Help me become a firefighter

[Fire_Woman]

I am 5'4", 25 yr old female, 190 pounds, 40% body fat. I have 12-14 weeks before I take the physical exam to become a firefighter, and I have never been more motivated to bust my a$$ & get lean. I would appreciate any and all advice, suggestions & help I could get. I have a head start on weight training with a very good base of muscle started. I need help with my cutting diet & exercise routine.

My workouts are first thing in the am for 45 minutes. I am also willing to go in the evening if I need to do cardio in the morning and strength training in the pm. When should I do cardio and how much? Please bear in mind that I must be able to run a mile and a half in 10 minutes for this test. Currently, I am able to jog a mile in 12 minutes. I must also be able to drag a 200 pound dummy, so strength is as important as speed. Basically, I need to build strength, endurance and speed.

I had started a low carb cutting program that has done me well so far. My diet looks something like this:

AM: cottage cheese + low carb yogurt and blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries

Snack: string cheese

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad w/ Ranch dressing

Snack: boiled egg

Dinner: Tilapia filet/top sirloin/grilled chicken/steamed shrimp (one of the former) with 2 cups of green beans/asparagus/spinach/sauteed onions (choice of one)

Beverages are limited to 3-5 liters of water in addition to 1-2 cups of tea + Splenda or Crystal Light w/ dinner.

Doing the math, I would need to lose at a very accelerated rate of 3 pounds a week to reach my goal - I am aiming for 140 pounds at 20-22% BF.

Thanks so very much for taking the time to read this and any help is so greatly appreciated.

 

[bulletproof1]

start by reading the stickies. priceless info in there.

you have to increase your calories. you arent eating enough. in order to lose weight you have to eat. i know it sounds strange but exercise and eating will keep your metabolism going. once your metabolism shuts down it will be hard to lose any weight at all.

1. eat clean (read the stickys in the diet forum)
2. cardio
3. lift weights (if they are available to you)

good luck on your goals.

 

[crazy_enough]

That is a short time to loose so many pounds and drop bf...Its doable, depending on ur metabolism, diet, training regimen and of course, will power but not easy!! whats ur training like? frequency, split etc? It also looks like your cal intake is fairly low, maybe a little too low to build strenght and muscle... your running time isnt that far off from what ur aiming at, there are specific cardio w/o that u can do to build up both endurance and cardio vascular capacity...

 

[Jodi]

To help bring up your speed in your running, incorporate wind sprints as well as your jogs. You may want to consider cardio twice a day (I never recommend this but in your case it may be necessary) but only if you are going to increase your calories. That is alot to lose in such a small window and the potential of gaining strength and bodyfat is going to be slim.

 

[Fire_Woman]

I don't know how to do the workouts, thats what I need help with. I was thinking of doing cardio in the am, HIIT 3 days a week & plain old jogging for 30 minutes the other 3. Then weights in the evening M/W/F? Upper/lower/core? Not really sure if that sounds right.

What foods would you add to increase cals?

Hey thanks everyone. You are pretty cool.

 

[crazy_enough]

For weight loss, I liked the "body for life" method of training...upper body one day, cardio the next, lower body, cardio and so on for 6 days/week. I incorporated abs and core in the LB w/o.
For cardio, interval work had a wicked effect on my body. I never did more than 30 minutes, once a day, AFTER lifting and that regimen took 35 pounds off me between jan and march, but I was bigger and had more lbs to loose than u do.

U should probably be taking in about 10X you body weigth in clean cals (so around 1900) in a 40-40-20 ratio of protein, carbs and fats. I would personaly add a sixth meal so u have some decent protein and maybe a little fat in u when u go to bed...U could maybe ditch the string cheese and trade it for a supp. shake...the stickies are filled with detailed info on eating right .

 

[DeadBolt]

Im not gonna mess with their advise but coming from a fireman...don't worry so much. I know a couple guys in my company that are way out of shape and they did fine...Im not saying don't lose any weight or anything but you may not want to cut all your fat and strength just yet. Stay at balanced macro's and maybe try and build a little strength...you will need it. If you train your mile and a half you should be fine...your numbers are close as it is.

What are your current standing with the exercises...have you practiced the dummy drag or the hose run or the pony length pull or the latter climb(this drowps about 75% of the FF's)? Find all the exact activities you need to do for this town..each town has different events....and train them. The strongmen on TV don't get good just by doing conventional workouts...they train witht he exact things you see on TV. I would suggest you do the same.

Also score highly on the written and phsyc test and try your best on the physical. If you ace the written and phsyc and do so so on the physical they will give you leeway and you still have good chances of finishing highly in the numbers.

 

[DeadBolt]

Also what state are you applying to?

 

[Fire_Woman]

Deadbolt - I am applying in Texas. I took the physical last year. It is pass/fail. No leeway here. You have to do hose drag, dummy drag, ladder raise, carry 45 pounds bag up & back down 5 flights and carry 70 pound electrical fan. This all must be accomplished under 5 minutes, 30 seconds. I took last years test and failed, completing the course in 6:02. =/ Soooo close. But last year, I was only 10 pounds lighter & in not much better shape.

