|
Taking my CPAT Tomorrow! Been working out for it. Shut down my workouts
Thursday. Been
relaxing and stretching. Even got a leg massage. Glad to hear your legs are
feeling better. If you get that worked up, there are a few things I have done in
the past in that situation that made things worse, so I'll tell you in advance
so you won't make those mistakes. You'll be fine. You've
trained hard (sometimes too hard) and you are prepared. Read through the station
summaries I told you about before, and get your head set about each one. Dr. Jen, is your program designed to get someone ready for the academy? Yes, it would work for that. But, I would change a few things. It might take a few more weeks. Cross train a little more. Here's one idea: Add a day where you do cycling at a high intensity with a lot of resistance. Standing hill climbs by the end. Start out doing just 10 minutes, easier. Progress over time until you are doing 20 minutes: hard! After you are done, do Hamstring curls. Start with 3 sets, and work up to 6. Work pecs that day too. Do dumbbell or cable flies, not straight bar bench. Start with 3 sets and work up to 6 sets. You could substitute push ups here, I guess. Make sure you take a day off every week. Oh, and complete my training before you start the academy... or get as close to done as possible. Do not try to do the academy and do my training program concurrently... you'll get hurt!I have worked out in the weight room a lot. I think I am strong enough to do my CPAT and pass it on my own. Why would I need your help? This training is sport (or job) specific. Many people pass their CPAT on their own. Go ahead and take your test. Let me know how it goes. If you pass, and you are satisfied with your time, great! Remember, though, there are scouts from different departments watching the CPAT exam process. (Even proctors?) and they see who completes with the greatest of ease, and who struggles. When you are ready to explore the possibilities of doing even better, let me know!! - Dr. Jen Regarding: Hamstring Spasm: Dr. Jen, In preparation
for an upcoming CPAT and Biddle, as well as for the fire academy next year, I
have been working on my cardiovascular fitness by running on a local track site
2-3 times per week. I usually lift weights for upper body strength at the gym
before I head to the track. I always warm up with a jog and do basic stretches
(quads/hams/calves) afterwards. Then I'll run maybe 1 or 2 1.5 mile sets. Then I
start sprinting 200 meters (my goal is 16 of these sprints with 40 seconds rest
in between). Bananas are a good idea for
replenishing the potassium. One a day. But, there are calcium AND potassium
channels in the muscle that need to function right, with exchange in the proper
ratios for contraction to occur properly for a prolonged period of time. Do I really need the weight vest? A weight vest is not imperative, but when I tried to train for this using other weights, the weight was distributed on my body differently. It changed the biomechanics just enough to throw out my back. I blew out part of my L5-S1 disc. Please be careful! I turned it around, and got a new interest... rehabbing backs, and eventually became a chiropractor, and a re-hab specialist. Not everyone is that lucky. The CPAT exam requires you wear the vest. There is a reason for this: they don't want you to become injured on their watch. Take a hint from the people who are actually giving the CPAT! There is am exception: If you are taking the Biddle. It is not part of that test. In this case, send an e-mail to drjmilus@gmail.com when you receive your package. I will send you an addendum with some small changes for your training! Take a look at the site: www.weightvest.com I 'm starting fire academy on Monday, and I'm wondering if I should still go the gym and workout after academy? Our academy is six weeks long, Monday thru Saturday 8:30-5:30... Dr. Jen, could someone start your "Fire It Up" fitness program while in Fire Academy ? Academies are physically very difficult. With a schedule like that, I would suggest studying and sleeping as wise uses of your time on your off hours. If you don't rest, you won't have time to heal... and you'll very likely get injured. I would have suggested you do my training for the 12 weeks proceeding you academy, or afterwards to work in with your other training to keep fit and injury free during your employment. Why is this workout different? Weight training and cardio training in the traditional ways will help…done properly. However, I have been working with work-comp injuries for 12 years, and sports injuries for 15. I have rehabbed almost anything that was do-able without surgery. Exercise is a tremendous tool I use every day. Combine that type of training with sports specific performance enhancing exercise… well, in my opinion, it kills 2 birds with one stone. It prevents injury by stabilizing your trunk while it trains you in the needed ranges of motion. The CPAT is a difficult test for some people. For them... this is a necessity. For those who can pass without help, could they do better? Regarding
