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SICK PARADE - Time for more teamwork
By LT Rob Orr
Edition 1169, June 28, 2007 |
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| LIGHTEN THE LOAD: Team activities, such as battle PT, helps bring out individual abilities, which teaches team members to use their strengths to assist those weaker in the team. |
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In the age of personal training, triathlons, individual PT programs and iPods, are we losing the team focus?
Participation in sports has decreased significantly in many units due to productivity commitments, a personalised training approach and, dare we admit, laziness.
A decrease in participation during certain PT sessions is another noticeable shift away from many team activities. Although PT class sizes increase for circuits, almost all drop significantly during the more arduous and important team-orientated PT sessions, such as logs, lift and carry, push and pull, obstacle courses and battle PT.
The importance of teamwork is universally acknowledged with many civilian companies paying thousands of dollars a year to improve teamwork in the workplace. Professional sporting teams often request the use of PTI support to take obstacle courses, high ropes courses and team-building fitness training to improve their team’s cohesion.
Physical training is an effective and important part of developing teamwork and unity. By placing the body under physical duress, true strengths and weaknesses of team members come to the fore. The team learns to apply each other’s strengths and to assist those weaker in other areas.
For example, the member who has the lowest aerobic capacity in the section is encouraged and aided along by the rest of their section. Once coming to a task that requires heavy lifting, it may be that member who excels and assists the now weaker aerobic athletes – and in this continuum the section performs well overall.
To truly apply this concept, PT lessons that involve teamwork must be used.
Activities like obstacle courses, section endurance marches, battle PT and lift and carry are needed. Apart from formal PT lessons, sports and minor team games likewise will enhance the ability of the group to work together.
So contact your local PTI section and request some PT and sporting activities dedicated to developing the teamwork of your unit.
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