 

[DeadBolt]

OIC...here in Jersey everythingis ranked. You have a certain time frame it must be completed in but the top contenders go on a list in rankings. All 3 scores are factored in to the eqaution so even if you don't do to good on the physical the other 2 writtens will boost your score up if you do really good.

Its sounds like a hard course but with a little training I'm sure you can do it. Replicate that exact routine into your workouts...do a 3 day split of strength training then maybe 2-3 days of that exact combo of events with some running at the end. I'm 100% sure if you do that not only will you be able to accomplish your goals but you will blow your time out of the water. Sports players do this so why not you!

Also what type of hose..you pulling 3in here? And the ladder...35 footer or a single ladder? Fan shouldn't be to hard or the 5 flights of sleps. Only problem I had doing was the dummy drag and mine was 180lbs. I will be taking another test either this year in may...unless they cancle it like they want to. If not this year def next year they will host it and I will practice heavily for either one.

 

[Fire_Woman]

The test goes like this:

# 1 - A 34 pound humat valve attached to 100 feet of 4-inch hose (uncharged) and a 30 pound boot bag are picked up and carried 100 feet. EASY

# 2 - A 69 pound electric power blower is lifted and carried a distance of 100 feet. EASY

# 3 - The fly section of a 35-foot, vertically fixed extension ladder is extended to its upper position. EASY

# 4 - Carrying a 44-pound high rise pack, the candidate ascends and descends a five story (41 vertical feet) drill tower. OH MY GOD THIS KICKS SOME BUTT! (I bet this is where I lost the valuable time needed to complete the remaining 2 tasks.)

# 5 - An ???S???- laid, charged 1 ¾ inch attack line is pulled forward a distance of 100 feet. (Not too hard, but your legs are already screaming from the 5 flights.)

# 6 - A 180 pound rescue mannequin, in supine position, is lifted and dragged 75 feet by walking backwards. (Not hard at all)

All this is done while wearing a 35 pound weighted vest. Maybe this while give everyone a better idea of how to train. The stairs were the hardest for me.

 

[DeadBolt]

The test goes like this:

# 1 - A 34 pound humat valve attached to 100 feet of 4-inch hose (uncharged) and a 30 pound boot bag are picked up and carried 100 feet. EASY

# 2 - A 69 pound electric power blower is lifted and carried a distance of 100 feet. EASY

# 3 - The fly section of a 35-foot, vertically fixed extension ladder is extended to its upper position. EASY

# 4 - Carrying a 44-pound high rise pack, the candidate ascends and descends a five story (41 vertical feet) drill tower. OH MY GOD THIS KICKS SOME BUTT! (I bet this is where I lost the valuable time needed to complete the remaining 2 tasks.)

# 5 - An ???S???- laid, charged 1 ¾ inch attack line is pulled forward a distance of 100 feet. (Not too hard, but your legs are already screaming from the 5 flights.)

# 6 - A 180 pound rescue mannequin, in supine position, is lifted and dragged 75 feet by walking backwards. (Not hard at all)

All this is done while wearing a 35 pound weighted vest. Maybe this while give everyone a better idea of how to train. The stairs were the hardest for me.

Failry simple task...I had to perform several other events that kicked my butt. had to bring a charged 3 inch up 5 flights of steps then again up a ladder...all wearing full PPE gear.

OK 1-3 are simple enough. The stairs always get everyone heh...disadvantage is if you have smaller legs then most. Are you able to skip steps? By me we have to touch every single step up and down. If so try and jump as many steps as possible on the way down. Whats the pressure of the hose?(just curious) Just lean back with the dummy and give it hell...the more weight you leanback with the less you have to pull.

Now as for training...I'd suggest doing that EXACT routine 2-3 days a week...maybe 2 or 3 times in those days. As well as incorporating a strength routine here....I feel if you keep moderate calories and perform those two things you should do fine.

 

[Fire_Woman]

I want to! Thats exactly what I want, but how? Where can I get the resources to simulate everything? Weighted vests are expensive, the hardest part for me is the stairs. I need to build lung endurance. I was huffing & puffing so hard I thought I'd die last time.

 

[MTN WARRIOR]

You should save some energy and just sleep with the testers instead

 

[Fire_Woman]

lmao Thats not the best way to earn respect in the dept.!

 

[DeadBolt]

lmao Thats not the best way to earn respect in the dept.!

You will lose more if anything.

To replicate...are you a volunteer at all right now? If so I'm sure your officers would mind lending you some old gear laying around you could practice with.

If not you could always just use make shift things. Just fill sacks with weight for the dummy drag, tie weight to yourself and run steps. Just get really creative. If anything go to a local volunteer company and ask if you could borrow or rent out some old gear they have around....they aren't using it so I don't see why they wouldn't allow you to use it. Another option would be ask the academy by you if they would allow you to train there every so often.