10 Fitness Tips for the Fire Rescue Athlete

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.

10 Fit Tips for the Fire Rescue Athlete

Use these "Tips" to make 2013 a Fit, Healthy and Lean Year.

1.           Set a goal- Set a goal, write it down, make it specific, tie an emotional reason to the goal and give it a deadline.  The goal can be as easy as "working out every shift" or losing 10 pounds of fat.  

2.           Live YOUR goal- Believe that you can and will achieve your goal.  Discover the hurdles that have been restricting you of your goal…..forget them, and GO LIKE HECK.  Don't be afraid to share your goal with your crew and loved ones, they can help you get there.

3.           Drink water, lots of water- Water is the essential element our body needs for basically every metabolic process.  Try to consume half your body weight in ounces.  So if you weigh 180 pounds, try to get 90 ounces of water.

4.           Eat often- Eat 5-6 meals per day.  Utilize smaller meals and snacks to help keep your metabolism and muscle building going throughout the day.  Space the meals every 3 or 4 hours.  Eating smaller meals boosts metabolism, makes you feel satiated and helps build lean muscle.  This step takes some planning, especially if you have a busy shift, try to pack some nuts or fruit in case the day gets busy.

5.           Get a good ratio of “real” nutrients- Try to eat a protein and a good low GI (Glycemic Index) carbohydrate for each of your 5-6 meals.   You also want to have 2 servings of healthy fats each day or eat fish 3 times per week.  The good combination of protein, low GI carbohydrate and fat will help your body’s immune system and help boost metabolism and build muscle.  To simplyfy this step even more think of it like this, if it has only one ingredient.....you can eat it.  Try to eat as many natural foods as possible, fruits, vegtables, meats and nuts

6.           Have a Pre- and Post-workout meal-   Remember proper pre- and post-workout eating routines can greatly enhance both the intensity and stamina during the workout and the recovery after. Utilize shakes and snacks for pre- and post-workout nutrition.  You never want your body to be in a fasted state, especially when you workout.  You especially want to make sure you get the proper nutrients to your body immediately following.  This is especially important for the fire rescue athlete, you never know when your going to be "called"  so be ready.

7.           Take control of your nutrition- The number one reason people don’t eat properly and sabotage their fitness programs is because of poor planning.   Be an educated shopper; read labels and plan ahead.  You should know what makes up the food you put in your mouth.  Utilize a calorie calculator to figure your energy requirements and log your food once in a while to insure you are eating the right amounts.  Make better choices and be a better shopper.  Most of the foods that are acceptable are found on the outer edge of your grocery store.  Stick to the outsides…and prepare ahead of time.  Oh yeah, take a day off too.

8.           Warm-up and work your Core properly- You need to thoroughly warm-up and perform core exercises 3 times per week before resistance training.  The warm-ups will increase your flexibility and prepare the body for the workout.  The core exercises will help prevent injury and “yes,” give you definition in the mid-section. 

9.           Perform short, effective, full body strength workouts- To build a strong and lean body you need to strength train consistently and efficiently.   To work efficiently, you must incorporate exercises that challenge the entire body and rest intervals that challenge the heart.  Strength training MUST be performed with proper form and with a moderate lifting tempo.

10.             Burn fat with cardio intervals- The key to cardio burst (interval) training versus traditional “cardio” is that it maximizes your effort and minimizes your time.  Interval training can boost metabolism, not just for the duration of the exercise, but for the entire day.  Unlike traditional cardio workouts, cardio bursts focus on quality not quantity.  No need for long, boring bouts of cardio!  Intervals also mimic the work on the fireground so get creative with them.

Bonus #11, Join the Fire Rescue Fitness Nation and get FREE workouts and fitness tips created to meet the demands of the Fire Rescue Athlete.  Join by clicking HERE.

A Great Post Holiday Metabolic Workout

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 (throughout the day).  Intermediate/ Advanced athletes should use weights that they can handle for 15 reps (even though you will only be performing 10 reps) while beginners will use body-weight for each exercise.  Each rep should be performed with control (safety first) and good form.  You must perform 2 circuits of the warm-up.  After the warm-up follow the appropriate circuit (beginner or intermediate/ advanced) as quickly as possible.  Your goal is to complete the entire circuit as quickly as possible.  Remember to record your total time (of the metabolic circuit) so you can measure your fitness progress from workout to workout.  

