INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM

The basic idea behind this program is to get all Savannah fire service and local 574 IAFF union personal trainers and firefighters on the “same sheet of music”. At the time of writing there are several Fire Department, union and civilian strength and conditioning coaches. These coaches come from different backgrounds and this is reflected in their various approaches to physical training. The physical requirements for each firefighter, no matter what station or battalion, remain the same, yet, the instruction varies significantly. Also, another very important concern is no matter how successful and knowledgeable the fitness trainers are, because of their limited numbers; there is no way for them to practically serve the entire union and department.  By establishing a service wide physical and health training standard and educating the small unit leaders and above we will accomplish three major objectives. The first and most important, we will improve the quality and length of the firefighter’s life. Second, the program will lead to an overall control of injuries. This includes a reduction in the overall number of injuries per employees as well as the severity of these injuries, thus saving the department money and improving firefighter quality of life. Third, improvement in performance on the fire ground through a standardized fitness program. This is based on the fundamental philosophy that we want to be better tomorrow than we are today.

 In order for a fitness program to be adopted, used, and “survive” for any lengthy period it needs to accomplish several goals. It needs to be an easy to read and use format, such as “fill in the blank” schedules and routines. Because of our 24/48 hour work schedule, busy daily work calendar, and various fitness levels the program would need to have a flexible schedule. The numbers of fitness advisors is limited so the program would need to be formatted into an easy to distribute medium, such as this start of an online fitness manual, for all unit leaders to read and educate themselves with.

 This online manual is an attempt at answering these union/department needs. The philosophy behind the program is that firefighters are athletes. We depend on our physical fitness for job success, we, therefore, are athletes and must live and train like it. This lifestyle requires us to exercise specifically for firefighter tasks, intake the proper nutrition, and remain healthy and injury free.

 With these requirements and goals/needs in mind, the program is broken down into several focus areas. It is not practical to jump into a routine without a basic understanding of what makes up a complete firefighter athlete. Each area must initially be studied and understood separately before being combined into a program or routine.   What is a fit firefighter? What physical attributes does he or she posses? Looking at the many physical tasks a firefighter might be asked to do at any given moment you realize it can range from heavy lifting and carrying, overcoming long periods of fatigue, climbing over and under many objects and resisting various injuries, to name a few. From this we begin to understand that there are no physical attributes we should ignore when we are in the gym preparing for these different tasks. This online manual will attempt to break fitness down into several easy to understand groups, each equally important and required for a firefighter to be at his or her best.

-Strength. This physical attribute is the ability of a firefighter to lift him or herself or an outside load, such as other people or equipment. For simplicity, this category combines several subcategories of strength such as power and muscular endurance into one chapter.


-Heart and lung development (HLD). Typically referred to as endurance training, as the title implies, we are mainly focusing on strengthening the heart and lungs of the firefighter.


-Flexibility. A very important but commonly ignored attribute in athletes. By increasing the firefighter’s range of motion in the limbs and torso we see an increase in performance and a decrease in pain and injury.


-Work specific tasks. This chapter consists of movement based drills which increase coordination, agility as well as strengthen the firefighter’s trunk and lower torso. These exercises mimic fire ground movements and tasks.


-Core 360. This chapter promotes strength and stability and all directions in relation to the firefighter’s body.


-Warm-up and injury prevention. In order for the firefighter to engage in physically demanding exercise he or she must prepare the body for movement. This preparation reduces the likelihood of injury by increasing blood flow and increasing core temperature as well as decreasing injury on the fire ground by strengthening weak points and increasing flexibility.


-Building a routine. Here we focus on putting it all together in a realistic and easy to follow “fill in the blank” style. This is based on varying workloads and exercise demands to ensure firefighters are progressing physically and rested enough to work on duty.


-Exercise library. This is a menu of exercise to introduce what may be new exercises to choose from when filling in your exercise routine. The exercises are described in detail and photographs are used for clarity. In addition, a progression of difficulty may be described for some exercises so different firefighter athletes with different fitness levels can follow a similar circuit together.


-Nutrition/Hydration. Here we have a basic guide to correctly fueling yourself to improve body composition, increasing performance and increasing length and quality of life.


 The individual firefighter is the most impressive and valuable resource available to us in this profession. To properly care for ourselves and prepare ourselves for our tasks we must train all aspects of fitness equally. We never know how tough the next incident will be or where, we just have to assume it will be very tough and right around the corner of any fire station.