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
First Responders: Stay Motivated with These Tips
The key to maintaining and making fitness progress is to make sure you focus on keeping your mind right and staying consistent with your workouts. These tips will help any firefighter, EMT, and/or medic overcome a lack of motivation and continually make fitness progress.
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Tasty and Healthy Chicken Salad with grapes, apples, and walnuts.
Chicken salad is a great option for hot summer days in the firehouse (or any house). This recipe is quick, easy, and sure to please everyone in your crew. Give it a try.
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Discover the Best Functional Chest Exercise for First Responders.
What makes an exercise “functional” for firefighters, EMTs, and medics? In this post Aaron Zamzow from FRF shows us an example with the Alternate Arm DB Press. This is a great exercise to work the chest and upper body while improving balance and core strength.
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Essential Workout Components for Firefighters, EMTs, and Medics.
What are the components that every firefighter, EMT and medic should include in their workout programs? While there is not a “one size fits all” answer, there are six essential things that fire rescue athletes need to incorporate into their workout programs. Here they are…
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Firefighters, EMTs, and Paramedics- DO YOU NEED SUPPLEMENTS TO MAKE FITNESS PROGRESS?
What supplements should you take? Do you really need to take supplements to make progress? Common questions heard around a lot of gyms and firehouses. There are many things to consider, take a look at this post for some great information and answers…
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Stay Lean and Fit for Duty Through the Summer with These First Responder Fitness Tips.
Summer brings nicer weather and social gatherings. It also brings more reasons to cheat on your nutrition and fitness. Discover the tips every first responder needs to follow to stay lean and healthy this summer.
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22 Reasons First Responders Need to Exercise
As a first responder, you need to face the fact that exercise and good health are essential for performance and career longevity. Here are 22 reasons that confirm why every first responder needs to consistently exercise.
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Five Fitness Tools for First Responders
We as first responders rely on many tools to help us perform the tasks required on the emergency scene.
One common trait about all these tools is that they all require a physically capable body to operate them. Here is a great post from FRF with the fitness tools that every first responder should be using to help them perform when needed.
The Top Five Fitness Apps for First Responders
We, as first responders (firefighters, EMTs, and medics) face many challenges and stress. A continued exposure to stress can take a toll on our physical and mental health, making it imperative that we find ways to continually manage our physical and mental health. One way is to embrace technology and find apps and platforms that can help. In today’s world, there are countless fitness apps to choose from. So, which one should you download if you’re a firefighter?
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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).