Category — athletic training

If we approach training from an injury standpoint, we know that injuries are a result of training too hard, training too little, or accidents.  Well, two of those three scenarios we have control over (over and under training).  Time and again I have observed fitness enthusiasts and coaches who prescribe core training, but don’t really educate their trainees on how to actually perform core exercises properly.  This week’s edition of the Performance Training Blog aims to address this issue.

The first thing to understand is that core strengthening is absolutely vital to maximizing training potential.  People who deal with lower back, hip, and trunk aches and pain can often trace the roots of these problems to the mid section of the body (or lack thereof).  Core training stabilizes the trunk (which is constituted by the hips to the shoulders).  It further allows a more efficient and maximal application of force and power through the appendages.

What does all this mean?  Think of it this way.  If you shot a cannon from a canoe, how easy would it be to hit a target?  Not very!  The reason is the base of support for the cannon is in an unstable environment (the water).  Now consider firing the same cannon that has been securely anchored to cement.  Our accuracy is going to increase tremendously.  This is akin to performing exercises with a weak core musculature; mechanical efficiency and power application are diminished.

That being said, let’s figure out how to properly perform two basic core exercises:  the crunch & situp.  When performed correctly, these exercises are an effective, basic way to develop the abdominal musculature (which is on the front side of the trunk).  It should be noted that a crunch involves contracting the abdominals, but keeping the lower back in contact with the ground.  A situp also involves the abdominals but further recruits a second muscle group – the hip flexors.  The situp entails lifting your entire trunk off the ground until your elbows or forearms contact your thighs.

When performing the crunch or situp follow these guidelines:

1. Activate of the abdominals.
2. Curl the upper body off the ground
3. Pull the lower back off the ground (when doing a situp)
4. When returning to the start position, the lower back should be the first to touch the ground.  Avoid excessive lordosis – “snapping” the lumbar spine into an arched position.
5. If you notice during a situp that you are unable to return to the ground with the lower back first, you have reached your maximum level of fatigue for the abdominals.  Continuing on beyond this point can potentially cause pain or injury in the lower back.

Contrary to popular rumor, abdominals are muscles that adapt and react the same as any other group.  If you have ever heard someone say ”you can workout your abs everyday,” this is not true.  Some abdominal work during workouts is OK.  But working the midsection in a high intensity, high repetition manner repeatedly can and will lead to injury of the back or other muscles.

Core strength training should be included as part of a regular exercise regimen between 2-4 days/week.  This allows for adequate physiologic adaptation and recovery time between workouts.  These types of exercises are great for warm-ups and cool-downs, or even a dedicated training session.  The trick is to mix up the exercises to prevent boredom.  Just remember to follow the guidelines presented in this article to help minimize the risk of potential injury!

Serious athletes train all year round.  Training isn’t just playing sports, either, it’s working out during the off-season to prepare your body for a higher level of performance and less susceptibility to injury.

There are generally three training options for athletes:

1. The first is a comprehensive training program where the athlete works out under a strength and conditioning coach for a full training session with their teammates. This tends to lead to the best results and build a team community that lasts much longer than the competitive season.
2. The second is having an athlete follow a training program on their own and adapting the workout to the equipment available at their home, local sports field, or commercial gym. This type of training style tends to be the most economical but the athlete misses out on the corrective coaching cues that help them become more efficient in their movement patterns. Over and under training issues can arise with this approach as the strength professional does not have the ability to individualize the training volume and change the progression of exercises from a day-to-day and week-to-week standpoint.
3. The third is a hybrid of the two, where an athlete learns a set of 2-4 workouts each month then completes the workouts on their own for 3-6 weeks before receiving a new workout from their strength coach. This hybrid version tends to still be economical and allows the athlete to get some coaching cues each month and improve their technique, but poor habits can be reinforced and no guarantee can be made that over training issues will be avoided.

