Health and Fitness Programs for Firefighters

Fire retardant building practices, fire prevention technology, and increased use of alarms and sprinkler systems have significantly reduced the number of fires that take place nationally and within communities, reducing the percentage of service calls for fires to as low as 3% (3). The program consisted of the following: * Education * Nutrition * Stress management * Peer fitness training * Supervised group training Variables examined during the program included the following (Figure 1): * Resting heart rate and blood pressure * Body composition * Cardiopulmonary endurance * Strength * Flexibility * Perceived stress EDUCATION A series of education classes considered most relevant to firefighters were conducted by university faculty and included the following: * Fundamentals of exercise training * Nutrition guidelines for health and fitness * Cooking demonstrations * Acute and chronic stress management EXERCISE The exercise component consisted of several offerings of group personal training, on-site exercise programs, and the provision of training for select firefighters to serve as peer trainers