Time Under Tension

A physical assessment should be part of every promotion process. To be honest, a physical assessment should be a yearly event in the fire service.

Every morning I come on shift, I am required to do a truck check, SCBA check, gear check, among other things. Some of which are mandated by the state. You know what I haven't been required to do by the state? Make sure my body is ready to respond to calls for service.

We get in shape to pass the entrance test and then, slowly, as our career goes on, lose that fitness. I am 100% guilty of that. I admit that with embarrassment and shame.

30% of firefighter cardiac-related deaths occur on scene. To put that in another term, when a firefighter has a medical-related issue on scene due to poor fitness, we just brought a victim to the scene.

A little murder yoga last night at Third Ward Jiu-Jitsu.

Probably one of the best mental health improvers (I don't even know if that's a word) in my routine right now. Between the endorphins and the support offered by everyone that attends, hands down always a great time with some of the most genuine people I've had the pleasure of getting choked by.

Let's keep it quite today.

Threshold run yesterday along the bayou with the weather being downright disrespectful.
Can't let a little heat get in the way of some goals, like a 21 minute 5K.
What are your fitness goals?

Don't get stuck in a cage of comfort, the longer you're in it, the harder it is to break free...

Love me some murder yoga therapy. Great group of people ranging from people prepping for competition to the hobbyist (raises hand). Some people go to church once a week; I do Jiu Jitsu to help clear my mind.

Where's your "church" or happy place that you go to that helps you clear your mind?

On another note, Third Ward Jiu-Jitsu offers women and LGBTQ friendly Jiu Jitsu and self-defense classes. Check em out!
https://www.thirdwardbjj.com/

"Several years ago my current employer had sent out a survey regarding firefighter health for one of their many fire service projects. A surprising result was the large number of firefighters who stated that they would not tell their department or quit fighting fire if they were diagnosed with a medical condition where fighting fire would be extremely detrimental to their health. The majority would selfishly turn a blind eye."

Firefighters don't want physicals to be punitive, but why shouldn't they be? Part of the job is to be physically fit, just like showing up on time, getting reports done, etc. Looking at the metrics, no one lost their life due to not having a report done or finishing their CE's on time, so in my humble opinion, being in shape for the job should be the #1 rule. I say this from experience and regret.

Last year, many of the firefighters in a local department were pulled off the apparatus after their physicals showed abnormalities such as ST elevation, arrhythmias, concerning lab work, etc. They viewed this as punitive. Is it? Perhaps, but none of the firefighters were reprimanded, written up, etc.

However, as the saying goes, "You lost the right to be out of shape the moment you became a firefighter."
We're in the job of rescuing people and saving lives, not bringing victims to the scene.

We Are Not SEALs We may not be as good as we want to think we are.

Unfortunately, this is probably one of the truest images I've seen about the fire service.
The other morning at shift change and breakfast, alot of the talk was about peptides for weight loss, rather than diet and exercise.
Health is more than just looking fit, it's being fit for the job, strength (which a lot of firefighters focus on) and conditioning (not so much). Skinny fat is a real thing and a liability on the fire ground.

Like they say, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Easy run today to help build up the aerobic base needed for the fire ground. Also a good 50 minutes to clear my head and reset for the week.