Firefighter career

[Contact]

Hi everyone, glad to be back :arrgh!:

I'm not sure if it's the right time to freak out but I will try to lowly boast myself here :DL

If I'm lucky, I will soon face a fracture in my life. My application to Firefighter duty was approved. So I had to get lots of medical benchmarks. However final med analys results will be ready at the end of this week.

If my health wount fail me this means half way completed.

Physical readiness is also a strong factor in this duty, so I already got the physical requirements and started visiting a gym with coach supervision. I have to get in shape till the end of this July when exams will take place. :arrgh!:

If I'll pass the exams I will then have to study for 9 months theory and practice. After that: I"LL BE READY FOR ACTIVE DUTY :rock:

It's going to be a long way of reaching my destiny but I feel it's worth of trying! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKn4zZRWOBE :rock:

[Jimbuna]

Here's to a successful outcome for you...congratulations http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[SteamWake]

Good luck to you.

Its a thankless profession but thank god your out there !

[AVGWarhawk]

I recommend carrying heavy objects long distances as part of your physical workout. I believe you will be handed a mass of firefighting hose to carry as part of your physical and perhaps said hose up the ladder also. Get comfortable with heights, the hook and ladder just might be in that test!

Good Luck Sir! :salute:

[Oberon]

Good on you mate. Stay safe out there. :yeah:

[Skybird]

That's a highly respectable, honourable job indeed, and I pay you tribute for choosing it. Different to military and police, you (as well as anyone serving in the rescue and SAR field) also join a profession that is hard to be abused by the few for ideological or political reasons.

Chapeau! I wish you confidence and success whereever your choice may lead you (and a cold German beer whenever your mission is over).

[Onkel Neal]

Nice. :salute:

[Platapus]

A noble and honourable career. What a wonderful way to live your life.

Best of luck to you.:salute:

[UnderseaLcpl]

Good luck, Contact. Firefighting is widely respected profession. I know you'll prove worthy of that respect. :salute:

[CaptainHaplo]

Great Choice - kudos!

[bookworm_020]

Good luck and stay safe!:yeah:

[Contact]

Thanks to all of you for a kind support. I'm also on a diet right now. Top priority is for protein and hydrocarbon. I want to loose a few kilos. Need to get rid of that potbelly to make myself lighter. I'm not a fat guy it's just I have this little beery belly I want to loose :) I believe it will make me lighter by ~ 3 kg

For my age group there is a minimum of 34 points I need to gather in order to pass the exam. There won't be another try if I fail.

Points are made of 6 physical events which every one of them has a max of 15 points and 40 logical question test - top points = 10

Physical test includes:

1.Running 3 km. Where the top points (15) are given for making this distance in 11 min. Worst point (1) is given if you complete the distance in 17 min.

2.Chin-ups: 15 times for 15 points max.(Best); 1 time = 1 point (worst)

3.Push_ups: 75 times by 2 min is given 15 points (best); 5 times (worst)

4.100 m sprint run: by 12.8 s for max 15 points (best); 17.0 s = 1 point (worst)

5.Runing 10x10 (haven't got a clue what it is made of) best: 26.0 m/s; worst: 35.0 m/s

6. 2 weights for 15 kilos each lifting: 30 times for 15 points (best); 2 times for 1 point (worst);

There is also a 100 m swimming test (without time record but not longer than 5 min.)

I'm anxious about 3 km runing ant push-ups where I really feel I need to improve myself at.

Will do my best, I got time till July 29 :arrgh!:

[UnderseaLcpl]

I have some advice for your running, chin-ups, and push-ups.

To improve your running rapidly, try singing whilst running if you are suitably alone, or else hold your breath for short periods of time during your runs. It helps to build your lung capacity, which is key in distance running.
For push-ups, wear a heavy backpack or elevate your legs. Also, use 4-count push-ups; down-up-down-up, 1. It will be extremely taxing for a few days, but it will make regular push-ups seem like child's play.
I like to make a habit of doing them during TV commercials.

Chin-up workouts in my preferred fashion are a bit harder to do, and require some self-discipline. Put a chin-up bar in the doorway to your room and do as many as you can (or a flexed-arm hang for as long as you can) every time you go through the doorway. In addition to boosting your strength, it also boosts your memory. I can assure you that after a few days of this regimen, you'll never forget your cellphone on the nightstand again:DL

[Contact]

I believe lung capacity can be improved while diving too ? I will keep this in mind while doing my jogging about lung capacity. When water temperature gets a little warmer I will start practising my stay-underwater time. Yes I have a horizontal bar in the coridor. I am making some progress from time to time but not that much as I do in the gym. Trainer doesn't allow me to get lazy and I like that :)

[porphy]

My advice is: don't train too hard during those two months! (unless you are very fit already and well into a long term training regime)

If your body won't have time to recover properly until next session of the same sort, be it running, power or strength, you will not get stronger or faster very quickly. Instead you will run your body down, and risk getting ill from infection or getting hurt some other way, which in turn means no training or less effective training. This is the trouble with a too short preparation time until 29 July. :yep: Your only improving while you are resting, the training is a kind of controlled destruction in order to get improvment through resting and body adaption to the training. Personally I find this the hardest thing to keep in mind during hard training regimes, I can very easily get obsessed with the training, and loose track of the resting part.

