By Michael Krueger
I like standards. I like personally set standards the best. Some people who know me say I set my standards too high, that I’m too hard on myself. I disagree; I know what I’m capable of, and I fully expect that I perform up to that level.
There is a lot of controversy regarding physical standards for firefighters. There was a time I was more in favor of them than I am now. The amount of litigation and confrontation between groups who should be on the same page, with the same goals, has led to my change in thinking. It’s all just too damaging to the service and counterproductive in achieving many worthwhile objectives.
I’m not abandoning standards, though—not by a long shot. What I think should be done is for YOU to set your standards and set them high—higher than any regulating authority ever could—and then meet them.
Personal Standards
I will admit that I usually have a secret agenda for my clients. They are given the assignment to come up with their goals, but I will also come up with goals for them. Part of the reason is that aside form weight loss (the one area where client overreaching is epidemic), people tend to sets their sights far too low.
When it comes to training, I don’t believe in boundaries. I’ve trained female clients who could eventually do more pull-ups than most men. I’ve trained senior clients who can now run a faster 10K than someone half their age. I’ve trained many men who have more than doubled their one-rep max in the bench press. None of these people had anything close to that in mind when they wrote their initial goals.
The best way to set your standards is to look at your current condition and training history and move forward from there. If you have been sporadic in your training, tighten up on your discipline and consistency. If you have neglected cardio in favor of strength, change your focus and improve your heart and lungs. If your diet is holding you back, clean it up and see where that takes you.
Since no one can force you to do anything, someone else setting standards for you to achieve is somewhat pointless. You’ve got to motivate yourself. When the pressure to improve your fitness is applied from the outside, most people will push back even harder and refuse to do even the smallest things. It’s amazing, personally damaging, and counterproductive, but that’s human nature. Internal motivation is the only sure path to success. Set your goals; design your program; and meet, then exceed, your standards. This is simple, though in no way easy, but so satisfying.
Knowing Why
Another factor in deciding how high to reach is to develop a complete understanding of why you want to improve and then what you want to do with your fitness. The average person usually wants little more than to be of normal weight with enough strength and endurance to make it through the day. This level of fitness is easily achievable with a good plan, some dedication, discipline, and a good dose of patience.
You, on the other hand, are not the average person. Since you are a firefighter, your needs are higher—much higher. You know what the job requires on a day-to-day basis and deep down you know if you are where you need to be. You know what levels of physical, psychological, emotional, and operational readiness you must maintain. You know that you need exemplary strength and endurance to train to the highest level and to respond to any situation without hesitation when needed. While your “average” day might not require you to dip into your reserves, you also know what the job can demand on those days that aren’t average. I’m talking about that day when you will be pushed far beyond your perceived limits and you still must have enough reserves to do what must be done.
Once again, let’s talk about being honest. I have to believe that too many firefighters, by virtue of the level of fitness I have observed, are hoping that that day of reckoning when they will be tested to the max will never come. They might talk excitedly of responding to “the big one,” that fire that will forever hold a place in their memory and in the lore of the department, but are they really ready for it? I’ve seen firefighters sitting around sipping sugary sodas and eating chips while waxing poetic about how cool it would be to respond to a really big fire; and they do this rather than preparing and training for that same possibility. In the back of their minds, they know that the odds are against it ever happening; and in reality, given their level of readiness, that’s a good thing.
I remember an EMT I served with in the Coast Guard. We had two boat crews; he was on one and I was on the other. He always lamented that he never got any “good” calls. He complained that the biggest thing he had gotten that season was a “fisherman who caught himself by the ear.” Meanwhile that summer, my crew had had a couple of drownings, a heart attack, and some major industrial maritime injuries.
One day he finally got his chance. Two boats collided just outside of Sturgeon Bay on the Bay of Green Bay. There were multiple injuries with people in the water; this was big. I won’t go into specific details, but even before he arrived on scene he panicked and hyperventilated; in short, he choked. He had spent too much of his time whining and talking big and not enough time training; now he knew it and he was scared. Fortunately, the rest of the crew stepped up (first, though, they had to use some precious time to stuff his head into a paper bag) and there was no loss of life.
I don’t know what your operational readiness is like, but I do know that without a high level of physical readiness your operational readiness will suffer. If you can’t do your training evolutions over and over without becoming fatigued, you will not build the proficiency you need to perform instinctually and flawlessly under stress. Without adequate stamina, your mental faculties will be compromised and you might get confused and not remember what to do in the heat of the moment.
If you are at a fire scene and you can’t keep up with the tasks at hand, you become a liability. When others on the crew must pick up the slack for you, you become a hindrance to everyone else getting their job done. So while you’re sucking oxygen and resting, the rest of the crew will need to step up and do more. No one wants to be the crew member who is dragging everyone else down, but that’s exactly who you’ll be.
The Highest Standard
When you are at your physical best, you learn, think, and perform at your highest possible level. Your confidence is high, and you never question your abilities; you know you are ready in every way.
When you set your standards high and train, study, and prepare, you’ll know that when the “big one” comes, you will selflessly carry out you duties in the honored tradition of the fire service … and then years later, healthy and happy in your retirement, you can kick back and proudly tell your story.
Michael Krueger is an NSCA-certified personal trainer. He got his start in fitness training while serving in the United States Coast Guard. He works with firefighters and others in and around Madison, Wisconsin. He is available to fire departments, civic organizations, and athletic teams for training, consulting, and speaking engagements. He has published numerous articles on fitness, health, and the mind-body connection and was a featured speaker at the IAFC’s FRI 2009 Health Day in Dallas, Texas. E-mail him at MKPTLLC@gmail.com.
