April 18

How did day 1 go?  Some good quality time spent with your thoughts in the SCBA mask??

Here's Day 2:

Looks like a crazy day of training some VEx.... so be sure to have a strong back for training:

Pre work, or if you have time:  Deadlift, 1 set of 5 (warm up to a weight that feels heavy but not new territory)

On Air:
Simulated Victim Drags with sled (weather permitting, actual dummy or hose rolls if needed inside)
Drag 50' foraward
Drag 50' backward
rest while others go

Someone is always working, rotate through.  Weight needs to be manageable for all sets, you may increase weght between sets but not decrease (when your turn adjust weight to your ability, not the others).  Once you feel yourself starting to drop off (10% or greater) finish up that set and recover.

As a group take time to practice the SCBA Thong Conversion.  If you are proficient with it with eyes open then give it a whirl with eyes closed.

April 15- On Air #1

Here you go, workout #1 of the next little while to give you some direction if looking for an on air workout to do.  While we all have our own goals the one thing we can work together on is being able to work well under the stress of having our PPE on.

This is Monday, so according to the last post we would ideally be doing some squatting today- either before work or ASAP in workout time so you have time to get everything done.

Workout:
A. Squat; 3 sets of 5- use sets across (same wt for all 3 sets, shoot for a wt at about 90% of what you think you can do)
B. Chinups/Pullups; 3x max reps (if unable to do less than 12 reps without kipping use your feet for assistance on a bench or person)

On Air:
3-5x
5 Sledge Hammer Chops (kneeling on one knee, striking tire in horizontal motion)
10 Alternating Lunges
Run up stairs fast


- set a timer for 3:00 and restart at the beginning of time interval

If working with partners then the first person is on the clock and the rest go in sequence when the person ahead of them gets to top of stairs.

Savvy?

Have fun.

At the end, take a few mins to practice tying a hasty harness on each other.  Use one that you like and is "hasty", these should be fast and simple.... make it so.
From our training the other day at 88 we found that this was the easiest and most comfortable version, not to mention the "hasty-est".  Give it a whirl.

Time to get back on the horse!

Well, it's been a while since I've ranted about how people should be strong.... and hopefully most have taken some of what I said and gave it a whirl.  If you did, I'm sure you've noticed some pretty good strength gains in a relatively short amount of time.  If you haven't gave the "Starting Strength" method a shot I still recommend you do.  Your "base" level of strength will go up considerably in a short amount of time..... c'mon, give it a try!

No rants today.  Will try to keep this short and sweet (as best I can).

If you have been doing some basic strength work like was outlined in last couple of posts you might be finding yourself ready to start breathing heavy again.  Summer's coming but more importantly we need to be "in shape" for our job.  How do we get in shape?  The approach I am going with right now:
Step 1. Get stronger.  Life is easier when you are stronger.
Step 2. Use your strength to move heavier stuff for conditioning.
Step 3. Practice the skills you need to be good at what you do.

We just had a good dose of step one, now comes 2 and 3.  Really, 3 should be done all the time- doesn't matter how strong or conditioned a person is, if they aren't proficient and efficient at their job or sport then they won't express that strength and conditioning very well.  So for 2 and 3 we will do them together- using the demands of our job to gain conditioning and fitness.

Here is what I propose for the next phase:

Instead of a 3 day a week strength workout cardio sprinkled in where you see fit this will look like

Strength: 4 Days a week (M/T/Th/F)
Conditioning: Done up to 5 days a week, the 2 days on shift will be done in full Turnout Gear and SCBA- majority of workouts are 12 mins or less
Skill Practice: Every workout should have a skill component, in rest periods and/or at the end keeping in step with our FF survivability skills.

Strength

Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Mobility Work	Squat 3x5 3x Max Chins	Shoulder Press 3x5	Mobility Work	Deadlift 1x5 3x Max Pullups	Bench Press 3x5	Mobility Work

*When in doubt, you can almost always add squats!  Focus on technique and range of motion.

