If you’re planning on entering the military, you likely realize the importance of developing your adaptability. Unfortunately, you might not know the tactics, exercises, and techniques you can apply to train your adaptability in dynamic situations and supercharge your chances of getting selected. In this Operators Association guide, we will go over three strategies that you can start using today to build your adaptability and become more willing to act in treacherous situations.

One of the best ways to forge adaptability is to seek out and overcome difficulty. When you subject yourself to uncomfortable, stressful, or inconvenient situations, you temper your body and mind to accept challenges and continue fighting despite discomfort. Seeking out difficulty can be anything from taking the stairs instead of an elevator to committing to taking only cold showers for a month. 

A great way to keep yourself guessing and avoid becoming too comfortable with your discomforts is to choose six adaptability challenges (cold shower, avoiding elevators, extra workout, etc.) and assign a number to each. Then, roll a dice when you wake up each morning to find out what your adaptability challenge will be for the day.

One of the most consequential training errors people make when preparing for military training or selection is not training how they fight. For example, if you want to practice your rucking for Land NAV, don’t do your rucks on paved roads or running tracks. Your land navigation course will be done over rough terrain, so you must train accordingly. By training how you fight, you build a resistance to the pressures you'll experience during selection and become more adaptable to changing circumstances.

Training how you fight is as simple as making your training environment similar to your operating environment. This can mean anything from going on runs with a plate carrier to doing rucks soaking wet. The more realistic you can make your training, the more adaptable you will become when it’s time to do the real thing!

Another critical aspect of forging adaptability is consistently setting high standards for yourself and having the discipline to uphold them. Slacking off and doing things the easy way doesn’t take any skill; staying accountable for your actions requires commitment and resilience. The military views discipline and accountability as key indicators of an operator’s performance in the field. If a person can’t hold themselves to a high standard, they can’t be trusted with the lives of their teammates. An undisciplined soldier is a liability to those around him.

Start committing to daily excellence. Whether you are cleaning your room, planning your diet, or working out, execute every task with the highest degree of quality and hold yourself accountable for slacking off. Setting high standards improves your adaptability by ensuring that everything from your diet to your equipment is squared away and ready for action. 

Building adaptability requires you to seek out and overcome difficulty, train how you fight, and set high standards for yourself. If you want to access a training program that will make you do all of these things, get started with an OA Workout Program. Our training systems are tailor-made for those looking to enter and excel in a military career. They are made and curated by operators and focus on developing the specific physical abilities that you need to become an effective warrior in the field. Whether you want to optimize your physique, crush your next ruck march, or have the fastest 5-mile pace in your class, we’ve got you covered. Start forging your future by visiting our workouts page and starting an OA Workout Program today!