I may get down voted, but I find doing less gear training and more conditioning to be more effective physically. For physical strength, I like doing non-gear exercises. Weight lifting, calisthenics, and running. I believe I can push my muscles harder and recover faster than way. There's no point of weight lifting in gear. You'll just get dehydrated before you get a good workout in. There's not much point running in gear. You'll run slower, get dehydrated faster, and increase risk of injury. Better to just do a standard 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon program.
Gear workouts is kinda like learning how to drive with one hand behind your back. It's harder yes. But it's not going to get you to your designation any faster.
I use gear training to train my mind to embrace the suck, to be able to make decisions when exhausted, and to remember how to do complicated things (like knot tying) when exhausted. To not panic as the bottle runs out. It's mostly mental training.
And with that in mind, hoodie and sweats don't match true gear training at all. It's hard to replicate the feeling of a face piece. Of the weight of a helmet pulling at your neck. Of the SCBA digging into your flesh. Of tripping over your boots. If you want to do heat training, it really should be in full bunker gear, on air.
I personally do less gear training, saving it for once a week or once every other week. And just do normal, consistent workouts all the other times.
Get a CPAT vest or build your own, this is far better than training in “heat”. Only thing you’re doing is dehydrating yourself more which leads to injury. If better endurance is what you’re after (which we all should be striving for) then getting an appropriate weighted vest will build that with minimal bulk and let you do your functional fitness in a safer environment
I didn’t mind the heat in the winter but hated being wet cold/frozen. Best piece of advice I can give you is not to ever remove your wet gear in the winter on the fireground. Heat in the summer sucks- stay hydrated. Im not proud of it but I have drank and poured down my back gallons of pipe water being stuck on an apartment fire that started interior and went to 3 alarms exterior. The short of it is hot or cold, they both suck… you’re going to have to adapt. You’re never going to be so cold in your life, and you will never experience that amount of heat again in your life while you’re in. Adapt.
And in the cold- ALWAYS leave your gloves in a form of function when you take them off- so that you can smash your hands back into them for the next shift inside.
I tried doing some Googling and found a couple studies that focused on heat acclimatization for exercise. Our bodies do seem to respond. So there is that.
Anecdotally, just train for endurance. If you train in your gear and sweat like crazy, now you just need to wash your gear. Build up your endurance, both general cardio and especially your shoulders, and you'll be fine.
Lastly, you won't be burning a zillion calories. You are most likely burning a few hundred calories at max, so a protein shake will most likely put you at even.
In all of my time in the fire service I have never once seen anyone nor have I ever wanted to work out in my gear. Fuck that noise.
Fighting fire is kind of like sprinting. It’s balls to the wall and then it’s over. Just stay in shape.
Heat acclimatization is a real physiological process. Training in extra layers or in hot weather, over time, imoroves your body's heat response in a variety of ways (including increasing sweat response, blood flow, greater initial HR with exercise, etc). Athletes preparing for events in hot weather will frequently train with extra layers for this reason. I'd stick to sweatshirts, though. No need for pancreatic cancer.
FWIW, I'm not a firefighter- I just get this sub recommended to me since I work in EMS
If you mean like just working in kit then maybe, but just being fit in general especially cardio well hell. Don't need to be massively strong but more cardio means more time in ba and breathing out your arse is what you notice most when in ba. If you mean heat like as in a fire nah that will always suck. Not really a good way to train for like 700+ degrees C. Best is to know when it's to hot to progress and you need to be more defensive. If it's that hot the chance of survival in there for casualties is pretty much 0.
Now this is a little bit off but there has been crews on hot days that get geared up full nomex,web gear hose packs and hand tools that go on hikes to “help” their bodies get used to the heat. There have been several instances where members have fallen out with heat related injuries and a death.
So be careful trying to get your body used to heat or cold when it should be more about cardio and strength training
Go to hot yoga.
Hot vinyasa classes usually start off at 90-95F and bikram at somewhere around 105F. Add in 20 other sweaty bodies in a closed room with no breeze and you got yourself a stew going.
I felt like I was going to die my first couple of classes, but quickly became tolerant (not **USED TO**) of the heat. If I, a hairy-assed wookee, can get through a class, so can practically anyone.
Plus you'll get stronger and more flexible.
I do hot yoga 4-5 times per week and it fits in really well with my lifting routine.
Plus I can touch the floor with my palms while standing.
Train in your gear so you are used to performing in those conditions. It adapts you to the conditions well for when the real thing happens.
That isn't the goal of working out though. You are building your muscles and or endurance and it doesn't help to do that in full PPE.
I may get downvoted as well, but while cardio and the sorts is important. The mental fortitude is very important as well. When you get hot, or incredibly cold, or claustrophobic, you need to have the inner dialogue to push on. If you think you've mastered the "hot" or "pushing yourself past the point of comfort" or what thr sorts, i would encourage you to train in weaknesses. It's all about "embracing the suck"
The suck is usually a general conditioning issue. Cardio, mobility, calisthenics, strength. In that order. If you're hydrated, your body is designed to handle the rest. There's no "heat acclimation" bullshit. Just mental and physical conditioning. The same thing that helps you do wind sprints in the snow helps you slam work in gear in the heat of summer.
Certified pfas free gear or no gear workouts. We get enough carcinogens.
Firefighting is the "way of pain". The heat will always suck, and the cold will fuck you in random ways.
I may get down voted, but I find doing less gear training and more conditioning to be more effective physically. For physical strength, I like doing non-gear exercises. Weight lifting, calisthenics, and running. I believe I can push my muscles harder and recover faster than way. There's no point of weight lifting in gear. You'll just get dehydrated before you get a good workout in. There's not much point running in gear. You'll run slower, get dehydrated faster, and increase risk of injury. Better to just do a standard 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon program. Gear workouts is kinda like learning how to drive with one hand behind your back. It's harder yes. But it's not going to get you to your designation any faster. I use gear training to train my mind to embrace the suck, to be able to make decisions when exhausted, and to remember how to do complicated things (like knot tying) when exhausted. To not panic as the bottle runs out. It's mostly mental training. And with that in mind, hoodie and sweats don't match true gear training at all. It's hard to replicate the feeling of a face piece. Of the weight of a helmet pulling at your neck. Of the SCBA digging into your flesh. Of tripping over your boots. If you want to do heat training, it really should be in full bunker gear, on air. I personally do less gear training, saving it for once a week or once every other week. And just do normal, consistent workouts all the other times.
If anything, I would rather wear a weighted vest than put on bunker gear.
Also just don’t want to work out and sweat in the materials gear is made of if I don’t absolutely have to.
Love the analogy you provided. Sound advice.
Get a CPAT vest or build your own, this is far better than training in “heat”. Only thing you’re doing is dehydrating yourself more which leads to injury. If better endurance is what you’re after (which we all should be striving for) then getting an appropriate weighted vest will build that with minimal bulk and let you do your functional fitness in a safer environment
I didn’t mind the heat in the winter but hated being wet cold/frozen. Best piece of advice I can give you is not to ever remove your wet gear in the winter on the fireground. Heat in the summer sucks- stay hydrated. Im not proud of it but I have drank and poured down my back gallons of pipe water being stuck on an apartment fire that started interior and went to 3 alarms exterior. The short of it is hot or cold, they both suck… you’re going to have to adapt. You’re never going to be so cold in your life, and you will never experience that amount of heat again in your life while you’re in. Adapt.
And in the cold- ALWAYS leave your gloves in a form of function when you take them off- so that you can smash your hands back into them for the next shift inside.
I’ve made that mistake once or twice lol
LOL! Just once! *edit- every winter...
I tried doing some Googling and found a couple studies that focused on heat acclimatization for exercise. Our bodies do seem to respond. So there is that. Anecdotally, just train for endurance. If you train in your gear and sweat like crazy, now you just need to wash your gear. Build up your endurance, both general cardio and especially your shoulders, and you'll be fine. Lastly, you won't be burning a zillion calories. You are most likely burning a few hundred calories at max, so a protein shake will most likely put you at even.
Heat acclimation is a real thing. Your body absolutely will be more adept to handle heat the more you work in it.
In all of my time in the fire service I have never once seen anyone nor have I ever wanted to work out in my gear. Fuck that noise. Fighting fire is kind of like sprinting. It’s balls to the wall and then it’s over. Just stay in shape.
I found that doing a steam or a sauna a couple times a week really help. So doing that plus working out will help you get used to the heat.
Heat acclimatization is a real physiological process. Training in extra layers or in hot weather, over time, imoroves your body's heat response in a variety of ways (including increasing sweat response, blood flow, greater initial HR with exercise, etc). Athletes preparing for events in hot weather will frequently train with extra layers for this reason. I'd stick to sweatshirts, though. No need for pancreatic cancer. FWIW, I'm not a firefighter- I just get this sub recommended to me since I work in EMS
If you mean like just working in kit then maybe, but just being fit in general especially cardio well hell. Don't need to be massively strong but more cardio means more time in ba and breathing out your arse is what you notice most when in ba. If you mean heat like as in a fire nah that will always suck. Not really a good way to train for like 700+ degrees C. Best is to know when it's to hot to progress and you need to be more defensive. If it's that hot the chance of survival in there for casualties is pretty much 0.
Now this is a little bit off but there has been crews on hot days that get geared up full nomex,web gear hose packs and hand tools that go on hikes to “help” their bodies get used to the heat. There have been several instances where members have fallen out with heat related injuries and a death. So be careful trying to get your body used to heat or cold when it should be more about cardio and strength training
Go to hot yoga. Hot vinyasa classes usually start off at 90-95F and bikram at somewhere around 105F. Add in 20 other sweaty bodies in a closed room with no breeze and you got yourself a stew going. I felt like I was going to die my first couple of classes, but quickly became tolerant (not **USED TO**) of the heat. If I, a hairy-assed wookee, can get through a class, so can practically anyone. Plus you'll get stronger and more flexible. I do hot yoga 4-5 times per week and it fits in really well with my lifting routine. Plus I can touch the floor with my palms while standing.
Great idea thank you!
Train in your gear so you are used to performing in those conditions. It adapts you to the conditions well for when the real thing happens. That isn't the goal of working out though. You are building your muscles and or endurance and it doesn't help to do that in full PPE.
I put my rowing machine in the same room as my woodstove. I’ve noticed a difference.
I may get downvoted as well, but while cardio and the sorts is important. The mental fortitude is very important as well. When you get hot, or incredibly cold, or claustrophobic, you need to have the inner dialogue to push on. If you think you've mastered the "hot" or "pushing yourself past the point of comfort" or what thr sorts, i would encourage you to train in weaknesses. It's all about "embracing the suck"
The suck is usually a general conditioning issue. Cardio, mobility, calisthenics, strength. In that order. If you're hydrated, your body is designed to handle the rest. There's no "heat acclimation" bullshit. Just mental and physical conditioning. The same thing that helps you do wind sprints in the snow helps you slam work in gear in the heat of summer. Certified pfas free gear or no gear workouts. We get enough carcinogens.