Tactical Wellness and Human Performance
Load management
Track external load (distance, ruck weight, jumps, arrests) and internal load (session RPE x duration). The acute:chronic workload ratio compares the past week with the 4-week average. Ratios around 0.8-1.3 are generally associated with lower injury risk; sharp spikes above roughly 1.5 signal danger. The ratio is a monitoring tool, not a diagnosis.
Sleep, nutrition, and hydration
Adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep; sleep extension and naps improve performance and decision-making. Protein around 1.6 g/kg/day supports adaptation, and adequate energy availability matters more than any supplement. A body-mass loss of about 2% impairs performance; monitor urine color and pre/post training weights. Heat acclimation takes roughly 1-2 weeks.
Stress, resilience, and return to duty
Use wellness questionnaires, mood and soreness ratings, and readiness scores to guide adjustments. Build psychological skills and peer support, and refer for mental health concerns. Return-to-duty criteria include pain-free range of motion, strength symmetry, and successful occupational task testing.
Traps
Do not confuse normal fatigue with overtraining; soreness alone is not a reason to stop training. Do not treat a high ACWR as a diagnosis, and do not recommend supplements beyond the evidence base. Recovery is training, not a luxury.
Worked example
A soldier logs 1,200 arbitrary units this week against a 4-week average of 800: ACWR = 1,200 / 800 = 1.5, at the upper threshold. Rather than adding a ruck march, hold volume steady, add sleep, and reassess next week.
Rule of thumb: increase weekly load by no more than about 10% and keep ACWR near 0.8-1.3.