the Squat Thrust Exercise: What if I can't keep up with the speed at which your program progresses? If you are not already in fairly decent shape, you probably won't be able to keep up without risking injury. You may need to start out with regular weight training and cardio workouts to get up to speed. Once you can complete the first workout without rest between the sets, go to the second. Repeat the first week if you feel you need to. You could repeat each week 2 or 3 times if need be! Free Bonus when you sign up for our newsletter! Regarding chest work in Fire it Up program: I just got your video and workbook. I have had a chance to look at the program and watch the movie. I do have a few questions as well. I have been lifting weights off and on for about 3 to 4 years, so I have good baseline strength and some idea of what I'm doing. One concern that I do have with your program is that it doesn't include chest exercise to balance out the back exercise, (rope lat pull). I understand that it is CPAT specific, but I was looking for more of an all around workout that would help me get in better shape for CPAT, work, and life in general. Do you think it would be a good idea to add a dumbell press in somewhere? Don't get me wrong I'm not some big workout freak that wants a big chest, I just feel if I did no chest exercises in your program I would loose a lot of strength that I have now. Yes, you are right, the workout is specifically to train for the CPAT. It will maximize your performance at that. After that, it is a good adjunct to put in a few days of this along with your regular workout. If you incorporate this, it will save you a lot of problems in the future in terms of injuries. You are also right about the lack of chest work. I realized that when I put it together. First, my question to you is, how much do you bench press? And lat pull? In order to keep you balanced, and prevent over development of the front of body, those weights should be just about the same. They seldom are. This leads to shoulder and back problems after a while. That is partially why I made it the way in is. Also, did you try the ax chop? That does use quite a bit of peck on the side closest to the machine. Again, you may need to start with a little heavier a weight. Also, the bicep upper cut uses quite a bit of upper pec too. I have no problem with you adding pec press or pec flies to your routine. I would suggest you do it on the day you do the lat pulls. And, actually, in the long run, after your CPAT, you'll want to do that anyway. As you say, the system was designed specifically for that event. Regarding bench press What's a good max bench press compared to your body weight? Should you be able to bench like 120% of your body weight? I didn’t know that the amount you bench press was even relevant to your body weight until I heard a couple of people taking about it. I do a lot of sports injury rehab work, which entails a lot of shoulder injury work. When someone comes to me, and says they hurt their shoulder working out, I ask what their upper body workout consists of. All of them do at least one of these exercises:
The usual response is, "Yes, Doc, but I feel it here when I do that, and I never get that feeling with any other exercise!" My answer, "That feeling you get is the tearing up of your shoulder joint. You don't want that feeling! Even if you don't have a big injury now, you will! Stop doing those exercises!" Substitute (respectively):
Also, it is my opinion, that pulling muscles are much more important in your field than pushing muscles. And core and leg strength too! CPAT Station Difficulty: What would you consider the hardest of all the CPAT stations? My cardio was never the best but I think that it is ok now. My upper body strength is improving. I am still worried about the test. Any help? The ceiling breach and pull seems to be one of the hardest of all the CPAT because you are so tired. Prepare for this by, at the end of your workout, when you are good and tired, super-set these without resting:
Another Answer: CPAT station difficulty Some say the hardest is the step mill/weight vest. They have a good point. It also the simplest to prepare for. Do this 2 times per week:Warm up first. Get a vest. Start with 30 lbs, 2 minutes, stepping at 60 steps per minute. Increase by 5 lbs. and 30 seconds every week until you reach 70 lbs for 10 minutes. You could do upper body big exercises the other 2 days, plus weighted squats and lunges (both deep, to 90 degrees at hips and knees). Do abs every day. Rest the other 3 days, and be ready very quickly. Another Answer: CPAT station difficulty ...Cardio UP!!! The secret to passing the CPAT is to be in shape with a high cardiovascular fitness level and to know the techniques. The average time is between nine minutes and ten minutes, twenty seconds. Try to think of the CPAT (or any agility) as a marathon where you are trying to complete the event instead of going for the record time. You can burn out if you are going for time no matter how well in shape you are. Most people who fail the CPAT fail the first event (Stair Climb/Stair Stepper), or run out of time during the last event (Ceiling Breach). People who run out of time at the breach and pull lost a few seconds at all the prior event stations because they PAUSED to THINK of how to do the event or PAUSED or SLOWED down to catch their breath. #1 Stair Climb: No matter how hard you train for the stair stepper, your legs are going to be like rubber after you get off the machine and start pulling hose. The recovery time for rubber legs depends on your fitness. Even still, rubber legs or not, you have to get moving and keep moving, and stay moving! If you stop at anytime during the events, the clock is ticking and you are losing time. The tendency is that as you start wearing down on the stair stepper machine, your pace and stride will change and that will affect your balance. As you lose your balance, you start to wobble and the momentum of the weight on your body increases the swaying. As the distance of the sway increases, you will make a natural grab for the handrails. Grab the rail (more than