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Healthy Eating 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 some extra guidance on nutrition? Get into “Ultimate” shape with this program…Eating…
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The Most Important Firefighter Fitness Trait….
I often get asked by Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics to evaluate their current fitness programs and to possibly give some suggestions. I always try to explain to the individual or group that in order to evaluate the program we must understand the physical demands of the job. Research conducted by York University (Ontario) about the physical demands of Firefighting stated– The most commonly encountered applications of strength and endurance were lifting and carrying objects (up to 80 lbs), pulling objects (up to 135 lbs), and working with objects in front of the body (up to 125 lbs). The most demanding firefighting operations required a mean VO2 of 41.5 ml/kg.min-1 with peak lactate concentrations of 6 to 13.2 mM. Ninety percent of the demanding firefighting operations that were studied required a mean VO2 of 23 ml/kg.min-1. These aerobic energy requirements corresponded to 85 and 50% VO2max, respectively. Therefore a…
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The Ultimate Fire Athlete 9-11 Tribute Challenge Workout
Every year around September 11th I like to take a moment and reflect on the significance of the day and honor those that sacrificed (and continue to sacrifice to this day). I encourage you to do this workout, share your results and challenge others to do the same, at least once a year (on September 11th). This “tribute” workout is difficult but has a great significance to September 11th. You will climb 110 flights of stairs and perform 343 reps of various strength exercises. Before you begin this workout, like every workout, perform an active warm-up (click here for a video overview of the warm-up.) Active warm-up (perform for 30 seconds or 10 reps of each exercise for 2 circuits wit no rest between exercises) Standing Chops Standing Knee Hugs Spidermans Knees side to side Cross overs (X-overs) (Repeat for a total of 2 circuits) Now that your body…
Read MoreThe Best Core Exercise for Firefighters
I hope I got your attention with the title of the post. This is a debatable topic- The best core exercise for firefighters. There are literally hundreds of different core exercise options but one thing we all can agree on is that a strong core is essential for “strong” movement. And, that every aspect of firefighting involves either mobility or stability of the spine–A strong core means a strong fire rescue athlete. Here is a great core exercise (the best…maybe) that challenges your core and shoulder stability- it takes the traditional plank and adds some instability and motion. Try to incorporate the Plank- Stir the Pot into your next workout. Here is how you perform the Stability Ball Plank- Stir the Pot exercise: Assume a prone position with elbows bent on top of a medium stability ball. Keep elbows positioned under your shoulders. Draw your abdomen inward toward your spine…
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FRF Labor Day Weekend Workout…
Here is a great way to start your Labor Day weekend. This is a little workout that will burn some early morning calories, ignite your metabolism, and make room for some good weekend food and spirits. I always like to do some morning workout or fun run with the family )or the crew) on Holidays, I find that I feel better all day and don’t eat as much. Please give this a try! Try to do as many circuits as possible in 15 or 20 minutes. Remember to perform an active warm-up before you begin. (Click here for a good active Firefighter workout warm-up routine.) Do the suggested reps of each exercise then proceed to the next, rest as little as possible between exercises. Burpees x 10 reps Pull-ups or Body Rows x 10 reps Prisoner Lunges x 5 reps per leg Squat to Press (around 20% body weight) x 10…
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Firefighter Exercise Upgrade- Shoulder Press
This post shows you a way to change the traditional shoulder press to a more fire ground functional exercise. We, as Firefighters, emts and paramedics are constantly required to lift loads in very awkward positions. In order to prepare for these scenarios fire rescue athletes must focus their workouts on training not only on and in stable positions (machines) but unstable as well. Here is a great shoulder exercise upgrade to engage more stabilizing and core muscles. Please note that this exercise requires a lot of core strength and shoulder stability, lower your weights until you feel comfortable with the exercise. Remember to focus on your form and posture. For more exercise upgrade ideas, please continue to check back to www.firerescuefitness.com. For a great workout program that incorporates exercise upgrades for Fire Rescue Athletes, get great results, just like Will Bitting, with the FRF Ultimate Fire Athlete Workout (click here for…
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Best Nutrition Advice for Firefighters…
Today I wanted to piggy-back on my post about Saving Firefighters Lives (keep the comments and emails coming). I know that in health and fitness sometimes the best results are obtained from the simplest advice. So here goes, in my opinion the absolute best thing you can do to lose weight, get healthy, or live a life full of energy is to eat by this ONE RULE: “Only eat whole foods with ONE ingredient.” That’s it. The reason why one ingredient whole foods are the best for you is that they contain zero processing and zero artificial ingredients that have been linked to increasing inflammation. One of these common ingredients is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS is a man-made sweetener that is 20 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). It is mainly found in soft drinks and fruit juices. Americans as of 2001 were ingesting on averaging 63 pounds of HFCS per year! The…
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How Do You Define Firefighter Fit?
Are You Firefighter Fit? Most people, when asked this question, will normally think about how much weight they can lift or if the are overweight or not. I argue that being “firefighter fit (fire rescue fit) is much more than that. You may be able to lift heavy weights but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are that strong. When talking about Firefighter Fitness you are only as strong as your “weakest” part. True strength comes in the form of functional fitness, fitness that can be applied and used in fireground situations, not just in a gym. When you carry the saw from the truck to the scene or lift a patient into the ambulance you use many muscle groups which have to work together to achieve the job at hand. The Fire Rescue Athletes’ body must work as one unit, integrating all the muscles together. Weight training in its conventional form (on…
Read MoreEssential Core Exercises for Fire Rescue Athletes…
Fire Rescue Athletes are at a very high risk of back injury, as a matter of fact almost 50% of all firefighters will experience some type of back injury during their career. Effective core training brings about a proactive approach to protecting your body and joints (especially your back) from injury. Core strength consists of hip, shoulder, and trunk stability. It is the foundation of efficient movement and vital to optimizing performance and your career as a Fire Rescue Athlete. When should we work our “core” and how often. In the FRF Workout Programs, I recommend performing your core routine after an active warm-up. This should occur towards the beginning of the workout…Why? Because its easier to skip if you leave it to the end of the workout. I know, I’ve been there, you do your strength training, maybe a little cardio then ‘promise” that you would do some core exercises at…
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