Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below Hey guys. I am a firefighter that has usually done the typical to failure BB workout and ran the 5X5 a few times. They both have pros and cons. However, While I am strong and not too concerned about that, my endurance has gone down, and my BF up. I was recently transfered to a slower station so a damm rookie could get some more experience, so I have some decent time on my hands now to work out. Our diet is not the best but not the worst, but could be fine tuned a bit. My schedule is sometimes eat when I can for a 24 hour period, and sometimes all I have time for is a PBJ or a protein shake, or even cereal or leftover meatloal or something we have in our box. Our workout equipment kinda sucks but I have the basic free weights and a treadmill. I have read till I am blue in the face but would like some real factual advice on how to achieve my goal of 1) A signifigant drop in BF and 2) An increase in endurance. Not all out balls to the wall endurance, but 75% pace endurance. I am finding while I can go at a good solid pace, I can't last as long as I used too and am having a much harder time losing the BF. I did just enter my 30's so that may be part of it but not much I would imagine. I may not be 20 but I am far from old of course. WHile I think I know what to do, I want to hear what the vets or mods on here might have to say about this. All advice is appreciated.
Workout Plan for Firefighter.
- Thread starter ryker
- Start date
lifting weights wont really increase your endurance. im not really sure what youre after as far as a program goes, but it sounds like both of your goals could be reached by running(or other forms of cardio) and refining your diet. check out the diet board on here too if you havent already. good luck
Madcow2 said:
It was bills program and I tried both single and dual and really enjoyed them. Strength and muscle mass are not the problem for me really. I can gain muscle just sitting there if I think hard enough. BF is sometimes a problem but more so chubbyness at it worst. It would be nice to lose a few lbs but the main goal is to keep going in my job. There are some fires that are over and done with in 30 minutes and then the clean up begins. There are some fires that last 2-3 hours and I am starting to wear down and I can't and won't have that. I know some of it is sleep related because I get none. LOL There are nights where I am up all night and others where I am lucky enough to get 5 hours of sleep on a tour. I know this affects my workouts, but not much I can do about it. I think it is just as simple as staying on a treadmill or ET for an hour or so 3 times a week maybe to get used to burning for that long, but I wasn't sure if the experts on here had any other ideas. I know my diet needs work and on my off day sit is good. On my work days, I simply eat whatever we have whenever I can because I don't know when I would get to eat again. The worst is just after we finish a meal, and we get a fire. You can always tell those crews on a fire because they are the ones bent over throwing their dinner up halfway thru. LOL That damm gear is like wearing a 50 lb garbage bag and running 5 miles while chopping wood. So, thanks for anymore feedback I receive, it can only help.
rbtrout
New member
I'd keep the weight lifting going, but do a bit less weight and more reps. I'd also combine some longer cardio that's some what hard (not like the people reading a book and not doing much) with some HIT type cardio. This should get your heart going good and the longer cardio should help increase your stamina. With your hours, eating is difficult, I understand, but you need to try to regulate your meals as much as possible and try to keep them as clean as possible. Can you bring your own food in? That would be a start.
rbtrout said:
Thanks for the reply. Yes I can bring my own food in, and I do sometimes mostly protein powder and granola bars, or energy bars, things of that nature. I always keep one in my gear so I can shove it down if we are stuck somewhere for awhile. I think alot of the problem is logistics the other problem is willpower. When we get back from a call, even in the middle of the night, it's a mad dash to the kitchen to eat whatever I can get my hands on before th other guy. LOL It's like the runnin of the bulls to get the good stuff because like I said, I never know when I will be able to eat next, and I am usually so damm hungry I eat whatever I grab first. Is this type of situation it's usually not the best thing to eat, just the first thing I grab so what might you reccomend I could keep say in my locker or something to eat instead of going to the fridge? Granola bars and what not are ok, but just not enough substance and a protein shake doesn't work very well because throwing that up at a call 20 minutes later is not I repeat NOT fun. Protein burns like hellfire coming back up FYI. LOL I have to get through these 24 hour periods and adapting is the key. Your idea of the workout is a good one and seems to be more like a circuit training routine correct? Does the standard cardio after weights apply here or does doing the cardio first help with endurance at all? Thanks again and have a good day.
Don't do the cardio first. Totally different stimuli and response you are after. Deal with the food somehow. It seems like you know what you need to do (if not just visit the diet forum), it's just a matter of doing it. Lift as you've been lifting or whatever you like. For cardio, I'm not knowledgable in program design for 3 hour duration activities. A friend is a pretty big marathoner and it's interesting they even they vary their pace at intervals similar to HIIT. If you train at constant levels for X miles or Y hours you wind up being very slow but consistently able to finish. I'd think as a firefighter you want to be conditioned to go the whole course but have the extra energy for burts as required. Something to think about and maybe do some searching on.
wayneboard1
New member
HumanTarget said:
OK...so what does this do exactly and when should it be included in my workout?
it's just a great functional strength and endurance exercise. i used to do them to warm-up. but you can do them anytime, basically. the guy who asked is a fire-fighter and they often have to carry a lot of heavy equipment, up ladders and stairs. so, hell, what other exercise can mimic that?wayneboard1 said:
wayneboard1
New member
HumanTarget said:
Well I tried it and it wore me out pretty bad. I like it.
I was using the 65lb dumbells and could only go with those about 10 minutes without having my hands burn out. But we don't carry too many things that heavy for more than a few minutes or we get help. Lots of back injuries if we try and do it all ourselves. Thanks for that tip, I will keep doing those.