TRAINING PERIODS dictate the quantity, intensity, and quality of work for differing parts of the year. There are four basic training periods:

1. The 1st  period is during the off-season. This starts 2-4 weeks after the season concludes and goes for 8-12 weeks before their next season begins. Usually an athlete will have 8-24 weeks in the period depending on how many sports they participate in each year. In this period athletes should be building general athletic abilities that include the one listed above.  If an athlete participates in more than one sport, they may not have much time to practice anything more than the actual sport skills.  If they do have time, this should be invested in a well-rounded strength and conditioning that focuses on corrective measures related to movement patterns, general capacities, and injury prevention.
2. The 2nd period is the preseason, which usually consists of 8-12 weeks before the beginning of the season but can be longer if the athlete is competing at a semi-pro or professional level.  The athlete should continue general athletic development progressions but add components to the work out that will specifically enhance the characteristics of the sport they are preparing for.  For example, specific conditioning is implemented (i.e. 1,200 yards/game in football = 1,200 yards of sprints work), and the major movement patterns of the sport are trained with more intensity and volume.
3. The 3rd Period is in-season training. In many ways this can be the most important period for an athlete’s success.  This is also the easiest strength and conditioning training an athlete will do throughout the year but selecting the best exercises, reps and set can be the most difficult. Athletes really do need a personalized training program different sport positions often need different in-season programs to maximize athletic performance. This is where “tapering” principles are used to “peak” an athlete for the most important competition(s).

“Tapering” is when an athlete drastically backs off their training and drastically increases rest and nutritional intake to make their bodies as fresh and strong as possible for the big competitions.

“Peaking” is the result of tapering. This is when an athlete is the freshest and is the strongest in the competition season. The tricky part is to get this in sync with the day and hour(s) of a big game.

1. The 4th is the active rest period. This is usually 2-4 weeks after the last competition and purpose is to let the body recover from a long competitive season both physically and mentally. During this period an athlete should participate in fun recreational activities 2-6 hours a week and devote more time to other aspects of life, such as with their friends and family.

The volume of calls ranges somewhere between “square wheels” and not having time to eat lunch and collect your thoughts.  Busy days make the shift go quickly while slow days seem to drag.  Your body can take a beating on the busy, physical days with multiple calls, or it can be a victim of circumstance by sitting around all day waiting for the bells to ring.  Either shift can be detrimental to your body.  Your ability to recover from these days from one to the next is going to dictate your state of readiness and risk of injury. This article will offer a few tips on how to enhance your recovery after a rough shift.

Busy days include calls where you’re lifting heavy patients, crawling through dark tight tunnels, running down a suspect, training, underwater search operations, or a structure fire.  These days may cause you to feel lethargic towards the end of the shift or a sore back, tight hamstrings, headache, and sore feet.  Busy days will find the weak areas in your body.   Slow days may offer more time in the recliner or cruiser which leads to tight hips and a sore back from the sitting position along with a feeling of tightness all around.  Too much time looking at your smartphone or computer terminal will cause tight cervical (neck) muscles and a headache or eyestrain.

Whether busy or slow, you can fight the effects of your shift with recovery techniques.  Employing multiple recovery techniques will give you options and help you figure out exactly which techniques are most effective. Below are some tips to help you recover from a busy or slow shift:

1.     Rehydrate. Staying hydrated is essential to health, digestion, and thermoregulation.  During the warmer months, you may want to weigh yourself at the start of the shift, then compare your weight after the shift ends.  Rehydrate yourself to the weight equal to what you weighed at the start. You should drink 1 pt. per pound of bodyweight lost.

2.     Sleep. If you’re coming off a night shift in which your sleep was interrupted between 10pm and 6am, taking a nap will help restore the metabolic processes that you missed during the night. R.E.M. (rapid eye movement) cycles, which involve deep sleeping, are essential to your health, vitality, and recovery.  At the very least, a morning nap will help keep your focus and attention span sharp. A quiet dark sleeping area will suffice during the daytime hours.

3.     Flexibility. Whether you’re busy or not, your body will go through various postures throughout the shift.  Maintaining or improving your flexibility will keep you prepared and ready to go for the next call. Static stretching that involves holding a position in stretch for 30-60 seconds will help restore your muscles’ optimum resting length, reduce muscle tension/tightness, and decrease pain associated with tight muscles. A dynamic flexibility routine at the start of your workout will help improve blood flow to working muscles, excite your nervous system, begin the fat-burning process, and increase your mental acuity and focus for your session.  Sometimes a 30-minute dynamic flexibility routine is all you need to battle the effects of a tough shift.

4.     Self-massage techniques.  A wide range of commercial products such as foam rollers, massage sticks, and massage balls are available to help you break up adhesions, calm your nervous system to release, and help stretch a muscle.  These products also help induce blood flow to a localized area to help muscles recover and become more pliable for stretching.  Increasing flexibility will alleviate stress effects, reduce effects of gravity on your posture, and reduce the likelihood of injuries.  If you cannot afford to buy the commercial products, you can use softballs, baseballs, tennis balls, and pvc pipe.  Some self-massage techniques, such as using the foam roller, will have you position your body on the foam roller so that you can roll specific areas of your body including quads, IT band, hip flexors, lats, and glutes.  This can be a great way to train your core, relieve pain, improve posture, and increase flexibility.

