Chapter 8—Fire Season Fitness

The training programs in this chapter follow the principles of training discussed in the previous chapter, and are based on current research, including studies involving wildland firefighters.

The programs are designed to meet the fitness needs of all wildland firefighters, from incident management team members to line personnel. Because every individual has different needs, different fitness levels, and responds differently to training, programs should be adjusted to each individual's needs.

To simplify the organization of the training programs, we start with overall goals for five groups of firefighters with similar fitness needs, then briefly discuss seasonal goals and training programs for each group within the wildland firefighting community. Training program details are found in appendixes A through H.

Fitness and Work Capacity Goals

Each group of firefighters has overall fitness and work capacity goals (table 8.1) and specific goals for four periods of the year (table 8.2).

Table 8.1—Fitness goals for wildland firefighters.

Group	Fitness tests*	Fitness and work capacity goals
Personnel not required to pass a work capacity test	None required.	Maintain health, body weight, and fitness to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, with ample energy to enjoy leisure pursuits, and to meet unforeseen emergencies.
Incident management team members	Safely complete the required work capacity test for your category (Walk, Field, or Pack Tests).	Maintain health, body weight, and fitness to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, with ample energy to enjoy leisure pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies.
Supervisory personnel who work on or near the fireline	Pass moderate or arduous work capacity (Field or Pack Tests) and other fitness assessments (recommended).	Hiking endurance (with pack). Maintain health, body weight, and fitness to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, with ample energy to enjoy leisure pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies.
Type II firefighter and other field personnel (such as trail crew members)	Pass arduous work capacity Pack Test (required for WLFF) and other fitness assessments (recommended).	Fitness for job-specific tasks, including upper and lower body endurance and strength. Basic tasks include line digging, cutting, swamping; hiking with pack; pump and hose work; mopup and related activities.
Type I firefighters: smokejumpers, rappellers, and hotshots	Pass arduous work capacity Pack Test (required) and other assessments required or recommended in table 6.2.	Fitness for job-specific tasks, including upper and lower body endurance and strength plus crew-specific needs such as jumping; let down; pack-out; line digging, cutting, and swamping; hiking with pack; pump and hose work; mopup and related activities.
*For complete fitness test requirements and recommendations see table 6.2.

Table 8.2—Seasonal fitness goals for wildland fire personnel.

Group	Recovery	Preseason	Early fire season	Fire season
Personnel not required to pass a work with capacity test	Maintain health, body weight, and the fitness to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, ample energy to enjoy leisure pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies.
Incident management team members	Meet activity goals for health and weight management.	Gradually improve fitness to safely pass required work capacity tests and for health and weight management.	Continue fitness, health, and weight management programs.	Maintain fitness for health and weight management. Develop healthy fire camp eating habits.
Supervisory personnel who work on or near the fireline	Meet activity goals for health and weight management, and for muscular and aerobic fitness.	Improve fitness to meet job requirements and pass work capacity tests. Focus on the ability to hike with a moderate pack.	Longer hikes in hills and rough terrain. Job-specific fitness training for tasks that you expect to perform.	Maintain fitness through job-related tasks, and if necessary, through physical training. Monitor health, fatigue, and body weight.
Type II hand crews and field workers (such as trail crewmembers)	2 to 4 weeks of unstructured activity to recover from the previous fire season. Then resume training, moving from general to more specific tasks as the season approaches.	Increase hiking and long-duration activities with some specificity. Begin resistance training specific to job tasks that you will perform (appendix F). Begin preparation for the arduous work capacity Pack Test.	This period involves crew training, moving toward job-specific tasks and increasing the duration of the tasks, including hiking with a pack, line digging, saw work, swamping, and pump and hose work.	Maintain fitness through job tasks and periods of recovery. If possible, work days should be varied with an easier day after every 1 to 3 hard days. Monitor health and fatigue. If necessary, include job-specific training or project work to maintain fitness.
Type I firefighters: smokejumpers, rappellers, and hotshots	2 to 4 weeks of unstructured activity to allow recovery from the fire season. Resume training, moving from general to more specific tasks as the season approaches.	Increase hiking and longer duration activities with some specificity. Begin resistance training activities specific to the job tasks that you will perform. Before the early season, engage in tasks including line digging, chain saw work, swamping, and focus on the strength tasks (such as self rescue from tree landings for smokejumpers).	This period may involve 1 to 2 hours a day of physical training for job-specific tasks, gradually increasing the time spent on tasks such as hiking with a pack, line digging, saw work, swamping, and pump and hose work. Muscular fitness training should be continued with a core training program (appendix G).	Maintain fitness through job tasks and periods of recovery. If possible, work days should be varied with an easier day after every 1 to 3 hard days. Monitor health and fatigue.

Where To Begin?

Inactive individuals are more than 50 times as likely to experience a heart problem during exertion as individuals who have been active. Anyone who intends to take any of the work capacity tests or begin fitness training should become active before they begin training. Inactive individuals should undertake a 4- to 6-week walking program, slowly increasing the distance and their pace until they can walk 3 miles in 45 minutes. Those who are older or have been inactive for a long time may need to walk for more than 4 to 6 weeks before becoming more active. See your physician or complete a health screening questionnaire before beginning vigorous activity (see figure 2.1). Then use the Walk, Walk-Jog, and Jog-Run Tests to determine your fitness level. Read through the tests and decide which program is appropriate for you (appendix A).

