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The Best On-Shift Workout to Build Resilience Without Redlining
One of the most common questions I get is how to train on shift without “redlining” before the tones drop. It’s a delicate balance: you need to be fit for duty, but you have to leave enough in the tank to perform when someone is having their worst day. After years of experimenting at the station with everything from heavy lifting and high-intensity grinders to yoga and mobility work, I’ve found that interval training is the sweet spot. Intervals allow us to mimic high-demand fireground movements-like crawling, dragging, and carrying-while managing our heart rate and recovery. This approach helps us build the resilience we need without leaving us completely exhausted for the next call. Here is a crew-based interval workout we recently ran at the house that hits that “ready for anything” threshold: Active Warm-up Perform 2 circuits. Set an interval timer for 35 seconds of movement with 5 seconds…
Beyond the Call: Fueling Your Body with the Right Fats
Learn how to optimize your performance and combat the effects of high-stress shifts with this firefighter’s guide to healthy fats. Discover which cooking oils reduce chronic inflammation, support hormone balance, and build long-term resilience for first responders.
26 Reasons First Responders Need to Exercise in 2026
As a first responder, you need to face the fact that exercise and good health are essential for performance and career longevity. Here are 23 reasons that confirm why every first responder needs to consistently exercise.
4 foods that help firefighters combat heart disease…
Its been very well documented that the leading cause of firefighter-on-duty deaths is related to heart disease. Recent research has discovered that more than 70% of US firefighters are overweight or obese (click here for the research), exceeding the national average for adults. Obesity and heart disease are a major threat to firefighter health and safety and is associated with an increased risk of job-related disability. Therefore any information regarding decreasing the chances of heart disease are very valuable to the firefighting community. Many risk factors contribute to the development of heart disease, or atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). So what is the main culprit to the increasing numbers to this Heart Disease epidemic? Is it high cholesterol? About 50% of heart attacks and strokes occur in people with normal cholesterol levels. This suggests that many people at risk are presumably “healthy” because they have normal cholesterol levels. What I’ve…
3 Exercises Every Firefighter Must Do!
Before I got into the fire service (almost 15 years ago) I worked with athletes, some amateur, some pro. The main goal of the training was to create workouts that would improve performance (and in some cases body aesthetics). The first thing we would do is evaluate the motions and muscles needed in their sport, then provide exercises that would challenge and improve them. These, in essence, are the basics of “functional training.” So, when I talk about “functional” firefighter fitness, I am referring to the physical aspects that we, as firefighters, need to do our job. Therefore, in order for an exercise to be “functional” for firefighters, it must effectively train us to meet the demands of the fire and rescue ground. Would you agree? Would you also agree that the older traditional weight–lifting machines and exercises seen in most firehouses do not ‘functionally” address the physical challenges we…
5 Reasons Why Every Firefighter, EMT and Medic Should Do Yoga.
Yoga, mobility and stretching can help improve performance and the mental health of any firefighter, EMT and medic. Here are 5 great reasons why we all need yoga…
This 4-minute stretch can improve firefighter performance.
Mobile and flexible athletes move more efficiently and can be less likely to suffer injury. Unfortunately, from my research, I have found that stretching is the most often “skipped” part of an athlete’s workout. For one, it’s done at the end of the workout when you just want to be finished. And, for two, it can be boring. To combat these “excuses” I created these simple and efficient 4-minute stretch routines. These routines should be performed in conjunction with some foam rolling. All you need for these is a small area, an interval timer or watch, and a mat or some padding (optional). The routines are divided into 12, 20 second stretches done in succession for a total of 4-minutes. So, you are only holding 12 different positions for 20 seconds each. I like to use the interval timer to keep me honest (I tend to stop early) and on-track. …
Easy to Follow Nutrition Tips for the Firehouse (or any house)…
Cooking in the firehouse for a bunch of hungry firefighters is not easy, trust me I know. In most cases we sacrifice health for taste to avoid complaints and heckling. But, in order to change the culture of the fire service (to a healthier one) cooks and food choices need to get better. Here are 3 easy and healthy tips that can help. 1. Assemble 5 simple and healthy recipes that can be easily tweaked to create different dishes.– Learning new recipes are fun but isn’t best done in a busy firehouse. We all know, the more times we make a recipe, the faster, easier and possibly healthier it gets–It becomes a routine, like putting on your gear. There are a lot of resources to find healthy recipes, pick some out and use them as your staples. Need healthy recipe ideas and some extra guidance on nutrition? Right now every…
To Supplement or Not?
What supplements do you take? This is a common question that you hear around most gyms and firehouses this time of the year and one that I get a lot via the www.firerescuefitness.com blog and our FRF Facebook Page, so I wanted to briefly address what some good possible supplement options are. I also wanted to address whether supplements are even necessary. My supplement approach is pretty simple. I do believe that you can get the required nutrients with diet alone, but it is difficult, especially when you’re working long, busy shifts, have family obligations and are active. For most of us (especially in the fire service) supplements may be a useful way to help get the valuable nutrients we need. The key word here is “HELP.” The one thing you must always keep in mind when considering supplementation is that you cannot supplement for a poor diet. This is…