Getting worn out at scenes? How to improve..endurance?

[mourgent]

Hi guys,

I am a firefighter with a department and I've been on for about six months. I do ok at fire scenes, I try to always find something to do and stay busy.

I have noticed tonight while at a structure fire that I get winded badly. I am a young guy in my twenties, and in decent shape. Im pretty athletic in body build and don't feel under powered, but I get tired quickly.

The best way I can describe it is if you go running for a bit, then feeling you get when you start to get winded, heart pumping fast, etc.

I notice this happens MUCH worse when I am wearing a SCBA.

I keep up with everyone, but it makes me wonder how some of the older guys are pushing just as hard as I am if not harder, for the same amount of time or longer and are doing ok. I don't know if they are fighting it like I am or if they are just in better condition?

I have decent strength but I think I need to work on muscle endurance & cardio from the way I felt tonight.

Anyone have any advice in what I should do to help? Thanks!

[firecrow]

3 words.

CARDIO VASCULAR CONDITIONING

Regardless of how naturally in shape you are, wearing an SCBA, breathing bottled air, and carrying equipment under extended stress conditions is not something the average human body has evolved to do in a normal day. You need to train your body for these stresses in order to extend your endurance.

Cardio vascular exercises will improve your heart and lung performance and enable you to last longer with less stress enabling you to stay more focused on the tasks at hand. Running, jogging and body weight exercises at minimum should be part of a firefighter's daily and weekly fitness regime. The older you get the more important it becomes. Also keep in mind the #1 killer of firefighters is NOT fire or smoke. Its heart attack. This is why conditioning is critical.

I'm 40 years old and have made a daily fitness regime that include cardio vascular workout on a treadmill (1 hour a day 5 days a week) plus 3 to 4 free weight exercises afterwards, machine and cable exercises for strength. I've been doing that for 2.5 years and I routinely outlast younger rookies that are full of piss and vinegar and have dropped a lot of weight and leaned out.

If you're new to exercise, join a gym and get a good trainer to start off and do some reading and eventually you'll be knowledgeable enough about your own body to run your own long term program. A good investment for a firefighter is a home gym (if the club is not for you) where you can customize your equipment and environment. I run on the treadmill while watching my favorite shows on a big screen TV - the time passes fast.

In conjunction with exercise is your nutricianal needs. If you're working out regularly you will benefit from some basic vitamin suppliments. I take a GNC Ultra Mega Gold and a basic 3-6-9 Oil in capsule form. The vitamin suppliment tops you up on the things your body needs in quantity you can't get from straight food and the oils help you healing, your joints and your heart. I take a protein shake after my workout to give my body the building blocks to rebuild damaged muscle and tissue.

If you do this you will notice a significant improvement in your performance on the fireground and indeed your overall health, especially as you age.

[dmleblanc]

I won't attempt to add anything to Firecrow's statements about cardiovascular fitness, because I'm the last person you'd want to give you fitness advice:p . I will say, however, that your age, or more specifically, your experience level (6 months on the department) has a LOT to do with your endurance. The reason the "older" guys seem to be able to handle it better is that they have more experience...therefore, they don't get as excited at fire scenes as a rookie does. That's not meant as a jab at you, it's just what I've observed.

Think about it...dressing up in 40 pounds of fully encapsulating gear, then strapping a rubber mask over your face that leaves you dependent on a mechanical device for the very air you breath, then engaging in strenuous physical activity, is NOT a natural act. Everyone is claustrophobic to an extent....maybe not enough to consciously affect you, but subconsciously your body is reacting to it...increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, etc., before you even begin working. Long experience working in breathing air will tend to get you more used to it, and your body will not react so much.

Another factor is how much fire you've seen in your six months on the job. You will naturally get excited on every run when you're new, and seeing real fire will get your adrenalin elevated to astronomical levels. When you crash from the adrenalin surge, you'll feel exhausted. With experience, you'll get less worked up at incidents and be able to work on more of an even keel.

One of the hardest things to teach new firefighters, in my experience, is just to SLOW DOWN. That adrenalin gets pumping and it's hard to control your actions...people start running for the trucks, driving too fast, running on the fireground, making mistakes and getting hurt. It also causes you to wear out quicker.

Sooner or later you'll learn to slow down a bit, pace yourself, get some fire experience under your belt and you'll cope better with the physical stress. Then you won't burn out so quickly.

Also, make sure to keep your body in good physical condition, so that doesn't become a factor.

[JHR1985]

bleachers with a weighted vest or if u have access to one a tower with a 2.5 50ft section or in bunkers. Start with doing, say 70 stories as a way to break urself in

[Drjmilus]

Firecrow's input is great... The hour of cardio might be added to with weight vest work for half of that time. Once you do 1 hour of cardio 3 times a week, which is great, work on that. Start out with just 5-10 lbs. in the weight vest on the step will for the next 30 minutes. 60 steps per minute. Watch yourself. 10 lbs can be lot. Add 5 lbs. every 2-3 weeks until you are to reach 20 lbs. for 30 minutes. Do that for 2-3 weeks.

