A firefighter's job duties require physical activities such as climbing stairs, pulling fire hoses, swinging a sledgehammer or ax and carrying injured victims. Because of the job's physical nature, firefighters need muscle and endurance. Not only will building muscle and endurance improve job performance by decreasing response times and decreasing the risk of death, it will also improve the firefighter's overall health and well-being.
Step 1
Perform strength-training exercises to build muscle. One of the most important elements for a firefighter is muscular endurance---defined by Sports Fitness Advisor as the ability to cope with fatigue. To build muscle, perform strength-training exercise at a weight of 40 percent to 60 percent of a one-rep maximum (1RM). The best strength-training exercises include functional movements such as squats, deadlifts, hang cleans and presses. You can use barbells or kettlebells to perform the exercises.
Step 2
Perform metabolic conditioning exercises to build endurance. Metabolic conditioning is designed to improve endurance by building the body's ability to transport oxygen to working muscles. Use interval training---a workout where you rotate from work and rest for a specific number of rounds---to build endurance while maintaining muscle, strength, speed and power. Long-term muscular endurance can be trained by running, biking, swimming or rowing using a light load and working beyond two minutes.
Step 3
Set up an exercise circuit. Circuit training is a combination of high-intensity exercises that are designed to build muscle and endurance. Each circuit should consist of three to five exercises performed for six to eight minutes. Each exercise will be performed for three to five reps.
Step 4
Incorporate job-specific activities. Firefighters can find themselves in challenging situations, and the exercises can help to build the muscle and endurance needed to overcome the situation. This type of training follows the SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demand) principle and is commonly used for sport-specific training. Common job-specific exercises that can build a firefighter's strength and endurance include sledge hammer swings, tractor tire flips, running stairs, buddy carries and tower climbs.
Step 5
Track the performance of the program with a written journal. Keep track of each workout in a journal that records the amount of weight lifted, number of sets and number of repetitions. The journal can be used to determine the overall amount of muscle built and improvements to endurance.
Things You'll Need
- Strength training equipment
- Kettlebells
- Stairs
- Sledge hammers
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