What I've Learned About Training Firefighters Article by Michael Stefano
True strength is the ability to recognize your limits.
Let's face facts. Many firefighters in this country are not fit, but sometimes strength alone is confused with fitness. Plenty of big, strong people are drawn to the fire service, as they're able to handle the initial workload of heavy equipment and long hose lines. But a structural fire is a mini-marathon with weights.
Throwing a few lengths of hose around at drill does not come close the effort put forth a real job. Weighted down with almost over 70 pounds, breathing from an air tank, dragging a high pressure hose line through super heated, dense, black smoke is what you can really expect.
But whether paid or volunteer, firefighters are not sponsored athletes who are paid to workout. For the everyday Jane or Joe turned super-hero, the reality of shift work and a second job doesn't leave a lot of time for exercise. So what's the answer? (For a great quick and efficient firefighter exercise program, click here)
The current trend of fire department physicals switching to a pass/fail variety (versus graded and competitive) has diluted performance minimums, while volunteer firefighters barely have to pass an annual medical, with no performance standards. This has allowed those less than ready into the ranks, and has dramatically impacted my approach and firefighter training protocols.
This scenario has inspired me to embrace a system that develops general physical preparedness (GPP) as well as work capacity as its main goal, with the glorious side effects of a healthy, leaner, more toned body. Without resorting to complex protocols and cumbersome testing procedures, I've come to rely heavily on simplicity in training with emphasis on basic techniques learned really well.
Performance and work capacity are monitored from session to session, but more importantly, the firefighter's ability to grasp (and safely recreate) the concept of extreme physical exertion is developed and nurtured, as it's experienced on the fireground.
By incorporating task-specific firefighter regimens, STS Training Protocols, with my 22 years of training experience, I've been able to develop superior workouts that have produced remarkable results for firefighters and firefighter candidates.
Gone are the boring, timid sets of 8 and 10 reps, isolating muscles and muscle groups. Enter full body STS training and Kettlebells. Strength and endurance are treated as one entity and trained simultaneously, in one giant-set. Exercising in this fashion forces you to seriously evaluate your performance level and overall work capacity.
We live in a culture that is driven by beauty and visual physical perfection, sometimes even more than performance or health. My programs come with a dramatic caloric burn and unique ability to develop lasting muscle tone. If it's bulk you're after, try bodybuilding, but if your goals are to build a lean, healthy body with extreme strength that goes on forever, this is where you need to be. My programs can give you the tools to safely achieve the results you need as a working firefighter.
Fire Story Side-Bar
To understand what's it's like to be a firefighter, and to experience the level of physical exertion that's felt after dragging a high-pressure hose-line into a structural inferno, please continue.
We had 10 lengths of hose stretched from our pumper (parked at the nearest hydrant) over a football field away. It took most of my breath just getting the high-pressure hose and nozzle into position. At this point my bunker gear and air-pak start to feel more like a suit of armor, plunging me into the asphalt with each step.
Minutes later, my entire unit was down on the floor, crawling, crouching, and dragging the open nozzle through the burning flat. Once started there was no turning back, and if necessary, we had to work until we collapsed. As a New York City firefighter, you know that every fire needs to be approached with that same sense of urgency or the results could be disastrous.
A hand held hose-line puts out 180 gallons every minute, and the resulting cascade of water added pounds to my protective gear. As heat levels surged dangerously high, my legs, arms, breath, were all gone, but there was one room to go. I felt the steady push from behind as the boss silently let us know it wasn't yet time to quit.
With one last desperate effort, I whipped the nozzle in the opposite direction and beat back the last bit of flame. Ripping off my mask, I gasped for air and collapsed, totally spent, but the fire went out, everyone went home, and all I did was my job.
MICHAEL STEFANO is the creator and author of the Firefighter's
Workout (Harper Collins 2000). Mr. Stefano is a health
and fitness writer, contributor to eDiets, eFitness, and Firehouse.Com.
Michael's articles have appeared on AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! His workouts have been featured in magazine and
newspapers from around the country, as well as in numerous
network and cable TV segments. He also offers an online
version of his custom program, via a comprehensive
22-point fitness
profile.
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