Cardiovascular Training for Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics (FireRescue Athletes)

I heard someone once say running long and slow teaches your body one thing, how to run slow. If that's all you're after, you can stop reading; I don't want you to be late for your water aerobics class.  But in our profession you need to move quickly and with purpose, I’m not saying that long and slow cardio is totally worthless, I’m saying it has its place.  In fact, I recommend performing a lower intensity, longer cardio workout at least once a week to flush the muscles.  But, what I am talking about here is training your body and your heart to function under higher intensity.   The cardio intervals not only prepare you for the fire ground but also blast away a lot of calories and body fat (as an added bonus).

The purpose of any firefighter’s cardiovascular program is to help them work more efficiently under the stresses encountered every day on the job, be it on the fire or rescue ground.  Intervals raise our maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), which, simply put, is the greatest amount of oxygen our bodies can use during maximum aerobic effort. Firefighters who can work longer before they reach their VO2 max will be able to accomplish more on the fire ground.   Intervals also help the body to more efficiently flush muscles of lactic acid.  We develop a build-up of lactic acid and hydrogen ions that are associated with the burning sensation we feel in our muscles when under heavy physical stress. It has been shown that trained individuals will clear lactate faster than those who aren’t trained and will therefore feel less pain when undergoing physical exertion. The bottom line: We want to build a cardiovascular training program that enables us to work longer and harder with less physical pain when it really counts.

So what are intervals? In their simplest form, they're short bursts of high intensity exercise separated by periods of lower intensity effort. Keep in mind; it's not just high intensity training. Running a PR for a 5K is great, but not an interval workout. You need those lower intensity periods as well, not just sustained effort.  Without the recuperation of the low periods you'll never have the ability to make the tough parts as high intensity as they need to be. It's those high intensity periods that bring the results.   

Here's an example of a interval workout that you can perform on a stepmill or StairMaster:

5 minute warm-up at 60 steps/ minute

1 minute at 90 (or 100) steps/ minute

1 minute at 60 steps/ minute 

(repeat this 9 more times for a total of 20 minutes)

5 minute cool-down at 50-60 steps/ minute

5 minute stretch and foam roll

** For a more challenging workout make the work intervals 90 seconds and the rest intervals 30 seconds.  You can also perform this workout with a weighted vest and/or SCBA on to really challenge yourself.

ENJOY and as always please give me some feedback and comments.

For more interval idease please download my FREE 28-day FireRescue Fitness Quickstart Program and Lean Eating in the Firehouse Guide

Firefighter Fitness- Should You Exercise While Your Sick?

It’s that time of the year.  The flu bug is in full affect and is probably making its way through a firehouse near you.  We get exposed to lots of different viruses through EMS responses, hospital transports and via the close confines of the firehouse.  I get a lot of people asking me if they should try to exercise while they are battling the flu or the cold.

 According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the general rule of thumb is that if your symptoms are from the neck up; then “yes” give your workout a go.  If your symptoms are below; then “no.” 

Here’s what I mean:

If you have a common cold, runny nose, sore throat, and/or NO fever, then light to moderate exercise is generally “ok.”

If your illness involves body aches, fever, diarrhea, weakness, swollen lymph nodes, and/ or fatigue then it's best to “REST.”

Recommendations to help you get through a workout when you have a cold:

·         Hydrate!  Shoot for half your body weight in ounces of water per day

·         Stretch: increases circulation

·         Light cardio: Cardiovascular exercise causes vasodilatation or widening of the blood vessels to help clear up sinuses and cold symptoms.

·         Slow down: Decrease intensity & duration

·         Germs: Bring your own towel and water bottle and keep your germs to yourself!

Here are some tips to prevent getting the cold or flu:

·         WASH YOUR HANDS!  Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

·         Rest! Sleep as much as possible to allow the body to recover!

·         Increase antioxidants: load up on fruits and vegetables; focus on Vitamins A, C, E and Selenium

·         Cut sugar & caffeine: Both have been shown to weaken the immune system

·         Eliminate alcohol: I’m not saying to quit, I’m just saying alcohol weakens the immune system. 

The bottom line is that you must “listen” to your body.   Personally, if I'm not feeling too bad, then I like to get a light cardio workout in to increase blood flow and circulation. If I choose to do strength work, I perform a low intensity workout to prevent too much muscle/body breakdown.

Hope these help.

Stay Safe!

A new weapon for Firefighters war on Heart Disease

Heart disease kills more on-duty firefighters than anything else -- and it is definitely linked to emergency duties, a Harvard study shows. Most people think firefighters' biggest death threats are fires and collapsing buildings. But over the last 30 years it's been shown that 45% of firefighters' on-duty deaths come from heart disease.    Over these last 30 years the actual percentage of fire calls has decreased yet the rate of heart attacks has remained the same.  So why haven't we (as Firefigthers, Paramedics and EMT's) done anything to prevent it?  Part of the issue is that firefighters exertion on the fire scene causes an excessive amount of stress on the heart, thus causing heart attacks.  Many of the firefighters that died from a heart related issue had prior "heart health warning signs" like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  These heart health risks coupled with the extreme exertion are a bad and risky combination.

I personally think that we need to take a proactive approach to the issue.  The FireRescue community needs to commit to a complete exercise program that emphasizes not only heart health but overall strength and wellness.  


Recently I've discovered another way Firefighters, Paramedics and EMT's can combat their high risk of heart attack (and cancer).  CLICK HERE to Read more......and as always, STAY SAFE.