The Comprehensive Airman Fitness model is comprised of four domains: mental, physical, social, spiritual. The goal of Comprehensive Airman Fitness is to build and sustain a resilient AF community that fosters mental, physical, social and spiritual fitness.
The model provides a holistic approach to human wellness. Each domain of Comprehensive Airman Fitness is dependent upon the others. They are all complimentary and interrelated. Each domain has two types of factors: protective and risk.
Protective Factors
Do just as their name implies - they protect by building your resilience across the mental, physical, social and spiritual domains, as well as to protect your wellness.
Risk Factors
When you take part in actions or behaviors that weaken the four domains you are creating a vulnerability in which risk can enter. Your domains will be weakened, making you less capable of handling stressful and difficult times in your life.
Taking Care of Yourself
Requires initiative to do the right things. You are responsible for taking care of your wellness. It is in doing this, that Airmen are capable of being Wingmen for each other. The AF promotes Comprehensive Airmen Fitness. If you take care of yourself and each other you build and maintain a thriving and resilient AF that fosters mental, physical, social and spiritual fitness.
Balance
The key to maintaining your overall wellness is balance. Balance is about being able to enhance protective factors and minimize risk factors in each fitness domain. Thus, balance plays a major role in achieving success in life. Maintaining balance will better prepare you to handle the stressful, emotional and difficult times in your life, and to assist others. The following sections describe the four domains of Comprehensive Airman Fitness and explain the protective and risk factors that you may encounter in your life.
Physical Fitness
The ability to adopt and sustain healthy behaviors needed to enhance health and well-being. Physically fit individuals are better equipped for challenges in all areas of life.
Protective Factors: maintaining a normal weight by eating a balanced and healthy diet. Always make your plate colorful with vegetables and fruits and drink plenty of water. Eating well and staying hydrated are essential for being at your best.
Participating in a cardiovascular and strength training exercise program at least 3 - 4 times per week. Remember to include warm-up and cool-down periods, respectively, at the beginning and end of any exercise period. Exercise not only improves strength and stamina, it enhances the ability of the body and mind to function at peak performance and creates a sense of well-being.
Get Rest and Recharge: Get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep every 24 hours and maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Include time for your body to replenish before the next surge of energy use by taking time to do activities you enjoy and help you to relax.
Mental functioning becomes impaired with insufficient sleep. Impairment is similar to misusing alcohol leading to poor decision making.
Risk factors: are being overweight, having an unhealthy diet, misusing alcohol, using tobacco products, not participating in a regular exercise program and not getting enough sleep.
Mental Fitness
The ability to effectively cope with unique mental stressors and challenges needed to ensure mission readiness. Emotions are the physical and mental internal responses to our environment.
Protective factors: are feelings of happiness, optimism, compassion, empathy and a high self-esteem.
Developing mental toughness
- Always rehearse situations in your mind. Practice a task or procedure in your mind by visualizing yourself doing it well before you actually attempt it. Try to imagine a successful outcome.
- Prepare in advance. Practice, practice and practice until skills become automatic. The never give up attitude, builds confidence and bolsters self-esteem.
- Practice tactical self-talk. Focus your thoughts on the challenge at hand (e.g. the mission); talk to yourself on how to react, proceed or respond.
- Problem-solve with others. Clearly define the problem, seek inputs and compare solutions. Self-talk and good communication increases the probability of a good solution.
- Balance your thinking. Pay attention to how you think about things. If your thinking is interfering with your ability to achieve the desired outcome, try to balance negative thoughts with positive ones, or available evidence. Balancing your thinking strongly impacts your motivation to stick with the most difficult situations. Be aware or “mindful” of your thoughts. If negative thoughts begin to negatively affect your performance, recognize that these are only thoughts and refocus your attention on the current task.
Risk factors: are feelings of anger, fear, sadness and shame. These feelings are the result of a lack of developing mental toughness through mental rehearsal; a lack of advanced preparation; a lack of tactical self-talk; or negative thinking.
Social Fitness
The ability to engage in healthy social networks that promote overall well-being and optimal performance. Social connections are the interactions humans have within their environment and with one another.
Protective factors: are healthy relationships, financial stability, good job performance and involvement in group activities (e.g., sports, parent-teacher organizations or spiritual activities).
Be a good wingman: wingmen care for themselves, others and their AF family. Signs of distress in others are not dismissed, but acknowledged. Wingmen avoid senseless risks to life as a result of improper safety and irresponsible behavior. AF members make responsible choices and help others to do the same.
Risk factors: include current or past history of family violence, relationship problems, disciplinary action, financial issues, mental history and limited social connections.
Spiritual Fitness
The ability to adhere to beliefs, principles, or values needed to preserve and prevail. Spirituality can be defined as some type of feeling that allows you to feel meaningfully connected to life around you and/or a greater purpose.
For some it is through religious affiliation; for others, it is through a deep commitment to values that enhance their life and the lives of others.
Protective factors: are having a sense of faith, hope and purpose beyond oneself and an eternal perspective. Keeping your purpose and your role in the mission clear in your mind is helpful.
Remind yourself of the reasons you were selected for or chose the job and the value you can gain. Thinking about your contribution to the bigger mission can reground you to a sense of purpose in life.
Risk factors: include the feelings of hopelessness, despair and self-sufficiency
Comprehensive Airman Fitness After BMT
Every human being is faced with life challenges and choices in the mental, physical, social, and spiritual domains of well-being. Some choices will enhance well-being, while others will detract from it.
BMT has provided you a framework for thinking about Comprehensive Airman Fitness or resiliency, as it is commonly called. It is up to you to make the life choices that will help keep the four domains of wellness in balance and at optimum levels.
Balance and optimization of the four domains of wellness not only impact your fitness to fight, but the quality and enjoyment you will have in everyday life.