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It’s no secret that a firefighter’s work places incredible strain on the body.  According to the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), sprains and strains account for 50% of all line-of-duty injuries, and back injuries result in approximately 50% of all line-of-duty...

The Exercise Ball Over the past few weeks I’ve discussed why calorie/activity trackers, foam rollers, resistance tubes and yoga/stretching mats are excellent tools for firefighters. Today’s important health tool is an exercise ball. The exercise ball is another versatile,...

Yoga/Stretching Mat Over the past few weeks I’ve discussed why calorie/activity trackers, foam rollers and resistance tubes are excellent tools for firefighters. Today’s important health tool is a yoga or stretching mat. Although stretching is imperative for firefighters to avoid...

Resistance tubes Over the past few weeks I’ve discussed why calorie/activity trackers and foam rollers are excellent tools for firefighters. Today’s important health tool is a resistance tube. Resistance tubes have so many benefits but I rarely see them in use at the firehouse....

The Foam Roller And Your Body Last week I discussed why calorie and activity trackers are excellent tools for firefighters.The second important tool in this series is a foam roller. Foam rolling has become very popular with athletes and fitness enthusiasts over the past 10 years....

Calorie and Activity Tracker Each year during the annual firefighter fitness tests that I do here in Oregon, the firefighters I work with are required to complete a nutritional analysis on themselves using an online calorie tracker. While this always drums up a lot of moaning and...

Have you ever thought of doing Yoga? YOGA?! What is Yoga you ask? In short it is “creating balance in the body.” Yoga first started over 5,000 years ago and was for men as well as women. Over time it has evolved in many ways, but the basic concepts of health and wellness of the...

Working as a firefighter is a physically demanding job, taking our bodies to the limit. Personal protective equipment shields us from many hazards but it also limits our ability to move at times, reducing our range of motion and adds weight to our back, neck and knees.  Because...

The Promise There are very few arguments to be made that exercising is not good for your health. Throw together some cardio, weight training, healthy eating and some consistency over a long period of time and you have a recipe for a long, healthy life. But as firefighters, there...

Over the past few weeks we’ve been discussing exercises that place a lot of stress on the joints and can even cause damage. Obviously that’s counterproductive – if we’re spending time and energy to exercise we want it to be beneficial, not detrimental! Especially for...