So, as always it is assumed that you are getting some workouts in when not at work- right?
You may want to choose to alter this schedule at times to fit your week more appropriately if our shift falls on certain days but the "conditioning" work will be made with it in mind that these are the days you will be doing your strangth work.

Due to the time constraints of our days at work it does tend to make it so if you are going to be in the gym or out on air you almost need to choose one or the other.... what is your priority?  Let that be a helper in deciding which to choose.
You may also find it easier to get your strength work done earlier in the day and do the conditioning at a later time- for example getting in a good set of squats before work starts then going on air at workout time.... sounds crazy, I know, but it's pretty effective.

I will not lay out all the workouts here and now for the conditioning portion, these will be posted as I had done in the past- on the blog.  I plan on getting this on the blog the shift before to give lots of time for people to know what the scoop is and arrange what needs to be done ahead of time to make the workouts happen.

Strength Building 101: K.I.S.S.- Part 2

Repeat after me, "I am a novice lifter."

 Now that Dr. Evil stopped you from arguing this point I'll take a few moments to explain, and hopefully get you to see that being a "novice" ain't so bad after all.

What do I mean by novice?
While at first it might seem as though I am being a jerk and calling you names what I am actually doing is putting most of you into a classification that relates to how quickly you recover froma nad respond to a stimulus- right now referring to strength training.  A novice lifter will typically be able to go in and do a workout that has an appropriate stimulus then return to the next workout in 48-72 hrs and find that he/she has supercompensated (recovered and become stronger) so that he/she can lift more than the previous workout- being actually stronger.

So you might be tempted to say to me or yourself that you are past this point.  I argue that you are not.

Watch video again.

Why not?  Well, I can think of very few people on the department that I would lump into an intermediate classification and I would be extremely surprised to find an advanced or elite strength athlete in our midst- both of which would require a very detailed and varied program to progress their strength.
Again why aren't you an intermediate or greater?
A few questions for you to ask yourself:

• When was the last time I followed a strength based program that revolved around the big lifts (squat, bench, press, deadlift)?
• If you answered the above with an answer other than never or I don't know then how long did you follow it for and did you make steady progress?
• Have you followed a strength program that requires you to write down your progress and then use the log to ensure that additional weights and/or reps were completed?
• When looking at the following document do I have an idea of where I sit for each lift (possibly with the exception of the power clean)?

Basic Strength Standards (pdf, wfs)

Something to note is that if you lift the weights in the higher levels it doesn't mean that you are necessarily no longer a "novice".  These are more like lifting norms in the population (from my understanding), a novice lifter could reach an advanced level of strength because he/she was able to follow progression and recover between workouts up to that level.

So what does this mean for you?  I would recommend you start back at square 1 and stick to some simple key principles:

1. Have a plan and write down your progress.
2. Squat, push and pull 2-3x per week.
3. Follow a linear progression- start low and add weight incrementally EVERY WORKOUT for as long as you can (5lbs a workout 3x a week is 780lbs in a year.... no need to get greedy any time soon)
4. Eat like an adult- meat, veggies, nuts and seeds etc.  Want to gain weight?  Eat like 1.5 adults and don't be afraid of sweet potatoes.... maybe some moo?
5. 80/20 (or 80/10/10) 80% of the time you gotta just punch the clock.  Get in there and do your workout and build a routine.  10% of the time you might have a poor or non-existent workout, oh well- pick up and keep going the NEXT SCHEDULED WORKOUT DAY.  10% of the time rip the walls apart- sometimes you just gotta go for it when working out and break the program a bit..... use this zeal to test your mettle in a strength endurance feat if you can.

Simple, right?

Read this: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/most_lifters_are_still_beginners

And this: Who Wants to Be a Novice? You Do.

Now what?