Now work on that: After your 30 minutes of cardio, Do the first 5 minutes with 35 lbs on the step mill. take out 5 lbs, and finish your 30 minutes. Do that 3 times a week for 3 weeks.

Add on: After your 30 minutes of cardio, start with 40 lbs. for 5 minutes. Take out 10 lbs. and finish your 30 minutes.

Keep increasing until your first 5 minutes is with 70 lbs. and the rest of your second 30 minutes is with the 30 lbs.

As for the weight training days, 3 weight training exercise is great. Now try 3 super sets: like:
1. 10-20 Pull Ups and Weighted walking lunges (wt?)
2. 20-50 Push ups and jump rope for 2 min
3. Decline leg press (http://www.fireagility.com/cpat_events.php) slide downt o dummy drag.... and Lat pulls to failure at 10 reps.

Start with 3 sets of these super sets and work up to 6...

This kind of super setting is very productive because it makes you use a major muscle group of you upper body then one of your lower body. It makes your heart work harder and you muscles work harder.


This type of workout will call on not just your oxidative energy systems but your phosphagen and fast glycolysis as well... maximum bang for the buck. Try it out!!!!

Dr. jen
www.fireagility.com

[BKDRAFT]

Hi guys,

I am a firefighter with a department and I've been on for about six months. I do ok at fire scenes, I try to always find something to do and stay busy.

I have noticed tonight while at a structure fire that I get winded badly. I am a young guy in my twenties, and in decent shape. Im pretty athletic in body build and don't feel under powered, but I get tired quickly.

The best way I can describe it is if you go running for a bit, then feeling you get when you start to get winded, heart pumping fast, etc.

I notice this happens MUCH worse when I am wearing a SCBA.

I keep up with everyone, but it makes me wonder how some of the older guys are pushing just as hard as I am if not harder, for the same amount of time or longer and are doing ok. I don't know if they are fighting it like I am or if they are just in better condition?

I have decent strength but I think I need to work on muscle endurance & cardio from the way I felt tonight.

Anyone have any advice in what I should do to help? Thanks!

You might think you’re in great shape, and you probably are. What you need to keep in mind is that anxiety will have a lot do with your performance. First try hard to keep yourself calm while responding, and on scene. When you’re on scene you are probably working 110% without realizing it. It’s natural. Your body works a lot harder breathing from an SCBA as well. In my opinion it has to do a lot with your head as it did with me. It's a mind game. When I get tired I just know it's in my head. Your brain wants you to stop, and you MUST keep going. Your body ALWAYS has more to give. Everyone is feeling the pain you are. You must not give up. When I start feeling pain I greet it with a smile, and keep working through it. The difference between a good and great athlete is this. They both feel pain, however, a great athlete has found ways to work with the pain.

[PureAdrenalin]

The first rule I learned when I got into this business: At a code or a fire, the first thing you do, is take your own pulse.

Why? Because it makes you aware of how jacked up you really are, and if you realize that, you will relax and settle down. I used to get so much adrenaline going that I couldn't even put shoes on to respond to the station.

[Geinandputitout]

Have you ever labored for a living? Our best fire scene guys are ones that have earned their living with their "back" before they joined the fire service. Try hanging drywall, roofing, or get a side job with a moving company.

Don't get me wrong, I work out every day at the station and at the gym on my days off. I think it is critical, but this is a blue-collar job, and if you don't have any experience laboring - a couple of years could be invaluable.

You will learn how to pace work, you will become stronger, and you will be better off at fire scenes after the rush of adrenaline wears off.

[firecrow]

This kind of super setting is very productive because it makes you use a major muscle group of you upper body then one of your lower body. It makes your heart work harder and you muscles work harder.

x2

Drjmilus's recommendations are good because they also mimic the kinds of things you'll expect of your body on the fireground. I really didn't go into much detail on the other exercises I do, but one of my personal favorites is the SCBA Ball Slam. Its pure evil and guaranteed to rip your legs, core and shoulders. Just put on an SCBA (no mask) and take a 12.5lb medicine ball designed for slamming. Raise it above your head standing up and slam the ball to the floor going into a squat, let the ball bounce once pushing it into the floor, then catch it in the squat position. Then stand back up with the ball in your hands, raise above your head and slightly behind your head, and repeat. I do 3 sets of 16 with no more than 30 seconds of rest between sets. If I feel extra energetic or its a no-run day, I add an extra set or two until I fall over (LOL).

Doing things like dummy drags and other exercises that approximate the movements you'd use during fireground and rescue operations will give you the best bang for your buck - also don't underestimate stretching and flexibility exercises - firefighters at times have to be contortionists. One of the first trainings I was on I watch a 230lb FF in full gear pass through a hole in a wall through 16" studs, SCBA and all. After I saw that, I added some yoga to my routine (during warm up).