"Fire Fit"- Fitness and Firefighters

To me, this article is, uh, sort of extreme and represents an Ideal as opposed to what Firefighters can/will do in reality ( this sort of piece seems to make it seem that fitness requires Life being a perpetual boot camp or something. The long section on margarine is interesting and I am going to research that further...maybe we are all just better off with butter, I don't know.I eat very little butter or margarine as it is).

Home The Circuit The Staff About FireFighter-Fit Photos Leave Your Mark Upcoming Classes How It Began Diet and Health Contact Us Online Poll Online Poll RECRUIT CLASS 37 GETTING FIT! Video Thursday, January 24, 2013  Cardio is an integral part in fighting fires. In the video below, Recruit Class 37 is finishing up a 30 minute slow run. To their surprise, when it was all done, they had completed 2.5 miles.Some had never run that far but when you run as a group and feed off each other anything is possible! By Lt. Pedro Meneses TO SEE VIDEO, BACK TO LINK: http://www.firefighter-fit.com/news/index/ layoutfile/home       Tweet HEALTHY EATING: Easy Tips for Planning a Healthy Diet and Sticking to it Friday, January 11, 2013  Healthy Eating Easy tips for Planning a Healthy diet and Sticking to itHealthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible– all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet. Healthy eating tip 1: Set yourself up for success To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think. Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious. Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn't realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet. Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts. Think of water and exercise as food groups in your diet. Water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many people go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices. Exercise. Find something active that you like to do and add it to your day, just like you would add healthy greens, blueberries, or salmon. The benefits of lifelong exercise are abundant and regular exercise may even motivate you to make healthy food choices a habit. Healthy eating tip 2: Moderation is key People often think of healthy eating as an all or nothing proposition, but a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. But what is moderation? How much is a moderate amount? That really depends on you and your overall eating habits. The goal of healthy eating is to develop a diet that you can maintain for life, not just a few weeks or months, or until you've hit your ideal weight. So try to think of moderation in terms of balance. Despite what certain fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body. For most of us, moderation or balance means eating less than we do now. More specifically, it means eating far less of the unhealthy stuff (unrefined sugar, saturated fat, for example) and more of the healthy (such as fresh fruit and vegetables). But it doesn't mean eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for breakfast once a week, for example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a healthy lunch and dinner–but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza. If you eat 100 calories of chocolate one afternoon, balance it out by deducting 100 calories from your evening meal. If you're still hungry, fill up with an extra serving of fresh vegetables. Try not to think of certain foods as “off-limits.” When you ban certain foods or food groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. If you are drawn towards sweet, salty, or unhealthy foods, start by reducing portion sizes and not eating them as often. Later you may find yourself craving them less or thinking of them as only occasional indulgences. Think smaller portions. Serving sizes have ballooned recently, particularly in restaurants. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an entree, split a dish with a friend, and don't order super-sized anything. At home, use smaller plates, think about serving sizes in realistic terms, and start small. If you don't feel satisfied at the end of a meal, try adding more leafy green vegetables or rounding off the meal with fresh fruit. Visual cues can help with portion sizes–your serving of meat, fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards, a slice of bread should be the size of a CD case, and half a cup of mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of a traditional light bulb. Healthy eating tip 3: It's not just what you eat, it's how you eat Healthy eating is about more than the food on your plate—it is also about how you think about food. Healthy eating habits can be learned and it is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to gulp down in between meetings or on the way to pick up the kids. Eat with others whenever possible. Eating with other people has numerous social and emotional benefits—particularly for children—and allows you to model healthy eating habits. Eating in front of the TV or computer often leads to mindless overeating. Take time to chew your food and enjoy mealtimes. Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating. Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty instead of hungry. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly. Eat breakfast, and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can jump start your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going. Avoid eating at night. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway. Healthy eating tip 4: Fill up on colorful fruits and vegetables Fruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet. They are low in calories and nutrient dense, which means they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Try to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day and with every meal—the brighter the better. Colorful, deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and different colors provide different benefits, so eat a variety. Aim for a minimum of five portions each day. Some great choices include: Greens. Branch out beyond bright and dark green lettuce. Kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage are just a few of the options—all packed with calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. Sweet vegetables. Naturally sweet vegetables—such as corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and squash—add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for other sweets. Fruit. Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill up on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on. The importance of getting vitamins from food—not pills The antioxidants and other nutrients in fruits and vegetables help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. And while advertisements abound for supplements promising to deliver the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables in pill or powder form, research suggests that it’s just not the same. A daily regimen of nutritional supplements is not going to have the same impact of eating right. That’s because the benefits of fruits and vegetables don’t come from a single vitamin or an isolated antioxidant. The health benefits of fruits and vegetables come from numerous vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals working together synergistically. They can’t be broken down into the sum of their parts or replicated in pill form. Healthy eating tip 5: Eat more healthy carbs and whole grains Choose healthy carbohydrates and fiber sources, especially whole grains, for long lasting energy. In addition to being delicious and satisfying, whole grains are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help to protect against coronary heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Studies have shown people who eat more whole grains tend to have a healthier heart. A quick definition of healthy carbs and unhealthy carbs Healthy carbs (sometimes known as good carbs) include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable. Unhealthy carbs (or bad carbs) are foods such as... [ more ]     Tweet Why You Should NEVER Eat Vegetable Oil or Margarine! Monday, January 7, 2013  Aside from “healthy whole grains,” vegetable oils and margarine are some of the most misunderstood and over-recommended foods in the health community. You’ve probably heard these referred to as “heart healthy oils,” a good alternative to those “artery clogging saturated fats.” These oils are supposed to help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, increase weight loss and somehow improve overall health. Only one problem…. again, science doesn’t back these claims up! What Are Vegetable Oils /Margarine? Vegetable oils (and margarine, made from these oils) are oils extracted from seeds like the rapeseed (canola oil) soybean (soybean oil), corn, sunflower, safflower, etc. They were practically non-existent in our diets until the early 1900s when new chemical processes allowed them to be extracted. Unlike butter or coconut oil, these vegetable oils can’t be extracted just by pressing or separating naturally. They must be chemically removed, deodorized and altered. These are some of the most chemically altered foods in our diets, yet they get promoted as healthy. Vegetable oils are found in practically every processed food, from salad dressing to mayo to conventional nuts and seeds. These oils are some of the most harmful substances you can put into your body, but more on that in a minute!How Vegetable Oils are Made Vegetable oils are manufactured in a factory, usually from genetically modified crops that have been heavily treated with pesticides. This article has fascinating videos contrasting the production of vegetable oils and butter. Take for instance, the common Canola oil, the beauty queen of the vegetable oil industry. It was developed by making a hybrid version of the rapeseed, and it was given its name in the 1980s as part of a marketing effort organized by a conference on mono-saturates. Rapeseed oil contains high amounts of the toxic erucic acid, which is poisonous to the body. Canola oil is an altered version, also called Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed (LEAR) and it is commonly genetically modified and treated with high levels of pesticides. Canola (modified rapeseed oil) is produced by heating the rapeseed and processing with a petroleum solvent to extract the oil. Then another process of heat and addition of acid is used to remove nasty solids (wax) that occur during the first processing. At this point, the newly created canola oil must be treated with more chemicals to improve color and separate the different parts of the oil. Finally, since the chemical process has created a harsh smelling oil, it must be chemically deodorized to be palatable. If the vegetable oil is going to be made into shortening or margarine, is undergoes an additional process called hydrogenation to make it solid at cold temperatures. Unlike saturated fats (butter, coconut oil, etc) vegetable oils are not naturally solid at these temperatures and must be hydrogenated to accomplish this. During this process of hydrogenation, those lovely trans fats we’ve heard so much about are created. Nothing like petroleum produced, overheated, oxidized and chemically deodorized salad dressing for dinner…. yum. (Compare that to butter… Step 1: milk cow. Step 2: let cream separate naturally. Step 3: skim off cream. Step 4: shake until it becomes butter.) History of Vegetable Oil Production and Consumption As I mentioned, vegetable oil was practically non-existent in its current form in the early 1900s. Until that time, most people got their fats from animal sources like