1. Check out the program on the previous post: Strength Building 101: K.I.S.S.
2. Start low, even as low as just the bar if you want.
3. Follow the program and stick with it.
4. If you stall out- can't add wt to the bar- drop that lift by 10% and follow progression back up, maybe with less of a jump each workout this time.... and eat more.

Once you follow the progression say 3 or 4 times then you might be out of the novice area.  By this time you will have been following a structured program for about 3-6 months and have gained a bunch of strength and even lean muscle mass.

As firefighters we are required to be strong.  Think of the types of activites we do on routine calls:

• Lift heavy patients
• Carry heavy tools- MVCs
• Drag hoselines, and hold while having high nozzle reaction
• Carry and climb ladders

What about if we were to do a not so routine call:

• Drag victim while crawling
• Breach walls or floors with hand tools, possibly kneeling

What about the worst call:

• Ever practice dragging a downed firefighter up a set of stairs?  Bring your buddies and hopefully have some seriously strong backs and legs.

It is interesting to me that the main focus of most programs in the firehall seem to target body fat and VO2 but the thing that will get you out of a bind is strength expressed as strength endurance and power.

Strength Building 101: K.I.S.S.

Here we go.  So, by the time you read this it might be 2013 already...... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I've put out a few emails and posts to start the build up for 2013..... the build up of strength.  It might not come as a surprise to you by now that I feel as though strength is a huge component of our day to day lives in the fire service and that I also think that we collectively need more of it- for self preservation and to excel at our duties.

So, instead of just saying I think ppl should be stronger and leaving it at that I am making a full attempt to help you all individually to improve your strength.  How this is going to happen:

1. We perform some basic strength assessments coupled with some screening tools I have picked up along the way.
2. I give some ideas on how to shore up some movement issues if identified- this could be in the form of an actual program if that is what you need.
3. I present some basic strength training programming that most should be able to adapt to their lives to make simple, progressive gains in overall strength.
4. We constantly re-assess strength and movements throughout the year to ensure there is the appropriate level of progress for each individual.

Since the way it works is that I need to travel to get all assessing done what I am going to do is open up #3 right away so that those that are reasonably ready are able to get on the wagon ASAP.  **Note- there are a few WFI assessments that need to be completed as well, these take priority and if you haven't done yours yet don't expect me to jump all over this process with you until your WFI one is complete..... I'm working on it.

THE PROGRAM

First off, no general program is "perfect".  They will all have pro's and con's and progress will vary from individual to individual.  Every guru or coach will have a set of biases, experiences and training (hopefully) that will lead him or her to lean in certain programming directions.  Ideally every person would have the perfectly designed program tailored directly to the individual's needs and goals.  With this in mind here is my rationalle/approach to this general program:

General Strength- the program that follows is basically a program that I have followed with success and have prescribed with a good level of success from participants.  I believe that it has been successful because it is simple, involves the big movements (which every true strength program should) and is progressive in a manageable and linear fashion.  By simply following the principles you can make necessary tweaks to your lifestyle and still get steady progress- obviously the progress will vary.

Individualization- To provide the most individualization possible and still work out potentially as a group the individual work will be presented as what you will do for your accessory work.  Conditioning will be considered accessory work as well, this will be the type of thing that your goals will/should dictate.  An example of this idea would be that everyone can get in their squats and/or presses for the day together rotating through the squat rack (changing the wts for each person) then once this is done each works on their specific target areas for injury prevention, conditioning etc.

General Strength Program Level 1
This is based on the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippitoe.  While it is called Level 1 I would advise that you try to milk it for as long as you get progress- advancing "levels" early will not make you a better athlete necessarily, it will most likely SLOW your progress.... Seriously.

3 Days a Week:
Aternate between these 2 workouts, adding 5-10 lbs to your squat each day, adding 5-20lbs to your DL each day and adding 2.5-5lbs to your pressess each day.  RECORD YOUR WORKOUTS TO ENSURE PROGRESS.

