I love writing, and I really love writing about subjects pertinent to firefighting, such as fitness and how the two co-exist. So when I was asked to contribute this month I was more than willing. Problem is, they gave me a tough topic to cover and probably one of the more unpopular ones.
Members in the fire service tend to fall into two distinct categories: gorillas and gazelles. The gorillas are the guys that love to throw around weight and slam plates–most of the guys I work with fall into this category. Gazelles are a bit different; they love endurance, love going long and would prefer if most calls required a 30-story ascent to the fire floor so they could get warmed up properly.
If you want to be king of this jungle though, to really be an ace, you gotta be more of a mix that can do both. Go long BUT be able to do work during the duration. Otherwise you are just a one-trick pony. You might be able to lift big weight, but fade way too quick and cannot recover–or you cannot muscle up and do any real work because you’re all lungs and legs.
Rescuers that love to lift don’t have any issue with doing dumbbell and barbell work. We see you, working out on the apparatus floor, curls for the girls/guys, and a whole lot of bench pressing going on. You can fill a duty shirt, but you would have a hard time touching your toes or moving quickly for any extended period of time.
I’m telling you, brothers and sisters, you gotta have a little bit of diesel mixed with your turbo. Build an engine that will take you to and from any emergency scene, be able to do all sorts of work and do it for as long as could possibly be required.
This article is supposed to list three types of exercises to get you best prepared for being an endurance rescuer. Mr. Egherman is going to spot you some power and strength advice (see p. 60). So here is what I’ve got for you.
Go Long
First, ensure that you are regularly participating in some sort of aerobic activity–swim, bike, run, elliptical, jump rope, jazzercise, whatever–that requires a focused attention and sustained activity for longer periods of time. Note: Ten minutes is not a “longer” period of time; I’m talking about 30 minutes, minimum. This means you are moving/operating at a pace or effort that can be sustained. If at first that’s simply walking, then do that–but do it for a full 30 minutes.
For this sustained effort, you should be under your lactate threshold, meaning your body is burning fat stores for energy, not sugar. Most importantly, you’re not producing any of the nasty byproduct that comes from it–lactic acid–which you might recognize in the form of extreme soreness the day after. Going hard for 10 minutes is completely different than sustaining for 30+ minutes. They use two completely different energy systems, and all good athletes tend to be able to draw from both of them.
Yes, I know you’ve got bad knees, a bad back or a busted shoulder, but if you want to ever get them fixed up you need to build up some endurance, perform specified repetition and get some blood flow, movement and range of motion back into your body. This is no different than the PT you do when you are coming back from an injury–just less specified. If you cannot walk at an elevated or brisk pace for 30 minutes, then you should seek a new career path.
When you’re getting started, shoot for twice a week at a minimum of 30 minutes each session. These workouts should be done at a “conversational” pace–you should be able to carry on a conversation during the exercise. You should NOT be gasping for air. When coaching athletes I tell them to operate at a rate of perceived exertion of 7 or lower based on a scale of 1 to 10.
I know that this is a bit ambiguous, but it is kind of meant to be. We are establishing a baseline and, above and beyond all else, setting an expectation and standard for what “endurance” in our job actually looks like. There is no “one size fits all” in our job or when it comes to training for it. What we are working toward is your ability to respond with appropriate energy for a single event (incident) lasting up to an hour, with an initial surge lasting 20—30 minutes, and to be able to maintain a minimum standard of response with regard to power and threshold for three or four working events in a 24-hour period.
I’m not claiming that building up your endurance is going to make you immune to blowing out your body, I’m talking about being able to keep swinging back while you’re getting your ass kicked. You would be amazed at what putting in 30—60 minutes twice a week on the treadmill, pavement or pool will do for your body–not to mention establishing a higher resting metabolic rate so that you shed a few of the much unneeded pounds that are only going to wear and weight you down even more.
Incorporate Endurance Sets
Second, try to incorporate a bit of ongoing, continuous activity into your current lifting routine. You might have to drop some weight initially, but you’ll build it back quickly. A lot of popular workouts require you to absolutely crush it for periods of 5 to 10 minutes and are awesome for building some raw power and force. These definitely have their place in any athlete’s training program. However, I like backing off of the intensity, dropping weight and removing the drive for quick completion, and focusing instead on increasing the reps or the duration. Or, consider doing the lifts back to back while incorporating set endurance blocks like a 10-minute or one-mile run in between exercises. Adding endurance sets into your workout will act as a natural governor and force your body to adapt to a constant load.
Most people have zero business throwing serious weight overhead or doing complex lifts for time. Slow them down, nail your form and technique and then add weight and intensity. Think about what you’re doing when you are building power; visualize what your body should be doing and how the muscle groups should be working. When you’re working on endurance you need to get your heart rate up and elevated and keep it there.
Shake Things Up
Looking for specifics? In addition to adding in a couple sets of strict cardio and endurance every week, try one of these workouts on for size.
Workout #1
In this workout, you start with 100 reps of an exercise and then move through 10 exercises total, decreasing the number of reps by 10 each time.
- 100 air squats
- 90 sit-ups (butterfly style, touching the ground above your head and at your toes)
- 80 lunges
- 70 mountain climbers, knees all the way to elbows
- 60 wall balls
- 50 push-ups
- 40 Turkish get-ups, 20 each side
- 30 pull-ups (no “kipping” until you break form; if you cannot do a strict pull-up, you shouldn’t be doing a more intense modification)
- 20 sand bell or ball slams
- 10 burpees
Workout #2
This is a workout I call “240 reps.” It’s a different way to shake things up and give you a bit of “say so” in the decision-making process of your workout, and it requires only a barbell. You start and finish the workout with a one-mile run; in between, you perform four exercises for a total of 240 reps, divided between the exercises however way you want.
- Thruster
- Row
- Sit-up
- Deadlift
I recommend 60 reps of each exercise, but you can also devote more repetitions to an area that you need to work on. For example, if I want to focus more on my core, I will perform 100 sit-ups, 20 thrusters, 60 deadlifts and 60 rows. Just get your 240 reps in and work on your weak areas!
Gorilla & Gazelle
When it comes to being prepared for the 0200 HRS wakeup call that leads to a fire attack and overhaul operation stretching until dawn, you won’t get by on either strength or endurance–you need both. Most firefighters naturally gravitate more toward strength training, but it’s important to push yourself to incorporate endurance exercises as well. And remember: That doesn’t mean you have to pound the pavement for 12 miles. With a little creativity, you can get your heart rate up for longer periods of time, and train your body to be better prepared for the demands of the next shift … and the next … and the next.
