Thursday, March 7, 2013

PT: Physical Training

One of the major safety tools firefighters have is physical fitness. Physical training is one of the most important things a firefighter can do to stay safe on the job.

Hotshots (like me) are required to meet extra rigorous physical requirements.
Right now I'm training so I can be able to:
1. Hike 3 miles with a 45lb pack in 45 minutes
2. Run 1.5 miles in 10 minutes and 35 seconds (or less)
3. Do 40 sit-ups in 60 seconds
4. Do 25 push-ups in 60 seconds
5. Do 7 or more pull-ups

I have no doubt I can hike the 3 miles in under 45 minutes with the 45lb pack. I've done it every year for the past 5 years. I'm still working on running 1.5 miles in 10:35. Last week I ran it in 12:45, which isn't bad considering I was really tired... Yesterday I ran it in about 11:30, which is good considering how windy it was outside and that I wore the wrong shoes...But, I've still got a ways to go before I'm at 10:35. I should be able to do it easily considering that's only a 7 minute/mile pace, which was about what I ran in high school for cross country.


Push-ups are tedious. They're a little boring to do over and over again, and probably I look funny doing it, but push-ups are a big deal in my job. It's about upper body strength. So far I can do 34 push-ups. I can also do 40+ sit-ups, and at least 8 pull-ups. So, at least my upper body is making good progress. I just need to keep working on my speed endurance when I run. I have to admit though, I have a lot more fun doing upper body workouts than I do running on a treadmill. Maybe running will be easier for me when I can do it outside more.



1 comment:

  1. So if I'm working out with you does that mean I can be a fire fighter too? :-)

    ReplyDelete