Firefighter Fitness and Metabolism

What is Metabolism?

You may often here around the firehouse someone say "I have a slow metabolism."  Usually these individuals are a little on the larger size and often like to joke about their size.  Unfortunately these people are at a very high risk to keep the trend of heart related Firefighter fatalities in tact.  I'm not saying that larger individuals cannot perform the job, in most cases they are great firefighters.  What I am saying is that there is more to the picture than a "slow metabolism."

There are a large number of individuals that believe the reason they are overweight has nothing to do with their appetite, and/or level of activity. They assume it is an inherent problem with their “metabolism”. So today I wanted to clear the air around the firehouse (and other houses) about what metabolism really is.

Taber’s Medical Dictionary defines Metabolism as: The sum of all the physical and chemical changes that take place within an organism; all energy and material transformations that occur within living cells.

My definition: The bodies use of nutrients and oxygen to produce energy; measured in calories.

What is RMR or BMR?

BMR or RMR is the number of calories the body needs to maintain basic bodily function. This represents 55-60% of a person’s metabolism. The other 30-40% is the energy cost of being active and the remaining 5-10% of Metabolism is Thermo-genesis, which is the body’s response to changes in the environmental temperature.

Metabolism varies between individuals due to:

• Body Composition (Fat vs. Muscle)

• Body Weight

• Age

• Gender

Metabolism can and will change as a result of weight loss, caloric restriction, change in body composition (body fat) and exercise. When one loses weight their metabolism will typically decrease. Remember one of the variables in metabolism is weight. The engine (your body’s vital organs) must work harder for a heavier individual.

Aerobic exercise burns calories but does not have a long-standing effect on metabolism; it is temporary. Lean body mass (muscle) is metabolically more active even at rest. Please note this is not saying that aerobic activity is unnecessary in the process of weight management. In fact, research now shows that the combination of resistance training (building muscle) and aerobic exercise (burning calories) is the most effective means for losing weight.

This is as simple as it gets:

FOOD INPUT (calories) is either  used as energy or stored as fat.

The more active you are the more your food will be used as energy, not stored as fat. Point being, get active and stay active. If you aren't currently following a fitness program I recommend trying the FireRescue Fitness 28-day Quickstart Progrm, you can get it here for FREE.

“ And what is man without energy? Nothing- nothing at all.” – Mark Twain

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