Conditioning for firefighters

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Hi guys/gals,

I've recently been accepted into a fire department, and during some of our training I was thinking about the conditioning required for the job. In your experience/opinion, what would you consider the most applicable conditioning methods? For strength I'm already doing deads, squats, dips, pullups, sandbag work, etc. I've also been following ross's methods for conditioning ICT, EIT, burpee's, hill sprints, etc. I was just curious on everyone else's opinion, whether you are a FF or not.

Many thanks!
 
Do something you like because your conditioning will rarely if ever challenged at work.
 
Eat chili and practice pool/pingpong/foosball. God I wish I was a firefighter.
 
Depends what country your in... I get the impression that the USA is very different to here (the UK)
 
JRT6 said:
Do something you like because your conditioning will rarely if ever challenged at work.
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Bullshit!

When you are wearing breathing apparatus, plus all the other gear including a suit that is like a thick winter blanket. Then dragged the hose out, smashed the door in and gone inside to do a primary search and attack the fire with people screaming at you and a crowd filming your every move on smart phones. You can start sucking big time air with a very high heart rate. If you need to drag someone out it goes higher again.

Work on your power, and strength with all the classic advice and keep your cardio up, all the things you mentioned are perfect.

Its an awesome job, you are gonna love it. Congratulations.
 
Benjixxx said:
Bullshit!

When you are wearing breathing apparatus, plus all the other gear including a suit that is like a thick winter blanket. Then dragged the hose out, smashed the door in and gone inside to do a primary search and attack the fire with people screaming at you and a crowd filming your every move on smart phones. You can start sucking big time air with a very high heart rate. If you need to drag someone out it goes higher again.

Work on your power, and strength with all the classic advice and keep your cardio up, all the things you mentioned are perfect.

Its an awesome job, you are gonna love it. Congratulations.
Click to expand...

Yep and that shit happens every day on the job. Oh wait no it doesn't and all the fat ass firemen everybody sees on squad runs aren't really doing the day to day job.
 
Most (all) firefighters seldom do the heroic things we expect them to. You do need to have the physical capacity to do them, but first you must train for the academy you're going to. Find out the physical requirements of that, then when you're in the job focus on getting strong, staying lean-ish, and having the conditioning to run up a flight of stairs or carry someone. Because you will rarely have to do the difficult things the job asks of you does not mean you shouldn't neglect it. Be an overachiever, you'll get noticed. Like he said above, make it fun.
 
Benjixxx said:
Bullshit!

When you are wearing breathing apparatus, plus all the other gear including a suit that is like a thick winter blanket. Then dragged the hose out, smashed the door in and gone inside to do a primary search and attack the fire with people screaming at you and a crowd filming your every move on smart phones. You can start sucking big time air with a very high heart rate. If you need to drag someone out it goes higher again.

Work on your power, and strength with all the classic advice and keep your cardio up, all the things you mentioned are perfect.

Its an awesome job, you are gonna love it. Congratulations.
Click to expand...



Or responding to dead kids in car accidents. That's pretty much what you'll do on a day to day basis. That and assist ambulances on medical calls.
 
JRT6 said:
Yep and that shit happens every day on the job. Oh wait no it doesn't and all the fat ass firemen everybody sees on squad runs aren't really doing the day to day job.
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I'm sorry you have that impression of your local emergency workers. No it doesn't happen every day but a lot more often than you would think. What do you do for a job that makes you such an expert?
 
Benjixxx said:
I'm sorry you have that impression of your local emergency workers. No it doesn't happen every day but a lot more often than you would think. What do you do for a job that makes you such an expert?
Click to expand...

Normally I don't feel I have to justify myself but I have been responding with every single squad run in my assigned zone for the past 20 years and have been to every city fire or injury car wreck when I'm on duty. I am in no way diminishing the horror firemen have to constantly deal with but the plain truth of the matter is that physical fitness has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Here's a question for you: How much time does a Scott air pack allow in a structure fire/ self contained breathing event, and how many times can you switch tanks before you're taken off line?
 
Keyboard said:
Hi guys/gals,

I've recently been accepted into a fire department, and during some of our training I was thinking about the conditioning required for the job. In your experience/opinion, what would you consider the most applicable conditioning methods? For strength I'm already doing deads, squats, dips, pullups, sandbag work, etc. I've also been following ross's methods for conditioning ICT, EIT, burpee's, hill sprints, etc. I was just curious on everyone else's opinion, whether you are a FF or not.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm not a firefighter...but have you considered doing Ross's 50 day II plan while wearing a weight vest? Maybe start out light first?
 