5.     Aquatic therapy.  Never underestimate the power of water.  As a recovery aid, it will help relax your muscles and clear your mind to improve stress management.  Water exerts at least 7 times of pressure against your body as air.  Just being in a pool offers a therapeutic effect.  Enjoy your pool after a shift outside during the summer or find an indoor pool to help you during the winter months.  Sometimes a hot tub can offer relief for sore, tight muscles.  Just be careful not to sit in the hot tub for too long.  Avoid the hot tub if you have high blood pressure, have been drinking alcohol, or feel dehydrated.

Recovery is an essential component of your exercise program as well as your job.  If you use some of these techniques each week, you will be able to exercise and work at a higher level.  Using a different technique each day will cover all of your bases and bring your recovery to a new level.

In this world of individuals, how does the fire service deal with the challenge of team-building? Everything in our society is focusing on doing it yourself. We can work towards that college degree and never interact with a student or set foot in a classroom. Even in the corporate world, one can work with any number of co-workers on a project and never once meet him or her in person.

Members of the fire service work together closely that at times you end up sweating all over each other.  This culture is foreign to many new firefighters. How do you develop an environment of people counting on you to pull your weight? There is a mindset of “I want to quit, but I know that my partner needs me” and “if I fail to do my part he or she will have to pick up the slack or worse be injured due to my failure.” It is the type of team that defines “I am my brother’s keeper”, not just someone at the end of an electrical connection.

Building a solid team foundation can be started with your fire fighter fitness program.  Exercising with your team helps keep you accountable for completing your workload.  A failure by the individual to give that total effort means that their partner has to work that much harder to take up the slack. Consider things in terms of fire ground activities. You are a member of a truck team and have made your way down a hallway at a college dorm. You have two rooms of fire, the hallway is heating up and you have several more doors that need to be popped, you need the hose jockeys to get there in order to cool things down. Is this an example of teamwork at its best? If that hose line fails to arrive in quick time, what is your world going to be like?

This is how functional firefighter fitness training works. Functional firefighter fitness involves duplicating the demands and stress of the fire ground within a safe training program.  The training program should be as basic or intense as the participants can handle. Drills should be adaptable so they can either be performed by a single individual or by a large group. Working in pairs is one of the easiest ways of getting the team-building message across.

When setting up the following routine, the first step is to determine a running distance; this can be anything from an apparatus floor to a large track area. If you have stairs in your facility they can also be incorporated. Unless you are a highly trained individual try and keep the running distance between thirty seconds and one and a half minutes to complete each lap. If the area is small you can add extra laps between each strength exercise set to meet the thirty plus second prescription.

So here’s how the program works. Choose from six to ten different strength exercises. The exercises can be met by using body weight, fire suppression equipment, or formal weights like those found in every gym. When the exercise segment has been chosen for the day, it is time to get the program started.

If you are working as partners, one of the members begins with the running component while the other individual does the assigned exercise, the individual that is working on the strength portion continues with the exercise until his/her partner returns from the run and relieves them. When the runner arrives, it is time for that individual to start the exercise while the other member completes the run. This relay of exercise and strength continues until the daily program is completed.

If you are performing this drill as an individual, start with the running section first to allow the body a chance to warm up for the strength segment. After you’ve completed your lap perform the first strength exercise, then run the 2^nd lap, perform the 2^nd strength exercise, etc. The strength exercise can be either by a number count or time limit. When the exercise is completed or time limit is met you return to the run.

Your work out program should look something like this:

1.    One running lap (If an individual is deconditioned he or she can walk or run walk each lap). If you are working in teams the individual doing the strength section will be working until the partner returns, so a shorter distance might be required for the beginners.

2.    Push-ups until relieved or individuals’ time or number selected is completed. This pattern will be repeated for each station.

3.    Run a second lap.

4.    Back step lunge.

5.    Run a third lap.

6.    Abdominal crunch, (place and SCBA on your chest to increase difficulty)

7.    Run a forth lap.

8.    Bicep curls (SCBA can be used in absence of dumbbells)

9.    Run a fifth lap.

10. Mountain climbers

11. Run a sixth lap.

12. Overhead press (SCBA as substitute)

13. Run a seventh lap.

14. Overhead Tricep extension (SCBA as substitute)

15. Run an eighth lap.

You can continue to add or reduce the strength stations if the team needs a more intense program or do two or three sets of established program after a 3 minute break between rounds.

