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To Workout or Not, That is the Question?
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 cardio interval…
Read MoreFoam Rolling for Better Fitness
People tend to measure how effectively they’ve worked out by how sore they are the following days. Let me ask you: How good is a workout that leaves you so sore that you can’t workout for the next 3 days? What most people don’t realize is that your body improves and adapts to stress on the days you rest. The better and more rapidly you recover, the more quickly your body adapts.This is especially important for the Fire Rescue Athlete, a hard workout on Monday, followed by a difficult shift on Tuesday can lead to an injury on Wednesday. Fire fighter fitness workout progression We all know that our job is dangerous and that we as Fire Rescue Athletes are more likely to get injured on the job than any other profession. So this brings me to the question, what is the best way to combat against this potential for injury? My…
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…
Read MoreExercise Upgrade for the Fire Rescue Athlete- Captain Morgan Bicep Curls
Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics frequently lift heavy object whether it be a cot, a hose line or a heavy piece of equipment. Lifting heavy objects can take its toll on the body if you are not trained for it but Fire Rescue Athletes have to lift heavy objects in awkward positions. Today’s exercise upgrade addresses this issue, it takes the traditional bicep curl and adds some core and balance work to it. Check it out below. Give this exercise a try and to find a more efficient way to incorporate this exercise into a fire rescue athlete workout program and get my FREE reports, the 10 Best and 5 Worst Exercises for Fire Rescue Athletes. Join the FRF Nation! Please add your thoughts about this exercise and forward this on to another Fire Rescue Athlete.
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Are You Firefighter Fit?
A couple weeks ago I published a blog post about “defining Firefighter Fit.” I appreciate the numerous responses and comments about this question (see that blog post here) and today want to follow up and add some more information and questions about this topic. One of the consensus opinions expressed when asked to define “firefighter fit” was that a firefighter needs to be physically ready for any situation whether it’s advancing a heavy hose line, lifting a patient onto the cot, forcing a door or dragging someone out of the building. My reply to that statement is “how can we test for these situations?” The CPAT? The CPAT was designed to do just that and from my experience it is a great test, challenging and applicable to the actions required on the fire ground. For those that don’t know about the CPAT (read more here), it is a timed pass/fail…
Read MoreFirefighter Fitness Upgrade- The Row
Last week I had such a great response to the exercise upgrade post (Alternate Arm DB Chest Press) I decided to make it a weekly post. This week I’ll show you ways to change the row exercise to integrate more core and balance work. Firefighters, emts and paramedics are constantly required to lift loads in very awkward positions. In order to prepare for these scenarios fire rescue athletes must focus their workouts on training not only on and in stable positions but unstable as well. Here is a great row exercise upgrade to engage more stabilizing and core muscles. Please note that this exercise requires a lot of core strength and shoulder stability, lower your weights until you feel comfortable with the exercise. For more exercise upgrade ideas continue to check back to www.firerescuefitness.com For a great FREE workout program that incorporates exercise upgrades for Fire Rescue Athletes JOIN the FireRescue Athlete Nation and…
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Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil
KNOW ANYONE ON CHOLESTEROL LOWERING MEDICATIONS? Most firefighters know about the correclation between heart disease and on-duty deanths (if not read about it here). Often times firefighters and other individuals taking prescription medications can become depleted of important nutrients in the body. In the case of Statin medications (Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, Pravachol, etc) which help to lower LDL levels in the body, can also deplete the body of an important element called Co-Enzyme Q-10. A deficiency in Co-Q 10 can lead to heart failure because it’s an enzyme that provides energy to the heart. Other studies have shown that a body deficient on Co-Q-10 can lead to the inflammation of your tendons and ligaments, a decrease in collagen and elastin, as well as a weakening of other muscle tissues throughout the body. Co-Enzyme Q-10 can be found in supplement form and anywhere between 200-1000mg is recommended. Ask your doctor if this…
Read MoreFirefighter Fitness Exercise Upgrade- DB Chest Press
Fire Rescue Athletes as asked to work in various unstable environments. Firefighters, Paramedics and EMTs are often times lifting and moving heavy loads in very awkward positions. In order to prepare for these scenarios fire rescue athletes must focus their workouts on training not only on and in stable positions but unstable as well. Here is a great exercise upgrade to engage more stabilizing and core muscles. Please note that this exercise requires a lot of core strength and shoulder stability, lower your weights until you feel comfortable with the exercise. Need a great program that incorporates these “Exercise Upgrades” Click Here. Want to get stronger, leaner and fit for duty? Click Here.
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Firefighter Fitness- Hill Training to Increase VO2 Max
VO2max is a measure of the maximum rate at which an athlete’s body is able to consume oxygen when performing a specific activity, adjusted for body weight. This is a very important for the fire rescue athlete, a higher VO2 max means that the firefighter can do more work with less oxygen. This comes in extremely helpful when doing fire operations (on air) of course. VO2 max can be calculated many ways, the easiest is to use a treadmill or track (read more about calculating VO2 max by clicking here.) From a fire rescue fitness program perspective, the program should not only focus on sstrength and flexibility but also on increasing VO2 max. This brings me to today’s topic. Last year I personally focused on training for the Ironman, which is a very endurance based event, even though I completed the event (you can read about my journey here) I still felt…
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