Holiday Metabolic Circuit

Perform the active warm-up exercises in a circuit, no rest between exercises; follow the suggested reps for each.  Repeat the circuit 2x. Click HERE for a video overview of the warm-up.

Warm-up Exercises (reps)

1. Prisoner Lunges (6x each side) 
2. Step forward Toe Touches (6x ea side)
3. Chest hugs (20x)
4. Waiters bow (6 each arm)
5. Step Back, Reach Twist (6x each side)
6. Spiderman’s (6 each side)
7. Knees side to side (6 each side)
8. Straight Leg Raises (6x each side)
9. Hip Cross-overs (6x each side)

Repeat the warm-up circuit (total of 2x)

Metabolic Circuit

After the warm-up, perform the exercises in a circuit, rest as little as possible between exercises.  Remember to take rest if you need it.  The idea of the workout is to complete it as fast as possible (using good form) and try to improve your time each workout.  The suggested reps are listed in parenthesis. Click on the video below for an overview of the exercise for the beginner circuit.   Remember to record your total time (minus the active warm-up) and try to improve on it from workout to workout.  Enjoy.

Beginner Exercises                                                

1. Push-ups (10x)                                                    
2. Body Row (10x)                                                                             
3. Prisoner Squats  (10x)                                                 
4. Prone Plank Pulses (10x)                                                            
5. Walking Lunges (10 each side)                                                   
6. Bike 2 miles (as fast as possible)                                               

Repeat the circuit again (for a total of 2x)             

For an even greater calorie burn and challenge try the Intermediate/ Advanced Circuit.  You must perform 2 circuits of the active warm up first.

Intermediate/ Advanced Exercises  

Click on the video below for an overview of the exercises of the Intermediate/ Advanced circuit.

1. Spider Push-ups (5 each leg)
2. Pull-ups (10x)
3. Squat to Press (10x)
4. Weighted V-ups (10x)
5. Prone Plank Pulses (marching 10 ea leg)
6. Weighted Walking Lunges (10x each leg)
7. Run 1 mile or bike 3 miles (as fast as possible)

Repeat the Circuit 2 more times (for a total of 3 circuits).  You may want to leave out the last run or bike to keep the total workout time under 45 minutes.

Don't forget to record your times and try to improve from workout to workout.

Happy Holidays!

A. Zamzow

P.S.  You can get a "printable" copy of each workout by CLICKING HERE                                                                                          

Cardio Workouts for Firefighters

Cardiovascular fitness is obviously a very important concern for the fire rescue athlete (firefighters, paramedics and EMTs).  Lately I've been researching, creating then performing a lot of 10-minute interval overhauls and wanted to share them with you today.  You can do one of these separately after a strength workout or combine all three for a good cardiovascular workout.  These only take 10-minutes but you sweat (and burn calories) a lot longer than that.  Give these a try.

1.  The Uphill Grind.  This is a great treadmill interval, if your just getting started with a fitness program (click HERE to get the FRF 28-day Quickstart Program) you want to decrease the speed and incline to a level that is a little more obtainable.

Start minutes 0-2 with a warm-up at 3.5mph and 3.5% incline
next 30 seconds crank it up to 8.0 mph at 8.0% incline
rest 30 seconds (I stand on the side rails of the treadmill)
repeat 7 more times for a total of 10 minutes

**My goal is to be able to perform this interval with a weighted vest on....eventually.

2. Bottle Shock.  This purpose of this interval is to help you control you breathing, like you were on air.  You need to find area in your gym or firehouse where you can sprint for 10 yards.  Once you've covered the distance, pause just long enough to inhale and exhale once through you nose.  Sprint back and pause, this time inhaling and exhaling twice through your nose.  Continue with the drill- breathing normally as you sprint and adding an additional nose inhalation and exhalation when you pause--until you can no longer breathe through your nose.  At that point, rest 30 seconds then start over.  Continue the exercise for 10 minutes total.  You will be surprised how much more effort it takes to focus on your breathing.

3. The Cardio Pyramid.  You can substitute any exercise you like as long as it gets your heart going.  Personally, I like to do the first pyramid with jump rope, the second with mountain climbers and the third with stairs.  Here is how it works, do as many reps as you can in 10 seconds then rest for an equal amount of time.  Next do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds then rest 20 seconds.  Then do 30 seconds of rest followed by 30 seconds of rest.  Now work your way back down the pyramid with 20 seconds then 10.  Once you finish the final 10 seconds rest, add another 30 seconds of rest and repeat again with the same exercise or a different one.  You will perform a total of 3 pyramids (10, 10, 20, 20, 30, 30, 20, 20, 10, 10) with 30 seconds in between them for a total of 10 minutes.  ENJOY this one.

