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We all know the days of pick-up basketball and two-hand touch football at the fire station are over, but does that mean the treadmill and the bench press are the only things left? Many things interrupt our workout schedules at the fire station. We have our normal call volume, drills, Desire2Learn, community events, and the list goes on and on. So how are we supposed to keep in shape? Additionally, every station has people with a wide range of abilities, whether it be strength or endurance. So how do we try and workout together?
I am not going to endorse any spe- cific workout regimen, but I think there are merits too many different exercises programs. Some workout regimens re- quire people to be timed, which helps people to track improvement against themselves, without it being an all-out shift competition. Exercises that can be timed that don’t lend themselves to firefighters getting injured include, but are not limited to: push-ups, pull-ups, laps around the station, lunges, sit-ups, and air-squats. Any combination of these exercises done with intensity can help to promote the en- durance needed for the fire ground. Let’s be honest that most suppression incidents will be less than twenty minutes of “real” work, but it can be very intense work. Putting some of these exercises together for twenty minutes doesn’t take much planning and even the busiest firehouses can usually fit thirty minutes into their schedule. I am not throwing out the tread- mill or the bench press because they are still relevant and important, but if any of you are like me, you need to change things up. I can get on the treadmill and run the same pace I have for fifteen years and I don’t think at that point I am challenging myself at all. I doubt my bench press has changed much in years either but incor- porating new exercises that don’t injure me has helped me to train muscles that were missed for years.
Having had back surgery already I am keenly aware of my back and what NOT to do. We all know about lifting with our legs and not our backs, stetching our muscles before and after working out and hydrating before, during and after excercings, but “core” muscle training is often forgotten. Only in the last year have I worked on my core muscles and that has helped alleviate strain on my back. Unfortunately, core muscles aren’t worked when we hit the bench press or the treadmill. I am not advocating any workout regimen out there, but most of them have benefits if we tailor them to our ability and most of them incorporate core muscle training also.
Working out is not always fun, but personally I would like to retire knowing that I left the job being able to do it as well as I did in the prime of my career. It is always going to be a battle because our bodies take a beating in this profession, but keeping fit in the firehouse benefits each member, builds shift unity and our families will appreciate it down the road.
