department health
The Best Core Exercise for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics…
As a trainer (and as a firefighter in the workout room), I hear people saying, I want “abs” and of course, I want to help people achieve this. However, I frequently see people performing the least productive exercise for their abs- the crunch. Yes, the movement performed while lying down on a mat with the…
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Firefighter Fitness and Metabolism … Part 2
How to Make Your Body Burn More Calories. Here is the low down on weight gain/loss. Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but…
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Firefighter Fitness and Metabolism
What is Metabolism? You may often here around the firehouse someone say “I have a slow metabolism.” Usually these individuals are a little on the larger size and often like to joke about their size. Unfortunately, these people are at a very high risk to keep the trend of heart related Firefighter fatalities in tact. …
Read MoreCore Training for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics
Fire Rescue athletes are at a very high risk of back injury. As a matter of fact almost 50% of all firefighters will experience some type of back injury during their career. Effective core training brings about a proactive approach to protecting your body and joints (especially your back) from injury. Core strength consists…
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10-minute Interval Overhauls (Firefighter Skills Training)
Now, as you probably know from reading my previous blog posts that I think that interval training is very applicable to what we do on the fire ground. A unique component that I’ve added to my workouts is a 10-minute Interval Overhaul. These interval Overhauls are a combination of exercises that challenges the total body,…
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Cardiovascular Training for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics (FireRescue Athletes)
I heard someone once say running long and slow teaches your body one thing, how to run slow. If that’s all you’re after, you can stop reading; I don’t want you to be late for your water aerobics class. But in our profession you need to move quickly and with purpose, I’m not saying that…
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Firefighter Fitness- Should You Exercise While You're Sick?
It’s that time of the year. The flu bug is in full affect and is probably making its way through a firehouse near you. We get exposed to lots of different viruses through EMS responses, hospital transports and via the close confines of the firehouse. I get a lot of people asking me if they…
Read MoreA new weapon for Firefighters war on Heart Disease
Heart disease kills more on-duty firefighters than anything else — and it is definitely linked to emergency duties, a Harvard study shows. Most people think firefighters’ biggest death threats are fires and collapsing buildings. But over the last 30 years it’s been shown that 45% of firefighters’ on-duty deaths come from heart disease. Over these last…
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Snacking around the Firehouse
Everyone (especially around the firehouse) loves a good snack. But what actually is a “good” snack. If you ask some, they will define a good snack as something that tastes great but doesn’t fill you up like a meal. If your stomach starts rumbling and lunch is still two hours away, you’re going to need…
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