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Reducing 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…
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Firefighter fitness- Does P90X Measure Up? The Cons
A few days ago I posted on the pros of the P90X fitness program for firefighter fitness. I recieved some great emails (please keep them coming) from firefighters that have used P90X, some with success some without. The purpose of these posts is to not tell you wether P90X is the “best” program for firefighter fitness (shortly, I will post on this) but to give you the pros and cons so you can make an educated decision if its right for you. So, now that you know some of the pros, let’s look at the cons of P90X. –Time Investment: The schedule requires at least 60 minutes a day for 6-7 days each week. Weight and abdominal workouts are 75 minutes combined. The yoga workout lasts 92 minutes. –Teaching Technique- The videos show people performing the exercises but doesn’t spend a lot of time actually teaching the proper form. This is especially a problem…
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Firefighter Fitness– Does P90X Measure Up?
It’s often said that any movement is better than no movement at all. I personally have to agree with that statement, I think its imperative that everyone (especially FireRescue Athletes) are active. The big question milling about in the Fire Rescue field is what is the most effective type of activity for firefighters? Ideally, we should be performing movements that support, enable, and enhance our physical skills and add to the quality of life. Our exercises should make us stronger, faster, and more capable of accomplishing just about any physical feat a “job” throws at us. One of the more popular programs floating around firehouses these days is P90X. P90X is the extensive fitness program from Beach Body fitness created by Tony Horton that claims it can get you “ripped in 90 days….guaranteed.” Does it work? Maybe, but as Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics we need to be more than just “ripped”…
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Firefighter Fitness Motivation
As FireRescue Athletes we must remember that our level of fitness may save a life…perhaps even our own. This should be motivation enough to stay in top shape and continue to strive to stay “fit for duty” but sometimes we may need more. Today’s post is all about motivation (actually I’ve got some great requests to create more motivational posts). What motivates you? Fun Runs, Tough Mudder, and Triathlons The fitness plateau, chances are that if you have worked out regularly then you’ve probably experienced one. A plateau is a point where you don’t seem to be making any progress…regardless of what you do. At one point during my personal trainer days, I was training over 100 people (not every day but through out the week). One of the challenges of training that many people was finding something to motivate them and to keep them from hitting the dreaded plateau. The best…
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Firefighter Fitness– Recruit Academy Fitness Programming
As firefighters we protect life and property by any means necessary. And by “any” we mean the “safest and the best.” This means we do not marry ourselves to any one response modality or school of thought. We don’t always go interior on a fire attack…or always use a Halligan to force open a door (sometimes it’s already unlocked) right? We take into account certain factors along with the environment, resources, etc. and make the best tactical decisions we can. Granted, we do have protocols and procedures to follow that help guide us along our process but we must be able to adapt and compromise. Trainers, chiefs and officers should take this same approach to creating a fitness program for recruits. 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…
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Firefighter Fitness– Is CrossFit it? The Cons.
Last week I posted about the “pros” of using CrossFit for Firefighter fitness. I recieved some great emails and comments on that post, please keep them coming. Today, I wanted to post the cons of CrossFit. So here we go. The use/misuse of Olympic lifts – One of the CrossFit Foundations places a heavy emphasis on Olympic Weightlifting because of their unique ability to develop an athletes’ explosive power, control of external objects, and mastery of critical motor recruitment patterns. And yet, the workout for June 29, 2011 included a set of 50 push presses. This is a little contradicting to the above statment. You do 50 reps for endurance, but the point that CrossFit makes is that Olympic lifting should be explosive power. Olympic lifts can also be fairly complex, so if the goal (which it is of CrossFit) is to get in, get sweaty, and get out, how…
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Firefighter Fitness– Is CrossFit it?
I’ve worked in the fitness industry for over 20 years and have seen a lot of “fads” come and go. Not to age myself but when I started in the industry step classes, leotards and zubaz where still popular. Back in the day every health club focused on having the most updated machinery possible, today you see more minimalistic gyms pop up all the time. Along with these fads have come the “next” best workout program. I remember the day when everyone was “Jazzersizing” or “Sweating to the Oldies” or following the “Body for Life,” program. There were also the days of “Tae-bo”, “Spinning” and who could forget “Fitness made simple”? Some of these fitness fads have come and gone while others are still around. Today I wanted to talk about another fitness “fad” that has seemed to catch the attention of the firefighting and tactical communities. Yep, you guessed it….CrossFit. This…
Read MoreFitness for Firefighters–Tools of the Trade
Here is a short video blog talking about the Firefighter fitness tools of the trade. What are the best exercises, fitness tools and programs for firefighters? The generic answer to that question is “all of them are.” TRX, kettle bells, dumbbells, body weight exercises, P90X, CrossFit, tire exercise are all tools that firefighters can and should incorporate into their fitness program at some time. The hard part is deciding when, where and how to use these fitness tools to get “Fit for Duty.” Please continue to check out http://firerescuefitness.com/ for more input on this topic and please leave some comments and feedback as to how you utilize these tools in your own workouts.
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Components of a Firefighter Fitness Program
I often get asked by Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics to evaluate their current fitness programs and to possibly give some suggestions. I 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 45…
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