twice?) too many times and you are disqualified. Instead of "grabbing the rail", use the back of your hand and push your self back. Adjusting your stance and concentrating will help you avoid the "wobble". Just like wearing a SCBA, you also have to concentrate on your breathing. Fastest way to get in shape? What are the quickest most effective workouts to get my lungs in shape? I have no problem in strength as I have been a power lifter for a couple of years. Also general muscle endurance is not so much a concern. It’s just my lungs that I have trouble getting into shape. Any suggestions? Interval training for heart rate! Try interval training. Intense circuits focusing on large muscle groups to get your heart rate very high, then slow it down, high, then slow it down. Here's an example: warm up on a bike, 5 minutes. Then: Smith machine squats: start with 25 lb plates on each side. Do a set of 20. Stop and jump rope for 1 minute (130 rpms). Next set, add 10 lbs. to each side, 18 reps, then jump for 1.5 min. (135 rpms) . Add 10 more pounds to each side, do 16 reps. Jump for 2 minutes, (140 rpms). Stay at this weight, reps, time jumping and rpms for 3 more sets when you are ready. Ease into it slowly. Ideally, you should not rest between sets! You are more than welcome to start at a higher weight, and increase to higher than I am suggesting once you get used to the exercise! Another super set: Or: warm up on the bike, then: Use a weight vest: start with 25 pounds.(Add 5-10 lbs. per week) do 25 long, low walking lunges. Stop and do 20 lat pulls with a medium weight (in front, never in back!). Do 30 walking lunges. Increase your weight on the lat pulls by 10 lbs., and do 18 pulls. Do 30 walking lunges. Do the lat pulls with 10 more lbs, and 16 reps. Add slowly from here: do another circuit each workout up until you do each thing 8-10 times. Stay at 30 lunges, and keep increasing your weight and decreasing the reps on the lat pull. I know this is only partial, just a couple of ideas for starters. There is a more complete plan available with step by step instructions. (See below). Do you have 12 weeks???!!! Oh yeah, forget about small muscle groups. Your biceps, triceps and calves will get work when you do your "bigger" exercises! Where are the CPAT Testing Centers in California? You can check out California CPAT locations here... http://www.cffjac.org/jac/cpat/for_candidates/index.cfm Sacramento CPAT Fire Fighter Testing Also check this web site here. Regarding: CPAT vs. The JOB! Once I pass my CPAT, then what? Just because you passed the physical agility doesn’t mean you are ready for the fire academy or you will be a good firefighter. Departments know this. So, the training division is going to put you through the wringer to make sure you can do the job before you go on line.If you can’t keep up they will wash you out. You have to maintain good physical conditioning during your probation and through out your career. It can be hard getting this job.It can become difficult keeping it! Showing up at the academy is not the time to start getting ready. You need to be in shape and hit the ground running. It’s tough enough getting a job. Keeping it can be a challenge. If you are let go by one department, it is going to be difficult if not impossible to get another department to take a chance on you. Answer From Another Candidate: Just to add onto Capt Bob's input... one of my classroom instructors (who also happens to be one of the PT instructors for the part-time academy) is such a physical fitness guru that she continues on every week with stories of how she has to "write up" recruits because of poor aerobic/anaerobic performance early in the academy (mind you these recruits did well on the Biddle). At this point I already get the point that if I'm going to fail physically, the time is now rather than in the academy. But what really got me down was when she mentioned that she knew a bunch of firefighters who had to be let go by a department after working a few years because they were no longer "aerobically fit" for the job. Where do they go now? What do they do? Just like Capt Bob quoted, "You have to maintain good physical conditioning during your probation and through out your career. It can be hard getting this job. It can become difficult keeping it!" Dr. Jen’s Answer: In regards to keeping your job once you get it. Once your body has gotten there, it's much easier to maintain that plateau than climb the mountain. Once you "have arrived" in terms of your fitness regime, you could maintain with 3-4 45-minute session per week... if your time is used wisely! Thus the old saying: "Never Stop Training!" Regarding: Pack Test Training "I am using your CPAT training program. But, at the same time, I want to train for a pack test. I have a couple of months to get ready for the pack test. I need to carry 45 pounds 3 miles around a track in 45 minutes. How would I work this into training for both at the same time? Let me know what you think, Doc..." If you are doing my CPAT training, along with training for a pack test, I would be careful not to over-train. Be sure you don't do the same exercise 2 days in a row, and take at least one day off every week. If you start to have muscle pain that lasts more than a day or 2, take a day off, and stretch. If it's still not gone, write me and ask about it. If you have joint pain or swelling, write me immediately, or go see your doctor.Don't put heat on anything unless you are so advised- especially joint pain or swelling. Ice only up to 20 minutes, but never longer. Remember that ice it good for joints, but not always for muscles