Day 1
Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (3 x 5)
Shoulder Press 3x5
Deadlift 1 set of 5 (1x5)

Day 2
Squat 3x5
Bench Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

For all movements the sets and reps indicated are termed "sets across" meaning that after you have warmed up with a few lighter (progressively heavier) sets your working sets would be completed with the same wt for all sets indicated.  If you were able to complete all sets at the weight you set out to use then simply add the 5 or so lbs to the next workout.  The DL indicates 1x5, so this means that you will warm up the movement until the point where you do the 1 work set and then if completed for all reps then be happy and move on, adding the appropriate weight the next workout not more sets this workout.

Too simple for you?  That's OK, just do some time and you will likely find it becomes quite challenging and rewarding as you go.  Progress too slow?  Really?  Just think, if you were to add 5lbs to your squat for 3x a week for a year and you started with just a bare barbell you would end up at an 825lb squat..... not going to happen.  Realistically you could find yourself at a point where you are squatting 3 sets of 5 at 275lbs in a matter of a 15-20 weeks.... that takes some work for sure but not unreasonable.

To give you an idea of how to make some simple adjustments to those that think they are too busy here is another format that will get you good results, just a little slower:

On Shift:
Squats 3x5
Press 3x5/Bench Press 3x5 (do press on first day of tour and BP on second)

Morning after work (wakey wakey):
Deadlift 1x5
Pullups/Chinups 3 sets of max reps

This is a nice option as it easily gets you 4 workouts in an 8 day period and can be all potentially done while getting paid..... not too shabby if wake up in time.
Another bonus to this option is that you spend a bit less time on your strength lifts per day and frees you up to get some conditioning work in, ask Fuhriman how it's been working for him.

Thats a big post and lots left that could be said.  Want some sweet resources on getting stronger?
http://startingstrength.com/- seriously, buy the book starting strength.
http://70sbig.com/- good stuff and great humor too
http://www.crossfitfootball.com/- for the power athlete in all of us, and where the second option for programs comes from

2013 Phase 1: January Assessments and Goal Setting

­Now that we know the Mayan calendar issue has past we can take a look at the year that will come after all- 2013! 

'Tis the season for goal setting, crash dieting and a full on assault of the public gyms.  If you are the type of person who is in the gym year round you probably know what I’m talking about- the January rush is hard to miss.  Chances are, if you are unaware of this phenomenon you are either: the January warrior and think that the gym is always that busy, or you are hardly in the gym and don’t notice.

If you are one of these 3 types of people then this post might be for you!

The main thing I want to look at today is goal setting and achieving those goals.  Achieving your goal that you set out for is probably the most rewarding and encouraging experience you can have when it comes to your fitness, and really work and life too.  So no matter where you sit with the 3 types of folks it is always good to be working in the "right" direction- whatever that is for you.

Hitting that IV, ET tube placement….. squat or run PR (personal record)…. They are all potentially the same when you get down to it.  All 3 took work, focused work, to achieve.  While hitting benchmarks on the job is typically a straight forward task it seems as though we get lost sometimes on how to get the job done in the gym- whether its hitting that PR or losing weight etc.

Check this out:

CF PORTLAND SHEET PDF

This is a “Skills” chart put out by CrossFit Portland.  At first glance it is just a bunch of boxes and numbers but if you look at it closely it gives us a pretty good idea of what a “balanced” fitness could look like.  Across the top there is levels 1 to 4, level 1 being a rounded “Beginner”, and 4 being an “Advanced” athlete as far as CrossFit is concerned.

Where are you on the page?

You will notice that for some things you might be in a level 2, 3…. Even 4.  But for others you might not even come up as a level 1!  So what does that mean?  This chart would suggest that if looking for priorities to train you would hit those that are lower on your scale, and the things that are more advanced don’t need as much attention until your other physical abilities catch up.

Look at it again, what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?  Write them down, each in a column.

A simple recommendation for your 2013 goals- "I will be able to complete all Level 1 items by the end of 2013".  This should be plenty of time to get this done, again as long as you are focused on your approach and you work with your physio or doctor if needed.

