Getting Outside The Box: How to integrate Adventure Training into your life

In our opinion, adventure training includes a huge range of activities, ranging from rock climbing and canoeing, through to mountain biking, coasteering and skiing… essentially anything that gets you outside and feeling a little bit scared! 

Within this article, we’ll look at how and why adventure training is so deeply entwined with everything we do at SOFLETE, and hopefully provide you with some ideas of how and why you might want to consider sprinkling some more adventure into your life. 

 

Over the relatively short amount of time that adventure training activities have been popular, we’ve seen considerable evolution- thanks to advances in equipment (e.g. the use of jet skis in big wave surfing), new ideas (e.g. combining parachuting with skiing, to form speedriding) and plain old human desire to complete epic challenges just because they’re there (free climbing the Melia Barcelona Sky Hotel, anyone?!). 

Consequently, there are very few rules defining exactly what is and isn’t included under the umbrella term adventure training. And that’s fine by us, we think you should do whatever works for you and we applaud the innovation and creativity that thrives in this space. After all, tactical success is frequently dependent on this same adaptability and dynamic problem solving.  

 

At SOFLETE, the Die Living philosophy is one of our underpinning elements. It’s the idea that we encourage everyone in our community to squeeze every last drop out of their experience on Earth. This is a sentiment that is magnified by many of us who have and continue to serve their nation, often experiencing first hand just how unpredictable life can be; making it all the more important to get the most of what each day has to offer. We think adventure training epitomizes this whole concept. 

I should also stress that we aren’t exclusively referring to the type of death defying activities that you see on Red Bull clips. Whilst these appeal to some, the nature of the skill required to attempt these challenges often puts them out of the reach of many who just want to find a fun way to spend time outside. Consequently if the idea of BASE jumping sounds like absolute insanity to you, never fear, slower paced activities like hiking or wild swimming still fall very much within this discussion.  

 

As mentioned previously though, this article isn’t directly related to promoting the Die Living philosophy. It’s more aimed at elucidating the many benefits that are available to you, simply from considering your physical training as something that doesn’t just have to be limited to the confines of the gym.

 

If you’ve been following us for any length of time, you’ll know that we believe the mind and body are inextricably linked. However, for the sake of clarity, we’ll discuss the physical, psychological and sociological benefits available from this stuff, in as discrete a fashion as possible.

 

So to kick things off simply, let’s explore some of the facets of your physicality that can be enhanced through the addition of an adventure training based stimulus. 

One that almost everyone will be able to relate to, regardless of the modality completed, is that of energy system development. Whilst a full exploration of the physiological pathways associated with various adventure activities is beyond the scope of this piece, it’s safe to say that even the fittest gym bunny can be humbled fairly quickly when taken into the great outdoors. The beauty of many adventure activities is that we get challenged (and hence development) across the entire energy system spectrum, from the short explosive anaerobic glycolysis associated with an uphill sprint on a mountain bike or a flurry of fast swim strokes to get you through a gap whilst coasteering, right up to the long lower intensity output required in cross country skiing or canoeing. Furthermore, rather than the artificial constraints of operating within things like heart rate zones on a stationary bike, when we’re out on the trail or the river, we have to be able to rapidly and efficiently adjust our output in order to compensate for the ever changing environment (be that the terrain or weather etc). So whilst using adventure activities might not offer as much precision as gym (or lab) based conditioning, it offers a far more organic and holistic experience which, we would argue, would perfectly bolster a more traditional gym based conditioning programme.

Beyond energy system development, there are a plethora of other physiological skills and capacities (this could easily be the subject of a book in its own right) that can be improved with exposure to adventure activities. If we take even a simple example like mountain biking, aspects like grip and neck strength, whole body coordination, balance (both static and dynamic), trunk and limb control and the ability to absorb force and unexpected impacts effectively (through synchronized eccentric and isometric control) will all be improved with regular exposure. This is to say nothing of the more nerdy neurological benefits that are so prized within the tactical community- like improvements in peripheral vision, depth, distance and speed perception, sensory integration (like the vestibular (the balance system) and visual systems (e.g. the ability to move quickly whilst tracking an object or keeping your gaze locked in place)) or enhanced proprioception (e.g. knowing what position/orientation you’re in despite lacking visual cues). 

