Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
5-1-2026
Year of Publication
2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College
Health Sciences
Department/School/Program
Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty
Dr. Nicholas R Heebner
Faculty
Esther Dupont-Versteegden
Abstract
Special Operations Forces (SOF) tactical training requires high levels of physical performance and psychological resilience. This training is often characterized by extreme temperatures and environments, extremely high levels of physical activity and large caloric deficits. As such, SOF personnel follow intense strength and conditioning (S&C) programs to enhance a wide range of athletic abilities. Such programs rely on a balance between training stress and recovery to allow for gradual improvement in physical ability over time, however it is unknown how to quantify tactical training stress in the context of a training program. This dissertation explores evidence related to how this tactical training stress can be conceptualized in the sport sciences to improve S&C programs.
The results of two observational studies indicate that SOF operators undergo non-functional overreaching (nFOR) as defined by a decrease in physical performance despite an increase in training stress. Over the course of a SOF unit training phase (UTP), subjects saw increased body fat (p=0.01) and poorer scores in vertical jump height (p
This work is intended to inform professional tactical S&C coaches and military commanders on best practices to screen for nFOR in active-duty military personnel and allow for appropriate interventions when possible.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.20
Funding Information
Office of Naval Research N00014-18-C-2025
Office of Naval Research N0004-21-1-2682
Recommended Citation
Ross, Jeremy Alan, "INVESTIGATING NON-FUNCTIONAL OVERREACHING IN SPECIAL OPERATIONS TACTICAL TRAINING" (2025). Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences. 110.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/rehabsci_etds/110
