International Physical Employment Standards

Last week we held our wrap up meeting with the organising committee to reflect on the 2025 International Physical Employment Standards conference and looked ahead for the next conference in 2028. Thank you to Dr Gemma Milligan for keeping us organised and chairing the committee for the past two conferences! Looking forward to working with Etienne Chassé as the new organising committee chair as we help support planning for 2028. Picture from our recent meeting in Oklahoma State University (OSU). Sam Blacker, Traci Tauferner, LAT, ATC, CSCS, Rob Orr, Dr Gemma Milligan, Jay Dawes, STEPHEN FOULIS, Patrick Gagnon & Etienne Chassé. Other organising committee members not in the picture due to being unable to join us at OSU but involved in all the planning, Andy Siddall, Veronica Jamnik & Helen Kilding

As IPES comes to a close, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this event such a success—our speakers, presenters, sponsors, and, of course, our incredible attendees. Your insights, discussions, and collaborations continue to push the boundaries of PES! While we say goodbye for now, we’re already looking ahead to our next gathering in 2028 in Canada! Until then, let’s keep the conversations going, stay connected, and continue advancing our work together.

The commercial space industry is rapidly expanding, opening up space travel to a more diverse range of individuals beyond the traditional astronaut profile. This presents exciting opportunities and challenges in supporting the health and safety of these new space travelers as shared by Michael Harrison in todays keynote. He suggests developing medical standards and policies to enable individuals with chronic medical conditions or physical disabilities to participate in commercial spaceflight is a key focus area, which could significantly broaden access to space. What is your take on this? Axiom Space

Key Takeaways from Mark Stephenson Keynote for PES Professionals today: Mark’s keynote emphasized a data-driven, task-specific approach to defining fitness for tactical and physically demanding professions. Here are three critical insights: ? Task-Specific Fitness: Fitness should be assessed based on operational task performance rather than generic fitness standards. This means focusing on key domains like cardiovascular endurance, strength, cognition, and mobility. ? Key Performance Predictors: Research highlights that heart rate variability (HRV), VO2 max, and anaerobic capacity are strong indicators of tactical performance and should be prioritized in assessments. ? Comprehensive & Validated Testing: While multi-domain fitness assessments are necessary, they must be validated and streamlined to ensure practicality and widespread implementation.

Happening this morning! Don’t miss the Practical Movement Session with Jay Dawes and Rob Orr. This interactive, hands-on session on Ability-Based Training will equip you with practical strategies to enhance performance across all ability levels. Whether you’re a researcher, practitioner, or coach, you’ll walk away with actionable insights to implement immediately. Get ready to move, learn, and level up—see you there! Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Tactical Research Unit

We had an insightful discussion on the challenges of obesity, body size, and fitness within organizations. It’s clear that physical fitness is not just a personal issue—it’s an organizational and societal challenge. Key takeaways included the importance of pre-recruit fitness programs, better instructor training, and leveraging data to shape policies. The impact of COVID-19 has only amplified the need for structured fitness initiatives and physical education reforms. As we move forward, the focus should be on evidence-based strategies that not only enhance performance but also improve long-term health outcomes. Looking forward to collaborating on innovative solutions in this space!

Dr Gemma Milligan and Sam Blacker have over 20 years of global experience developing and applying physical employment standards (PES). In their thought-provoking keynote, they propose innovative ways to leverage the PES evidence base beyond just selection testing. Discovertheirr ideas for using PES to: - Guide individualized training programs that build workforce resilience and prevent injuries - Incentivize employees to exceed minimum fitness standards through creative reward systems - Adapt PES as job demands evolve due to technological change, environmental factors, and workforce demographics Gemma and Sam challenge the status quo, urging organizations to look beyond the PES test results and unlock the full value of this robust, evidence-based framework. Connect to explore how you can apply these innovative PES strategies to optimize workforce capability, safety, and longevity in your physically demanding roles.

Safe travels, everyone! With winter weather warnings possible for tomorrow, an email was sent out with an adjusted conference agenda for Wednesday. If you didn’t receive it, please reach out to Jay Dawes or Joe Bennett.

Tomorrow is the Day! The IPES 2025 Conference kicks off tomorrow, bringing together elite practitioners and researchers in Physical Employment Standards from around the world! Get ready for: ? Groundbreaking keynotes on PES evolution & operational performance ? Hands-on training with top experts in ability-based movement ? Cutting-edge research on military, law enforcement, firefighter, and tactical fitness ? Unmatched networking opportunities with leaders shaping the future of PES Who's excited? Drop the comments if you're joining us! Register: https://lnkd.in/gwgxrXP9 Jay Dawes, Sam Blacker, STEPHEN FOULIS, Andy Siddall, Etienne Chassé, Helen Kilding, Joe Bennett, Rob Orr, Dr Gemma Milligan, Traci Tauferner, LAT, ATC, CSCS, Veronica Jamnik, Tiffany Smith, Elisa Canetti, Eric Mol, Steven Fischer, Megan Thompson, Mark Stephenson, Robert Lockie, Pat Gagnon, Michael Harrison, Josh Osofa, Jen Burbage, Annette Z.

The Future of PES – Be Part of the Conversation! Where is Physical Employment Standards (PES) headed? What challenges do we face? Join global experts in this interactive roundtable to discuss the gaps and future directions. ??? Feb 20 | 3:00 PM Your input could help shape the future! Register: https://lnkd.in/gwgxrXP9