Walk Test—Walk at a brisk pace (3.5 to 4 miles per hour) for 10 minutes.

• If you cannot walk at a brisk pace for 5 minutes, begin with the Red Walking Program.
  
  
• If you can walk for 5 minutes but can't walk for 10 minutes, begin with the third week of the Red Walking Program.
  
  
• If you walk the full 10 minutes but are somewhat tired, start with the White Walk-Jog Program.
  
  
• If 10 minutes is easy, and you have done some jogging, wait a day after trying the Walk-Jog Program and take the Walk-Jog Test.

Walk-Jog Test—Alternately walk 50 steps (left foot strikes the ground 25 times) and jog 50 steps for 10 minutes.

• If you can't complete 10 minutes, begin with week three of the White Walk- Jog Program.
  
  
• If you can complete 10 minutes but feel tired and winded, begin with week four of the White Walk- Jog Program.
  
  
• If you complete the Walk- Jog Test comfortably, you can take the 1.5-mile Run Test or start the Blue Jogging Program.

1.5-mile Run Test—This test is a 1.5- mile run, pacing yourself as fast as possible for at least 1 mile, but preferably for the entire distance.

On a track, complete a warmup by walking and jogging until you feel ready to go. When ready, start the 1.5- mile run test (figure 8.1).

• If you can complete 4 laps (1 mile) under 11:45 (11 minutes and 45 seconds), start the Blue Jogging Program at week 4.
  
  
• If you can complete 6 laps (1.5 miles) under 17:36, start the Blue Jogging Program at week 6.
  
  
• If you can complete 6 laps (1.5 miles) under 17:30, begin any of the following programs:
• Training for the work capacity tests (Walk, Field, or Pack).
• General fitness for incident management team members.
• General off-season maintenance program for all fireline personnel.

Figure 8.1—The 1.5-mile Run Test.

Once you have completed the tests, you can determine the appropriate training program for each season of the year, based on your fitness level and job requirements. See the appendixes to select the appropriate training programs.

Muscular Fitness Training

Wildland firefighting is primarily an endurance activity with occasional short periods of high-intensity work. Muscular fitness training focuses on developing muscular endurance rather than large increases in strength. However, many firefighters will need to improve strength as well as muscular endurance. Early in the off-season, begin strength training two to three times per week. Increase weight while reducing repetitions to between four and eight. Have a spotter help when you are lifting heavy weights.

The recommendations are based on the idea of repetition maximum (RM). The RM is the number of repetitions you can do with a weight before you are unable to continue in good form. A 12-RM set is a series of 12 repetitions with the 11th and 12th repetitions becoming very difficult. Table 8.3 shows general guidelines for muscular fitness training.

Table 8.3—Guidelines for muscular fitness training.

Desired Outcome	RM1	Rest2	No. Sets	Speed3	Frequency4 (per week)
Muscular fitness5	10-15	1-2	2-3	Moderate	2-3
Strength	1-6	>3	2-3	Slow	3-4
Power	8-12	>3	2-3	Fast	2-3
Muscular endurance	15-30	<1	2-3	Moderate	2-3
1RM stands for repetition maximum, the number of repetitions that can be completed in a set before you are unable to continue in good form. 2Rest is minutes of rest between sets. 3Speed is speed of movement. Heavier weights are generally moved slowly. The development of power requires fast movements and moderate weights. Often, specialized equipment is required. 4Frequency is the number of sessions each week. Be sure to rest at least 1 day between sessions. 5Maintenance program.

Specific exercises for resistance training are listed in appendix F. Core training exercises are listed in appendix G.

For more information on aerobic and muscular fitness training, see "Fitness and Health" (Sharkey and Gaskill 2007), "Sport Physiology for Coaches" (Sharkey and Gaskill 2006), and the Fire Fit Program.

Flexibility

Flexibility enhances sustained work capacity and reduces the risk of injury. Flexibility decreases with age and inactivity. Some work-related injuries may be more likely with decreased flexibility. Lower back problems are associated with poor flexibility, especially problems related to the hamstrings and weak abdominal muscles.

For effective stretching, warm up a bit with light exercise or calisthenics. Finish the warmup with more vigorous effort, such as jogging, before stretching. During the fire season, stretch after hiking to the fireline and again at the end of the work shift before you cool down.

Static stretching involves a slow movement to reach the point of stretch, holding the position (5 to 10 seconds), and relaxing. The stretch may be repeated, and very light bobbing may be employed.

Contract/relax is a variation of the static stretch. Do a static stretch, relax, then contract the muscle for a few seconds. Repeat the static stretch. When performed on muscles like those in the calf, the technique seems to help the muscle relax so you can better stretch the tendon.

Dynamic stretching involves stretching in work-specific motions. It improves range of motion in movements related to the job. Dynamic stretching may reduce the risk of injury.

Do your stretching routine when training or firefighting. Specific exercises for flexibility can be found in appendix H.