the human body in many ways, but the human will is immeasurable. We’ve likely all seen someone accomplish something on pure will. They were able to do it because they said they were going to, and because they never mentally gave themselves an out or a fallback. Deciding to do something, preparing oneself for the task, and then giving everything, especially when it gets tough, is something we can use to face any kind of adversity. Quite literally, it’s the difference between getting “acceptable” and “exceptional” results.

WHAT WE THINK

What we think and say affects us far more than we realize. Whether you say you “can” or “can’t”, you are right. Closely monitoring our thoughts and words can enable us to see things we don’t know and accomplish what we never thought possible. One of the biggest turning points in my life was when I realized I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Prior to that, if someone told me something I’d never heard of before, I subconsciously suspected the veracity because I didn’t already know it.

That unwarranted arrogance taught me some hard lessons before I finally opened my eyes.

I’m luckier than many because I’ve had experiences that have put me closer to death than anyone I’ve ever met. It has allowed me to separate the wheat from the chaff and put things in two metaphorical boxes in my mind. One box is labeled “Stuff that Matters” and the other is “Stuff that doesn’t Matter”.

I concentrate on looking in the first box every day so I can live my best life and keep it uncluttered. The second box is full of stuff that I can’t control; once something is put into it, I rarely think about or spend time on it.

Our organization is based upon the foundation of training that involves physical and mental components. It is incumbent upon us to achieve and maintain a high state of physical and mental preparedness so we can get the best of out of our professional and personal lives. Whether you know it or not, people look to you for direction, whether they be citizens, co-workers, friends, and/or family.

When you take care of yourself, you take care of others by providing a positive example. Each of us embarked upon our careers to help others, but to do so, we must first help ourselves.

See you in Dayton!

Allan

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