SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Finding Strength in a Weak Economy: How to remain physically fit on a tight budget

Story & Photos by Fire Captains Jeff & Martha Ellis

Times are tough. We’re all feeling the pressure of our current economic state. Some of us are worried about keeping our jobs or current salaries. Families, fire departments, municipalities—they’re all tightening up their budgets. As a result, figuring out how to keep fitness accessible to your department may start slipping down the priority list.

Take comfort in knowing that all is not lost when it comes to fitness. As long as there’s gravity, i.e. body resistance, you have a way to work out. There are a couple of ways you can enhance the experience, however, that don’t have to cost an arm and a leg: 1) You can use local workout facilities, such as community centers, recreation centers or fitness clubs, or 2) you can put together a fully functional gym on a budget.

Fitness Funding
Allowing crews to work out in local gyms or recreation centers is a great way to cut down on equipment maintenance costs, address space limitations and facilitate a cohesive team approach to working out on duty. Cover the cost of membership by diverting a portion of the department’s budget from equipment purchasing and applying it toward a group or individual memberships. Of course, if there isn’t any money in that particular line item, you may have to look elsewhere.

Another option: Have each member interested in a fitness facility membership use sick time hours to cover the cost. This will keep the individual out-of-pocket cost down and will allow the city to realize the added benefit of taking some of those sick leave hours off the books.

Peer Pressure
When a crew jumps on the rig and heads to the gym as a cohesive unit, a lot of things happen. First of all, everyone knows the plan. When three or four people have made the commitment to work out at a certain time, barring any interruptions from calls, it’s much more difficult for one of them to bow out of the activity. You can’t go read in your room, watch television or check the generator while the rest of the crew works toward maintaining or improving physical fitness.

Additionally, moving the entire crew out the door and into the gym makes it very difficult for any one person to be a bystander. OK, this may be employing a little peer pressure to get everyone on board for workouts, but is that so wrong? If someone is willing to put more effort into not participating by sidelining themselves while the rest of their crew is working out, your department likely has bigger problems with that individual than fitness. (Google “How to cut loose deadbeat employees” for the solution to that problem.)

The Team Approach
Once your crew gets to the gym, you have a couple of options. You can take the individual approach, where each person takes off and does their own thing, or you can design circuit-style workouts that engage the entire group. You’ll find the team approach is usually more engaging and makes the time go by quicker.

When creating crew workouts, have fun. Get everyone’s input either collectively on one workout or take turns creating the daily workout, giving the assignment to a different individual each day or week.

You can use weights and other fitness equipment or just gravity via calisthenics to design the circuits. It also helps to incorporate some type of aerobic element into a group workout utilizing equipment. If there’s a track or an area outside the facility that safely allows for running, that would be great since running works best for keeping a crew together. But if running isn’t possible or isn’t the aerobic activity of choice, you can stagger-start each member on a piece of aerobic equipment, if availability is limited. Alternatives to running include rowing 1,000 meters, elliptical training or cycling hard for 5 minutes. Whichever you choose, try putting forth an 85–90-percent effort for 4–5 minutes, and remember that the aerobic part of your workout can be whatever you need it to be.

Tip: If you need a little extra help planning a group workout, check out www.crossfit.com. You may not follow their exact list of exercises, but they have some great ideas for lift combinations that work well in a circuit-training program.

Below are a couple of examples of how your circuit-style workouts could look. (Note: Each list represents one set.)
Workout A (using equipment)
• Half-mile run;
• 10 pull-ups;
• 10 squat thrusters;
• 10 kettlebell swings (American or Russian);
• 10 power cleans; and
• 20 crunches.
OR
Workout B (using calisthenics)
• Half- mile run;
• 10 burpees;
• 20 air squats; and
• 30 crunches.

There are a couple things to keep in mind when looking at these examples. First of all, you can base your workout on quantity or time. If you’re going for quantity, decide how many repetitions of each set you’d like to complete; 3–5 reps should result in a good workout. If you’re focusing on time, see how many sets you can complete in a 30–40-minute period. You should be pretty well spent regardless of which approach you take. If you’re not, you haven’t pushed hard enough or done enough reps.