The take home message delivered by this workout is that each person must be accountable to his/her partner. Each member needs to give their complete effort or their partner is forced to work harder, just like the company that takes their time getting the hose line to the fire scene.  I strongly recommend considering this training format when designing programs around the need of your department.

If you have any questions about this routine, don’t hesitate to contact the Public Safety Fitness Association.

In the theme of the New Year, this week our exercise focuses on working the core, and promoting strength and stability from head to toe.  The stability ball is a great training tool, and a relatively inexpensive one, too!  You can pick one up at your local sports or department store usually for less than twenty dollars.

The stability ball provides a unique challenge in that it requires you to focus on balance and activation of your midsection.  People often say “I want to build a stronger core.”  Well, have you ever stopped and asked, “what exactly is my CORE?”  The “core” of the body refers to all of the muscles, bones, and joint structures spanning from your knees to mid-chest level.  This is the basis of power generation through the body.  A weak core translates to inefficient force application, and can increase your risk for injury.

Imagine trying to shot a cannon-ball out of a canoe.  It would be very difficult to hit your target because the base of the cannon is unstable.  Conversely, firing a cannon that was clamped down to a cement foundation would make it easier to hit your target.  The body works in a similar fashion – if you try to apply force through your appendages (arms and legs), but your core is weak, much of that power is lost.

I constantly try to explain this to parents, coaches, and athletes.  For example – when a football lineman comes out of his stance to deliver a block he is generating tremendous amounts of force through the legs.  HOWEVER, the point of impact is usually the hands or shoulders.  That power has to find it’s way to the impact zone somehow, and that is through the back and trunk.  If you have a weak core, it is sort of like taking a soda can and crumpling it up when you step on it; your body folds up like an accordion.  Conversely, if you have a strong core it would be akin to running into a door with a steel battering ram -   all that power is applied to the target.  Think how this can effect sports involving clubs, bats, or sticks – the more power you have in your trunk the more accuracy and velocity you should have on a shot or swing.

All right, onto our exercise, the SUPINE STABILITY BALL BALANCE.  It should be noted that this exercise is meant to be held in a static (motionless) position.  The length of time you hold the position is largely dictated by your conditioning level.  Generally speaking 30 seconds is a good place to start.  As you improve, you can lengthen the time out to as much as 2 minutes (or break it up into 2 sets of 1 minute, or more!).

1.  Begin lying on your back with your heels placed on the center of the ball and your hands at your sides.

2.  Lift your hips off the ground and maintain balance.

3.  You can use this progression to increase the challenge:

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1.  Hands down (picture 1)

2.  Elbows down (picture 2)

3.  Arms crossed on the chest (picture 3)

4.  Eyes closed

5.  Repeat the same progression using a single leg

Serious athletes train all year round.  Training isn’t just playing sports, either, it’s working out during the off-season to prepare your body for a higher level of performance and less susceptibility to injury.

There are generally three training options for athletes:

1. The first is a comprehensive training program where the athlete works out under a strength and conditioning coach for a full training session with their teammates. This tends to lead to the best results and build a team community that lasts much longer than the competitive season.

2. The second is having an athlete follow a training program on their own and adapting the workout to the equipment available at their home, local sports field, or commercial gym. This type of training style tends to be the most economical but the athlete misses out on the corrective coaching cues that help them become more efficient in their movement patterns. Over and under training issues can arise with this approach as the strength professional does not have the ability to individualize the training volume and change the progression of exercises from a day-to-day and week-to-week standpoint.

3. The third is a hybrid of the two, where an athlete learns a set of 2-4 workouts each month then completes the workouts on their own for 3-6 weeks before receiving a new workout from their strength coach. This hybrid version tends to still be economical and allows the athlete to get some coaching cues each month and improve their technique, but poor habits can be reinforced and no guarantee can be made that over training issues will be avoided.

TRAINING PERIODS dictate the quantity, intensity, and quality of work for differing parts of the year.

There are four basic training periods:

1. The 1^st period is during the off-season. This starts 2-4 weeks after the season concludes and goes for 8-12 weeks before their next season begins. Usually an athlete will have 8-24 weeks in the period depending on how many sports they participate in each year. In this period athletes should be building general athletic abilities that include the one listed above.  If an athlete participates in more than one sport, they may not have much time to practice anything more than the actual sport skills.  If they do have time, this should be invested in a well-rounded strength and conditioning that focuses on corrective measures related to movement patterns, general capacities, and injury prevention.