meat, tallow, lard, butter, cream, etc. The overall amount of fat consumed has not changed much since then (it has decreased slightly) but the type has changed dramatically. In 1900 the amount of vegetable based oils that people consumed was basically none. Today, people consume, on average, about 70 lbs of vegetable oils throughout the year. (Hmm, I wonder what 70 pounds of a “food” that was previously non-existent in human consumption might do to our health?) Add to this the fact that the animals we eat are also often fed genetically modified pesticide treated seeds and grains (cows are supposed to eat grass by the way!) and the amount of omega-6 rich oils and seeds in our diets is really high! Though vegetable oil existed in the early 1900s, its use increase that much until the 1950s, when a governmental campaign was launched to convince people to eat vegetable oils and margarine and avoid “artery clogging saturated fats.” As an interesting correlation, check out the rates of heart disease and cancer since then. As this article notes: All one has to do is look at the statistics to know that it isn't true. Butter consumption at the turn of the century was eighteen pounds per person per year, and the use of vegetable oils almost nonexistent. Yet cancer and heart disease were rare. Today butter consumption hovers just above four pounds per person per year while vegetable oil consumption has soared–and cancer and heart disease are endemic. Since the 1950′s these vegetable oils and their derivatives have been increasingly used in processed foods and for frying or cooking. They are marketed as healthy because they contain monounsaturated fats and some level of Omega 3 fatty acids. What’s Wrong with Vegetable Oils? There are many problems with vegetable oil consumption, and in my opinion, no amount is safe. To understand why, let’s look at a few of the biggest problems with vegetable oils: Our Bodies Aren’t Meant to Consume Them! The fat content of the human body is about 97% saturated and monounsaturated fat, with only 3 % Polyunsaturated fats. Half of that three percent is Omega-3 fats, and that balance needs to be there. Vegetable oils contain very high levels of polyunsaturated fats, and these oils have replaced many of the saturated fats in our diets since the 1950s. The body needs fats for rebuilding cells and hormone production, but it has to use the building blocks we give it. When we give it a high concentration of polyunsaturated fats instead of the ratios it needs, it has no choice but to incorporate these fats into our cells during cell repair and creation. The problem is that polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and oxidize easily in the body (if they haven’t already oxidized during processing or by light exposure while sitting on the grocery store shelf). These oxidized fats cause inflammation and mutation in cells. In arterial cells, these mutations cause inflammation that can clog arteries. When these fats are incorporated into skin cells, their mutation causes skin cancer. (This is why people often get the most dangerous forms of skin cancer in places where they are never exposed to the sun, but that is a topic for another day!) When these oils are incorporated into cells in reproductive tissue, some evidence suggests that this can spur problems like endometriosis and PCOS. In short, the body is made up of saturated and monounsaturated fats, and it needs these for optimal health. Vegetable Oils Contain High Levels of Omega-6 Fatty Acids I’ve talked before about how the body needs Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats in balance, preferably a 1:1 ratio. Most people consume a much higher ratio of Omega-6 fats, and this can lead to problems. Vegetable oils contain a very high concentration of Omega 6 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fats, which cause an imbalance of these oils in the body. Omega 6 fats are easily oxidized with heat or light exposure. This is another reason that when these types of fats/oils are incorporated into tissue like skin cells, the heat and light from sun exposure can increase skin cancer risk. Unbalanced levels of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats have been linked to skin cancer and many types of cancers. As this article explains: In one study performed at the University of Western Ontario, researchers observed the effects of ten different dietary fats ranging from most saturated to least saturated. What they found is that saturated fats produced the least number of cancers, while omega-6 polyunsaturated fats produced the most. Numerous other studies have also shown that polyunsaturated fats stimulate cancer while saturated fat does not1and that saturated fats do not break down to form free radicals.2 In another study, Dr. Vivienne Reeve, PhD, Head of the Photobiology Research Group at the University of Sydney irradiated a group of mice while feeding while feeding different groups of them polyunsaturated and saturated fats. She discovered that the mice that consumed only saturated fat were totally protected from skin cancer.Those in the polyunsaturated fat group quickly developed skin cancers. Later in the study, the mice in the saturated fat group were given polyunsaturated fats. Skin cancers quickly developed. The 3% of our body that is made up of polyunsaturated fats is approximately half Omega-3 fatty acids and half Omega-6 fatty acids and our body needs this balance. Omega-3s have been shown to reduce inflammation and be protective against cancer, while too much Omega-6 fats cause inflammation and increase cancer risk. Over time, consumption of these oils high in Omega-6s and polyunsaturated fats can also lead to other problems, as the above article elaborates: The journal Epidemiology published a study called, “Margarine Intake and Subsequent Coronary Heart Disease in Men.”Authors of the study