WOMENS FIRE ACADEMY

TRAINING PROGRAM
By Asha Wagner
SFG Team Leader
Posted on February 7, 2013. 17 Comments.

While I have a reputation of being a decently strong woman, this was not the
initial goal in my training. As a firefighter, I work in a field that is 95% male. In
firefighting, there is no gender norming at an emergency scene. When the
bell sounds, my coworkers dont care if Im strong for a woman or how much
weight I can throw up in the weight room. All they care about is whether I can
get the job done. Therefore, for me the definition of a strong woman is
synonymous with that of a capable woman.
Training for the Fire Academy
When I was training to get in shape for the fire academy, few strength training
programs addressed the real world demands of the job, and none addressed
the specific considerations of women entering this field. In my job, Ive faced
such challenges as hiking up a stairwell of a high-rise wearing 75lbs of
personal gear and carrying an additional 90lbs of equipment. Most fitness
programs just dont prepare you for that, let alone lifting a patient that has
slipped and fallen getting out of the shower and is now wedged between the
tub and the toilet. All of this requires a body that is not only all-over strong, but
can use its strength effectively, especially in awkward positions.

Pavel has stated that gains in grip, abdominal strength, and glute strength
would have the greatest carryover to overall strength. This is especially true for
women entering non-traditional fields. Women tend to be smaller in stature
and have a tougher time gaining upper body strength than our male
counterparts. This affects our grip, load bearing ability, and force production.
For example, women tend to have smaller hands, yet the gloves firefighters all
wear are the same thickness, regardless of size.

Consequently, smaller hands have to develop more grip strength to handle the
equipment. This is also the case for load bearing ability. The equipment and
gear we wear and carry weighs the same regardless of what size we are. A
task such as pulling a charged hose-line up a hill or through a house is
generally easier the more mass a person has to lean into the pull. Smaller
individuals have to make up for this through strengthening their midsections
and building strong powerful legs.

Grip and abdominal strength play a huge role in developing upper body
strength. Make a tight fist and you will feel the muscles contract from your
forearm to your rear delts. Try it again contracting your abs, and youll
probably notice youre able to squeeze harder than before. My program uses
this principle combined with full body movements to build usable
strength. While it is aimed at women working toward entering a fire academy,
it has other applications, as well. For instance, I used a version of this program
to train for a Spartan Beast obstacle course race. Its based off Dan Johns
Even Easier Strength template.

Womens Fire Academy Training Program

Warm-up
Rolling, rocking, and crawling. I use a combination of Primal Move and
Becoming Bulletproof.
The Program
1. Upper Body Push Double Kettlebell Military Press

2. Upper Body Pull Rock Climbing, Rope Climbs, or Towel Pull-ups

3. Lower Body Double Kettlebell Front Squats

4. Abdominals Full or Half Get-ups

5. Full Body Dynamic Movement Kettlebell Swings

Week 1:

Monday 25

Tuesday 25

Wednesday 5, 3, 2

Thursday Off

Friday 25

Saturday 25

Week 2:

Monday 25

Tuesday 61

Wednesday 110

Thursday Off

Friday 25
 Saturday 5, 3, 2

Baseline Stamina
Monday Self-limiting run, 10-20 minutes

Tuesday Weighted hike or stair climb, 10-15 minutes

Wednesday Viking Warrior conditioning, 10-20 minutes

Thursday Off

Friday Self limiting run, 10-20 minutes

Saturday Weighted crawling, 3-5 minutes

Sunday Off

The Program Explained

The double kettlebell work prepares the bodys structure for load
bearing. The double military press directly translates over to movements
such as ladder raises and lifting equipment overhead.

Rock climbing does a great job of training the grip, lats, and abs, as well
as teaching a person to be strong, flexible, and stable in awkward
positions. If you dont have access to a climbing gym, use a climbing
rope or throw two towels over a pull up bar.

The get-up further trains the abs and improves shoulder strength and
mobility.
 Kettlebell swings teach full body coordination, training both the
midsection and glutes while passively strengthening the shoulders.

For the self-limiting runs, breathe only through the nose and run at a
comfortable pace. During a fire, we breathe air from an air tank. The tanks
generally last twenty minutes, but because we have a finite supply, the time
we can stay in a fire and how much work we can accomplish in that time
is directly related to our conditioning level. Therefore breath control such
as that taught by the self-limiting runs has a huge carryover to firefighting.

The Viking Warrior 15:15 snatch

protocol trains stamina and anaerobic recovery and prepares the shoulders
and traps for load bearing. For additional breath control work, use three to five
breaths in between sets of Viking Warrior instead of a timed rest. The better
the breath control and anaerobic recovery, the longer the rest period.

When I started the academy, I had no idea how much time Id spend
crawling on my hands and knees. Yet crawling isnt included in most
conventional programs. It turns out that not only is this the best way to get
around in a fire, but it does all sorts of great things for the shoulders,
midsection, and quads, and builds full body coordination.

For the weighted hikes, stair climbs, and crawls, start out unweighted and
gradually add weight five pounds at a time for three weeks, then back off ten
pounds on the fourth week and start building up again.

For the stair climbs, Stepmills will work in a pinch, but steer clear of
Stairmasters. When exercising on a Stairmaster, lifting the leg up is the most
challenging part, putting the emphasis on the hamstrings. When actually
climbing stairs, especially while under load, stepping up onto the stair puts
much more emphasis on the quads.

Goals to shoot for with this program before entering an academy are:

110 20kg double kettlebell military press

110 24kg double front squats

Climbing at the v2/ 5.10 level and/or 25 towel pull-ups

25 20kg full get-ups

Crawling and stair climbing with 60lb weight vest

Remember these are bare minimum goals for which to shoot and this is only
one component of a multifaceted preparation program. Still, this will lay a
good solid foundation for all future fire academy preparation.