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Permalink Reply by John on March 20, 2009 at 1:25pm

Hey man,
I'm home schooled too so I what your talking about.
As far as staying in shape and workout routines, I'm not sure what equitment you have so I'll try to give it my best shot.
15x2 push ups (add 5 every week)
20x2 crunches (add 5 every week)
30x2 jumping jacks (add 10 every week)
1/4 mile run (add 1/4 mile every week)
5x2 pull ups (add 5 every week)
5x2 chin ups (add 5 every week)

I know everyone says this but it's true, eat healthy.
Don't snack on junk food all the time, grab an apple or just wait till your next meal.

Also, try and see if your local Boys & Girls club, Parks & Rec, or maybe your fire house has some work out equitment.


Stay safe brother!
Austin

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Permalink Reply by Cody Baker on March 20, 2009 at 2:35pm

Hey Bro,
As you know I am homeschooled too.
Mine are similar to Austin's

This is what a I do.
15x2 push-ups(I add 10 a week)
20x2 crunches(add 5 a week)
30 or 40x2 Jumping Jacks (add 5 a weeks)
1/4 mile run (add a 1/2 or 1/4 a mile a week)
5x2 pull-ups ( add 5 or 10 a week)
5x2 chin-ups ( add 5 or 10 a week)

When it comes to eating healthy don't eat junk food.
If you have to buy you a couple of boxes or the granola bars and put one at the Fire Station and leave one at home.

Look into your local Gym like I do I work out everyday.
Work out at the FireDepartment as I do...
Good Luck Bro I hope this will help you. I know I am not much help to you but this is what helped me get into shape.

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Permalink Reply by Brandon on March 20, 2009 at 3:05pm

Thanks Austin and Cody,
Yeah its kinda tough to get everything in when you're homeschooled, Nice to know im not alone.
That link is useful, thanks Caleb!

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Permalink Reply by Rob Bieber on April 15, 2009 at 12:43pm

If you are planning a career in the fire service, there is one exercise I highly recommend. Do the stairs. I know it's a leg thing and it does nothing for your upper body, and you need to work that upper body too, but as a firefighter, your most challenging of calls will be the highrise fire. Most paid departments have some tall buildings in their jurisdiction. If you can handle the physical stress of a highrise fire, you can handle just about anything else they can throw at you.

Here's a scenario used in the Denver Fire Department: Before the fire recruits can pass the academy, they must successfully complete a high rise exercise where they will climb 30 flights of stairs carrying up to 70 pounds of additional gear and fire hose; (this is a timed procedure) then fight a simulated fire by dragging 1,000 pounds of charged hose through the 30th floor; and just when they think it's over, they have to climb to the 44th floor - on air - and rescue a downed firefighter by carrying him to the floor below the fire.

It's an exhausting process, and some recruits never graduate because they fail this stage. In this scenario it's mostly about training your legs and cardio for the stair climb.

Here's what you can do: Go to a highrise building in your area (ask permission to train on their stairs). Do the stairs slowly. You will not be running in a real fire situation. Do as many as you can, staying in a safe cardio zone. After doing this multiple times, add a little bit of weight. And I do mean a little bit! Start small then add more weight over time. A good weight vest is the ticket. Do it with a friend. You want someone there in case of an injury.

If you don't have a highrise, you can do the same on a stair machine. However, there is a difference. Doing the real thing incorporates a psychological factor that is not found in a stair machine.

If you do this, it will help prepare you for the day you enter the fire academy.

If you want to see a glimpse of the actual DFD training, go to www.rickysribshack.com There's a trailer for a documentary on the fire academy experience that shows a little of what I've talked about here.

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Permalink Reply by Jake Fireman on April 15, 2009 at 1:06pm

AMEN Rob....whether you work in a "high rise" city or not....stairs stairs stairs...next is core core core

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Permalink Reply by John on April 15, 2009 at 1:33pm

Definitely make sure whatever routine you do it has a good compliment of cardio involved in it.

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