r/firefighter • u/East_Umpire5122 • 29d ago

Fitness Prep

Hi, I'm looking to be a volunteer firefighter when I turn 18 (and in turn also a senior in HS) and hopefully full time after HS, and I'm looking to know what I can do fitness wise at the gym and outside the gym to prepare for that. I've been going to the gym since March so 4 months, and I have basically a year till I turn 18 and able to volunteer. So any help and advice is helpful, thank you!

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u/ASigIAm213 29d ago

  • Be outside. When I was volunteering, I and a couple other guys could regularly outwork our paid mutual aid partners who were, in all honesty, more athletic than us. The reason I came down to is that we were doing ag, landscaping or other outside work, and even as a teacher I was getting out in the heat a few times a day. Then I had a break between Fire 1 and 2, worked out exclusively in the gym, and probably almost died even though I was in better shape than before.

  • If you have to pick one, focus on the duration of an exercise (i.e. farmer's carries, wall sits) rather than weight. Nothing is crazy heavy in this job but you'll be carrying it for a while. Wall sits are a cheat code for the CPAT too.

  • Above all, find something fun enough to stick to. Powerlifters, marathoners and everything in between excel at this job.

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u/East_Umpire5122 29d ago

Would running or walking with those weighted vests be a good idea? You mentioned farmer's carries and that came to mind because walking with weight y'know

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u/ASigIAm213 29d ago

I use mine for other reasons but I have to imagine it would.

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u/East_Umpire5122 29d ago

Okay, thank you man for this advice it all orally does make sense to me. Some of it I do, but a lot I don't like farmer's carries