Chapter 7—Principles of Training

Our muscles, bones, and connective tissues adapt to the stresses and loads that we put on them. This adaptability is a fundamental characteristic of tissues in general. In exercise physiology we refer to the acute (short-term) changes that occur during exercise as responses. For instance, heart rate and blood pressure respond to running. The long-term changes after many days, weeks, and years of training are called adaptations- genes in muscle fibers are 'turned on' to produce new proteins, the building blocks for new muscle tissue, or to produce enzymes for energy production.

No training plan can be designed that works for everybody. However, if you understand the basic principles of aerobic and muscular fitness training, you will be able to adapt the training programs outlined in chapter 8 and appendixes A through H to fit your needs and goals.

Overload and Recovery—We increase the load on a system (such as a muscle) to elicit a training response. The increased load (or overload) turns on genes in the cell to produce proteins, a form of adaptation. The adaptations seem to occur most rapidly during periods of recovery. Training (overload) must be coupled with periods of recovery. Training is a period of stress, recovery, and adaptation.

Overload—Overload can be from increased duration, intensity, or frequency of training. Because wildland firefighting assignments may require 14 or more days of long-duration effort, with occasional periods of high intensity exertion, the programs in chapter 8 focus on developing muscular strength and endurance to handle the rigor of wildland firefighting.

Recovery—Periods of lighter work and recovery are vital to effective training and are also important during extended periods of work. During periods of lighter work and recovery, adaptations occur.

Patience—You can't get ready for the fire season in a few weeks. Preparation takes a sustained effort over several months, starting with training for muscular strength and moving toward increased endurance. The level of training and the time needed for preparation depend on each person's level of fitness. Regardless of your level of activity during the off-season, it takes at least several weeks to move from general fitness to the job-related fitness required for firefighting.

Specificity—How you train will determine your results. Fitness is specific to the muscles used, the speed at which they are used, the movements that are practiced, and the resistance and duration of the activities. There is no perfect substitute for a particular activity other than the activity itself. Digging line for long periods of time, extended hiking in rugged terrain with your line gear, chain sawing or swamping, laying hose and moving pumps, all require specific muscles, patterns of movement, adequate strength in specific areas, and endurance. Additionally, job-specific work hardens the body in other ways (work hardening) by toughening skin and strengthening supporting muscles (such as muscles in the body's core and finger flexors). In general, the training programs in appendixes A through H start with general training to improve muscular and endurance fitness and progress toward more task-specific fitness.

Most tasks in wildland firefighting require high endurance during job-specific tasks. The body must be able to take in and transport oxygen to the muscles and to use the oxygen in the muscles being trained. The only way to optimally develop the endurance of muscles is to train them by doing the activity.

Although the principle of specificity is a major component of training, we recognize that it is not possible to train specifically for wildland firefighting year around. Few of us can cut trees and dig line to train throughout the year, and those activities might not be appreciated should you try. Instead, the fitness programs recommended here start with general training, then move to more specific imitations of firefighting tasks. During the early fire season, training becomes very specific, gradually increasing the duration of tasks as firefighters become work hardened.

Reversibility—When we become less active, we lose the benefits of training. Different components of fitness are lost at different rates. A week in bed with the flu will result in a substantial loss in blood plasma volume, but little change in mitochondrial enzyme concentration and little change in capillary density. When you get back on your feet, a couple of training sessions will return blood volume and cardiac function to normal.

However, if you take 3 months off from physical activity while performing a desk job during the off-season, you will lose much of the fitness gained during the previous months of training. If you are highly fit at the end of a fire season and don't maintain your fitness for 6 months, it may take another 6 months to regain it. Training adaptations are transient and depend on continued overload, recovery, and adaptation to maintain fitness. There is some evidence that people who have been highly fit and take a break seem able to return to high levels of fitness faster than those who have not been highly trained before.

Individual Responses—Training programs are usually designed for the average person. But heart size, muscle mass, bone density, muscle fiber type, fat distribution patterns, responses to training, and other factors vary from individual to individual. If a group shares the same exercise program, there will be large differences in their responses to the individual workouts and the overall training program. Some will improve their fitness by as much as 40 percent, while others will see minimal improvements. The same is true for wildland firefighters. Reasons for individual responses include genetics, maturation, nutrition, general health, and more. For instance, up to 50 percent of aerobic endurance may depend on genetics.

Some wildland firefighters can do very little training for 3 to 6 months, train for a few weeks, and be ready to go. Others are "slow responders" who seem to lose gains quickly and take many weeks to get back into firefighting shape. Some trainees can tolerate intense training to reach peak fitness. Others cannot tolerate the same workload, but reach similar performance levels if they intersperse more rest days. Here are some guidelines to help you adapt a training program, such as one of the programs in chapter 8, for you:

• Understand what training does to your body. Pay attention to what seems to be working, and what isn't. Know how your engine works. This will help you evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to training.
  