followed participants of the Framingham Heart Study for 20 years and recorded their incidence of heart attack. They also tracked both butter and margarine consumption. The researchers discovered that as margarine consumption increased… heart attacks went up. As butter consumption increased… heart attacks declined. The study also divided the data into ten year increments. What they discovered is that during the first ten years, there was little association between margarine con... [ more ]       This chart from this informative article       on the history and production of canola       oil shows the process in more detail Tweet Firefighter-Fit comes to Orange County, NY Sunday, January 6, 2013  Today, Tim from Firefighter-Fit.Com traveled to the Orange County Fire Training Center in Orange County, NY to assist with the delivery of Firefighter-Fit's first official out of state course.  Our newest instructor, Michael Cronin of the West Point (NY) Fire Department led the program and was assisted by Sean Kiernan and Steve Calameri, also of the West Point Fire Department in the delivery of the program.  Michael did an excellent job presenting the program and the program was well received those that attended and participated.  We look forward to delivering more classes in the Hudson Valley area of NY in the future.  If you would like more information about hosting a class or how to get into our next class, feel free to email us at firefighter-fit@firefighter-fit.com. Great job to all participants today!       Tweet Honoring Captain Johnson - CFD Sunday, November 4, 2012   This was our way of honoring the late Captain Johnson of the Chicago Fire Department this morning at MCFRS Station 12We gave “5” flights of stairs for every exercise set of “33” reps, this represented 5 for the fallen Brother and 33 for his 33 years of service! Rest Easy Captain Johnson……… 1. 5 flights, 33 Push Ups 2. 5 flights, 33 jumping jacks 3. 5 flights, 33 Mountain Climbers 4. 5 flights, 33 Tire Strikes 5. 5 flights, 33 Burpees 6. 5 flights, 33 pike pole thrusts 7. 5 flights, 33 squats 8. 5 flights, 33 barbell presses (overhead)     Tweet Push-Ups! Tuesday, October 16, 2012  Need an easy workout you can do around the station or even at home? You can always do push-ups. Don't just do the standard push-ups, get your feet up in the air like in the picture. You don't have to use a ball, you can use stairs, a curb, the back step of the engine, or whatever. You will see that this makes a difference and makes it harder. You could even throw on a SCBA or backpack with some weight in it. Push yourself, try to do 100 push-ups. Even if you can't do them all at once, do 5 sets of 20. The next day try for 6 sets of 20. Before you know it you will be able to do 200 push-ups no problem. Remember keep calm and train on.        Tweet WEST RIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT PERFORMS FIREFIGHTER-FIT TRAINING Monday, October 1, 2012  For tonight’s training session, the West Ridge Fire Department (Erie County, PA) met at Station 47 for some firefighter physical conditioning. Members were put through a multiple station physical conditioning course setup by Firefighter Rob Hornaman. The course consisted of extending and then pulling 100’ section of attack line towards you. The next station was the pick up a high rise pack and walk a short distance with it. Then, firefighters and junior firefighters flipped over a large diameter tire. Firefighters then masked up and went on air. For the next station, firefighters used a sledge hammer to strike the tire 10 times. The next station was to extend a 100’ section of 2” line a specific distance followed by pulling the 2’ line towards you. As each member was proceeding through the course, each firefighter was accompanied by a fellow firefighter as a safety precaution. All those that went through the course were impressed with the physical conditioning course. Although tonight’s training was not timed, there is talk of doing this course again with each member being individually timed. Story and photos submitted by Rob Hornaman       Tweet FLIPPING TIRES TODAY MAY MAKE A DIFFERENCE TOMMOROW Tuesday, September 18, 2012  One of the core principles of FireFighter-Fit is equipment familiarity. Did you know that you can cut off your SCBA air source by pinching the air line to your regulator? Flipping tires today may have made the difference later. Knowing your equipment, physical limits while under mental and physical stress is key to survival during “game day”!     Tweet FIREFIGHTER-FIT - AROUND THE WORLD Thursday, September 13, 2012  Crews at the Colonial Park Fire Company in Dauphin County, PA do a FireFighter-Fit workout called "Around the World" Tire Flips, Push Ups and Tire Strikes around the firehouse! Crews went half way with push ups and flips and the other half of the circle with strikes and flips!       Around the World - Push Ups Around the World - Strikes Tweet VERY FIRST TRANSMISSIONS FROM FDNY RADIO ON 9/11 Tuesday, September 11, 2012  I have wrestled with posting this all day long. It wasn't until my son, who is 15 and a volunteer firefighter convinced me to post it so people would remember and have the opportunity to hear the first minutes of the attack. For most of the men you hear on this transmission it was their final call. I post this hesitantly, but with all the respect I could possibly show to all the the men and women involved on that fateful day. WARNING, THESE ARE VERY GRAPHIC TRANSMISSIONS THAT WILL SEND CHILLS THROUGH YOUR BODY. PLEASE SIT BACK, RELAX AND IMAGINE WHAT THESE MEN WERE DEALING WITH. GOD BLESS AND GOOD NIGHT CLICK LINK BELOW http://www.w5txr.net/Audio-Archive--01.html     Tweet Prev 1 2 3 4 Next Page 1 of 7 [ Total items: 63 ] Search for news stories : Select Year Select Month Select Category Enter Keyword

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