2. The 2^nd period is the preseason, which usually consists of 8-12 weeks before the beginning of the season but can be longer if the athlete is competing at a semi-pro or professional level.  The athlete should continue general athletic development progressions but add components to the work out that will specifically enhance the characteristics of the sport they are preparing for.  For example, specific conditioning is implemented (i.e. 1,200 yards/game in football = 1,200 yards of sprints work), and the major movement patterns of the sport are trained with more intensity and volume.

3. The 3^rd Period is in-season training.  In many ways this can be the most important period for an athlete’s success.  This is also the easiest strength and conditioning training an athlete will do throughout the year but selecting the best exercises, reps and set can be the most difficult. Athletes really do need a personalized training program different sport positions often need different in-season programs to maximize athletic performance. This is where “tapering” principles are used to “peak” an athlete for the most important competition(s).

“Tapering” is when an athlete drastically backs off their training and drastically increases rest and nutritional intake to make their bodies as fresh and strong as possible for the big competitions.

“Peaking” is the result of tapering. This is when an athlete is the freshest and is the strongest in the competition season. The tricky part is to get this in sync with the day and hour(s) of a big game.

4. The 4^th is the active rest period. This is usually 2-4 weeks after the last competition and purpose is to let the body recover from a long competitive season both physically and mentally. During this period an athlete should participate in fun recreational activities 2-6 hours a week and devote more time to other aspects of life, such as with their friends and family.

This week we will learn how to do a fairly common exercise:  The Lunge.  The lunge is an exercise that many people use but time and again is done improperly.  When performed correctly it is an exercise that develops the musculature thighs, glutes, calves, and trunk posture.

The lunge can be used in a few different varieties.  The most common one you’ll see is for general conditioning – it is usually part of a circuit during a workout aimed at overall body conditioning.  It can also be utilized as a strength developing exercise when you add dumbbells in the hands or a barbell across the back.  With any variety of the exercise a few key points should be made:

1. Take a step forward.  The step should be far enough to maintain a good relationship between the knee and foot which is indicated by having the shin perpendicular to the ground.  Your weight should be equally distributed between your front and rear foot.  If you find most of your weight is over your front leg you may feel pressure or pain in the front knee.  This is because you are placing a large amount of sheer force on the knee joint and it can lead to joint deterioration.

2.  The thigh should be parallel to the ground when at the end of the step.  Do not use the hands to push off your front leg.

3.  Make sure lateral distance is maintained between your feet so as not to fall off balance.  It is very common to see people perform a lunge with both feet lined up forward and backward.  This creates a narrow base of support and cause balance issues.

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4.  When performing a barbell lunge pay close attention to maintaining neutral spinal alignment; avoid trunk flexion or rotation.

5.  If you step backward instead of forward during the initial movement you should notice it is easier to maintain the correct positions of the lower leg and trunk.  A description on how to do the exercise when stepping forward has been included because it is the most common way most people recognize this exercise.  Keep in mind that just because you see an exercise being done frequently in a particular fashion doesn’t always mean it is the best way.

This week, we are going to look at a basic but effective exercise – the standing rotational medicine ball throw. As you take a look at the pictures I encourage you to think about some of the more common sport moves you see – swinging a bat, shooting a puck, throwing a football; they all involve similar mechanics.

One thing I see time and again are training programs that lack any form of rotary training. Particularly when we examine strength routines, most programs involve only flexion and extension exercises. Common examples of these exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell/dumbbell curls, tricep extensions, pullups, lat pulldowns, etc. These are all great things to do, but the problem is that they do not challenge your body the same way as swinging a bat or throwing a baseball does.

Many times people say, “I need to build up my core.” Well, what are you doing to accomplish that other than situps, crunches, and back extensions? It makes more sense to include exercises that involve rotation about the spine and other joints of the body, along with side flexion (as in, imagine the motion at the hip of a jumping jack). Most back injuries are due to an imbalance of strength between the legs and back. By using rotational type activities we help to reduce the risk of such accidents.

So onto this week’s exercise – the ROTATIONAL MEDICINE BALL THROW. This exercise can be done with any medicine ball of choice. I recommend beginning with a weight between 4-8lbs. Be careful not to turn this strictly into a strength routine. We are trying to develop the trunk in a rotary fashion without impeding the normal function of the body. If you choose a weight much greater than 8lbs, you may start to compensate for the extra resistance (the medicine ball) by changing your mechanics. This would be counter-productive to training a basic sport move. Follow these guidelines:

1. Begin in a shoulder width stance with the feet in a heel to toe alignment, holding the medicine ball approximately at navel level (right and top left).

