A week in the life of the Ultimate Firefighter Workout...

Monday
Horizontal Push: Decline pushups on a Stability Ball (2 x6reps)
Core:Front Plank ( 2 x 30 sec hold)
Corrective: Wall Slide ( 2 x10 reps)
Horizontal Pull: Inverted Row (2 x6 reps)
Lower Body:Val Slide Single DB Lunge ( 2 x6 reps)

Tuesday
Recovery & Regeneration workout
10 minute bike @ 60% Heart rate
foam roll
static stretch


Wednesday
Horizontal Push:Spiderman Pushup ( 3x15-20 reps)
Core:Side Bridge ( 2x8 reps)
Corrective:Glute Activation ( 2x 12 reps)
Vertical Pull:Machine Row ( 3 x15-20 reps)
Lower Body:Bulgarian Split Squat (3x 15-20reps)
Intervals on Bike x 10 minutes
Hip Flexor Stretch post ride 2 x30 sec each leg

Thursday
Recovery workout:
Pool jog with flotation vest x 10 minutes
Foam Roll
static stretch


Friday
Horizontal Push:Db floor press ( 2x10 reps)
Core:Rotational Core ( 2x10 reps)
Corrective:Ankle mobility/TKO’s ( 1 x 15 reps, left, front, right each ankle)
Horizontal Pull:1arm db row (2 x 10 reps)
Lower Body:Hip Thrusts ( 2x10 reps)
Agility Work or/ Interval training x 10-15 minutes

Saturday
OFF/ re-charge batteries.

Sunday
AM Surf x 2-3 hours depending on surf, day, crowds, idiots on the beach, shop, and take dog for long hike/walk x 1 hour.

What's the Best Exercise for Firefighters?

For my money...it's the good ole pushup!

Why? Because when you perform the push up, you recruit and strengthen the serratus anterior which stabilizes the scapula, and protects the shoulder.

In my opinion the scapula is the real star of the show with regard to shoulder injuries, and according to Lear and Gross (J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 1998 Sep; 28(3): 146-57) their study supports the clinical use of push-up progressions to facilitate activation of the serratus anterior and the upper trapezius during upper extremity rehabilitation.

Since the scapula is HALF of the glenohumeral joint (the shoulder joint) and is essentially the foundation of the shoulder, this becomes an important point. Any altered scapular muscle function, weakness, or inability to position the scapula and then stabilize it results in a direct affect on the shoulder joint with dire consequences.

These include glenohumeral instability leading to arthritis, impingement, rotator cuff tendonitis/tendinosis, rotator cuff tears, labrum injuries, all injuries that firefighters suffer.

So the bottom line? Crappy scapular position leads to crappy scapular stability, which leads to crappy rotator cuff function, which leads to shoulder injuries.

Make sure pushups are part of your program design.

Be Safe

HOW TO STOP A HEART ATTACK FROM HAPPENNING ON THE FIREGROUND!

The risk of heart attack is highest when firefighters are working at a fire scene — with increased odds ranging from 10 to 100 times the normal risk of heart attack.

So the question is…what do we do about it?

The key to developing a heart capable of sustaining exertion and recovering from that exertion lies in the understanding of the rhythms found in nature.

These rhythms are also found in the human heartbeat. It goes up and comes down, in a simple wave of exertion and recovery

The best way then to train the heart is via a cyclical exercise protocol where the rhythm and patterns of the human heart is mimicked. Where you train recovery as well as exertion.

Cyclical exercise, where the body undergoes exertion and rest, exertion and rest, (as on the fire ground) trains the bodies recovery physiology as well as your exertion physiology.

That form of training mimics the heart’s physiology of contracting and relaxing, which in turn produces a greater heart rate variability. Over half a dozen prospective studies have shown that reduced HRV predicts sudden death in patients with MI.

Reduced HRV also appears to be a marker of fatal ventricular arrhythmia. Moreover, a small number of studies have begun to suggest that reduced HRV may predict risk of survival even among individuals free of CHD

The bottom line is that cyclical exercise teaches the heart to tolerate chaos and how to recover from it…same as the fire ground.

Be Safe

Heart Attacks continue to be the leading cause of firefighter deaths. Most coming after heavy exertion on the fireground.

It shouldn't surprise us, but cause us to take action.

First thing to do is to figure out what are your chances of having a heart attack are in the next ten years according to the The Framingham Heart Study Coronary Disease Risk Prediction Score Sheet.

This tool effectively predicts the 10-year risk for coronary heart disease based on age, diabetes, smoking, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

For men you can get the score sheet here. For women go here.

If you didn't score well, then some lifestyle changes are in order. The whole point is to move as far away as possible from being a LODD, Line-Of Duty Death.

That starts with knowing where you're at.


Be Safe

Heart Attacks continue to be the leading cause of firefighter deaths. Most coming after heavy exertion on the fireground.

It shouldn't surprise us, but cause us to take action.

First thing to do is to figure out what are your chances of having a heart attack are in the next ten years according to the The Framingham Heart Study Coronary Disease Risk Prediction Score Sheet.


This tool effectively predicts the 10-year risk for coronary heart disease based on age, diabetes, smoking, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

For men you can get the score sheet here. For women go here.

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I read the stuff while waiting for a BLS ambulance to transport a patient, free time @ the station, Dr.s appointments, the Vet, you get the point.

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I figured some of you might be the same, so I added a subcription button to the blog on the right. I think it's a great bargain.

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Thanks for reading.