fit for duty challenge

Firefighter Workouts- The Importance of a Proper Warm-up

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Jan 24, 2015

Flexibility is often the most overlooked aspect of a an effective firefighter workout. Participating in an appropriate warm-up and cool down and stretching program has shown to help firefighter performance by: Increasing physical efficiency and performance Can you do this? Increasing neuromuscular coordination Decreasing risk of severity of injury Decreasing risk of lower back pain…

Eating Lean in the Firehouse- Rule #1

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Jan 19, 2015

Cooking for a group of hungry firefighters is not easy– if you don’t cook something tasty you will hear about it from your crew…for a long time.  To help firefighters, EMTs and Medics get their nutrition in check, I created the SOPs to Eating Lean in the Firehouse.  Here is one of the Rules to…

How to Reduce Heart Disease in Firefighters…

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Jan 14, 2015

Its been very well documented that the leading cause of firefighter-on-duty deaths is related to heart disease. Therefore any information regarding decreasing the chances of heart disease are very valuable to the firefighting community. I’ve recently been researching the correlation between cholesterol and heart disease and have found some interesting correlations. The long-established dietary recommendations…

GET PAID TO GET FIRE RESCUE FIT!

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Jan 6, 2015

Over $1000 in cash and prizes will be given away to Firefighters, EMTs and Medics!  Don’t wait, get started today!   The purpose of the contest is to motivate firefighters, EMTs and Medics to change the unhealthy culture of the fire service.   Statistics show that the obesity rate in firefighters is higher than the general population.  Sadly,…

ON Shift–To Workout or Not?

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Jan 6, 2015

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…

The Spectrum of Firefighter Fitness, Where do You Fit In?

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Dec 15, 2014

This post is long overdue, I’ve been fortunate to present to firefighters throughout the midwest and talk to others from all over the world.  A common question that comes up in these conversations is “what is the best workout for me to follow?”  This is a loaded question and one that is not easily answered.…

Essential Firefighter Workout Equipment

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Dec 15, 2014

Essential Fitness Equipment for the Firehouse                 I get a lot of requests to address the “best” equipment to put in fire stations, which is the topic of today’s post.  Unfortunately, the biggest factor in firehouse gym set-up is price and budget so I will try to keep…

Firefighter Fitness Tip- Eat more Fruits and Veggies….

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Dec 12, 2014

Firefighters have physically and mentally demanding jobs which means we (as fire rescue athletes) have demanding nutritional needs to match.  Unfortunately, research confirms that most are deficient in some essential nutrients. The most common deficiencies are in protein, water (hydration), healthy fatty acids, and the essential vitamins. Research confirms these same deficiencies for all athletes,…

Firefighter Holiday Metabolic Workout

By Aaron Zamzow (ZAM) | Dec 4, 2014

Happy Holidays- Yes that time of the year where we have a tendency to overindulge and workouts seem to take second place to the holiday rush.   To combat the accumulation of holiday pounds I created this Fire Rescue Metabolic Workout..  This workout requires minimal time, maximal effort and will give you an extreme calorie burn…