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Programming Exercise for Public Safety



Fire and Police Specific Fitness



Value


Fire and Police do not have a definable off-season or on-season like that of a traditional sports athlete. Over the years, the “tactical athlete” phrase has been used to describe the profession as it requires technical, tactical and general physical preparedness (GPP) skills to carry out the occupation's duties successfully. It is important for these individuals to have an idea of elements of exercise in their toolbox to successfully fulfill their job occupation.




Fire


In 2018, an injury report by Campbell et.al, reported that an estimated 58,250 firefighters were injured in line of duty. Of those injuries, the majority of the incidents (11,625) occurred during non-fire emergency events and during other on-duty activities. Cardiac events and musculoskeletal injuries were amongst the most common injuries suffered. To add to the concern, a majority of the musculoskeletal injuries are attributed to overuse, overexertion, and poor movement patterns while firefighters execute their line of work. Morris, et. al states that there is a great physiological cost pertaining to fire suppression activity. On average, fire suppression tasks elevate an individual’s heart rate between that of 80-88% of a generalized max heart rate (13).




Police


In 2023 "A critical review by Lyons et al. [4] found that police officers suffered injuries at a rate ranging from 240 to 2,500 per 1000 personnel per year, a higher injury rate than some other physically demanding occupations, such as mining, which has shown a rate of 164 to 638 injuries per 1000 people per year". Given their role in protecting the public, decreases in officers’ performance could lead to severe injury or even death of themselves, their colleagues, or members of the community they serve [11,12]. Due to the significant impacts injuries have on both organizations and personnel, it is vital that injury mitigation strategies are developed and implemented".




Takeaway


Individuals who possess higher levels of physical fitness (muscular strength, endurance, VO2max) are able to meet the demands of the job and reduce their risk of injury and other negative health effects such as experiencing a cardiac event.




How


It's important to note that Fire and Police may benefit from exercises that incorporate both the cardiovascular and skeletal muscle systems; exercise similar to that of circuit training. The exercise equipment can be very simple and set up in open space if very little equipment or space is available at a station. Below are a list of tasks and exercises that can be performed to enhance your cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength for your job!




Setting up a circuit exercise routine: 


1. Choose 8-10 exercises that replication role-specific tasks 

2. Start at 30 sec of work, 30-60 sec of rest for each exercise 

3. Repeat for 2-4 rounds



How to increase the training intensity: 


1. Decrease rest periods (ex. 0-15 sec vs. 30 sec)

2. Work time can be increased (ex. 40-60 sec vs 15-30 sec)

3. Add additional weight




Below is a list of the tasks and sample exercises that can be used to replicate similar movements in the field. Feel free to throw these into your next workout!


Job Task 

Exercises

Equipment

Equipment Carry

Kettlebell Carries

Farmer Walks

Trap Bar Carries

Suitcase Carry

Dumbbells

Kettlebells

Heavy Equipment (ex: tools, saws, etc)

Stair Climb

Lunge Variations 

Step-Up 

Bulgarian Split Squat


Weighted Vest 

High Rise Pack

Sandbags

Kettlebells / Dumbbells 

Hose Pull

Lunge Variations (ex: fwd, side) 

Drags

Sleds

Fire Hose

Forcible Entry 

Wall Slams

Wood-Chops

Slam balls


Searching

Planks / Plank Variations

Crawling Variations 

Bodyweight 

Sandbags

Kettlebell 

Medicine Balls 

Halligan 

Pulling Ceiling

Push Press

Pulldown Variations 

Wood Chops 

Barbell

Dumbbells/Kettlebells

Medicine Balls 

Victim Drag

Deadlift 

Sled Drags

Kettlebells

Barbells

Sleds

Sandbags

Ladder Raise

Shoulder Press

Ladder Raises

Turkish Get-Ups

Dumbbells

Kettlebells

Ladder 




Sources

Abel, MG, Palmer, TG, and Trubee, N. Exercise program design for structural firefighters. Strength and Conditioning Journal 37(4): 8-19, 2015.


Campbell, R, and Molis, JL. United States Firefighter Injuries-2018. Quincy: MA: NFPA Research, Data, and Analytics Division, 2019.


Loewen, B., Bridget Ann Frugoli Melton, E., Gregory A. Ryan, P., & Ronald L. Snarr, P. (2020, September 11). Evidence-based exercise for structural firefighters-A brief review. National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/tsac-report/evidence-based-exercise-for-structural-firefighters/


Morris, C, and Chander, H. The impact of firefighter physical fitness on job performance: a review of the factors that influence fire suppression safety and success. Safety 4(4): 60, 2018.


National Fire Protection Association 1583. Standard on health related fitness programs for fire department members. Quincy, MA: NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, 2015.



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