because it can tighten them up. Training for both tests at one time may slow down the process. It might, say, take you 16 (or more) weeks to get through my training, which would be okay, if you have the time. It sounds like you need to be ready for the pack test in 8-9 weeks. So, do the pack test training I will outline below 3 days a week- say MWF, and do the CPAT training on T-TH-Sat. Don't skip ahead in the workbook, though. Trudge through it and do each day's workout, even though the days won't match up. This will mean you finish the CPAT training well after the pack test training, but it's safer that way. I am not familiar with the pack test about which you speak. Are you wearing a weight vest, where the weight is evenly distributed front to back? Or are you wearing a weighted back? Either way, train as close as possible to how you expect to do the test. I would prefer the former in terms of injury prevention and biomechanical safety for the spine, but I am not in charge of the test. On the other hand, the SCBA you wear on duty will weight you more in the back than the front, so the latter may be better in terms of finding out who has a strong enough back to do the job when the time comes. First time out: Pace yourself. I do this by inhaling on 2 strides, and exhaling for 3 strides. It works really well with running, but it should work for walking too. Walk fast. Walk the entire 12 laps with no weight, and time yourself. Check your mile splits. Try to walk the same pace each mile. Write it down; splits and total time. If I read correctly, you need to do that in under 45 minutes. This should not be a problem. Training week 1: Put on 5 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 2: Put on 10 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 3: Put on 15 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 4: Put on 20 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 5: Put on 25 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 6: Put on 30 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 7: Put on 35 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 8: Put on 40 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Training week 9: Put on 45 lbs. Pace yourself with the inhale exhale technique. Record your splits and total time. Record them. The other 2 times this week, keep your weight the same as the first walk with this weight. Try to decrease your time. Stretch every time you workout. Let me know if you have questions. Take off a few days before your test. Free Bonus when you sign up for our newsletter! "I read a quote from you on the improper use of a weight vest. The quote indicated that using too much weight with the vest could cause injury to the invertebral discs. A young man was given a 40 lb weight vest to wear during a college basketball practice. He weighed 190 lbs at the time, and as a result of improper us of the vest, herniated two discs. Is there any literature on the dangers and the proper use of a weight vest? "OUCH! The weight vest is a very good tool used properly. Miss use or over use can ruin a career (basketball or firefighting). I blew part of a disc training with an Olympic bar on my shoulders. I assumed part of it was altered posture due to the mechanics. This is the first injury I have heard of like this. Truth is, if the person is not strong enough muscularly to carry such a loud- from gradually building up to it, this type of thing might happen. I would think that stature, and proper training would have a lot to do with whether or not an injury might happen. He might not have gradually worked up to it- sounds like that, huh? I start my people with 20 lbs, and use a NON pounding exercise for 3 minutes to start with. Posture is key in the use of the vest. They build up slowly from there. A whole practice, right off, with 40 pounds from nothing sounds like trouble. I searched, and found nothing on the internet about such an injury. So, I'll take some time and tell you (in brief?) what I know. The disc is like a jelly donut. The center (nucleus pulposous) is gelatinous, and is surrounded by concentric rings of fibrocartiledge- I could draw you a great picture. These rings look like a spiral when you look at a disk from the top. But, from the side, if you telescoped it out, you'd see the real picture. Each ring has diagonal running fibers, each alternating ring goes diagonally opposite from the one just inside and the one just outside. They attach top and bottom, to the vertebral bodies above and below. The pressure inside that disk is significantly increased with torsional forces (twisting). Think about it, as you twist one way, half the fibers or forced to be longer, and half of them would be relaxed and shorter. Twist the other way, and the alternating fibers are subject to exactly the opposite forces. I would imagine that some of those rings could tear with each twist, wouldn't you? Imagine grabbing a wet sponge top and bottom and twisting it. The water comes out, right? Well, so does the gelatinous center of that disk- even a little at a time! Again, I'd love to be able to draw you a picture and show you what I mean. The pressure inside a disc is also increased significantly when one bends forward. This pushes the contents of the disc backward- toward the posterior part- toward the area of less pressure. This tears the annular fibers too (the rings). The inside rings would tear first, and then, as the nucleus migrated back, each ring would tear, until the pulposous came out as a central lesion- probably visible on an MRI. This could compress the cord centrally, or the sspinal nerves on