Also, if you don’t have kettlebells, you can improvise with a dumbbell. You’ll have to take care when doing so, however, because you won’t have the reliable grip that’s provided by the kettlebell. You can get the like benefit of kettlebell swings by gripping one head of a dumbbell with two hands, allowing the other head to hang down toward the ground.

The Homemade Gym
What if you don’t have a workout facility close enough to a station to allow a crew to stay in their district or satisfy necessary response times? It’s still in the best interest of a department to provide some means for crews to work out. But is that easy these days? Absolutely not. Most departments don’t have $5,000 to spend on a treadmill.

The first step in creating your own gym is to determine what you really need and how to get it at a reasonable price. Like we said earlier, all you really need is gravity, and that’s free. The only problem with that is it can get a little boring.

A good strategy is to start out small with a couple pieces of equipment and grow as your budget allows. One cornerstone piece of equipment that will in itself provide endless possibilities is a rack of dumbbells. A range of 10–70-lb. dumbbells that increase in 5-lb. increments is a good place to start. On average, you’ll pay $0.75 to $1.25 per pound for dumbbells, which means you can purchase that vast range of dumbbells for just under $900. Throw in a couple of $30 workout balls of various sizes, and you’ve added another dimension to the versatility of your gym on a budget.

Both the dumbbells and the workout balls will develop strength for most range-of-motion movement. The only motion you may still need to address is overhead pulling, or the pull-up motion. A chin-up bar, which you can purchase or have custom welded, will complete the basic needs of your start-up gym. The chin-up bar can be used for a variety of pulling motions. There are the two different hand positions, but you can also vary your body position by using wall spotting or the help of a friend.

Aerobic Equipment
One last component of your gym will be a piece of aerobic equipment. Again, a $5,000 treadmill is not your only option, but if you really want a treadmill, buy a non-commercial or home-use version. It may not be as heavy as what you’d find in a professional gym, but it should do the trick.

Some discount warehouse stores, such as Costco or Sam’s Club, do sell treadmills, some for under $1,000. Keep in mind, however, that what you save on purchase price, you may have to make up for in maintenance. If possible, purchase the warranty. Note: Sometimes merchants are reluctant to do this if they know the equipment is going to be used in a high-traffic establishment, such as a firehouse, but see what you can do. It may save you some money in the long run.

Also remember that crews should take responsibility for periodic maintenance and some light repairs. Keeping the belt well lubricated and the mechanical components of the treadmill vacuumed out could add years to the life of your treadmill.

Other options include a Keiser spin bike or a Concept 2 Rowing machine. The Keiser M3 Indoor Cycling Bike retails for about $1,600; however, we found it online for as low as $1,200. Shop around a bit and you should find a reasonable price. The magnetic resistance design on this bike is cutting edge and a great way to develop leg strength and aerobic endurance.

The Concept 2 Rowing machine is also one of our favorites. This machine has been the choice of collegiate, Olympic and recreational rowers for decades and has recently found a new niche in the world of public safety through exposure on the Crossfit Web site. The company offers two different models, the D and the E. Prices vary from $900 to $1,260, depending on how many bells and whistles you want.

A Final Note
With creativity, gravity and considerably less money than you may think, you can facilitate firefighter fitness in your department. Now, more than ever, we can’t afford to sacrifice firefighter fitness and safety. We’re going to be asked to do more with less. We’re all going to have to be able to answer the call with fewer people, older rigs and possibly longer response times as stations close. We, as individuals, must be physically ready.

Captain Martha Ellis has been a firefighter with the Salt Lake City Fire Department (SLCFD) for more than 14 years, serving as a firefighter, engineer, media technician and ARFF training officer. She has won the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge Women’s Division five times, and held the world record for 8 consecutive years. She is currently the fire marshal for Salt Lake International Airport, and she works as a certified fitness coordinator for the SLCFD.

Captain Jeff Ellis of the Murray (Utah) Fire Department (MFD) has served for more than 23 years as a firefighter, engineer, hazmat technician and shift training captain. He has been a certified fitness coordinator for the department since 1996. As a competitor in the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge, he has won two overall world championships, three Over 40 world championships and helped MFD take the team trophy. He has been active in teaching all aspects of firefighting, including swiftwater rescue and fitness and nutrition in the fire service.

E-mail your fitness-related questions or comments to Jeff and Martha at fit2serve@gmail.com.