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Trick or Treat- Why Sugar is Bad
If your firehouse (or house) is anything like the one I work in its full of leftover Halloween candy and sweets. Now I must admit, I like a good treat now and then but often I have a very difficult time stopping with just one. Why? Sugar. Its everywhere in almost everything and too much of it can cause some serious health issues. Some foods, such as fruits and carrots, naturally contain sugar, but watch out for foods with added sugars, such as baked goods, cereals, crackers, even sauces and many other processed foods (many of which are around the firehouse).A typical American can consume between two to three pounds of sugar every week. As mentioned earlier, sugar is everywhere and is being processed in many foods we eat. These foods are not just sweets. Sugar in large quantities can be found in peanut butter, mayonnaise, bread, ketchup and many other…
Read MoreCardio Workouts for Firefighters
Cardiovascular fitness is obviously a very important concern for the fire rescue athlete (firefighters, paramedics and EMTs). Lately I’ve been researching, creating then performing a lot of 10-minute interval overhauls and wanted to share them with you today. You can do one of these separately after a strength workout or combine all three for a good cardiovascular workout. These only take 10-minutes but you sweat (and burn calories) a lot longer than that. Give these a try. 1. The Uphill Grind. This is a great treadmill interval, if your just getting started with a fitness program (click HERE to get the FRF Foundations Program) you want to decrease the speed and incline to a level that is a little more obtainable. Start minutes 0-2 with a warm-up at 3.5mph and 3.5% incline next 30 seconds crank it up to 8.0 mph at 8.0% incline rest 30 seconds (I stand on the side rails of the treadmill)…
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The Best Fire Rescue Workout Program– The Great Debate
I figured with the presidential elections and debates going on I thought it was a good time to debate about something worthwhile (not that the election/ debate is not but after a while they all sound like “blah, blah, blah.”) This topic is one near and dear to your heart and 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)?. Is it CrossFit? P90X? Ladder 2 Workout? Insanity? Body for Life? Without further delay, here is my…
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Diet Soda in the Firehouse
Drink Diet Soda? There’s been a lot of discussion around the firehouse lately about the “dangers” of drinking soda and diet soda. The topic was started after I revealed my personal “diet soda” experiment. Three years ago I wanted to know if diet soda was bad for you or just getting a bad rap. My experiment was to drink one 16 ounce diet soda everyday for one month and report my weight, energy level and overall health throughout the month. The results….by the middle of the month I had gained 5 pounds and was drinking over 32 ounces of diet soda a day. My energy was awfully low, I craved and ate sugar all the time and had some bad mood swings. Needless to say after that little experiment I decided to avoid diet sodas as much as possible. It’s not surprising that drinking all the sugar in sodas…
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Firefighter Nutrition- The Glycemic Index
Today’s post is important not only for the Fire Rescue Athlete but for anyone trying to stay strong and lean. I often get nutrition related questions from people about the “best” foods to eat for staying lean. These questions prompted some research and this post. In case you didn’t know, most diet programs revolve around the Glycemic index. This scale has been developed to help you understand how the various carbohydrate rich foods that you eat act upon the body and which will be best to eat for a lean body composition and muscle mass gains. If you were unaware of this fact, then you need to learn about it immediately. And for those of you who already knew that, you still might learn something from this post. Let’s take a closer look at what the Glycemic Index is all about so you can see why this is one thing…
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Firefighter Fitness Tips
Today I wanted to give you some great workout tips. Over my years of training clients and athletes I’ve learned two very important fitness tips that will help you see and feel the best results. Tip#1. Recovery is Essential for progress. I know that many firefighters, emts and paramedics like to challenge themselves during a workout but its the ability to recover afterwards that leads to a greater results. Did you know…your body changes after a workout, when your body rests – not during. Taking the time to rest between strength workouts (or after a tough shift) is when your body begins the repair and recovery process – increasing lean muscle – making you stronger and able to do more come the next workout. Recovery can be accelerated by choosing a good post workout shake (like Prograde Workout) and taking the time to stretch and foam roll (click here it to see my blog…
Read MoreFire Station Cardio Workout (Number #2)
A couple weeks ago I posted a cardio interval workout that can be performed at the firehouse with in about 15 to 25 minutes with minimal equipment. Do to the great response (please keep the comments and emails coming) I put together another workout. Once again this is an option for a firefighter/medic that has minimal equipment and time yet still wants a good workout. This can be used as a cardio interval training workout day (for those following any FRF Workout Program) 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…
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Firefighter Fitness Motivation
Are You Ready For Duty? My ultimate goal is to help firefighters, EMTs and paramedics prepare for the physical demands of the job. I often perform research especially about firefighter fatalities and injuries. Recently I was reviewing the fatality statistics for 2011 which motivated me to create this post. In 2011, firefighter fatalities included 27 career firefighters, 51 volunteer firefighters, and 5 part-time or full-time members of wildland or wildland contract fire agencies. Younger firefighters were more likely to have died as a result of traumatic injuries, such as injuries from an apparatus accident or becoming caught or trapped during firefighting operations. Stress-related deaths are rare below the 31 to 35 years of age category and, when they occur, often include underlying medical conditions (which is why it is so important to get yearly physicals). Obviously, you understand that firefighting is extremely strenuous physical work and is likely one of the most…
Read MoreFirefighter Exercise- The 4-point Opposite Arm/Leg Raise
I love a good challenge. Lately around the firehouse I’ve been challenging my crew with new workouts and exercises. One exercise that is fairly difficult has become a crew favorite. The 4-point Opposite Arm/ Leg Raise is a great exercise to strengthen the core, the shoulders and help develop better balance and coordination. Give it a try! For those that are using the FRF 28-day Quickstart Program you can substitute this exercise for one of the core exercises. For those that aren’t currently using the FREE Fire Rescue Fitness 28-day Quickstart Program you can get it HERE or below. Try the FireRescue Fitness 28-day Quickstart Workout for Free…and get the Standard Operating Procedure for Eating Lean in the Firehouse. Simply enter your name and email address below and the FREE reports will be instantly emailed to you. Inside, you’ll discover: The essential elements of an effective Firefighter workout program How to eat lean…
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