NSCA’s Coaching Podcast, Episode 97: Jason Soileau & Mandy Nice

NSCA Tactical Program Managers, Jason Soileau (Military) and Mandy Nice (Public Safety), talk to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about supporting those in the tactical professions over the course of their careers. Topics under discussion include the U.S. Army Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program and developing a new tactical strength and conditioning program tool kit for public safety agencies.

Find Jason and Mandy on Facebook: NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning SIG | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Show Notes

“And H2F is an acronym for Holistic Health and Fitness. So it's a five-prong approach to wellness for the Army soldier, and that includes mental, physical, spiritual, financial, and just overall health. So really, it's an admirable program. And they're really investing a lot of dollars into their personnel, not only for effectiveness currently and in the short-term, but in the long-term over the lifespan of that member, whether they leave the Army, retire, or become a lifer in the Army.” 14:58

“So as far as strength and conditioning is concerned, they plan to contract-- or the government contracting agencies will hire-- roughly 840 strength coaches over the course of four to five years, to basically lead brigades in their physical fitness training. So it's a huge undertaking. But I feel like it's an important one, because the goal is to increase readiness and resilience of the personnel, but also decrease injury likelihood and injury occurrence.” 15:43

“The Army loses a lot of money, to the tune of millions, on reconditioning and rehab of musculoskeletal injuries every year. So this is an effort to invest in the prevention of that and save money on the back end, which inherently, I think, it's going to work.” 16:15

“And I heard one individual describe it as offering autonomy in an austere environment. And I think that's a great explanation of the overall goal of the strength and conditioning professional. You're giving that personnel and the command staff the tools to be successful in terms of physical fitness, no matter where they are on the globe. And if they're still in the Army or not, wherever they go in their life span, they'll still have those foundations that you taught them to carry them through their health and wellness journey for the lifespan.” 19:11

“And public safety specifically, sometimes we see the challenge being not so much strength and conditioning itself, but more so how to implement an agency-wide program that is, again, evidence-proven and results focused and practical and user-friendly for everyone.” 25:24