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Firefighter Fitness- Active Warm-up for Injury Prevention
Flexibility is often the most overlooked component of a an effective firefighter workout program. Incorporating flexibility exercises in your workout program has shown to help firefighter performance and reduce injuries by: Increasing physical efficiency and performance Increasing neuromuscular coordination Decreasing risk of severity of injury Decreasing risk of lower back pain Decreasing delayed onset muscle soreness Decreasing stress and tension What is the best way to increase flexibility? If you are like most of us, you were taught how to stretch in your high school weight lifting class and you’ve likely continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the old school workout warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually pose potential risk. This “old school” warm-up routine of starting your workout with a brisk walk or jog, then some simple body-part static stretches (holding…
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Simple Stretches to Improve Firefighter Performance
Stretching and flexibility are often taken for granted. The older I get (over 40) the more I realize how valuable the flexibility and mobility components of a workout are. Often skipped, I believe that a solid flexibility program (active warm-up, stretching and foam rolling) can greatly improve your performance on and off the fire ground. Today I wanted to give you a 5 Simple Exercises that can improve your performance. These exercises can be performed at the completion of a workout or a shift or even during your shift. You want to hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds if not 30 seconds. Repeat the circuit as many times as possible. Remember to breathe and maintain good posture throughout each stretch and don’t force the stretch. Ease into each position and if it hurts…stop. Here is a video overview of the stretches. Here are the individual Stretches. Downward…
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Fit Firefighters Should Do This Everyday!
Be Physically Ready for Duty- Your Daily Fitness Checkoffs. At the beginning of each and every shift firefighters, EMTs and medic meticulously go through and check their gear (or at least they should be) to make sure that it is ready for the challenges of the day. Our equipment must be functioning properly and our rigs must be fueled and ready to go. The question that I also want you to think about is whether or not your physical equipment- brain, body, muscles are ready to go? Are you fit? Are you fueled? Here are three quick and easy things that fit firefighters do at the beginning of the shift that will help insure they are “fit for duty.” 1. Drink some water. Around most firehouses (and offices) the day and the shift starts with some coffee. We all need a pick-me-up from time to time but before you reach…
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Firefighter Fitness- 5 Simple Tips to Get Lean and Strong
Would you agree that a leaner athlete is a better athlete? I know this is a “loaded” question. A lot of the answer has to deal with the sport in which the athlete is participating. One thing that research shows is that a leaner athlete is a “more efficient” athlete. When it comes to firefighters, this is a valid finding. Efficiency in general terms, describes the extent to which time, effort or cost is well used for the intended task or purpose. So, a more efficient Fire Rescue Athlete will be able to do more work with less physical effort. This is especially important since most of our “more intense” work as Fire Rescue Athletes comes when breathing air via an SCBA. The spring and summer months can be a challenging time to keep your fitness and weight in check. There are a ton of parties, weddings and gatherings that can easily…
Read MoreAre You doing This Exercise?
I recently completed a FREE report of the “10 Best Exercises for Firefighters.” You can get a copy of all 10 exercises for FREE by Clicking HERE Now. Here is one that made the list. The Side Plank- a great core exercise… 1. Plank(s) and variations of it. —It’s no surprise that the one of the exercises on this list is a core exercise. Back injuries are the number one reason firefighters and medics go on early disability so it’s imperative that as a fire rescue athlete you focus on strengthening the core. The plank exercise requires no equipment and is an incredible exercise for improving core strength, endurance, and power. As mention previously, core strength is integral for the fire rescue athlete, as all movement occurs around the core. The plank will increase core efficiency allowing the body to have greater control and stability. All fire rescue athletes should…
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Every Firefighter Workout Needs This…
Attention Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics! Without proper planning, your fitness program may actually be setting you up for failure. Read the article below…how does your current fitness program measure up? This blog topic is one near and dear to my heart and your career–Workouts for Fire Rescue Athletes. I’ve been in the fitness industry for over 20 years and in the fire service for over 12. This experience has given me the opportunity to write for some of the best trade magazines and present at big conferences (you can/ see read my story here). The most common question I get (either via email or at these conferences) is “What is the best workout for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics (Fire Rescue Athletes)? And, more importantly what are the components of the best Fire Rescue Athlete Workouts? Read below to find the answer (drum roll please).. First of all, there is no…
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Best Firefighter Exercise…
I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 exercises for Fire Rescue Athletes. This list is the culmination of over 10 years of research on fire-ground movements and over 20 years experience working with athletes. You can click here to get a copy of that list. Here is one that made the list. Plank (s)—It’s no surprise that the one of the exercises on this list is a core exercise. Back injuries are the number one reason firefighters and medics go on early disability so it’s imperative that as a fire rescue athlete you focus on strengthening the core. The plank exercise requires no equipment and is an incredible exercise for improving core strength, endurance, and power. As mention previously, core strength is integral for the fire rescue athlete, as all movement occurs around the core. The plank will increase core efficiency allowing the body to have greater control…
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5 Reasons Every Firefighter Should do Yoga…
You may never thought the word yoga would be said in the in the same sentence with “firefighter.” If you ask someone who’s never done yoga what they think it involves, the usual response is “stretching and meditation.” It’s always great fun to see someone in a yoga class for the first time who thinks it’s going to be a workout for lightweights. Fifteen minutes into it, when they haven’t left their 6′ x 2′ mat and they’re sweating like crazy, you can tell it begins to sink in that this workout could be better than they’d originally thought. The truth of the matter is yoga can be as mellow or as arduous as you make it, just like any physical practice. The beauty of yoga is that it goes beyond just the physical. For firefighters yoga can be a really great way to relieve stress and center the body and mind.…
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Firefighter "Crew" Challenge Workout
Total Body “CREW” Challenge Workout. 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 each exercise in 2 minutes. Rest 1…
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