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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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Incorporate Fire Ground Movements into Your Workouts…
If you’ve been following my blog posts you know that I think interval training is very applicable to what we (as fire rescue athletes) do on the fire ground. Many of the programs that I create (FRF Ultimate Fire Athlete) incorporates intervals at the completion of each workout, I call them 10-minute Interval Overhauls. These interval Overhauls are a combination of exercises that challenges the total body, allows you to work on firefighter skills and simulates work on the fire ground. And they can really “jack-up” your metabolism too! You’ll discover these Overhauls can more realistically simulate the exhaustion felt on the fire ground and rescue scene. There are thousands of options for these overhauls (which I blog about often). If you create your own, I would like to know about it so please email me your ideas or comment on the Facebook page. Remember these 10- minute intervals are…
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Firefighter "Fit for Duty" 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 a…
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Fast and Efficient Firehouse Challenge Workout…
Total Body 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 minute…
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Nutrition Tips for the Firehouse
Eating healthy in the firehouse (or any house) can be a difficult task. But, in order to change the culture of the fire service (to a healthier one) cooks and food choices in the firehouse need to get better. Here are 3 easy and healthy tips that can help. 1. Serve meals on smaller plates.– One of the biggest fears of every firehouse chef is not preparing enough food for the crew. This fear usually leads to an excess of available food and larger portions around the table. Most firehouses not only serve an abundance of food but they usually serve them on large plates. A simple switch of dinnerware size could be incredibly useful solution to the large firehouse serving size. Research suggests that people eat up to 22% fewer calories when they’re able to decrease the amount of empty space on their plate. Larger plates can make a serving of…
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Post Holiday Metabolic Firefighter Workout
Its now July, hope you enjoyed America’s Birthday! I do not hope you carry the extra weight and lethargy that can occur after Holiday weekends. We all have a tendency tendency to overindulge and workouts seem to take second place during any Holiday weekend. To combat the accumulation of holiday pounds and feelings of sluggishness I created this Fire Rescue Metabolic Workout… This workout requires minimal time, maximal effort and will give you an extreme calorie burn (throughout the day). Intermediate/ Advanced athletes should use weights that they can handle for 15 reps (even though you will only be performing 10 reps) while beginners will use body-weight for each exercise. Each rep should be performed with control (safety first) and good form. You must perform 2 circuits of the warm-up. After the warm-up follow the appropriate circuit (beginner or intermediate/ advanced) as quickly as possible. Your goal is to complete the entire…
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Fire Rescue Fitness Holiday Weekend Workout
Here is a great way to start your 4th of July weekend. This is a little workout that will burn some early morning calories, ignite your metabolism, and make room for some good summer food and spirits. I always like to do some morning workout or fun run with the family 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 reps Feet…
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