Changes in fitness over an 11-week training program among firefighter trainees

Abstract

Purpose: To determine baseline physical fitness characteristics and assess the effectiveness of an 11- week training program among firefighter recruits. Methods: Archived data for twenty-three (n=23, age 27.75 ± 3.64, ht: 178.5 + 6.9 cm, wt: 85.9 + 10.1 kg, BMI: 26.94 + 2.7) firefighter trainees were used for this analysis. This data included: age (yrs); height (cm); weight (kg), vertical jump eight, grip strength, upperbody strength (i.e. pull-ups), lower-body strength (3-RM hex-bar deadlift), and aerobic fitness (20-meter multistage fitness test). The training program consisted of three 1-hour physical training sessions per week (2 resistance training and 1 running aerobic session) in addition to their normal skill-specific training. Paired sample T-tests were used to determine if ignificant changes occurred over the 11 –weeks. Results: Significant changes from pre-to-post academy for body mass (-3%, p<0.001), BMI (-15.4%, p<0.001), pull-ups (24.5%, p<0.001), lower-body absolute strength (12.2%, p<0.001), lower body relative strength (14.8%, p<0.001), and 20MSFT (38.7%, p<0.001). Conclusion: Fitness can be improved during fire training academy with minimal equipment and specific fire ground training over an 11-week training academy