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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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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-for-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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The Most Important Firefighter Fitness Component?
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 minimum VO2max standard for firefighter applicants of…
Read MoreFire Station Workout- Intervals for Cardiovascular Fitness
I’ve had a lot of requests for workout options that can be performed at the station with minimal equipment. Here is an option I created for a firefighter/medic that has no equipment and only some stairs and a parking lot. This can be used as a cardio interval training workout day (for those following the FRF Workout Programs) and/or as a good workout to get the blood flowing. Give it a shot! This is a great interval to perform at the firehouse, it doesn’t require a lot of equipment and is very short in duration yet effective. The work intervals can be adjusted to your level of fitness. Beginners should perform 20 seconds of work followed by 40 seconds of rest for each exercise. Intermediates should perform 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest and advanced (Firefit) athletes should perform 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds…
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