Range fitness prepares Airmen for combat Published Nov. 13, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Melanie Iannaggi 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Rob Shaul, U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate and Military Athlete strength and conditioning coach held a fitness seminar Nov. 9-10 at McViper's Fitness Center to teach security forces, physical training leaders and other interested Airmen how to train for combat. Military Athlete is a garage-type gym in Wyoming similar to CrossFit that focuses on tactical performance and durability. Shaul said Airmen can prepare for combat by practicing range fitness, which is doing marksmanship or other fine motor skills under stress. "People usually have good fine motor skills at heart rates between 115 and 145," Shaul said. "When heart rates go above 145, the action becomes difficult to do." A fine motor skill is an action involving small muscles, small movements and hand-eye coordination like shooting or typing, he said. The opposite would be a gross motor skill which involves big muscles and big movements like lifting or sprinting. And, a complex motor skill is a combination of both which would be like a quarterback dodging tackles while completing a pass. "The ability to do a fine motor skill under stress is its own kind of animal," Shaul said. "You need to train frequently to get good at it." Shaul showed the group of Airmen different ways to practice complex motor skills. For Staff Sgt. Dawn Merzak, 56th Security Forces Squadron resource protection non-commissioned officer-in-charge, the complex motor skill training gives Airmen realistic practice for combat situations. "The workout is very similar to CrossFit, but it takes it to another level, because the training is longer," she said. "It makes us more durable for long-term physical fitness and teaches us to control our adrenaline and nerves, which increases our accuracy under pressure. The purpose is to take these exercises and directly apply it to our job." To train complex motor skills, you can either bring the gym to the range, or the range to the gym, Shaul said. Bringing the gym to the range involves doing exercises like ups and downs, sprints and other quick movements that raise the participant's heart rate, Shaul said. Between exercises, a fine motor skill is performed, such as shooting targets for time. "This type of training is usually difficult, because it requires a lot of time and organization with range restrictions and safety concerns," he said. "When doing this, it is best to keep everything as simple as possible." Bringing the range to the gym is easier, but requires some creativity, Shaul said. "It also involves a circuit of exercises, but shooting is replaced with other fine motor skill actions like lighting birthday candles, inserting IVs or using a tiny calculator to solve a complicated math problem." The key to practicing range fitness is adding stress, he said. This can be done physically or mentally by adding competition, pain or a suffering teammate. All these stressors are found in combat and learning to deal with them now can save lives later.