All Blog Posts Tagged 'firefighter' (202)

Balance, coordination, power, strength, cardiovascular recovery....all essential fitness traits of the "fit for duty" Fire Rescue Athlete.   If you are a Fire Rescue Athlete (or not) you need to plan your workouts to address each of these traits.  One of the most overlooked is balance and coordination.  As a trainer I get asked how and when is the best time to train for balance?  As a firefighter I get asked why do I need to train for balance?  The last thing you want to happen…

Every year around this time I am asked for the "best" fitness tips to make the new year a healthy one.  Over the years this list has changed and evolved but for the most part if you are a Fire Rescue Athlete you need to be doing these 10 things. 

I’m not going to sit here and reflect on a year that was filled with so many disappointments.

I like to think that I am an eternal optimist, but did anyone else notice the negative tone of wherever you looked? It was everywhere.

ONE positive that I noticed is that, firefighter fatalities were down in 2012. Since 2009, firefighter deaths have been well below the “100 per year” threshold. Also noteworthy is that deaths attributed to cardiac issues were also…

Happy 2013!  This is the time of the year where we all scramble to make up for lost workouts and pledge to get in shape.  Personally, I think the best way to get into shape is to not fall out of it in the first place.  One of the best things to do this time of the year is not only set goals but to assess where you are currently.  Today I've created some "challenge" workouts that you can use to assess your fitness progress and to get a good efficient workout.  There are…

It’s that time of year again when the common cold and flu begins being passed from one person to the next. Each year the common cold affects the average person two times, and can affect the fire rescue athlete even more.  The sneezing, coughing, sore throat, and runny nose leave you wanting to curl up under the bed covers. To avoid this misery, prevention is the best…

Working as a fitness trainer and as a career firefighter I get a lot of requests to create workouts that can be performed on duty with equipment at the firehouse.  Today my crew and I performed this intensive 30 minute interval workout.  This workout will get your heart racing, challenge your core and work your muscles.



The workout consists of three, 10 minute intervals each with a different focus.  The first 10 minutes focuses on anaerobic recovery, the second ten minutes on full…

Working as a fitness trainer and as a career firefighter I get a lot of requests to create workouts that can be performed on duty with equipment at the firehouse.  Today my crew and I performed this intensive 30 minute interval workout.  This workout will get your heart racing, challenge your core and work your muscles.



The workout consists of three, 10 minute intervals each with a different focus.  The first 10 minutes focuses on anaerobic recovery, the second ten minutes on full…

I suppose I am fortunate that one of the only ongoing debates between my wife and I are the nuances of loading the dishwasher.  You see, I load the dishwasher the way it was designed to be loaded.  My wife, she believes randomly loading the dishwasher.  We both think that our respective methods work best for fitting the most dishes and getting the job done the best.  Much like the fireground, and numerous other “hot topics” right now, there are many different opinions and theories on the…

A couple weeks ago I published a blog post about "defining Firefighter Fit." I appreciate the numerous responses and comments about this question (see that blog post here) and today want to follow up and add some more information and questions about this topic. One of the consensus opinions expressed when asked to define "firefighter fit" was that a…

What makes a good exercise for firefighters?  Any?  All?  Well, if you want to get technical then "yes and yes."  Today I want to give a quick upgrade for the row movement, firefighters, emts, and paramedics are asked to lift heavy things in akward and unbalanced situations.  Keeping this in mind, I often ask firefighters how and if the exercises that they perform on a regular basis challenge their balance, strength and core.  The DB Row is a great exercise and with a few manipulations can…

We all know one - the firefighter/officer so obsessed with advancement that they act, do, and say anything to self-promote their narcissistic agenda. Consequently, it is no surprise that city politicians tend to love these folks because of their willingness to become political puppets.



So, congratulations! If you've made it to the pedestal on the backs of…

Today I wanted to piggy-back on my post about inflammation and heart disease (keep the comments and emails coming).  I know that in health and fitness sometimes the best results are obtained from the simplest advice.  So here goes, in my opinion the absolute best thing you can do to lose weight, get healthy, or live a life full of energy is to eat by this ONE RULE:…

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…

This video is a great training tool for size-up, radio comms & Command presence.  This FD sounds very professional despite difficult fire conditions.  This week we've got heavy fire & smoke on an upper floor w/ standpipe ops in progress and a Mayday called while transitioning to Defensive Ops.   Compare this FD's ops to your FD and  give us your RECEO VS considerations.  Enjoy!…

I wrote this quite some time ago for our Municipal Districts Recruitment Drive, I just stumbled across it and it brought a smile to my face. I am a Captain now and can only hope that I can lead as I was once led.  I thought this would be a fitting start to my foray into blogging on Fire Engineering.  Hope you enjoy...........

The First Call

It’s 2:00 in the morning your fast asleep when suddenly the peaceful silence is broken by your radio “Foothills…

I've worked in the fitness industry for over 20 years and have seen a lot of "fads" come and go.  Not to age myself but when I started in the industry step classes, leotards and zubaz where still popular.  Back in the day every health club focused on having the most updated machinery possible, today you see more minimalistic gyms pop up all the time.  Along with these fads have come the "next" best workout program.  I remember the…

As a trainer (and as a firefighter in the workout room), I hear people saying, I want “abs” I want to help people achieve this. However, I frequently see people performing the least productive exercise for their abs. This is the crunch performed while lying down on a mat with the head and neck supported. This will not get you results. If you want to see the abs you feel during this exercise, change your diet!

This is another…