  
• Pay attention to how you are feeling. On days when you are tired, listen to your body and give yourself time to recover. If you feel like you need to push harder, go for it- but, if you feel an activity is too hard, back off on the intensity.
  
  
• Learn and practice good technique for the tasks that you will be performing. The closer you get to the fire season, the more specific your training should become. Optimizing your technique will allow you to perform longer and more efficiently with less risk of injury.
  
  
• Keep a record of what you do and how you feel! A notebook and pencil are often good enough. Keep track of the results by testing yourself periodically (see chapter 6). If you keep records and adjust the programs in this book based on your results, you will have your own personal prescription for success.

We have to do something extra to get a training response. Applying the overload principle regularly is the basis of a training program. How we overload is specified in terms of intensity of exercise, duration of effort, and frequency of effort. Once you specify the type of training activity, you have the major components of a training program. Based on your current fitness and genetic makeup, you will have a training threshold; an intensity, duration, or frequency of effort that elicits a training response.

Generally, the minimum threshold for aerobic fitness is considered to be a heart rate about 60 percent of one's maximal heart rate: (220 - your age) x 0.6. For improving strength, the minimal threshold is about 66 percent of your current maximal strength.

Progression—As we become more fit, the minimum training threshold increases. We need to progressively overload. For instance, to prepare for the arduous work capacity (pack) test, the progression might include: walk 1 mile at a speed you can comfortably handle, increasing the distance over time to 3 miles. During this time you might have increased your frequency from twice per week to three times per week. Next, increase your walking speed to 4 miles per hour in 1 mile increments until you can walk 3 miles at this speed. Finally, start walking with progressively heavier packs until you can complete the 3 miles in 45 minutes with a 40-pound pack.

Does this mean that every training session should be above your training threshold and that you should increase the overload each workout? The answer is an absolute No! Training needs to be varied daily, weekly, and seasonally to allow for individual recovery. This principle of variability, which we call periodization, is important; individuals who ignore it may develop overtraining or overuse injuries. Activity below the training threshold is important to allow recovery and time for training adaptations to occur.

Varying Your Training

While athletes often use complex strategies to vary their training, some commonsense methods are easy to apply. Remember that periodization is variation in training, but the principle of progressive overloading still applies. Figure 7.1 shows gradual increases in overload with daily, weekly, and seasonal variations.

Figure 7.1—A generalized schematic of periodizing training before the fire season. Weeks 1
to 20 are shown as the training period. During this time there is a gradual increase in overload
but with weekly variation. Within each training week a firefighter should also have easier and
harder days. During the fire season the average work intensity will be lower than during the
final weeks of training and, if possible, there should be daily and weekly variations in physical
stress. After the fire season, physical activity may be reduced for several weeks of recovery
before a new year begins.

Daily Variation—The simplest form of periodization is to alternate hard days (overload above the minimum training threshold) with easy days (below the training threshold). The easy days are for recovery and to allow time for improvements in muscle strength (contractile proteins) or endurance (enzyme proteins).

Weekly Variation—It makes sense to alternate harder weeks with easier weeks. At the end of a hard week, you should feel tired. At the end of an easy week, you should feel rested.

Seasonal Variation—Each season will have a different training focus.

Recovery Period—This is a period of active recovery after the fire season. A number of research studies have shown that it is beneficial to take some time off from formal training after a long period of work or competition. This appears to be true for wildland firefighters and is a normal response to a long fire season. The duration of this period may vary, but is generally 2 to 3 weeks. This period allows your body time to recover, but won't be long enough to lose long-term fitness gains. During this time, most wildland firefighters will continue to participate in recreational activities that help maintain general endurance and muscular fitness.

After you have recovered, focus on maintaining and gradually increasing your fitness. We suggest moderate physical training 3 to 4 days a week. If you need to increase muscular strength or muscular endurance, this is a good time to start.

Preseason Period—This is the time to begin preparing for the upcoming fire season. The length of this season depends on the level of fitness you maintained during the off-season. In general, we suggest a 4-week period during which you gradually build both endurance and muscular fitness, beginning with nonspecific activities and moving toward physical training that is task oriented to prepare you to perform your job successfully.

Early Fire Season—This period includes the time when your crew is gathered together and begins formal physical training. Training will be task specific and include both physical and technical training. The length of this period varies greatly across crews, regions, and agencies. However, in all cases, crewmembers are expected to arrive with adequate endurance and muscular fitness to begin job-specific training. During this period, you will have extended periods of "work hardening" to prepare for the long, hard days of the coming fire season.

Fire Season—The duration of this period depends on the length and severity of the fire season, crew assignments, and agency policies. Maintenance of fitness and health during this period is discussed in chapter 9.