Physical Fitness: Why We Need to Support This as LEO Wives

Finding the balance of your police officers work schedule and work out schedule can be overwhelming. It's another hour or two a day that he is away from the family and it can be annoying at times. If you are like me, a stay at home mom and the primary caregiver to the children, you can start to develop some resentment towards their work outs when its very difficult for you to find the time yourself to complete your own work outs or even have some alone time.

But, we need to find a way to change our perspective towards their work out time. Here is a personal story on how I was able to change my perspective on this subject and not be resentful towards it.

Before my husband and I had children and before he was in good physical shape, he was in a high stress situation. He had pulled over a vehicle and was essentially in the middle of no where (this is the geography of the town he worked for at the time). His back up was several minutes out through another agency. The driver of the vehicle decided he wasn't going to go with the program and he took off running and a foot chase ensued. Now, we live in Minnesota and have snow. My husband chased this suspect through, at times, knee deep snow, and they ran up and down terrain and through the woods. At one point, my husband almost had to escalate his use of force to a higher level which made his adrenaline spike.

My husband thankfully was able to peacefully apprehend this suspect and take him into custody. His backup showed up and was able to give him a break from the situation. Once this small break in time happened, my husband's body had an adrenaline dump and his body was overworked from the running and mental stress of the situation. His body couldn't handle what had just happened and he almost collapsed and he started to have chest pains.

He was taken to the hospital for tests and monitoring and was ultimately okay. I had gotten the phone call late in the night and raced to the hospital to be with him. He was released within a few hours. My husband at that point made a decision to get into shape and start working out. He didn't take it very seriously during this time but was making an effort to get to the gym.

Fast forward a year or two and after doing a lot of self help and growth for the both of us, my husband decided he didn't like the way he looked and decided to become sober and he also decided he was going to run a marathon that summer.

Fast forward another year, and my husband is set to run his second marathon this coming summer as well as an ultramarathon in the spring. He is now in the best shape and health he has ever been in, all because he made a conscious choice to be better and put his health first.

Exercise has amazing benefits to the human body, so let’s relate them to law enforcement officers so we can better understand the need for them to prioritize their work outs.

Exercise improves your overall cardiovascular system and your nervous system. It can improve blood and oxygen flow throughout the body. How does this relate to law enforcement? Well, your police officer is able to chase after people with more ease. Their bodies are also better able to regulate themselves and can process the adrenaline better which allows them to think clearer and their fine motor skills are more in tune. All of these improvements can ultimately save their life, or someone else's life. Working out and physical fitness is also a great coping mechanism and outlet for your officer's mental health.

So, as annoying and resentful we can get as police wives, your officers physical and mental health are so important to themselves and to those they serve and work with.