one side or the other. Lifting heavy objects also increases the pressure within the disc. Wearing a weight vest is the same. It's direct axial compression would do the same thing. Bouncing, jumping, or running add insult to injury here. Basketball players bend forward, and twist a lot. Putting those together with axial compression, then adding jumping and running sound ill-advised to me. I have treated disc bulges for 13 years with a technique called Cox Flexion Distraction. In this technique, the individual disc is decompressed (with traction) manually to relieve the bulge; hopefully causing a negative pressure within the disk and "sucking it back in"- as it were. That stands to reason that the opposite would do the exact opposite! Ouch! When I train people with a weight vest, it is always a very gradual increase in weight and time. There is no forward bending or twisting. It is also not ever with bouncing or jumping. It is in a very stiff upright posture with tight abs and shoulders back. This positioning is more apt to allow the body's core musculature to do their work and allow the spine to carry the increased load. If a fellow athlete suggested he do this, and he did it, well... I think it was a bad judgment call. If a coach or trainer directly told him to do this, depending on whether he had worked up to it, and how long he wore it, it sounds like really bad advice. This injury could ruin this player's college career, and cost him a professional one if that's where he was headed. The same holds true for firefighters. The key thing is: use your noggin! Work up to things! Some people are just not genetically predisposed to being firefighters.... just like bigger people can't be jockies in the Kentucky Derby. Not everyone is big enough to shoulder the weight vest when full- even used properly. Some small people can handle it, though, trained properly. HOWEVER: If you use it, and ease into it, and it still hurts you, STOP! Please don't hurt yourself as this person did. This is also a very good case for core work.... I started the first week of the Fire it Up System. It's so easy! Can I skip a few weeks? A few days per week? Well, I guess theoretically you could skip weeks. I can't stop you. But you just might get injured. You enter the training plan of your own volition. I have given you the tools, and the plan works at a certain rate because that's how the body responds to the overload principle. With the CPAT only weeks away, can you really risk getting injured? What is the overload principle? Simply stated, that each time you overload the human body by just a little bit, it accommodates. If training progresses too fast, recovery is not allowed. The overload principle does not work because there is not sufficient time to repair. Injuries are likely. If it moves at the right pace, that shouldn’t happen... Regarding muscle strain from ramping up too fast I've always had big legs and over the years got my upper body to match. I've been working out more lately and for about 6 months walking with 50lbs in my weight vest, sometimes running up hills. Today was the first day I put all 75lbs in and went for my stair climb. All I can say is HOLY S%^$#@!! I thought I had strong legs!?!?! Boy was I wrong. Talk about a wake up call! I had problems using my clutch on the way home. I'm guessing I need to really, REALLY step up my low body work the next 3 weeks. A few days later, he wrote: it has been several days, and I am still in pain! What should I do? If it has been going on for more than 3 days, you may consider this: Myositis is
the chronic or acute inflammation of muscle and fascia (that gristle that holds
it together). It results from over/improper use. The mediators (chemical
resultants) of this kind of inflammation actually soften the muscle and tendon
and can result in real injury, not just soreness! You could tear something! Get
rid of that inflammation!!!! Another question regarding the leg pain and spasm: I thought I was supposed to use ice for these types of injuries? First, the days when you are sore are good days to move
because it is true that it makes you get UNsore. But doing a kick butt workout
on those days depends on the situation. You have had it going on for more than 3
days. That's a problem. You are working on myositis. I restate, don't push it
until you get some relief by doing the stuff I suggested. Every situation is at
least slightly different, but: Why is there no stretching at the beginning of your workout? The research shows that when you stretch, it causes a temporary weakening of muscles. If you do this in the beginning of a workout, then overload the muscle, you can get into real trouble. The best thing is to stretch afterwards. This causes the temporary weakening too, but it doesn’t matter at that point! Done after, it really does prevent injuries! We need to make sure you are ready, injury free on game day! Pass the CPAT the first time out... move on in the hiring process! I need to be ready in 6 weeks! I am out of shape! Can you help me? I would need to see you, meet with you, observe just how out of shape you are, and then tell you. My tendency would be to say no. I would really hate for you to get hurt! If you lived close, and I could train you very closely, and monitor your progress, you may be able to do it without getting injured. The CPAT is pretty intense. The testing center here in Dublin, CA has testing every week. Can you move your date? What other tools do you suggest I use in preparation? In terms of your health, I'd say: a very clean diet, a multivitamin, fresh raw fruits and veggies, whole grains and pure protein (fish, eggs, poultry, meat). If you want more info than that about food, contact me. Maybe we could have a consultation. On the exercise part: I specialize in injury prevention, and performance enhancement… both through exercise. I am not the expert at the other things you guys need to do. I’d say ask the pros: Don McNea and Fire Captain Bob! Take a look at this page: http://www.fireagility.com/OralBoards.htm I am taking the Biddle. Will this workout work for training for that? For the most part, The Fire it UP CPAT Training System will work just fine. However, the Biddle does not have a weight vest/stair stepper portion. It has other things that are even harder! So, when you receive your package, write an e-mail to drjmilus@gmail.com and you'll be sent the addendum for training for the Biddle. You need to know this stuff, or you won't be ready for the Biddle! I am concerned about my age. I am going to test in a few months for a department, and I will be one of the older candidates. What are your thoughts? The reason I started training people for the CPAT is that at one point in my life, I thought I would like to become a firefighter. (Circumstances in my life later changed, and I decided I needed to stay in private practice) So I trained for testing. It worked, but that was a long time ago. Now I am 38, and while I still train/workout with a few candidates, I find it's really hard on me. I ache a lot when I get towards the end of a training plan with someone. My muscles don't give out, my joints do (my athletics in my younger years were pretty extreme). I would suggest that if you plan to use my training plan, that you get your doctor's okay. Then, I would further suggest that you make sure you are in pretty good shape when you start. And finally, I would be very careful to listen to your body while you go through the process. Be very mindful of something that I notice these days: that my joints give out before my muscles do. If I have pain in any joint during a workout, I stop, and just spot. If I have joint pain after, I ice, and stay away from that exercise for a while. Look at my injury prevention page, click here and read up on Glucoseamine Sulfate. It would really help you alot! Regarding hamstring work and the Fire it up System: There is no specific exercise for hamstrings in your system. Why? Shouldn't there be? Actually, the back extensions on the hyperextension bench, the leg press, and the one legged step ups all use some hamstring. The program is intended to prepare you for the CPAT. After that is done, you should balance your workout by cross training. Do this stuff a few days a week, and do traditional weight training and cardio a couple of days. Yes, adding hamstrings would be a good idea: leg curls and stiff legged dead lifts! I just got my Fire it Up CPAT Training System in the mail. I am looking at these weights toward the end. My legs are my weak point. I am worried that they cannot get that strong!? Well, we all have our weak points, and our strong. Remember that the "goal weights" printed in grey in your book are just that! Goals! I chose those weights because I have seen that those make it easier on the actual CPAT test. As a general rule, though, men have more upper body strength, and women more lower body strength. The core strength is very important in compensation for weak points. Plus: these weights may not work exactly for you. The idea is: get as close as you can. Listen to your body. If you are weak in one area, keep trying. Push to failure and stop. Recognize your strength in another. Capitalize on it. One example would be: women often use their legs and their low back (abs/obliques) to drag the dummy. You might be stronger up top. Do more of the pulling from up there, and brace yourself from the planted foot! Can I just eat healthy foods and get the nutrients I need? The environment is not so clean these days. And the soil has been over farmed by big commercial farming operations. This leaves our foods depleted of nutrients. As a matter of fact, an article in the Wall Street Journal stated that studies show that organic fruits and vegetables have an average of 60% more vitamins and minerals that traditionally grown ones. One study found 3 times as much vitamin C in organic fruits and vegetables when compared to traditional! Can there be any doubt in your mind? Why wouldn't you at least attempt to eat organic? Its' expensive... so at least take some vitamins! What to take? I have found a source for high quality, very reasonable multiple vitamins: Men: HisHealth®is a complete Men's multi-vitamin formula with essential minerals, herbs and supplements, including Grape Seed Extract, CoQ10, and Saw Palmetto. Visit Whole Health Products to save 60-70% on this best-selling Men's Health Formula. Click Here Women: HerHealth® is a complete multivitamin formula with all of the necessary vitamins, minerals, and herbs for a woman's optimum health. Visit Whole Health Products Click Here In your video, it looks like the demonstrated leg presses allow her legs to lock out. Should I be taking my leg press to full extension? Good question! Actually, I knew it looked like that when we put it in there. But, there is a normal variant in people's knees (especially women) where their knee's locked out position is actually beyond straight. It looks like their legs are bowed backward. It's called genurecarvatum. It's within normal limits on her, but, you are right, it can look kind of scary. She has no knee pain, and orthopedic exam indicates no apparent abnormalities. I am pretty small, 5'2" and 135. I am really concerned about the CPAT. What