The Jump Start Method

A question we see often at the Rescue Swimmer Mindset is “when will I be ready?” The funny thing about training for big goals is we are often NOT ready at any given point. We can train constantly, hit all the PT number requirements and still feel like we aren’t truly ready to put our mental and physical fitness to the test. One of the many things that divides people who eventual accomplish their goals and those who don’t is their ability to start making real progress towards a goal. It’s one thing to say you’re training to become a rescue swimmer and an entirely different thing to go into a recruiter’s office and start the process.

When I was training for rescue swimmer school my first year of college, I was far from being able to reach the required PT numbers before I started the process with my recruiter. I was still doing around 35 max pushups, 3-4 pull ups and had a 1.5 mile run in the high 10s. I was confident I could hit the PT numbers I needed if I continued to train and I used the recruiting processes as motivation to train harder and more often. I still use the Jump Start Method (although I only recently named it) to this day. Last year I signed up for various trail and road races throughout the year. This fueled my training late in 2019 and into 2020. Although many of those races were cancelled due to COVID. I still was able to get quality training in and build up my aerobic base. I hope to use that base to fuel my 2021 running year.

If you’ve been using your lack of fitness or “feeling ready” to push something off. Take a moment to decide whether the Jump Start Method would be good for you. As RSM has grown and we’ve continued to take on more students, I find this to be one of the most reoccurring concerns of students. While it should be on the mind of students, it shouldn’t be something that dissuades them from starting the processes.

-Cody