Try lifting large buckets of cash money that belongs to the tax pater and dumping it into really tall toilets. Then do a box jump up to the flusher and let her rip.

I kid. My buddy is a fire fighter, you can basically do whatever you want. But some conditioning for the training would do you well -- sleds and shit.

Benjixxx said:
I'm sorry you have that impression of your local emergency workers. No it doesn't happen every day but a lot more often than you would think. What do you do for a job that makes you such an expert?
Click to expand...

Let's be real. A typical day for a firefighter is pretty legit. The intermittent fighting of actual fires is not the defining scope of their job anymore.

Competitive as shit field though. Really hard to get in and get a solid job these days.
 
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JRT6 said:
Yep and that shit happens every day on the job. Oh wait no it doesn't and all the fat ass firemen everybody sees on squad runs aren't really doing the day to day job.
Click to expand...

If you're in a high risk area its sure as fuck to be better prepared than under prepared. If there's a strong likelihood of dealing with bushfires in the summer you'd want to be in top physical condition.
 
JRT6 said:
Normally I don't feel I have to justify myself but I have been responding with every single squad run in my assigned zone for the past 20 years and have been to every city fire or injury car wreck when I'm on duty. I am in no way diminishing the horror firemen have to constantly deal with but the plain truth of the matter is that physical fitness has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Here's a question for you: How much time does a Scott air pack allow in a structure fire/ self contained breathing event, and how many times can you switch tanks before you're taken off line?
Click to expand...

And in those 20 years of going to fires... How many have you been inside and fought? I have a fair idea what the answer is.


To give the advice to someone looking to get into the job that "you dont need to be fit because you will rarely fight fires and when you do physical fitness has absolutely nothing to do with it" is plain idiotic. Do you know what the number one killer of firefighters is worldwide?

Cardiac arrest.

When we start a shift we dont know what is going to happen. It could be nothing, it could be a car accident, a car into a train, a house fire, a car fire, an appartment fire, a factory fire, a wild bush fire, assisting paramedics with moving a morbidly obese heart attack patient, the list goes on and on. I've personally attended all those things and many more and I can tell you its hard work.

Are there unfit firefighters? Of course there are. And many of them are still very good at their job. But the best ones and the ones that will be able to push through when the unfit ones are spent are the fit firefighters.

If you want to do this job and do it well, you get fit and strong and stay that way. You never want to be in the position of having to try getting to sleep at night, knowing that someone died because you could have done more. When you are selected to do this job, you are chosen to be there when people need you what-ever that may be.

What are the chances of two jet aircraft flying into two towers over 1300 feet high each? How often does that happen? But on that day some of those fire fighters were faced with having to climb 110 stories in full turnout gear, B.A on their back, break in gear and hoses. You think those guys were unfit? Do you think "physical fitness has absolutely nothing to do with it"?
 
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Get off your high horse bud. I have gone into burning buildings and pulled people out because I'm already on the road when a fire call goes out. You can whine and cry with all the inferiority you want it doesn't change the fact the 99% of firefighting is running the ambulance and occasionally saving an insured basement or two.

Here's a tid bit: firemen don't need to run because they're not allowed to. Running with turnout gear on and all the hoses and shit on the ground is too dangerous. The first fire truck that gets to a fire doesn't deploy people in the burning structure. Their job is logistics, getting hoses hooked up etc. Then the OIC has to arrive and coordinate what the plan of action is. Go running into a structure fire before that and you'll be looking for a new job.
 
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You know what firefighters do around me? They respond to horrific car crashes and pick up pieces of people and children off the road. That's what a firefighter does. What that requires has nothing to do with how many pushups you can do.
 
JRT6 said:
You know what firefighters do around me? They respond to horrific car crashes and pick up pieces of people and children off the road. That's what a firefighter does. What that requires has nothing to do with how many pushups you can do.
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Regardless, they should still take time to be in good shape and conditioning. It's just being professional. You prepare for the worst, and the day to day is easy.
 
JRT6 said:
The first fire truck that gets to a fire doesn't deploy people in the burning structure. Their job is logistics, getting hoses hooked up etc. Then the OIC has to arrive and coordinate what the plan of action is. Go running into a structure fire before that and you'll be looking for a new job.
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Lol

You're an idiot.

I'm done.
 
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