Conditioning for Fighting Fire (not about passing the physical)

Dan's Knuckles · 04-20-2007, 01:18 PM

Hey, I saw somebody had an IAFF logo as their avatar so I figured I'd throw these two questions out there: What is the best way to improve fitness/conditioning for firefighting? And how long does it take to get your lungs back after a fire?

I ask this because I am a wacker, I am a bunker (a volunteer who lives in the station) in a mixed carreer and volunteer dept. I am not out of shape, I try to keep a base level of muscular endurance and strength, and as far as endurance goes, I consider myself pretty fit, but the other day we had a structure fire that took over 7 hours to put out, and after all that work when I had to help load 1200 feet of wet five inch I was just about dead, I could barely take my books to class afterwards. Is it even possible to get physically prepared for that? I mean, when I'm interior I use up my air slower than most of the other guys because I'm a little more fit than some others, but it's still completely exhausting. The other part is that my lungs are absolutely gone, I took in some smoke because I'm not a yard breather, and I tried to do some cardio, but I could barely last 20 minutes.

Jubacat · 04-20-2007, 01:38 PM

Having been through the same type of thing:

Firefighting is intense work. I would dare say http://www.rosstraining.com

As for the lungs, after a bad fire once, it took almost a week (5 days) until I felt fine again.

**Sonny** · 04-20-2007, 02:02 PM

I'll pm MikeMartial and Urban, they're both ugly fire fighters.

**MikeMartial** · 04-20-2007, 02:44 PM

Firefighting, regardless if it's structural, grassland, or industrial is damn brutal work. I've been a professional firefighter for 7 years, and a critical care paramedic for 13.

I'd have to agree, Ross Enamait's conditioning workouts are superb for cross-over benefits for on-the-job fitness. Firefighting is a combination of maximal strength, muscular endurance, anaerobic AND aerobic capacity---so bascially every facet of fitness can be taxed at one time or another. Essentially, it's not unlike the conditioning needed for MMA.

Crossfit-type workouts are another excellent way to increase muscular endurance and anaerobic capcity at the same time; they are very much in-line with Ross's methods. IMO and experience, this is more important than overall maximal strength. I know this will raise the hackles of some around here, but let me emphasis: I'm speaking from experience. Both types of strength are important, but traditionally in the fire service maximal strength is over-emphasised, and conditoning seems to take a back seat. This is a currently changing philosophy, as many fire services are going to a Crossfit-type training for members.

But at the end of the day, a fire will always kick the shit out of you, regardless of the shape you're in. I'm usually extremely fatigued, hungry as hell, and dehydrated by the end of a good structure fire; I'll also be sore for a few days. The only way around this is take some time off your workouts for recovery.

Even with the lastest protective gear and SCBA equipment, firefighters are still exposed to a lot of toxins from incomplete combustion; I've been able to smell "smoke" during my workouts a few days after a fire, and it's even stained my t-shirts. Any way around this? Other than using the proper gear (make sure that shit is done up right!) and SCBA equipment (even after the fire is out during salvage/overhaul), it wouldn't hurt to hit a local steam room.

I haven't been able to get a copy, but a few years back they did a study on some firefighters involved in 9/11. They had ongoing chronic conditions, ranging from migraines, skin conditions, etc. After going through a daily regime of hydration-steam-towel, hydration-steam-towel, they were staining the towels (purple was one color reported), and had decreased symptoms and complaints. (My point here being you accumulate toxins regardless of protection, but through sweating to can "detox" your body. See below)

So as a preventative measure, I see no problem at all with making sure you are properly re-hydrated and doing a mini-version of the steam room therapy. At the very least, it'll be a nice way to kick back after busting your ass!

If you have any questions, shoot me a PM. Urban will hopefully chime in here also---he has a plethora of knowledge when it comes to fitness and strength training, and is also involved in the fire service.

**Sonny** · 04-20-2007, 02:52 PM

On the up side, chicks will dig you.

**MikeMartial** · 04-20-2007, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonny

On the up side, chicks will dig you.

That one single upside beats all the downsides, even the risk of death

**Sonny** · 04-20-2007, 03:07 PM

I posted about this Firefighter who would show up at our highschool whenever we'd pull the fire alarm. The dude was jacked and all the girls would rush to the front to see him. I tried to overshadow him by flexing the bones in my chest but my 110 lb. frame was easily blocked.