As firefighters my view is that we should all be strong.  The stronger we are the easier our tasks are- lifting pts, dragging hoses, or even just getting reps in the gym with a good weight- consider that if you are doing 3 reps with 45lbs or you do the same reps with 95lbs and both are done in same amount of time…. Which one do you think would be more effective at burning calories, stressing your cardiovascular system, earning the kind of grit it takes to drag that guy out of the house at 4 in the morning….. You decide.

Add the strength movements into the weaknesses column.

Now, how do I get there?  You ask.  Well here’s the list:

1. Don’t get hurt.  Plain and simple.  No rep is worth a shoulder, knee or back injury.  Save that for the critical moments on the fire ground…. And hopefully never.
2. Get strong.  This is far simpler than most think; it’s just logging time under the bar and being consistent.  The last few people I’ve put on a basic strength program are squatting 225lbs for sets…injury free and still progressing.
3. Add conditioning that is appropriate to you.  As a firefighter we should have elements of heavy, short duration conditioning in our repertoire but if you have endurance aspirations then go for it.  Key here is that for the time being strength is a top priority until you top the chart at a level 3 or 4 across the board strength wise.

Simple right?  Well I will help out.  In the previous post I put that there will be some assessments done during January, well this will include testing the Level 1 strength movements.  This will identify where your technique is and your strength levels.  From here I will give some direction for any corrective stuff if need be to get you on track but the main thing is that you will know where you sit. 

How can you know where you are going if you don’t know where you are?

At any time if you want help going through any of the other components of the Skills Chart or any other aspect of your health/fitness let me know and I’ll do what I can or refer you to the right people!

The 2013 Plan!

Hey people, as indicated in my email I have some plans in the works for 2013.
I would like to take a minute to outline what I'd like it to look like- to make sure you know what I'm up to and also to give you as much prep time as possible for each step along the way.  Obviousy we aork in an environment where we have to be a bit flexible in our scheduling so this schedule will be flexible and possibly altered to fit the ebbs and flows the year will throw at us.

In a nutshell here it is:

Month	Assessment/Activity
Jan 2013	- Finish WFI assessments for 2012 - CFD Assessments - Get out to each member of our shift and use simple movement       screens to identify any areas of immediate need - Assess base levels of strength (will elaborate in another     post/email)
Apr 2013	- Assess Body Fat % and VO2 using WFI treadmill protocol - Re-do movement screens to ensure progress and perform new     ones to those that have progressed - Assess Max Strength in basic lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press)
Jul 2013	- Assess Body Fat % and VO2 using WFI treadmill protocol - Re-do movement screens to ensure progress and perform new      ones to those that have progressed - Assess muscle endurance and strength relative to bodyweight in     a firefighter specific format (will elaborate later)
Oct 2013	- Full WFI Protocol assessment - Re-do movement screens to ensure progress and perform new     ones to those that have progressed
Jan 2014	- Assess Body Fat % and VO2 using WFI treadmill protocol - Re-do movement screens to ensure progress and perform new     ones to those that have progressed - Assess Max Strength in basic lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press)

All steps along the way are completely voluntary.  However, participation may look like a daunting task right now but will you will probably find the timelines (approx 12 weeks each) to be good for benchmarking yourself and continually moving toward improved firefighter fitness.

You will notice that the format is:
Annually- Full WFI Protocol, FF Specific Strength and Muscle Endurance assessment (6months apart from WFI)
Semi-Annually- Max Strength assessed
Quarterly- Body composition and VO2 max assessed

As we go through the year I may find that there is a better way to go about this but for right now my aim is to complete these as close to the schedule as possible and then revise for 2014 if needed.

This is quite brief I know.  I will be putting out info on this process and how to prepare for it on an ongoing basis in bite sized peices.  For now what I would like from you is questions and comments.  Let me know what you think, what your concerns are and what you are looking forward to!