The Fat Rat

Back to work after a whirlwind tour of Orlando/Disney/Sea World, with a 3 year old in tow, and am I tired!  An observation.  I saw a fair amount of rather obese folks, all proudly sporting their fire-rescue and EMS t-shirts.  How they fit in these xxxL shirts amazes me.  Who do they think they are representing, is their department proud of the free advertising they are getting on the ample space their bodies, are they representing their profession well.  Do we want society to think that this is the norm in our profession?  Have some pride folks, frankly it’s a little embarrassing!

Fire and EMS Fitness

A favorite saying of mine is now here…..”summer is coming” and NOW is now here.  In Fire and EMS we are constantly exposed to taxing situations, both physically and mentally.  Add in the heat of summer and now we are cooking….no pun intended.  Responders please remember to stay well hydrated, with water!  Increased alertness, flexibility, bowel function, skin health and overall cardiac output are improved by simply staying hydrated.  The more water we drink the more weight we loose, water helps to keep the bowel moving.  We all know the effects of dehydration, thats why we see so many calls for heat exposure and why we have specific protocols for working in our gear in the heat.  If we stay ahead of the dehydration curve you will move better, feel better and function better.  Plus cutting out the teas/sodas/juices will cut calories to assist you in loosing weight.  Remember, by the time you feel thirsty you arer already dehydrated!

 

Be Fit, Stay Safe

Exercise of the week

One of my favorite and least favorite exercises is a reverse lunge  chop.  This is a full body movement that involves active flexibility, dynamic stability, core control, strength and balance.  it will get your heart rate up and it will challenge you to maintain control.  the cool part of this exercise is that we can us a dumbbell, kettle bell, band or cable as resistance.  Simply do a reverse lunge and as you go down chop the weight across your body and pause at the bottom.  Keep your elbow locked and ab’s braced to avoid any cheating.  10-15 on each side for 2-4 sets will do the trick!

reverse Lunge chop

Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week

For all my friends ou there in the fire/EMS world, thank you for doing what you do.  From today through the 30th of june the Fit Responder Book is on SALE. Enter the coupon code- health and safety for 25% off the book.

Thank you.

Did you know?

Did you know that exercising just 20-30 minutes a day will significantly reduce your chances of heart disease and obesity.

Did you know that stretching once a day will significantly reduce your chance of injury and or muscle strain. (better hold that stretch for 45 sec!)

Did you know that by only eating half of what is on your plate you will loose weight, decrease body fat and save money. (leftovers anyone)

Did you know that if your merrit raise is based on your yearly fitness and biomechanical testing you will be more likely to exercise and sty fit.

Did you know that if you use a tennis ball for self massage while on duty not only will you feel better, you will have less pain and you will move better.

Kettle Bell Training

Soon to appear on emsresponder.com is my little rant on the kettle bell fad.  Now these suckers have been around for a long time but have become recently popular.  Do they have a place in public safety fitness? Absolutely.  Will they hurt you if you are not an advanced lifter with near perfect flexibility and balance? Absolutely.  So responders, be careful.  The key is controlled momentum, yes controlled momentum.  I am in the process of adding a chapter to the FIT RESPONDER book and should have it up soon.  I will leave you with an into movement to get you through the week. This is a KB core and shoulder stabilization movement. The idea is to keep the KB top dead center overhead while performing a full split squat with a pause on the floor….nasty after around 15-20 reps.  Be the stud and add in a shoulder press, but no shrugging or arching the back at all!

Change

Responders, This past week has been very interesting/informative. I have met with EMS directors, county managers, and spoken with EMS wellness directors.  No surprise that there is a lot of confusion out there on what is standard in a business that is hard to standardize.  From the fitness and injury prevention standpoint it has become clear to me that we are either too scared of litigation or just happy with the status quoe.  Fat and lazy is not how to survive a career or even a brief stint in public safety.  Yes we can test a stretcher lift, or a backboard carry, or test strength but all this will ever tell us is a single dimension of performance.

The body is a pretty amazing thing but it will not stay pain/injury free for long if it is imbalanced.  Poor posture, improper exercise, trauma, sports, and repetitive movements will lead to injury.  We CAN test for these imbalances but it requires changing the way we think and the way we test.  I test daily for these imbalances daily and daily i find things that other ‘fitness and rehabilitation’ professionals have missed.  Why you ask?  Simple, step out of the box and embrace change.  Together we can change ourselves and our profession but it takes embracing the fact that what we know we may know wrong.

Random Thoughts

• Why do we fear the consistency and effort of a fitness program?
• Does a little effort now outweigh the benefits of feeling good?
• Why do so many put their health last on the priority list?
• Why do I go in the gym and see so many folks making the same mistakes over and over?
• Why don’t you sign up for the 6 most common exercise mistakes at www.fitresponder.com ?
• Why are you not registered for the EMS Expo in Atlanta this October to find out the answers?

Simple Fitness and Biomechanical Wisdom

If it does not move and it should = roll it/stretch it!

If it moves when it should not = Stabilize it!

If it hurts perform tennis ball self massage!

If you do not understand what rolling and tennis ball massage are them but the book, it’s all in there!

 

Does not get any easier than that.

Uniform Stretching

Responders, try this very simple and very effective stretch for the hip/glute and leg.  It is a tad advanced but will keep your hips loose and your back feeling good.  Hold the stretch for 60 seconds each side 1-2X day.

Uniform stretching