If we look at a lot of the pioneering work of coaches and specialists like Dan Fichter, Dr Sunbeck and Shawn Sherman (definitely check them out if you’ve not heard of them), who are attempting to bring neurological development into the gym and clinic; many of the fantastic drills and interventions they utilize are to simulate and promote actions, patterns or reflexes that often occur organically during adventure training activities. 

Now also consider that all these benefits (for which this list is far from exhaustive) are only from one, fairly accessible activity. 

Now obviously, which activity you choose to complete will dictate which skills and capacities are refined. So as with any other form of training, this is where regular exposure to different activities will help ensure a more well rounded development, whilst a more strategic and deliberate selection can be made if a bias towards a particular bucket of attributes is desired.  

 

Physical benefits aside, we feel that one of the most compelling differences between completing adventure training and something in the gym, is that in the gym you always know in the back of your mind that you could quit if you really wanted to (granted many of our readers would rather die than stop mid-set!). When you’re outdoors though, be it on the mountain, in the ocean or the backcountry, you generally don’t have that option. Suffice to say, unlike the artificial work we create for ourselves in the gym, out there it’s real! If you want to get you and your team to safety, you’re going to have to literally get yourself home. 

This concept of self-reliance is another important parallel when working in the tactical space; as unlike in professional sport, there’s very rarely a ‘time out’ or substitution available. Consequently, if you’re a tactical professional (or coaching those who are) and want to try to simulate the stress and pressure of a live operation without the risks associated with sending and receiving live fire (or your service’s equivalent), you could do a lot worse than integrating some well structured adventurous training into the schedule. 

Now we need to be clear here, I’m not suggesting that you take your unit and dump them in the wilderness to see if they can figure it out. What you can do though, is find activities or situations where you can expose them to appropriately graded perceived stress (i.e. something they find challenging), and then coach or facilitate your personnel through accordingly. 

In my previous life as a Physical Training Instructor in the Royal Air Force (RAF), we had an entire arm of the cadre who were ‘Adventure Training Instructors’. Aside from having the coolest sounding job title ever, these individuals were responsible for using activities like kayaking, caving or via ferratas (google it, it’s cool), to create ‘teachable moments’ by finding each person and group’s optimum point of ‘stretch’. Now this might sound like a game of corporate buzzword bingo, but there’s real value to be had here. 

‘Stretch’ is the point at which the individual is confronted by something that they deem physically and/or mentally challenging, but still accomplishable. And most importantly, despite the individual confronting their fear and perceiving risk (e.g. during an abseil or technical ski route), this occurs within the relatively controlled environment that the experienced and trained instructor deems safe. 

Funnily enough, if we look at the theories from skill and motor learning experts like Dr Rob Gray, Frans Bosch or Daniel Coyle, these are the very environments they recommend in order to elicit the best possible learning effects.

 

In creating these opportunities for personal development we not only increase individual qualities like self-efficacy, durability and problem solving ability; we also increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the team dynamics within a group. 

One of the ways this can happen is through an improved understanding of the similarities and differences present within the members of the group. Spending time outside, doing activities like this will inevitably unearth people’s strengths and weaknesses- for instance, who's good at staying calm under pressure, who can think laterally around problems or who keeps team morale up during hard times etc. Whilst these can be useful in the moment, they might prove invaluable or even lifesaving whilst on duty. 

It’s also very common to see a relaxing of the conventional hierarchical boundaries that are often present in the tactical community. Whilst rank and structure are extremely important in certain circumstances they can also cause breakdowns in communication, misunderstandings and even hinder mission success. For instance, a freshly graduated private might have a revolutionary idea for how to improve a particular aspect of a process they conduct on a daily basis, but communicating this up through the chain of command to a level where doctrine and legislation can be changed accordingly, can be a slow (and not to mention intimidating) process. Whereas, if you have a group of personnel complete a day out on the hills and then reflecting around the campfire, cross-rank conversations like this can happen in a much more relaxed atmosphere. 