Easiest way of improving a lot in short time, is through loosing weight, if you can do this without hurting your nutrition and muscles. Your already in to this, which is good. This goes for running, power and strength, as your maximum work ability in most of those trials you listed will involve moving every kilogram of your body, rather than lifting dead weights. In two months you won't be able to lower your resting heart rate that much (which is the key sign of your general fitness) so concentrate on shedding all unnecessary weight, in order to maximize your working ability.

Also for running, those trials are basically intervals or short distance things, so you need to do high intensity running or intervals to perform your best there. Endurance running is good for loosing weight, but you need to work on your anaerobic ability and threshold, that is when you are close to the limit of getting lactic acid. That way you will perform well on the 3 km run and intervals. It's surprisingly hard to run considerably faster than your normal running session speed, even for a shorter distance. I have tried it myself and failed miserably on some occasions... :D one will benefit from training for a specific target speed per km on those 3 km.

Come well rested and fully recovered to the trials. The last week before the trial will mean nothing when it comes to improving strength, stamina or running capacity, so just do very easy exercises to keep your body in trim during that time.

Good luck! :cool:

[porphy]

I have some advice for your running, chin-ups, and push-ups.

To improve your running rapidly, try singing whilst running if you are suitably alone, or else hold your breath for short periods of time during your runs. It helps to build your lung capacity, which is key in distance running.
For push-ups, wear a heavy backpack or elevate your legs. Also, use 4-count push-ups; down-up-down-up, 1. It will be extremely taxing for a few days, but it will make regular push-ups seem like child's play.
I like to make a habit of doing them during TV commercials.

Chin-up workouts in my preferred fashion are a bit harder to do, and require some self-discipline. Put a chin-up bar in the doorway to your room and do as many as you can (or a flexed-arm hang for as long as you can) every time you go through the doorway. In addition to boosting your strength, it also boosts your memory. I can assure you that after a few days of this regimen, you'll never forget your cellphone on the nightstand again:DL

I'm highly sceptical about the hold breath advice...:) You won't improve your ability to get oxygen into your blood and muscles that way, more likely you will look silly and have a strange breathing pattern when running. If you want to train for performing without enough oxygen in your vessels, just run harder and it will have the same effect. (talking to a running partner during the run is good speed regulator though, if you want to avoid going too fast on endurance running sessions. I guess singing loud will have the same effect, although a bit more suspect... :-? )

Putting on extra weights for doing chin ups or push ups can be good indeed, but you have to be at a quite high level already. Basically, you only do this when your own body weight isn't enough to trigger improvement any more, or if you want excess strength, part from moving you own weight. Doing it when not strong enough will possibly cause injuries. Muscles get stronger quicker than tendons and ligaments, so if you put on a lot of stress very quickly, which your muscles probably copes with, you can instead easily hurt where muscles attach to the bone.

As a fire fighter you will no doubt need extra of everything in the future, with all the gear you wear or carry, but there is no need to train with extra weights from the start, unless you already can perform the 70 push ups or the 15 chin ups with your own body weight. You won't get more points in the trial from doing 10 strong chin ups, but failing the last 5 because of lacking muscle endurance.

I guess it's true that you will be good at exactly what you train at, if your target is doing 15 chin ups with body weight, train for that, if the target is doing 10 chin ups with extra 15 kilo on your back, train for that, but the first step got to be doing 10 chin ups anyway...:)

[sunvalleyslim]

Good Lock Contact, If you make the Academy, we won't be seeing you here for awhile.........Let us know how its going................

[Contact]

First phase completed: Passed the physical examination!

At the end of this month there is going to be a major tests for volunteers in firefighter training headquartes.

[Jimbuna]

Stick in there mate http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[porphy]

Well done. Keep on going and you'll get there. :yep:

[AVGWarhawk]

First phase completed: Passed the physical examination!


I think this is the hardest part. I believe phase one is the physical because it weeds out quite a bit and quickly. Fire fighting is very physical. Good luck! :salute:

[Contact]

I think this is the hardest part. I believe phase one is the physical because it weeds out quite a bit and quickly. Fire fighting is very physical. Good luck! :salute:

Sorry I must have been selected a wrong word. I mean I passed Medical examination. All the hardest part still in front of me. As I was told Physical tests on strength and endurance is going to happen at the end of this month.

[AVGWarhawk]

Sorry I must have been selected a wrong word. I mean I passed Medical examination. All the hardest part still in front of me. As I was told Physical tests on strength and endurance is going to happen at the end of this month.

Physical is tough. Be prepared:up: