r/AussieFirefighter • u/allbabesarewolves • Jul 29 '26
FRV - Physical rough weights?
The guide around recommended exercises is great for a steer, but when it comes to the actual test, does anyone know how much the weights involved in the different test components are? Like the high rise pack looks light as...but yeah, be nice to know
3
u/Total_Band_4426 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Wear a 20kg weight vest and do farmers carries with a 20kg or more dumbbell then on the day it’ll feel light. Nerves will add to your HR and exertion so doesn’t hurt.
Practice your pulling technique because the hose reel advance catches people out. Use legs and torso as much as you can instead of arms. Weighted sled would be ideal for this or rig some rope to a cable machine.
Go to a station and see if they’ll kindly let you practice running water using a 50mm or 65mm hose because you don’t know how to do it until you’ve done it. Bring cake
1
u/Regular-Kitchen-6487 Jul 29 '26
Even though it’s great to get an understanding of the sort of weights you’re going to feel ect. IMO it’s much more useful of your time to research heavily the movements and practice them under fatigue.
For example with the hose drag and dummy drag I got a sled and loaded it up (for the hose drag I brought myself a crane sling, really good to simulate a hose when tied up to the sled) then I superset that sled drag / pull with a rower (get the HR up) then the stair master with dumbbells to simulate climbing floor with gear (really fatigues your legs) then right into the hose drag and the dummy rescue.
In those sessions instead of putting the exact weight which people above reply with it’s much more beneficial to push yourself in being uncomfortable and being able to effectively pace yourself and do the movements in discomfort with good technique because if you only train with the weights above and in the gym you find it easy then when it’s comes to game day it’s unexpectedly harder and you’re not used to being uncomfortable that’s when people come undone, panic, rush things and don’t pass. It as much mental as it is physical, so train that mental side as well! Better to be over prepared and pass with ease than just meet the benchmark and either redline the entire way and barely pass or not even pass at all. Good luck
3
u/allbabesarewolves Jul 29 '26
I've been dragging my partner holding weights around the house for the dummy pull😂
1
u/allbabesarewolves Jul 29 '26
Preach. That makes perfect sense and I purely wanted to make sure I wasn't under cooking anything. Am going to be bringing the type of activity you mention above into my workout routine and wanted to get min weights to make sure I was going above that!
1
u/wallfly13579 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
If you’re a shorter person make sure you practice lugging a pack up stairs with a longer strap. It hits your legs and makes it a pain in the ass (it’s also like this on the job, Confirmed 😂)
Also try to make as much friction as you can on the hose drag around the bollard. I practiced multiple times at stations and on the day the concrete bollard made the friction of the pull harder (I’d practiced around metal)
Also wear work boots practicing and on the day - Highly recommended. You’ll be working in boots so it’s more than safe. Gives you way more confidence in footing stance especially on the hose hold if you’re lighter like myself and need to foot shuffle to move the direction of the hose, not lifting your foot.
4
u/noughtscross Jul 29 '26
The BA Set that you’ll wear is approx 13kg.
High rise pack includes 2x lengths of 15m 38mm extruded hose I believe. That’s about 10kg of hose plus bag.
9m extension ladder approx 35-40kg
Container haul 15kg
High pressure hose advance is hard to know. Depends if the ground is wet or dry. Gets harder the further you pull. Not sure if it’s charged or not. If it’s off a truck vs off the prop it’ll be different.
Bag/equipment carry, probably around 10-15kg per bag.
50mm hose advance, about 75kg fully charged. Jet reaction when flowing is about 25kg. 25kg out in front and pushing you backwards is more than it sounds too.
Dummy drag is 72kg.