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Eating out Guide for Firefighters, EMTs and Medics…
Eating Out Guide for Fire Rescue Athletes Maybe it’s for business, maybe it’s for school, maybe it’s a date, maybe it’s a special occasion or maybe you and the crew don’t have time to prepare food. It doesn’t matter. The last-minute restaurant meal will likely occur at some point. Instead of sabotaging your health, here are some good guidelines that will help you keep your meal selection on the right track. Let me note that it is alright to indulge (I try to do it 2x per week) but if you need a good, healthy meal while eating out, here are some tips. When menu-scanning, you can use several strategies. Select any one of these options for your meal (not all of them): Order a good protein–Is there: grilled chicken breast, lean beef, shrimp, tuna, beans, etc.? Start with the protein, then add veggies (such as a side salad instead…
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Are you FRF (Fire Rescue Fit)?
Are you FRF (Fire Rescue Fit)? We all may answer that question differently. The reason behind that question though is simple… Are you ready for the demands of the day, of the job, of the tasks that you must do as a fire rescue athlete? Sometimes our fitness gets away from us and we may not even realize it. So, today, I wanted to give you a workout that has a twofold purpose. First, its a very efficient workout that you can literally do anywhere and it will help you get “fit for duty.” Second, its a great way to measure you current level of fitness and motivate you to improve it. Check out the video below for details. Click here to get a “printable” PDF of the FRF 5 Exercise Bodyweight Test -FREE This is workout #1 from the new FRF Foundations Workout Program (click here for more…
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How Fit Firefighters Schedule Workouts around Shifts
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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Five Steps to Getting Fire Rescue Fit in the Next 40-days.
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. It prompts me to ask pondering questions… Why do many people that want to get fit for duty fall short and fail? Why do other succeed? What is the major difference between success and failure? After…
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How to Create a Workout for Your Crew…
Let’s face it, working on your cardiovascular conditioning can be very boring. Personally, I suffer from workout ADD, I constantly like to change things up to keep me interested in the 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. Click the video below. Creating a crew Workout. Step #1- Choose at least 4 exercises for the active warm-up Every good fire rescue workout begins with an active warm-up. Choose 4 or 5 movements (chops, knees side to side, inverted hamstring, spidermans) and perform them at least 5 or 6 reps each. If you are very tight you will want to repeat them again. If…
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The “Golden” Rules of 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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Get Fire Rescue Fit with this Firefighter Workout Option.
I get a lot of requests for example workouts from the various Fire Rescue Fitness Programs. This is one of the workouts you will find in the our FRF workout programs. Click here for more information on FRF Workout Programs. All programs include workouts, eating guide, app, coaching and more… This is a great Firefighter Body weight workout that doesn’t require a lot of equipment and is very efficient (like you need to be on a fire/rescue scene). Give this a try! 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…
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How to Create a Fitness Program for Firefighter Recruits…
As firefighters we protect life and property by any means necessary. And by “any” we mean the “safest and the best.” This means we do not marry ourselves to any one response modality or school of thought. We don’t always go interior on a fire attack…or always use a Halligan to force open a door (sometimes it’s already unlocked) right? We take into account certain factors along with the environment, resources, etc. and make the best tactical decisions we can. Granted, we do have protocols and procedures to follow that help guide us along our process but we must be able to adapt and compromise. Going into a situation, a well prepared firefighter should have a plan in the back of their head but also must be able to adapt to changing conditions. To create an effective recruit fitness program and/or training program for the academy, you must take into…
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Firefighter Cardiovascular Workout Options…
I heard someone once say running long and slow teaches your body one thing, how to run long and slow. If that’s all you’re after, you can stop reading; I don’t want you to be late for your water aerobics class (lol, just kidding). But, as a fire rescue athlete, you need to move quickly and with purpose. I’m not saying that long and slow cardio is totally worthless, I’m saying it has its place. In fact, I recommend performing a lower intensity, longer cardio workout at least once or twice a week to flush the muscles. But, what I am talking about here is training your body and your heart to function under higher intensity. The purpose of any firefighter’s cardiovascular program should be to help them work more efficiently under the stresses encountered every day on the job, be it on the fire or rescue ground. I feel…
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