do you think? I would be concerned too. F=MA... Force equals mass times acceleration... that's about the most basic physics formula. If you don't have much mass, then you are going to have to generate a whole bunch of acceleration to get the force you produce to be enough to get it done! That's why my program uses plyometric contraction: to develop explosive force. You'll see. It works. Regarding back injuries and prevention, one firefighter on a message board brought up a very good topic: Low Back... I posted just over a month ago about back injuries and surgeries. Well, several people replied and gave some good advice, I even hade a few guys on the phone coach me through my next day surgery. I was put at ease after 7 months of H**L. Well I had surgery one month ago today on disc L4-L5 and it was successful I feel like a million bucks. I am writing this post to all of the soon-to-be, want-to-be and career guys and gals. We work in a very physical job and there are times we just do things to get the job at hand done quickly, and unfortunately we can't always think about posture and "use your legs" while doing these things. Bottom line, be careful think about your body if it seems hard at the time it is and your body usually your back takes a toll. For the guys and gals about to enter a tower you better be in the best shape of your life because you are going to be tested physically harder than you have ever in your life. You don't want to go out on injury before you even get on line. I am 31 and in good shape so it can happen to anyone. It will be a total of ten months that I will be off duty, try taking something that you love and worked your a** off to get and take it away believe me IT STINKS!!! Thanks for reading my post hope people get something from it, any questions feel free to ask. Remember you have 20+ years left don't screw it up. What about low back?! Answer: Dr. Milus says: Regarding back injuries: There is no time like the present to start preventing back injuries! They are amoung the
most common debilitating work related injuries around. It is very hard to treat,
and much easier to prevent! The problem is not just forward flexion, but
coupling that with over-twisting and lifting at the same time! Training the
trunk muscles to recognize it's limits in terms of range of motion is paramount! Free Bonus when you sign up for our newsletter! What sort of training should I do for the CPAT? Sport-specific training works really well. Interval training with periods of high
intensity exercise that gets your heart rate very high to simulate the test.
Work only major muscle groups. Do super sets without resting. Hey, I twisted my kneeabout a week ago. Dr. looked at it and said, "stressed bursa... go on light duty". I've been light for about 2 weeks... and I still have pain. What do you think? It's okay if you choose not to divulge trade secrets! Are you sure he said strained bursa? I have never heard of that. Write back. I
am curious, because I have been in sports injury treatment for 13 years now...
maybe he said something else? Well, people have bursas in places where other people don't... normal variants. The ITB band runs over that area, and there is often bursa where I think you are speaking of. It sounds to me like you could be describing either the lateral joint line and your meniscus, or the lateral collateral ligament. Or even to top of your fibula where it attaches to your tibia. No matter for now... those are just possibilities. You need to get the inflammation down. I would do ice cube massage on it 3 times a day for 5 minutes each time. Make sure it gets numb. Do it morning noon and night for 7 days. Don't let more than 8 hours pass without doing it. Don't substitute and ice bag or an iced gel pack. Use an actual ice cube (or several) and rub it in the specific area for 5 minutes. You will feel cold, then pain, then numbness. It hurts when you flex your knee for one of 2 reasons:
If the second is the case, that inflammatory fluid makes your knee joint more prone to injury. It actually makes the joint tissues softer! Take it easy. I can't examine you, so I don't know exactly which it is. But icing that amount has never hurt anyone that I have ever heard of. And it's helped a lot of people that I have heard of! Try the ice cube massage for 7 days 3 times a day. Write me back and let me know.Regarding Pregnancy: I am a member of a rural Volunteer Fire Department where we have a surprising number of women joining the department each year. For the most part, the men in our department are very supportive and encourage equality among all members. However, one of our young females, who has been with the department for about 3 years, is pregnant. She is entering her second trimester. The Chief of the department sent a letter to her requesting that she “refrain from all strenuous activity to protect her and her unborn child”. As a medical professional do you have any advice or direction for those of us who are pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant while in the fire service? Is there any literature out there to support limitations in service during a pregnancy? Any insights would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance. Good question! Get set... this is a long answer. Be ready for honesty. I have lifted heavy weights since I was about 16. When I was late in my pregnancy, at 26, I stopped lifting heavy weights. Any time you increase the interabdominal/interthecal pressure in a pregnant woman, you risk setting off a chain of events that could result in labor starting too early. Any type of strenuous pulling or