Welcome to the FRF Blog
Please scroll through our 200+ posts.
Firefighter Cardio Interval Workout
I have had a of of requests for quick workouts that can be done with minimal equipment. Here is a re-post of one of my more popular cardio interval workouts 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 Rapid Fat Loss or FRF Ultimate fire Rescue Athlete 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…
Read More
Essential Components of a Fire Rescue Fitness Program….revisited.
This is a re-post of one of my more popular articles that needs to be emphasized. 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. Over the last couple of months I’ve been writing about some of the more popular workouts seen in firehouses across the world. You can read about them here and here or listen to a great radio interview about this topic HERE. I’ve received a ton of feedback about those articles both good and bad. One thing I have not done yet is to answer the highly debated question….”What is the best workout for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics (Fire Rescue Athletes)? More importantly what are the components of the best Fire Rescue Athlete Workouts? Without further delay, here…
Read More
The 5 Worst Exercises for the Fire Rescue Athlete
Fire Rescue Athletes (firefighters, EMTs and paramedics) must be physically ready to act. The job entails lifting heavy objects (or people), climbing up stairs, dragging hoseline, hoisting ladders, along with other physically taxing movements. It is evident that in order to effectively do our jobs we must have a strong, balanced body. Workouts and especially exercises must then match the demands of the job and prepare the body for such stress. Now, I know that I am going to get a lot of “flack” for writing this article but I feel that it needs to be done. Exercise is meant to help you, right? Unfortunately, there are certain “exercises” that are very commonly used in most Fire Rescue Athletes’ workouts that are actually harmful. These exercises are being performed in firehouses (and gyms) all over the world and actually bad for your joints and are pretty much useless when it comes…
Read More
High Intensity Cardio Challenges for the Firehouse
Time is always been and will always be the number one reason we miss workouts. As Fire Rescue Athletes, we work unusual hours and our workouts are often interrupted by calls. Lately I’ve been creating and testing some highly efficient cardio interval workouts on my bootcamp classes and crew. Today’s blog will give you two of the more effective ones and teach you some ways to integrate them into your busy schedules and workouts. The 5 Minutes of Hell Interval Challenge I like to use this interval challenge at the end of workouts or bootcamp classes. It really challenges your body’s ability to recover while continuing to work at a high intensity, just like it is on the fire ground. All you need for this interval workout is a wall and a timer. You can check out a video overview of the 5 minutes of hell (click here) and/or read…
Read More
Soda or Water in the Firehouse?
There has been a huge decrease of soda consumption around the firehouse. There isn’t any good reason to substitute soda for water (read below). I personally gave up soda (including diet) six months ago and feel a ton better and have more energy. So, today I wanted to do a comparison of water to one of the more popular soft drinks….Coke. Sometimes I still have the urge to drink a soda, after reading this, I quickly lose that urge. Read the points made below. WATER 1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half world population.) 2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. 3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%. 4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study. 5.…
Read More
Firefighter Fitness Motivation!
Just a little reminder that fires aren’t the number one killer of firefighters….heart attacks and strokes are. Approach your health and fitness like an athlete. Train like a life depends on it….because it does. Enough said. Stay safe and healthy, Aaron Zamzow
Read More
Simple Rules of Healthy Eating
What do you need for survival? I’m not talking about your phone, technology or a certain person; I mean what does your body need to survive? If you said food you would be correct… the single most important thing you need to focus on at that point is what to eat. Food is one of the most important things in our lives but in most cases it is low on our priority list. We usually eat whatever is quick and easy not what is best for us. Look at what we teach our kids in school, we give them a thorough education on topics such as Math, History, Science, Languages, etc, but never give more than a couple hours in their entire 12 years in school about the most important thing in our lives…what to eat. If you think about it, that’s absolutely crazy… One of the single most important aspects…
Read More
The Firehouse 300 Rep Challenge Workout
300 Rep Challenge for the Firehouse This is a great 300 challenge workout that you can do in the firehouse with minimal weight. The goal of the workout is to finish in the shortest amount of time possible, not by rushing your reps but by not resting…. All you need for this challenge workout is a stability ball and a weight. The object of the workout is to complete 50 reps of each exercise (300 total) as quickly as possible. There is a catch of course, each rep has to be performed in a controlled manner and bad reps don’t count. Safety first, form is your biggest focus. You can do the reps in any order and even mix and match if needed as long as you do 50 of each. Personally I like to choose two exercises and alternate between them until the reps are completed. As a guideline…
Read More
Nutritional Myths at the Firehouse (or any house)
Today I wanted to post about nutrition, more importantly on some of the biggest nutritional myths floating around firehouses (and other houses). Eat this, don’t eat that…there is so much misinformation on nutrition that it can get to be overwhelming and frustrating. Take a look at 4 of the biggest nutritional myths, hopefully they can clarify some things for you. Myth #1 “Eat fewer calories and you will lose weight.” The Truth: Low calorie diets completely damage your metabolism and never result in long term weight or fat loss.. As a trainer I routinely heard clients say “But I barely eat all day and I still can’t lose weight!”. Starving yourself results in a loss of muscle mass, which results in a slower metabolism, which results in weight and fat gain. The truth is that it’s more important where your calories come from. Just simply reducing your calories may result in no weight loss…
Read More