FireLink

13-Step Firefighter Workout

(Tribune photos by Antonio Perez / December 26, 2007)

Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The same could be said for those returning to the gym expecting their old workout routine to yield results.

To shock you out of your boring fitness routine, we searched for an intense, high-octane, sweat-dripping workout.

The routine we found belongs to a firefighter. But not just any firefighter. Darryl Johnson is the health and fitness coordinator for the Chicago Fire Department, responsible for ensuring that firefighters are physically capable of doing their jobs, from hauling pounds of equipment to climbing flights of stairs.

Johnson developed a “functional” fitness regimen, one that would build endurance in the muscles firefighters used on the job, especially those in the midsection.

Johnson targeted three areas-core strength, muscle endurance and cardiovascular training-and developed a workout that uses body weight, resistance bands and timed sets. The result is a fast-paced, 45-minute workout of seven circuits, each concentrating on a muscle group.

Each circuit has up to five exercises meant to be done consecutively, without a break, for up to a minute. And because the workout requires only a resistance band, it could be done at home, in the fire station, or on vacation.

“It’s very intense,” Johnson said. “That first group of guys [who tried the routine], man, they called me a lot of names I can’t repeat. It was training that we hadn’t done before.”

As the workouts continued, the firefighters saw results, Johnson said. Climbing stairs didn’t tire them out. The 40-pound hose felt lighter. The job became easier.

Johnson maintains that the workout was created to help firefighters fight fires, but he admits it does burn a lot of calories and will help anyone get back in shape.

“If you happen to get a six-pack, you get one,” he added.

Consider it a bonus.

© 2008, YellowBrix, Inc.