hey guys, i’m training for my firefighter physical march of next year, and according to many people I’ve asked, it’s imperative to do high intensity cardio for 45 minutes 4 times a week…the first thing that popped into my head was a fear of losing large amounts of muscle…bottom line, i have to do it…can anybody reccommend programs/diets that may help me retain as much muscle as possible?
Why must you do 45 minutes of cardio? Is there a specific event you are training for (example: two mile run), do you need to lose fat? Give us a clue! You have about seven months to get ready, but ready for what?
What are the aspects of this physical test? How you train for this should very much reflect the elements of the test. I’m not saying that you don’t need to do cardio, but you could tailor it better.
As for the muscle loss question, just eat to make up for the calories expended. Read Massive Eating part 1 to determine caloric cost of exercise or use the calorie readout from the cardio machines. These equations and readouts are not perfect, but they'll get you in the ballpark.
Lots of protein, bcaas, and glutamine. Try some short HIT, followed by a long walk. You’ll still be burning fat from the HIT, but you shouldn’t lose as much muscle as you would with one long HIT session. Just from my experience though. Maybe some short am/fasting cardio as well, not over 35 min.
I did my firefighter’s physical about 2 months ago. All you have to do is about 20-24 minutes at a high intensity to increase your VO2 every other day, I actually only did it every third day. However, with every work out, I would increase the speed by just .1 or .2 mph and eventually the incline. I only did this 12 weeks before my physical. Half hour before my cardio I would take some whey with gatorade etc. to make sure my muscles were not being used for fuel. Forget about doing 45 minute cardio sessions!
I know that part of the physical test for firefighters is a run. Correct? HIIT seems to be the program right up your alley. Sprints, jump rope. Or even check out Fat to Fire, if you also need to lose some fat.
Some more info would be helpful, though. Your stats? ARE you concerned with losing fat, too? Or are you lean now? And let me echo Older Lifter's question - "why 45-min of cardio?"
I agree with OlderLifter. Why do you have to do 45 mins. of high-intensity cardio 4x/week? Most physical agility tests for big city fire and police dept.'s rarely have you run further than a timed mile and a half, which is about the only aerobic type of exercise you’d do on a physical agility test. The other events would probably be more anaerobic.
I dunno what the firefighter physical is composed of, but 45 minute interval training sounds a little excessive. I’m assuming that’s what you mean by high intensity. Running hills or stairs is a good way to lower your time needs, the extra resistance amps up the intensity, twenty minutes or so three times a week is a killer, and it’ll help you retain muscle. Just eat a lot of good food, good luck on your test.
It depends on the type of run your going to be tested on. It will most likely be either a 1 1/2 mile run or a vo2 max test on a tread mill. If it’s the former, simply run a 1 1/2 as fast as you can 3 times/wk. If it’s the latter do as AAA suggested and do high intensity cardio 3 x wk. You will most likely have to run on an incline on the treadmill for the test, so practice on the treadmill. I would jack up the incline and run at as fast as you can for 15-20min. You could start out doing this in interval fashion and work up to where you can sustain a significant pace for 20min. BYW, as a firefighter I can tell you that once your past this test all the running will have done little to prepare you for work on the fireground. In addition to running I would suggest getting a weighted vest and doing lots of stairs or farmers walk with dumbells or a wheel barrel. (a la coach Davies) You will never, ever run on the fireground; it’s dangerous. Instead you need to be able to work long and hard with approx. 75lbs of gear on your body, not including any tools you are using. Strength is important for firefighting, but being able to sustain effort under load for long periods of time in a high temperature environment is the key. Good luck with your test and I hope you make it through. Let me know if you do so I can welcome you to the brotherhood. IMHO, it’s the most rewarding career on earth.
do tempo runs to increase your cardiovascular strength
one word…TABATA
Hey man check this out …first start off with a lite jog for 30 seconds, then a full out blast for 30 seconds, and lite jog again, alternate back and forth lite jog, all out sprint for 30 seconnds each, try it firts time do it for 2 to 3 minutes, I’m up to 7 minutes and I’m losing fat and building muscle, check it out,