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Create a Fun and Effective Workout for Your Crew…
Training on-shift with your crew can be challenging for many reasons. Calls, lack of motivation, crew members are at different levels of fitness…. the list goes on. You also have to take into consideration the fact that you must leave some “gas” in the tank and don’t want to burn out and bonk on a call. So, what is the solution- how can you get your crew involved, get a fast and efficient workout and still cater to different levels of fitness? FRF Crew/ Fireground Interval Workouts Over the last couple of years, I have toyed with various workouts on shift; high intensity, heavy lifting, stretching only, and even some yoga. I have found that these crew interval workouts are not only very effective but a great way to incorporate fire ground movements and good way to build crew camaraderie. They also work with all levels of fitness, during the…
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Firefighter Bodyweight Challenge Workout.
No Equipment, No Problem. Perform this workout when you cannot get to the gym or firehouse. It can be very difficult to try to stay “fit for duty” on vacation, during the Holidays, or if you don’t have access to a lot of equipment. You could always go for a walk, do some stretches and/or maybe run some stairs. All good options. You could also do this great bodyweight workout. I actually performed this workout a couple times on vacation in a small condo with only a towel and a little floor space. The objective of the workout is to complete all the assigned reps of each bodyweight exercise (total of 500 reps). **You can substitute out any of the exercises if you would like. Beginners can bounce around from exercise to exercise until all reps are completed. For a more challenging workout you should try to complete all the reps of one…
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Easy to Follow Nutrition Tips for the Firehouse (or any house)…
Cooking in the firehouse for a bunch of hungry firefighters is not easy, trust me I know. In most cases we sacrifice health for taste to avoid complaints and heckling. But, in order to change the culture of the fire service (to a healthier one) cooks and food choices need to get better. Here are 3 easy and healthy tips that can help. 1. Assemble 5 simple and healthy recipes that can be easily tweaked to create different dishes.– Learning new recipes are fun but isn’t best done in a busy firehouse. We all know, the more times we make a recipe, the faster, easier and possibly healthier it gets–It becomes a routine, like putting on your gear. There are a lot of resources to find healthy recipes, pick some out and use them as your staples. Need healthy recipe ideas and some extra guidance on nutrition? Right now every…
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Do This to Stay Fit In (and Out) of the Firehouse
It seems like fitness information is coming from every angle these days. Experts tell us that we need to “do yoga, do crossfit, do low intensity, do high intensity, do weights, don’t do weights.” It can get to be very frustrating and in some cases overwhelming. My goal with FRF is to sift through all the so-called research and experts predictions to give you solid resources that will get you “fit for duty.” today I want to give you 3 (actually I threw in a bonus 4th) things you can do to stay fit in and out of the firehouse. These are very easy tasks and will help you get your fitness on-track. Click the video below to discover the 3 Things you Need to Do to Stay Fit in the Firehouse. Try to do these things every shift (and every day). Stay hydrated. Water is the source of…
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Firefighter Challenge Workout for your Crew
Great Crew Total Body Challenge Workout for the Firehouse (or any gym). Here is a great assessment and/ or workout to challenge your entire body. The workout does not require a lot of equipment so you can do it at the firehouse (or your house). You can substitute these exercises if you want based on your available equipment. You must perform the active warm-up first. This warm-up will increase your core temperature, improve range of motion and get you ready for the workout. (Click here for a quick overview of the warm-up exercises). Perform 2 circuits of the following 5 exercises: 1. Chops (5-10 reps) 2. Knee Hugs (5-10 reps each) 3. Spidermans (5-10 reps each) 4. Knees side to side (5-10 reps each) 5. Quadraped Rotations (5-10 reps each) After completing the warm-up go right into the workout. The goal is to perform as many reps as possible of…
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The Essential Rules of “Good” Firefighter Nutrition
Eat This. Don’t Eat That. Eating healthy or figuring out how to eat healthy, can be a very frustrating thing. So today, I wanted to give you some great rules (and a golden rule) to help you simplify “healthy” eating. First of all, there are a couple of basic rules of healthy eating that every firefighter, EMT, medic, mom, dad, Chief…person, should focus on. Healthy Eating (or Drinking) Rule #1. Stay Hydrated: Drink Lots of Water. Whether your body is turning food into fuel or working away at your fat reserves, it needs water to efficiently burn calories. If you are not fully hydrated, your metabolism will slow down and you won’t be burning calories as efficiently as you can. Hydration also plays a role in performance, the better hydrated, the better you perform. And, staying hydrated can reduce your chances of sudden cardiac arrest and stroke! Try to drink…
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Introducing the FRF Workout App (via TrainHeroic)
Its Finally here! The FRF Workout App. This is the best workout App for firefighters, EMTs and medics. You spoke and we listened… Thousands of firefighters, EMTs and medics have been using FRF workouts the past 5 years. The results these first responders have achieved is motivating and speaks for the effectiveness of the FRF programs (see below). The feedback we get from these responders is also highly positive. But, there is one aspect of the program that we found we could improve. And, that is to provide a way to record workouts and track progress via an app……. I am happy to announce that the FRF workout programs are now available via our very own FRF app. Fire Rescue Fitness has workout programs that will help first responders lose weight, gain strength, lose bodyfat and most importantly improve performance on (and off) the fire/rescue scene. To discover the best…
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Create an Effective Firefighter Workout Schedule
Do you workout on shift? Should you workout on shift and what is the best workout to perform? How do you schedule your workouts around your shifts or calls? This is a major concern for the fire rescue athlete. On one hand we know we should be working out to stay and get fit for duty. Yet , if we burn out in the gym we won’t be able to perform when it really matters. I recently post workout options and get a lot of emails to post more. But, before I do, I think its really important to keep the big “fitness” picture in mind and see how all these workouts should be organized. Part of the big picture is to figure out “what is the best form of exercise to perform on duty?” If you want a done-f0r-you program that incorporates the best firefighter workouts organized in…
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The 5 Steps to Get More Fit for Duty
The last five years, I have been sponsoring the FRF “Fit for Duty” Challenge. This past year there were over 100 submissions from firefighters, EMTs and medics from all over the world (the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) that made some great fitness progress and helped change their lives with improved health and fitness. Reading all these stories is both humbling and motivating! My mission with Fire Rescue Fitness is to educate and motivate 100,000 firefighters, EMTs and medics to get “fit for duty.” Each year after the Challenge is completed I feel like I/ we (the FRF nation included), are getting there but there are still a lot more work to do. Looking for a complete workout program to help you get Fire Rescue Fit? Click here to discover the workouts (and NEW FRF Workout app) trusted and used by thousands of firefighters EMTs and medics… It…
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