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Chapter Three: Principles of the Firefighter's Workout

By now you can tell this is not just another how to workout book but rather a compilation of years of training experience, using proven formulas that will give you a healthy, strong and lean body. These same principles were used successfully by many of New York City�s firefighters and are still in use today. Remember, knowledge is power and knowing exactly how as well as why you�re performing an exercise will make it that much more effective, saving you valuable time, effort and possible needless injury.

The human body is an amazing �machine� in that the more you push it, the stronger it gets--up to a certain point. The body�s ability to rise to the level of demand placed upon it is known as the adaptation response and we�ll take advantage of that truly miraculous system as we attempt to push ourselves just a tiny bit more with each progressive workout.

In the pages that follow, I�ll outline in a concise and simple format the theory and methodology behind aerobic, strength and flexibility training based on the adaptation response that has worked for New York�s bravest. We�ll start with an overview of fitness based on its five components. The five components of fitness:

1. Muscular Strength
The strength of a muscle or muscle group is determined by how much resistance it can overcome in a single repetition. Those of us with a desire or need to create major increases in muscular strength (and mass) will achieve this through strength (also known as resistance) training by lifting a heavy weight for only a few repetitions. The key to successful strength training are these low rep sets done with high resistance. Having stronger muscles benefits all of us in some way whether it be something as routine as pushing a heavy shopping cart around a supermarket or something critical in nature like the extreme demands of firefighting. More strength means every task you encounter in every day life is just plain easier.

2. Muscular Endurance
Endurance of a particular muscle or muscle group is defined as how many times it can repeat a lift or hold a static position. Increases in endurance are achieved by working against light to moderate resistance for many repetitions. Some increase in muscle mass will be seen with endurance training, but most will experience just a tightening or toning of the muscles worked. Muscular strength and endurance are invariably intertwined and any resistance training will increase both to a certain degree. We�ll discuss weight and repetition ranges later in this chapter, but it�s safe to assume that if you stay between the eight to fifteen repetition range, you�ll achieve the maximum possible benefits of both strength and endurance training.

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