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Buy Now: Hardcover | Paperback | Video THE FIREFIGHTER'S WORKOUT Home Page | Exercise Routines | Food for Thought | Health & Fitness |
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New York Daily News FDNY Workout Video Okay, so about half the women in America are now in love with firemen. Fine, you wanna quibble, make that two-thirds. The female mantra for the new century is, "All's fair in love and war. And firemen!" Times are tough out there in the dating world if you're a poor slob who doesn't run into burning buildings for a living. But trudge into a singles bar in rubber boots, a turnout coat, a sooty face and clutching a nozzle, and 10 women will plead to be rescued. But don't despair, guys. If you've already made a New Year's resolution to lose weight, exercise more and get in shape, you can run out and buy a copy of FDNY Capt. Michael Stefano's "The Firefighter's Workout" video from Koch International. The video, selling for about $12, promises to get you into the kind of shape that will set off sirens on the beach this summer. It is dedicated to the 343 firefighters who perished in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, and a portion of the profits will be donated to the Uniformed Firefighters Association's Widows' and Children's Fund. The video is based on Stefano's popular book of the same name that came out in hardcover last year and is now available in paperback. "This whole regimen came into being when I was working in Coney Island as a young firefighter," says Stefano, who was born and raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and who serves as a roaming captain in Corona, Queens. "Back then I worked for Engine 318/Ladder 166, and most of our runs were in the Coney Island projects. Eight out of 10 times the elevators weren't working and we'd have to run up 23 stories for a fire. Sometimes eight and 10 times a night for rubbish fires, Christmas tree fires, kitchen fires, false alarms and real blazes." Stefano soon learned that a lot of his fellow firefighters were not in proper shape for this kind of rugged endurance duty. "Our firehouse had a tiny gym, and we didn't have any machines or big equipment," he says. "So a bunch of us started devising ways of getting into the kind of shape we needed to be in to do our jobs properly, to save other people's lives, and also to protect our own. Lost in the post-Sept. 11 coverage is that the biggest killer of firefighters � about 60% � is cardiac arrest. This often happens because the men are not in the kind of shape they need to be when they rush up multiple flights of smokey stairs." Stefano says the risk of heart attack is worse today than when he started on the job 19 years ago because of the additional protective bunker gear firefighters must wear. "The new gear protects us from fire," he says, "but the added weight puts an enormous strain on the heart. So you have to be in great shape to survive, nevermind save other people's lives." 'Probies' and 'Salty Dogs' "Exercises that make you lift your own body weight," he says. "As you would on the job. This eliminates the need for bulky equipment or a gym." And so if this workout is good enough for guys who climb into towering infernos, you can bet your fat-bottom dollar it's good enough for us guys who race out of burning buildings. Actually, the video has two workouts, one for "probies," or beginners, and one for "salty dogs," a more intense regimen. Both take just a half-hour and can be done at home. Those who want updated tips can log on to Stefano's Web site (firefightersworkout.com). Kick it Off With a Walk "The secret is to start a walking regimen," Stefano says, laughing. "And drink lots and lots of water. ... Walk at least a mile three times a week. And do the probie workout with light dumbbells twice a week for muscle tone � because all fat is burned in the muscle. In a few weeks, you'll start to see a major difference. Then, after a few months, you can move on to the salty dog, and pretty soon you'll be in the kind of shape of a working firefighter." This article was reprinted from The New York Daily News: News and Views, City Beat, Tuesday, January 15, 2002 Buy Now: Hardcover | Paperback | Video |
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