Give these a try, please leave some comments about how you LOVE or HATE these intervals.

Stay Safe and Healthy,
A. Zamzow

Firefighter Fitness Tips

Today I wanted to give you some great workout tips.  Over my years of training clients and athletes I've learned two very important fitness tips that will help you see and feel the best results.

Tip#1. Recovery is Essential for progress.  I know that many firefighters, emts and paramedics like to challenge themselves during a workout but its the ability to recover afterwards that leads to a greater results.  Did you know...your body changes after a workout, when your body rests  - not during.

Taking the time to rest between strength workouts  (or after a tough shift) is when your body begins the repair and recovery process - increasing lean muscle - making you stronger and able to do more come the next workout.  Recovery can be accelerated by choosing a good post  workout shake (like Prograde Workout) and taking the time to stretch and foam roll (click here it to see my blog on foam rolling) major muscle groups.  Skipping recovery will not only diminish fitness results, but will also lead to burn out and over-training injuries.   As a fire rescue athlete you must take time to recover.

and going right along with the previous tip.......

Tip#2. More is NOT Better - Better is Better.  The workouts that I create (like those in the 28-day Quickstart Program) are short, yet effective strength based programs that challenge your entire body.  Because these workouts take less than 45 minutes, some fire rescue athletes are skeptical that they will be effective, and will sometimes try to add exercises or even double up on workouts. Remember, intensity is the key to making good fitness gains.  Doing more will only delay or prevent results.  Trying to do more will diminish the intensity - hence, diminish results.   My advice to the fire rescue athlete is that the best results are achieved when you get your body to work FOR you rather than always having to work your body.  Besides...your workouts should leave you feeling ENERGIZED not Exhausted. 

I thought this was fitting....

As busy fire rescue athletes there are plenty of other factors that lend to exhaustion - but your workouts should NOT be one of them.  Focus on the quality of your strength based workouts - increase the challenge and intensity within the workout by setting personal records.
One bonus tip....log your workouts.  Those that created and followed workout logs are more successful.

Keep these two workout tips in mind as you follow through with your plan to get and stay "fit for duty."

Stay Safe and Healthy,
A. Zamzow

Try the FireRescue Fitness 28-day Quickstart Workout for Free…and get the Standard Operating Procedure for Eating Lean in the Firehouse.
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The essential elements of an effective Firefighter workout program

How to eat lean in the firehouse

Healthy Recipes for you and your Crew

And a free subscription to my weekly FireRescue Fitness email newsletter where I’ll share with you creative and effective workouts and exercises along with nutritional advice to help you get and stay "Fit for Duty."

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Fire Station Cardio Workout (Number #2)

A couple weeks ago I posted a cardio interval workout that can be performed at the firehouse with in about 15 to 25 minutes with minimal equipment.  Do to the great response (please keep the comments and emails coming) I put together another workout.   Once again this is an option for a firefighter/medic that has minimal equipment and time yet still wants a good workout.  This can be used as a cardio interval training workout day (for those following the 28-day Quickstart Program) and/or as a good workout to get the blood flowing. Give it a shot!

This is a great interval to perform at the firehouse, it doesn't require a lot of equipment and is very short in duration yet effective. The work intervals can be adjusted to your level of fitness.

Beginners should perform 20 seconds of work followed by 40 seconds of rest for each exercise.

Intermediates should perform 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest

Advanced (Firefit) athletes should perform 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest for each exercise.

 

Click on the Video Above

Warm-up for 3 minutes with a walk or stairs then do:

1. Jump Rope (or jumping jacks)
2. Medicine Ball Slams (or battling hose line or prisoner squat)
3. Mountain Climbers with a push-up every 10 reps
4. Side Crawl
5. Dead Bugs
6. Burpees (wide stance)

Beginners should repeat 1 more time (2x total)
Intermediates repeat 2 more times (3x total)
Advanced repeat 3 more times (4x total)

Cool down with 3 minutes of easy walking after you complete your circuits.

Give it a shot and leave comments on your thoughts.
Stay Safe and Healthy,
A. Zamzow

Firefighter Fitness-- Is CrossFit it? The Cons.