pushing would equate to heavy lifting. This is especially true in the later stages or pregnancy. They say to "keep doing what you have been doing"... but this has to be within reason. I swam 2 miles a day instead. Read on for more about that: Furthermore, when you are pregnant, your body releases a hormone called relaxin. It softens the ligaments that hold the pelvis together so that the birthing process is easier. This relaxin softens all the soft tissues in the whole body because the body cannot differentiate. This means the discs in your back are softer. The meniscuses in your knees are softer. The ligaments and tendons that hold your shoulder together are softer. This makes you much more prone to injury during that time. These injuries can be permanent. Thirdly, increasing the temperature inside of the uterus can cause damage to the fetus. They say not to get overheated (i.e. go in a hot tub/exercise too hard) when you are pregnant. Going into a fire would be really hot! I would heed that warning. I know that we all want to do our job. We all want to be super woman. The pressure you women in the fire service are under must be insurmountable! But, physiology being what it is... I have to agree that for the time when we are carrying another life, alterations need to be made. Your chief might not have verbalized why he did what he did, but known a reason you did not yet. Safety first. I hope this helps protect all involved. Best wishes! Oh, and you could also ask an OB... Sometimes we ask Questions: Question: What made you (John) pick the Fire it Up CPAT Training System? Answer: To be honest, at first I thought it might be a gimmick. Then I remembered that the last time I took my CPAT, I failed by just a few seconds. I decided the roadmap was worth it. This would give me the step by step to get ready... keep me on track. It would give me a book to keep track of how I was doing. And it would give me something besides myself to hold me accountable to. So, here goes!! Thanks! Oxygen Deficiency and Training Too Hard… Question: You know that feeling you get when you're going all out during the physical ability course and the leg work is starting to make your lunch come back up? My inquiry has to do with the nausea/vomiting that occur after hardcore or strenuous leg workouts and workouts at high elevations. Answer: I think I can help with this one!!! I have had a similar experience. I did the Oakland Test about 5 or 6 years back. See the details of this test: You do all this other junk (see the site) Then, with a 40 lb. tank on your back, you have to carry a 40 lb. hose bundle up 4 flights of stairs over your shoulder (or however you could do it) and set it down. Then pull a coiled cable up to you and lower it hand over hand. Then pick up the big hose bundle, and carry it back down the 4 flights of stairs. I got the same symptoms: burning in the lungs and spitting like I was going to vomit (although I did not). My lungs burned for a week. It’s from Oxygen deficiency. This can come about from lack of oxygen supply in the air or lack of your ability to process what is in the air. I was simply not prepared for the test, and given your circumstances, sorry, but neither were you. If I had known what was going to hurt me during the test, and how I was going to feel, I would have trained completely differently. The areas where I was not prepared?
BUT: If I have practiced exactly what was expected, I would have either taped some pads on my shoulders underneath my t-shirt, or I would have toughened them up by carrying something that resembled the hose bundle/tank straps, so the shock of the hardness wouldn’t have been so painful.
What about the Vomiting due to Oxygen Deficit? Oxygen deficiency is why you were throwing up. Yours was caused by elevation, mine was improper training. That’s your body’s way of telling you, “Hey Stupid, STOP! That is more than I can handle!”
I recently had an experience with a lacrosse team I coach that might help you. We train them at sea level, and took them to Vale Colorado to Play in the Vale Shoot Out. Right before I left, I found this stuff at the health food store, and thought I would give it a try. It's called Aerobic O7, subtitled stabilized Oxygen. The nutritionist at the store told me it worked really well to help Red Blood cells bind more oxygen. I was skeptical too. But, I figured it was worth a try. Here’s my leg workout when I am trying to get ready for something like you speak of: For Leg Press Exercises described, see Firehouse Butt-kicking Circuit Training and read, read. read!!! 5 minutes warm up stationary bike Super Set 1: Decline leg Press- 1 45 lb. plate on each side, 20 reps- add plates Super Set 2: Decline Leg Press- 2 45 lb. plates on each side, 18 reps- add plates Super Set 3: Decline leg Press- 3 45 lb. plates on each side, 16 reps- add plates Super Set 4: Decline leg Press- 4 45 lb. plates on each side, 14 reps- add plates Super Set 5: Decline leg Press- 5 45 lb. plates on each side, 12 reps- add plates Super Set 6: Decline leg Press- 6 45 lb. plates on each side, 8 reps- it’s getting heavy here… Super Set 8: Decline leg Press- 8 45 lb. plates on each side, 4 reps- add plates Do as I say, not as I do: Then, the next Super set is: Then: Walking lunges, Leg extensions and Leg curls: Super Set 9: OMG… legs are getting tired now… weights different with different machines… Super Set 10: OMG… legs are getting really tired now… Super Set 11: OMG… I think I might die right about now Super Set 12: OMG… I am shaking now, and really near my end Stretch!!!! Click here to Purchase the Fire it Up CPAT System . . . . . $49.95 |