From personal experience, I’ve seen a high ranking officer and a young corporal rather frankly discuss a proposed change in policy; but as they were wearing Rab and Mammut, rather than rank tabs and headdress, they were able to talk as two people without worrying about the added baggage of rank and deportment. The result was that the senior officer received valuable, unfiltered feedback from someone ‘at the coal face’, whilst the corporal was then able to appreciate the policy change in the context of wider defense strategy. Both parties came away with a positive experience and a greater understanding of the other’s perspective. 

Now clearly I’ve brushed very lightly over an area of research and thought that could, again, fill a book; but hopefully you’re able to relate some of this back to your own experiences and see the potential value something like this could offer to your own unit.

 

At this point, I think it’s important that I emphasize that we dearly love the gym; both for keeping ourselves healthy and operationally ready, but also as a tool for developing our personnel. Lifting weights, rucking, sprinting etc is a huge part of what we do and we firmly believe that these things are an integral part of the tool belt we use to keep our tactical professionals safe and ready. The point of this piece, therefore, isn’t that using these adventure training activities are any better than gym based training, rather that it should be a symphony. We’re arguing that whilst gym training should undoubtedly be the foundation of your schedule, including some form of adventurous training semi-regularly can complement this brilliantly.

 

So that brings us to the topic of how best to integrate this stuff into your already jam packed diary. 

As with everything we do, we’d suggest you start simple and achievable; do a little bit of research and firstly see what’s available in your area (e.g. do you have access to a trail system or the ocean or even a park?). Then, secondly, of what you have access to, what appeals the most (to you or your personnel). Thirdly, what’s the barrier for entry for that particular activity and does this make it prohibitive? Sure, a two week snowmobile based expedition would be awesome for bringing your firefighters closer as a team, but how about settling for an afternoon of hiking and navigation out in the local state park as a starter? This way you can demonstrate the inherent value in spending time doing something like this and get the buy-in from those around (and above) you, in order to perhaps do more extravagant trips in the future. 

Whatever you choose to do, make sure it’s safe (i.e. you either know what you’re doing, or have someone with you who does) and that you have some structure to your activity. Afterall, sure, an afternoon out of work can be fun, but the real value from these kinds of activities is in finding those ‘teachable moments’, where individuals and teams can be stretched (both physically and mentally) and are then given a chance to adapt, grow and reflect on the experience.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, make sure it’s fun. Particularly within the tactical world there’s already a ton of stress, trauma and heartache (both for those serving, but also within the associated support networks). Using activities like this can be a tremendous opportunity to allow people to let off steam, smile and laugh again- something we’ve long been guilty of neglecting within this community. If it’s appropriate and viable, you might want to consider occasionally including spouses, kids or close friends. The support network around each tactical professional is absolutely vital to their long term health and performance. Consequently, aside from probably increasing their own quality of life, the importance of taking time to engage and involve this group, to make them feel like an active part of the community, cannot be overstated.

 

To summarize then, start by just trying to find something accessible and fun in your local area. If you’re on your own, use it as a chance to connect with a new community. If you’re planning on creating a more structured session or event for your personnel, then consider how you might maximize those teachable moments. Try to identify potential opportunities to draw parallels between what you’re doing in the activity and what they do whilst out on duty. Remember though, it doesn’t need to be perfect; just getting your team out together and having fun will be a huge win in itself- anything else is a bonus. 

 

Hopefully you’ll find you (and your team) enjoy the initial experience, and then we’d encourage you to make time to get out at least every few weeks. These don’t need to be multi-day epics, just a few hours of orienteering or snowshoeing in your local park can be a great way to get started. You’ll quickly notice that the more time you can spend out in nature, doing these kinds of activities, the more other parts of your life will start to click into place- that’s the magic of adopting the Die Living lifestyle.

 

 

Interested in learning more about the Die Living philosophy? Head over to the website or check us out on Instagram.

If you’re already a keen adventurer and would like to make the most of your time outside, head over to the SOFLETE app and get started on one of our Back Country training cycles.