Last week I posted about the "pros" of using CrossFit for Firefighter fitness.  I recieved some great emails and comments on that post, please keep them coming.  Today, I wanted to post the cons of CrossFit.  So here we go.

The use/misuse of Olympic lifts - One of the CrossFit Foundations places a heavy emphasis on Olympic Weightlifting because of their unique ability to develop an athletes’ explosive power, control of external objects, and mastery of critical motor recruitment patterns. And yet, the workout for June 29, 2011 included a set of 50 push presses. This is a little contradicting to the above statment. You do 50 reps for endurance, but the point that CrossFit makes is that Olympic lifting should be explosive power. Olympic lifts can also be fairly complex, so if the goal (which it is of CrossFit) is to get in, get sweaty, and get out, how much time do you think is dedicated to instruction in proper technique? They just tell people to perform potentially dangerous exercises as fast as they can as many times as they can and if they puke they can get a Pukey the Clown t-shirt (not kidding about the t-shirts).

Seemingly random programming– The workouts of the day bounce around in a seemingly random fashion. Per strength coach Alwyn Cosgrove: “Another one was 30 muscle-ups. And if you can’t do muscle-ups, do 120 pull-ups and 120 dips. It’s just random; it makes no physiological sense. Two days later the program was five sets of five in the push jerk with max loads. That’s not looking too healthy for the shoulder joint if you just did 120 dips 48 hours ago....hello injury.


Lack of Progression– Due to the never repeating nature of the WOD (workout of the day) programming, it is difficult, if not impossible to track progress in major lifts. How do I know my strength or speed is improving if I never repeat a protocol? Most strength coaches and trainers agree that some form of measurable progressive overload is crucial. If you are constantly confusing muscles, they don't learn how to adapt.


Difficult to Personalize--CrossFit claims its workouts are highly personalize-able, the resources for people unable to perform the standard WOD are slim. In fact, the Crossfit FAQ explicitly states that only those with “exposure to Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and gymnastics” should attempt the WOD right away. They claim to cater to "all fitness levels" but only the ones that have experience. No single workout of the day could possibly address the needs of all (or even most) people effectively or safely.


Overall CrossFit Program is Not Balanced - I know that there are some CrossFit die-hards out there that will insist it is. The reason why it is so important to train the muscles of the body in a balanced way is mainly to prevent injury. Another plus with balanced muscular training is symmetry and proper posture. This cons ties in with the random programming, because the workouts are "random" there is no way to insure that muscle groups are being challenged in a balanced manner. Injuries most often occur as a result of a muscular imbalance in a part of the body that is being called upon to produce great force. The "weak link" gives. That's why sports trainers pay great attention to training the opposing muscles of an athlete's main movement.

High Risk of Injury - The job or a trainer is to keep the risk of injury as low as possible while achieving the greatest gains possible. This is a constant balancing act. It may not matter how good a CrossFit is, they can't stay on top of everyone's technique and form. Plus, different people have different issues that get in the way of proper form.

CrossFit Certification--Someone with no training background and experience can do a weekend CrossFit certification and suddenly be "qualified" to develop and put people through workouts. You may be able to say that for some personal training certifications also but I don't think those certifications preach the high use of Olympic Lifting techniques.


Technique is often sacrificed- Competing to achieve personal records in number of reps or load at any cost can sometimes kick proper mechanics out the door. CrossFit preaches on constantly improving yourself well if you did one exercise for 7 good reps and one bad one, the next time your apt to do 7 good reps and two bad ones.


This is not an all-encompassing list of the pros and cons of the program, I know that I missed some. I'm not going to get into whether or not I find it valuable for all firefighters...that post will come shortly. For now, absorb these pros and cons and of course make some comments. I welcome all comments and emails with open arms and an open mind.

Stay safe and remember to "Train like a life depends on it."

To get some great workouts for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics, along with the SOPs to Eating Lean in the Firehouse join my VIP email list.



Try the FireRescue Fitness 28-day Quickstart Workout for Free…and get the Standard Operating Procedure for Eating Lean in the Firehouse.
Simply enter your name and email address below and the FREE reports will be instantly emailed to you. Inside, you’ll discover:

The essential elements of an effective Firefighter workout program

How to eat lean in the firehouse

Healthy Recipes for you and your Crew

And a free subscription to my weekly FireRescue Fitness email newsletter where I’ll share with you creative and effective workouts and exercises along with nutritional advice to help you get and stay "Fit for Duty."

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• Email:
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