Jubacat · 04-20-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonny

I posted about this Firefighter who would show up at our highschool whenever we'd pull the fire alarm. The dude was jacked and all the girls would rush to the front to see him. I tried to overshadow him by flexing the bones in my chest but my 110 lb. frame was easily blocked.

This is why I didn't make it as a pro-firefighter. The pro guys lifted a lot and that has never been my thing.

(I was a volunteer for a few years)

**Urban** · 04-20-2007, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeMartial

But at the end of the day, a fire will always kick the shit out of you, regardless of the shape you're in.

Quoted for truth. Compare it to farm work, you can be in great shape but you work hard all day and you're going to be beat no matter what.

Quote:

Urban will hopefully chime in here also

Don't mind if I do. Ross's infinite intensity and crossfit oughta get things going on the conditioning end, but it can always be made more specific and with a goal like firefighting in mind I think you can definitely make some good additions here and there. You're still going to be dead at the end of the day no matter what you do, but some specific conditioning drills may help you do the job better (which should be the goal anyways right?)

I like sled drags with an out of service fire hose. I have 125 feet to move and with a 50 foot hose attatched to my sled, that gives me a 75 foot sprint followed by a 50 foot hand over hand pull. shoot for 10 sets done on a repeating 2 minute repeating timer (so work+rest = 2 minutes). Go ahead, load your sled up to 100 lbs and give it a shot. For those who won't buy a sled (like me) I offer this alternative:

Here's how the eye is attatched:

Sandbag work. Make a sandbag, shoulder it 50 times (25 to each shoulder) in 20 minutes. If you can accomplish that, repeat next week with more weight. IRL you almost NEVER have to firefighter carry an unconscious victim (at least I've always been tought extremity carries and drags work better and won't throw out your back) but getting used to moving around dead, unstable weight will only help you. you can also use your sandbag for carries (bear hug style, zercher style, firefighter cary style, etc.) which brings me to...

Farmer's walks! Love these things. By all means, make your own handles (or buy a pair Mr. Fancy Pants) and you can use the same rep scheme as a I do with sled drags (100ft walks every 2 minutes). Its a total body exercise that will kick your ass... as far as specificity is concerned though, maybe not so important. However...

Sledgehamer swings bring a lot to the table. Asside from actually mimicking swinging an axe, beating a tire with a large sledge will hit your grip a lot harder than you expect. I like this as a finisher at the end of my conditioning work, most swings I can do in 5 minutes should do the trick. Or as its own session, sets of 50 swings (overhead or diagonal) alternating hand positions every 5 swings with 1 minute rests wouldn't be a bad way to go. I like a heavy sledge (a 20lb does the trick for me) but lighter sledges do have their purposes too. I may make an adjustable sledge in the near future just so I can have a pic to demonstrate how to do it, but generally you can buy what you need and adjustability isn't normally an issue. While you have that big tire though....

how about doing some tire flips! flipping a 600 lb tire is a great workout and on occasion you may find yourself in a position where you have to move an object in much the same fashion you would flip this beast (pushing into the tire insteat of lifting up). Another good finisher or good as part of a medley (50 sledge swings, 4 tire flips, etc., repeat).

All in all what you've got to look at is what fatigues you the most and train to do that. Bear crawls with a harness attached to the sled (or even without it) to mimic crawling through a smokey house, hill sprints (with a sandbag if you're a stud) or stair running to get used to going up highrise stairs, etc. Figure out what fatigues you and spend some time practing it. That's all there is to it.

As far as a lifting plan, much to my dismay, you need conditioning a lot more than you need heavy weights, so I limit my weightlifting to 2 sessions per week (not including grip training which I do as a hobby up to 4 times a week) with an emphasis mostly on peak strength (an exception made for a 20 rep overhead squat goal of mine). I would like to post glowing results from methods like complex training and whatnot, but I haven't had the discipline to stick with them long enough to yeild results. I lift heavy things, strive for progress every week (change things when I don't get it) and by and large I go home happy. I'll some day return to the allure of complex training, but for now, I'm good with heavy shit.

Hope that helps! I think Mike's right though: Fires will fatigue you no matter how hard you train, but good training will help and improve performance. Good luck!

Hey Mike, I don't think I told anyone on here yet, but I got my first gig! Its a little bit of an odd gig and the pay is shit, but I'm PSYCHED to be working! I start training on monday.