Hastings Fire Department
TACTICAL FITNESS AND WELLNESS RESOURCE PAGE
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Great resources and workouts to help you improve your performance, reduce injuries, and prolong your career with HFD.
Get this 28-day Workout Program from FRF that will help you lose weight, gain strength, and improve your overall health and fitness.
Time to start training like a fire rescue athlete. FRF is offering a free 28-day workout program to help you lose weight, gain strength and take your fitness to the next level. The program includes access to the FRF tracking app, eating guides, coaching, and more. It is FREE for all HFD members. Give it a try!
Firehouse Fresh- Recipes designed to fuel hungry firefighters.
Designed by registered dieticians, these recipes are easy to prepare and healthy for your crew. Give them a try!
Addicted to Awake: Sleep Deprivation in the Fire Service
The hard truth is that almost 40 percent of firefighters suffer from a sleep disorder. According to a screening of 6,933 firefighters, 80 percent of those who tested positive had no prior awareness or previous diagnosis of their condition. This is a growing concern in the fire service.
Health & Fitness: Fitness for the Fire Attack
Here is a great article to help you prepare for the basement fire scenario. Advancing charged hoseline and fire attack are some of the most physically demanding activities we do on the fire ground. Make sure you are strong, mobile, and ready for the fire attack with these great exercises.
Functional Fitness for the Fire Service
Click the link below to obtain a copy of the presentation and slides from Aaron Zamzow's seminar on Functional Fitness for the Fire Service.
Additional Resources for you and your crew.
Foam Rolling Guide for the Fire Service
Muscles sore and tight from a previous shift or workout? Have you tried foam rolling? The compressed foam pieces floating around all the stations might just be the fitness tool you need to start feeling and moving better.
Five Steps to Better Nutrition
Eating in the firehouse or any house can be a challenge. This guide simplifies nutrition and gives easy to follow and applicable steps to help you "clean up" your diet and lean up. This manual includes:
-Five easy to follow guidelines to get you lean and “fit for duty.”
-Nutrition Hacks that will help you prepare and plan healthy meals
-Healthy Snack Options to insure you stay on track
-The 90-10 Eating Plan. Teaches you how to plan your "cheat meals" and stay on-track with your nutrition.
-Example meal plan
Additional Resources for you and your crew
The Firefighters Guide to Staying Fit Through the Holidays.
Optimize Your Health and Fitness This Holiday Season: Essential Tips for Firefighters
As the holiday season approaches, stress levels often rise while overall health tends to decline. For firefighters, maintaining fitness and nutrition during this busy time can be challenging. It’s all too easy to set aside your health goals until the new year. But this year, let’s commit to making health a priority – after all, it’s the “Year of Health”!
To help you maintain your fitness progress and manage stress during the holidays, we’ve compiled essential fitness tips specifically for firefighters. These actionable strategies will keep your waistline in check and help you navigate the season with ease. Embrace the holiday spirit while prioritizing your well-being with these firefighter-focused health and fitness tips!
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Improve Upper Body Strength and Performance with this Movement
What makes an exercise “functional” for firefighters, EMTs, and medics? In this post Aaron Zamzow from FRF shows us an example with the kneeling shoulder press. This is a great exercise to work the postural muscles of the shoulders and upper back and core. Click to link to hear more…
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Firefighter Tabata Workout Option to Improve Performance
Looking for an efficient and effective way to improve your cardio performance on (and off) the fireground? Try this FRF Firefighter Tabata Interval…
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Fueling the Fire: 5 Steps to Crafting Healthy and Balanced Meals for Firefighters
As firefighters, maintaining our physical health and energy levels is crucial for performing at our best on duty. One key aspect of this is ensuring we fuel our bodies with nutritious and balanced meals. By following these five simple steps, we can create meals that not only taste great but also provide the essential nutrients we need to stay energized and focused throughout our shifts. Let’s explore how we can easily incorporate healthy eating habits into our busy and demanding schedules to support our overall well-being as firefighters.
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How to Reduce Heart Disease in Firefighters
There is a hidden reason so many firefighters die from heart attacks. Discover the why and how firefighters can reduce their risk of being a “heart attack” statistic.
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The Five Steps Every First Responder Must Take to Improve Their Functional Fitness
How can you improve your functional fitness and be better prepared for the rigors of the job as a first responder (firefighter, EMT, and/or paramedic)? Start by reading and applying these steps… #GETFRF
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Firefighters Don’t Make these Workout Mistakes.
Stuck in a rut or fitness plateau? It happens to everyone at some point during your training. The added stress of the job for first responders can make plateaus occur more than wanted. Here are five steps you can take to avoid and/or get out of your fitness rut.
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Every first responder needs to read this! Improve your health TODAY.
The stress we face as first responders is greater than ever. You must, as a dedicated first responder, commit to managing stress and health. Take care of yourself so you can take care of those you serve (community, crew, family).
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Firefighter (Truckee) Yoga Routine.
As a firefighter, it’s time to embrace the incredible benefits of yoga by rolling out your mat and discovering the perfect combination of physical and mental exercises that have captivated practitioners around the world for thousands of years. The beauty of yoga is that you don’t have to be a yogi to experience its transformative effects.
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Why do Firefighters Have Heart Attacks?
Heart attack and strokes are more likely to kill firefighters than an actual fire. A recent research article just confirmed one of the major reasons why. The research confirms that the physical demands of firefighting may trigger the formation of blood clots and impair blood vessel function -- two factors associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke. (You can read more about that research by clicking here.)
Improve YOUR Sleep.
Firefighters often don't get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to real problems, including safety concerns. For anyone who has worked in the fire service, this is hardly news. One of the most difficult adjustments for new firefighters can be the shift work: the 10/14 split, the 24- or 48-hour workday. As firefighters age, sleep disorders can lead to serious health problems for them. Click here to read about the "7 Ways to improve your crew's sleep and safety
Why Firefighters Need YOGA
The truth of the matter is yoga can be as mellow or as arduous as you make it, just like any physical practice. The beauty of yoga is that it goes beyond just the physical. For firefighter’s yoga can be a really great way to relieve stress and center the body and mind. This is especially important considering the high stress of the job. Yoga, if you allow it to be so, could be one of the best ways to combat PTSD.
Click here to discover 5 Reasons Why Every Firefighter Should do Yoga. (Click here for the article.)
Goblet Squat for more Fireground Strength
We all know that stairs and climbing are major fire rescue movements performed on the fire ground so… improve your leg strength and you could improve your performance on the fire ground. One exercise is very good at doing just that…. the goblet squat. The goblet squat is a multi-joint lower body exercise that fires up (no pun intended) the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Unlike the traditional back squat, the goblet squat is executed by keeping the body in an upright position, which results in less strain on the lower lumbar and spine and places an increased demand on your upper back and core. Goblet squats also help improve mobility in the hip, thus helping you out with other fire rescue movement patterns. Click here for a great tutorial on the Goblet Squat
If you have any questions, please reach out to Aaron (click here).