2. Rotate the trunk, shoulders, arms and head to one side as far as possible and immediately twist back in the opposite direction to throw the ball. Focus on rotating the feet, hips, and shoulders first, and finishing with the upper body (remaining sequence).

Click to enlarge

The important part of this equation is to use the entire body. The common mistake is to throw strictly with the arms. Remember a summation of forces involves using the large, slower muscles of the body first (i.e the legs, trunk, and chest) and follow with the smaller muscles of the appendages (the lower legs, feet, arms, and wrists). Emphasize a high velocity for this movement. Also aim at throwing against a wall so that the ball rebounds back to you – otherwise you’ll be chasing the implement down after every throw and the workout will take forever.

Integrating rotational movements into your everyday program is extremely valuable. I recommend doing some form of rotary movement at least twice a week, and if you only have time for one exercise, make it a rotation. Remember that balanced training of the body provides optimum results. By analyzing what you are doing for training, you will decrease the likelihood of injury and shorten your time to improvement. Ultimately, it is the person who improves the fastest who usually ends up winning.

As Safety Professionals, we inherently carry a sense of competition within us that helps us perform our jobs. Whether we’re trying to run down criminals, get that perfect stick in the patient’s arm, or get the first water on the fire, we often compete against ourselves and our colleagues. While this article uses the example of how to use competition in the firehouse, the information can be carried over into the police and EMS worlds too. I often hear about firefighters having a bench press competition in the firehouse, and the majority of those stories end up the same way – with a firefighter blowing out a shoulder and a new S.O.G. prohibiting this practice in the future. In this example I use the bench press because it is a common exercise many Safety Professionals will use to compete against each other. The bench press is a useful exercise in the right environment and application just like we can all foster a competitive and fun atmosphere to help stay fit. The bigger issue here is how can we use our competitive spirit in the firehouse to motivate each other and have some fun while getting fit. This article will offer tips on how we can use competition in the firehouse in a responsible way.

1 ) Use safe and effective exercises. Stay away from the ego-stroking exercises like the squat, bench press, or deadlift unless you are disciplined and use common sense or have experience performing or coaching these exercises at a higher level. The squat, bench press, and deadlift are good technical exercises to use in your program, but not the best when it comes to competition in the firehouse. Training with your partner can be enough motivation; however, using these exercises for competition can be dangerous.

2) Use exercises that EVERYONE can perform. Just like your crew has different body shapes, they all have different injuries and ranges of motion. Pick one or a group of exercises that can improve one’s fitness and firefighter abilities. Some examples to compete in are the number of stair sprints within a certain period of time or the number of rounds you can complete a circuit within a certain period of time.

3) Race against the clock…not each other. Set a specific time-period for your crew to complete an exercise or group of exercises (in circuit fashion). Tally up the reps you have completed per set and record the data. Next time you do the workout, you should motivate yourself to beat the previous amount of reps within the same time period. For example, if you did 42 squats within 60 seconds today, next week you should strive for 45 within 60 seconds. Each week you can push yourself safely to do more. In the end, you will all be exercising together, but you’ll be competing against yourself.

4) Compete for charity. There are many short, medium, and long distance runs set up to help raise awareness or to increase donations for a particular charity. Whether you’re a born runner or not, these races will require some training and preparation. Have your crew train together for a 5K walk/run or even a half-marathon, which supports your local area or favorite charity. This is a win-win-win for everyone involved.

Competition in the firehouse can effectively motivate you and our crew; however, you must use competition responsibly and respect the fact that we will push ourselves to achieve a goal. In doing so, some of us will push our bodies beyond safe limits, which may be dangerous and cause career-ending injuries. Make sure everyone is cleared medically to participate in an intense exercise program. As we push our bodies, we will often need time to recover, so avoid hard workouts on consecutive days. Over the course of two to four weeks, if you see your performance drop while using the same time period you need to examine your daily habits and workouts to see where your progression is being halted. Sometimes nutrition and hydration can be the answers to a drop in performance.

If you follow these tips and guidelines, you will be able to compete against yourself and fellow firefighters without increasing the risk of injury or death. Lastly, you will find great motivation to continue your workouts, which translates into a healthier lifestyle, more productive firefighter, and happier retirement.

Learn more about Firefighter Fitness at Iron Jake’s