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Firefighter Workouts- The Importance of a Proper Warm-up
Flexibility is often the most overlooked aspect of a an effective firefighter workout. Participating in an appropriate warm-up and cool down and stretching program has shown to help firefighter performance by: Increasing physical efficiency and performance Can you do this? 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 are the best ways, types and times to stretch (very important)? This is the first of a couple of posts about flexibility. Today I want to talk about the Active Warm-up. 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…
Eating Lean in the Firehouse- Rule #1
Cooking for a group of hungry firefighters is not easy– if you don’t cook something tasty you will hear about it from your crew…for a long time. To help firefighters, EMTs and Medics get their nutrition in check, I created the SOPs to Eating Lean in the Firehouse. Here is one of the Rules to Eating Lean in the Firehouse. Limit or eliminate all liquid calories – fruit juices, soda pop, Gatorade, and alcohol. Of course in this day and age you won’t be drinking in the firehouse but it is something to minimize when off the job. Alcohol provides nothing but empty calories and provokes bad choices (about food and other things). If you’re going to drink beer, wine, or liquor, just keep in mind it will add calories and could keep you further away from getting fit for duty. BUT, we’ve got to have a little…
How to Reduce Heart Disease in Firefighters…
Its been very well documented that the leading cause of firefighter-on-duty deaths is related to heart disease. Therefore any information regarding decreasing the chances of heart disease are very valuable to the firefighting community. I’ve recently been researching the correlation between cholesterol and heart disease and have found some interesting correlations. The long-established dietary recommendations of yesterday have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences. Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before. Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and…
GET PAID TO GET FIRE RESCUE FIT!
Over $1000 in cash and prizes will be given away to Firefighters, EMTs and Medics! Don’t wait, get started today! The purpose of the contest is to motivate firefighters, EMTs and Medics to change the unhealthy culture of the fire service. Statistics show that the obesity rate in firefighters is higher than the general population. Sadly, firefighters are more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than in a fire related incident. WE MUST CREATE a HEALTHY CULTURE IN THE FIRE SERVICE as lives, communities and our families are counting us! Take the “fit for duty” challenge, get others in your department involved and help change the fire service industry! See the complete entry instructions below. Deadline to submit your entry: April 15th, 2015 Good luck! Rules of the 2015 FRF “Fit for Duty” Challenge Contest The FRF “Fit for Duty” Challenge Contest is FREE to enter (see rules and regulations). Important Dates: 1.…
ON Shift–To Workout or Not?
Do you workout on shift? Should you workout on shift and what is the best workout to perform? 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 posted an interval workout (Click Here to Read it) that received a lot of hits and emails. Most of the emails dealt with this question more importantly asked “what is the best form of exercise to perform on duty?” Here is my take on the question. We all know that when the bell goes off the fire rescue athlete MUST be ready to perform. With that in mind, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to perform a grueling workout on duty. I personally prefer some lighter…
The Spectrum of Firefighter Fitness, Where do You Fit In?
This post is long overdue, I’ve been fortunate to present to firefighters throughout the midwest and talk to others from all over the world. A common question that comes up in these conversations is “what is the best workout for me to follow?” This is a loaded question and one that is not easily answered. The answer depends on numerous factors: what is your current level of fitness? What are your goals? What equipment do you have? What is your experience? How much time do you have? Are you on shift?….And the list goes on… As you can see there are a lot of factors to consider in choosing the “best” workout program for fire rescue athletes. There is no “best” workout program for recruits, just as there is no “best” way to force a door. Going into a situation, a well prepared firefighter should have a plan in the…
Essential Firefighter Workout Equipment
Essential Fitness Equipment for the Firehouse I get a lot of requests to address the “best” equipment to put in fire stations, which is the topic of today’s post. Unfortunately, the biggest factor in firehouse gym set-up is price and budget so I will try to keep this in mind. First off, I want to address the what we don’t need in firehouse gyms. I actually created a special report that addresses the 5 worst exercises for firefighters in which we cover the lack of need for a leg press, leg extension and leg curl machine. These machines, like the pec deck, chest press and shoulder machine press don’t fit the natural movement patterns of the joints they are supposed to work and promote bad form and injury. So, let’s avoid putting these types of machines in our firehouses. What we…
Firefighter Fitness Tip- Eat more Fruits and Veggies….
Firefighters have physically and mentally demanding jobs which means we (as fire rescue athletes) have demanding nutritional needs to match. Unfortunately, research confirms that most are deficient in some essential nutrients. The most common deficiencies are in protein, water (hydration), healthy fatty acids, and the essential vitamins. Research confirms these same deficiencies for all athletes, not just fire rescue athletes. Let’s face it, with all the demands of the job it’s really hard to get all the essential vitamins and minerals from food alone. So, I came up with a couple of tips to help you manage your diet and get more of the essential nutrients needed to stay “fit for duty.” Firefighter Fitness Tip- Eat more Fruits and Veggies… (mom was right) Eat more foods rich in vitamins and minerals (eat those fruits and veggies). Depending on your age, gender and activity level, you should consume between five and…
Firefighter Holiday Metabolic Workout
Happy Holidays- Yes that time of the year where we have a tendency to overindulge and workouts seem to take second place to the holiday rush. To combat the accumulation of holiday pounds 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). The workout is adoptable for various levels of fitness. 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 circuit as quickly as possible. You can record your total time (of the metabolic circuit) so you…