By Mason Beaver, Captain, Sherman Fire-Rescue, TSAC-F, and Hussien Jabai, MS, CSCS, TSAC-F, CPT

An academy sets the tone and the first impression for recruits on expectations of the fire service. Your academy should be the frontline of who you allow into the service and what you want your recruits to become before they show up for their first shift.

The reality is, do we know who recruits are from a fitness and wellness lens? Do we understand where they lack knowledge in physical preparation, or where our programs fall short in teaching them tangible life skills for maintaining their health? Observation and investigation is key to understanding our cadets.

Jabai Performance has had the honor of working alongside a private fire academy to develop a program towards a “best-practice model.” This process involved a first phase, foundational observation, of a multistep development plan. This phase involves investigating the status of the personnel and program of the academy.

One area explored involves integrating fitness and wellness questionnaires to new recruits on Day 1 of class and evaluating who is walking in the doors. Based on the collection of questionnaires over a two-year time span, instructor Hussien Jabai has analyzed the findings to explore vital background information that will assist the justification for curriculum and education inclusion within academy and pre-academy settings.

The Findings

  • 82% of cadets were NOT following any form of fitness program upon/prior to entering the academy

This tells us an enormous portion of our cadets are walking in the door without any form of formal training regiment or structure in their day-to-day lives. They are not training. They are not prepared. Then, we force vigorous physical fitness training on non-conditioned cadets who end up injured, broken, or incredibly fatigued through the process.

  • 72% of cadets are NOT training for an entrance physical ability test for an agency
  • 68% have NEVER attempted any physical ability testing prior

These statistics told us more than half of the cadets have never experienced physical ability testing prior to entering the academy, nor are they training to pass one for aspirations of joining an agency. Does this indicate lack of physical ability testing awareness or overall lack of drive to prepare for testing that recruits may not be concerned with passing?

  • 88% of cadets did NOT know what “energy systems” are
  • 90% of cadets did NOT know how to train “energy systems”

Having a basic understanding of energy systems and how to train them are key in optimizing your performance on the drill field and on the fireground. Knowing cadets are unaware of these systems means we have no idea how to approach our training.

  • 90% of cadets did NOT know how to train target heart-rate zones

We walk around and say we need good cardiovascular health and conditioning. We constantly preach the fact that CVD and cardiac events are the leading cause of fatality within the fire service. With this said, we also notice we do not know how to strategically train our cardiovascular system. So, how can we expect to become conditioned and prepared in a safe and effective manner?

  • 72% of cadets do NOT know the standard recommendations for macronutrients (carbs, proteins, fats)

Many cadets walking through our doors do not know basic recommendations for nutrition and dietary intake. How do we expect our recruits and personnel to know appropriate nutrition strategies, if we see there is a knowledge gap and do not provide a tangible solution while in the classroom?

Why Is This A Problem?

Obviously, we are facing a growing concern that people may not be able to perform the physical part of the job as effectively as they need to. Untrained/undertrained individuals could be a liability from the word “Go!” They may be more susceptible to injuries on the job or in training, trying to get caught up to a more physically fit standard.

In addition to the requirement of learning the profession and tactical skills of firefighting, they now need to learn about health, wellness, and exercise science. I’m not saying anyone who wants to join the service needs to be in perfect shape and a rock-star athlete. However, a baseline knowledge of proper training and diet should be expected as a minimum.

Where The Problem Starts

So, where is the root of the problem? I feel it is a systemic problem, starting in our schools. I believe physical education and health sciences should be pushed more in middle and high school. But, knowing that initial education might not set a solid foundation for our recruits, how can we bridge the gap on baseline physical education?

The fire service recruits people from the general population. Meaning, we bring “general population” problems into our doors, in combination with the negative health concerns of our profession. The performance bar keeps dropping, and now we are starting to see some of the results of the “participation trophy” generation.

Many fire departments have lowered the standards of the physical agility test, which I do not understand. Some have completely gone away from it.  The physical demands of the fire service have not gotten easier, so why would the baseline physical fitness expectations? We are held to a higher standard morally, ethically, and even educationally now, so why are we dropping the expectation physically? I do not have the answer to this question.

Look From Within

I think the initial starting block should be in our own house. We (fire service in general) have some people who honestly look and perform like slobs. We have less than stellar eating habits and even worse workout habits in some cases. So, when we want our new recruits to be in top form, we are pretty much saying, “we want you to be in great shape, but don’t worry about these other guys who are a biscuit away from 300 lbs and a heart attack waiting to happen.”

I know there are some big boys who can work circles around people, so this isn’t a blanket statement about some of our hefty fellas. It really starts with us, though. We need to hold each other accountable and raise our in-house standards.

Advising The Next In Line (Recruiting Strategies)

When we go to schools and job fairs, we need to be brutally honest about the physical rigors of the job and not sugar coat the truth. If a kid comes up who is rail thin, 100 lbs soaking wet, we need to tell them, “You have to put some muscle on to do this job.”  Then we need to give them practical advice that is easy to follow.

We should learn more about the diet and exercise requirements of this job, too. Break down the diet, safe supplementation considerations, and be able to explain some easy workouts. We need to have tangible information to pass along.

We see our young recruits look at some of our senior guys who have put in hours/years into fitness, and they want a magic pill.

“What do you take?”

“Are you on testosterone?”

“How can I get that big?”

They think it is a quick fix, but it truly is a lifestyle we need to promote amongst ourselves.

Setting A Standard For Selections

Fire academies should incorporate some form of pre-academy physical ability testing. You don’t pass, you don’t make the class. I know this cuts down the bottom line for academies, but they should feel the impetus to produce solid candidates. Not just run people through who can pay.

Academies should incorporate fitness and wellness education and training. They should discuss proper training techniques, form, and program considerations.

I had one academy instructor who was a very large, very loud person who proudly proclaimed, “I’ve probably spilled more whiskey than you boys together have drunk.”  Truth be told, he probably had more cheeseburgers than us, too. That’s not the kind of instructor we need. We need to challenge our cadets to be better, to work harder, to think of ways to improve themselves.

Where Do We Start?

The answer starts with us. We must be better, stronger, and smarter. And we must be the example. One of my favorite sayings is, “the enemy thanks you for not giving your best today.” We can’t control everything that goes on in our lives.  But we can control our attitude, effort, and emotions.