The Firehouse 300 Rep Challenge

300 Rep Challenge for the Firehouse

This is a great 300 challenge workout that you can do in the firehouse with minimal weight.  The goal of the workout is to finish in the shortest amount of time possible, not by rushing your reps but by not resting….

All you need for this challenge workout is a stability ball and a weight.  The object of the workout is to complete 50 reps of each exercise (300 total) as quickly as possible.  There is a catch of course, each rep has to be performed in a controlled manner and bad reps don’t count.   Safety first, form is your biggest focus.

You can do the reps in any order and even mix and match if needed as long as you do 50 of each.  Personally I like to choose two exercises and alternate between them until the reps are completed.  As a guideline choose a weight that is around 25% your body weight.  For example if you weigh around 180 pounds use a 45 pound weight.   Don’t forget to record your total workout time.  Enjoy!

Perform this warm-up before timing the workout.  Perform 10 reps of each warm-up for 2 circuits.

Click the Video below for an overview of the workout

Warm-up Exercises (perform 2 circuits)

Chops (10 reps)

Prisoner Squat (10 reps)

Step forward toe touch (5 reps each)

Spidermans (5 reps each)

Step back reach and twist (5 reps each)

Exercises

Squat to press (50 reps)

One arm rows (25 reps each, 50 total)

Sumo Bicep Curls (50 reps)

Tricep Skulls (50 reps)

V-ups (50 reps)

Hands on Ball Push-ups (50 reps)

To add to the challenge:  Run 1 mile or bike 3 as fast as possible.

Don’t forget to record your total workout time (try to improve on this time each workout).

Need a new workout Program?

Check out the 3 new workout programs available from Fire Rescue Fitness.  There is a program for every level of fitness, guaranteed to take you to the next level. 

 Check them out 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 Nutrition- The Glycemic Index

Today's post is important not only for the Fire Rescue Athlete but for anyone trying to stay strong and lean.  I often get nutrition related questions from people about the "best" foods to eat for staying lean.  These questions prompted some research and this post.

In case you didn't know, most diet programs revolve around the Glycemic index.

This scale has been developed to help you understand how the various carbohydrate rich foods that you eat act upon the body and which will be best to eat for a lean body composition and muscle mass gains.

If you were unaware of this fact, then you need to learn about it immediately. And for those of you who already knew that, you still might learn something from this post.

Let’s take a closer look at what the Glycemic Index is all about so you can see why this is one thing that you’ll want to be paying close attention to.

The Glycemic Index--How It Works And Why You Should Pay Attention To It

First let’s address how the glycemic index works. The glycemic index is rating scale that is based off 100% pure glucose, which is given the rating of 100. All other foods are then compared to how glucose affects the blood sugar levels after consumption and rated accordingly.

Those that produce a slower digestion response in the body thus producing a lower degree of blood sugar spike are given a value of less than 100, while those that produce a faster blood glucose spike are given a value greater than 100.

In addition to knowing the glucose index rating for the food, it’s also helpful to take into account the glycemic load of a particular food as this one also takes into account how much food you’re eating as well.

It’s important to pay attention to these two factors because the speed in which the carbohydrates become available to the body cells after release into the blood stream is going to influence factors such as muscle building as well as fat loss.

Eating the wrong foods at the wrong times and you may not be seeing the results you were hoping for.

The Glycemic Index And Its Effects On Building Muscle and Weight Loss

So what do you need to know with regards to how the glycemic index impacts your muscle building diet plan?

What you need to keep in mind is that immediately after the workout, you’re going to want to boost blood glucose levels as high as possible, as this is what will drive the glucose into the muscle cells.

As a result, you’ll experience faster recovery and faster rates of lean muscle growth.

Later on in the day however, when you are out of the post-workout period, it will be important that you are focusing on keeping your blood sugar levels as controlled as possible as this is what will decrease your chance of storing excess body fat and weight. The end result is that you will be leaner and less likely to gain fat.

Using The Glycemic Index To Plan Your Meals

So now that you know what the glycemic index is, how can you use this to time your meals? The main thing to remember is that you should be focusing on having your simple carbohydrates (sugars) that are high in the glycemic index scale immediately after a workout. This is when the blood glucose spike will be helpful and will yield better overall results for you.

At other times of the day the focus should be on only those foods that are low on the glycemic index scale. These will be the ones that are going to have minimal impact on blood sugar levels and help to reduce the blood sugar response you get.

Here is a sample reference chart for you to use to guide your choices:

Low GI (55 or less) – most fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, fructose

Medium GI (55-69) – whole wheat products, basmati rice, sweet potato, sucrose, baked potatoes

High GI (70 and above) – white bread, most white rice, corn flakes, glucose, maltose, maltodextrins

To find the GI number for any food check out www.glycemicindex.com

For guidelines on eating lean in the firehouse (or any house) join the Fire Rescue Fitness Nation and get the SOPs to Eating Lean in the Firehouse and the FRF 28-day Quickstart Workout Program.

Stay Safe and Healthy,

A. Zamzow

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

Fire Station Workout- Intervals for Cardiovascular Fitness

I've had a lot of requests for workout options that can be performed at the station with minimal equipment.  Here is an option I created for a firefighter/medic that has no equipment and only some stairs and a parking lot. 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 and 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:
Mountain climbers
Jumping Jacks
Run in place or jump rope
Burpees
Prisoner Squats
Side to Side (jumps or steps)

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.