Category Archives: Specialized Training

Training articles, workouts, and tips for building skills specific to a particular sport or goal.

Sledgehammer + Truck Tire = Hours of Fun

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Sledgehammers Can Add To Your Functional Strength

An old fire captain once said to me, “the hardest thing you will ever do as a firefighter , is chop a hole in a roof”. Of course, I never gave it much thought until I actually had to do it. Then all I heard was his voice in my head… over and over and over… For anyone who has done it, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a miserably difficult task. Fire axes are dulled for a reason, so they don’t stick into things when you hit them. The ax is mostly for destroying things. So, imagine trying to cut through a couple courses of asphalt shingles, a water and ice barrier, and finally 5/8” plywood… all while balancing on a pitched roof. This is truly a “functional” task. You use every muscle in your body to complete this task.

“the hardest thing you will ever do as a firefighter, is chop a hole in a roof”

Now you are probably asking yourself, “don’t they have power saws for that?” The answer is: yes we do; a couple actually; one is a quick vent saw, which is like a chain saw on steroids, and another saw called the K-12, which is another beast the cuts just about everything. But sometimes there aren’t enough saws to go around, and a lot of ventilation holes need to be opened. So we improvise, adapt and overcome. This is where your fitness training plays a big role.

For anyone who has done it, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a miserably difficult task…

Hammering Out A Workout.

Hammering Out A Workout.

So I came up with a fairly simple drill , that addresses this. You won’t need any fancy equipment, or shiny machines. All you need is a sledgehammer and a truck tire. A car tire will work as well, but a truck tire gives you a little more to work with, plus it wont move around when you hit it. The nice part about this is, it can apply to homeowner or firefighter. The home owner (standing aside of the tire) is simulating any swinging type activity, from chopping or splitting wood to digging a trench in his yard. The firefighter (standing atop the tire, balancing) it simulates chopping that vent hole in a roof.

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Don’t Get Burned… Kettlebells To The Rescue

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Firefighters, Insure Your Career And Life With Kettlebells

Well, I’m here to attest to you, fellow brothers and sisters of the fire service, that the answer to these problems facing you is a lot simpler than you think. It’s nothing new. In fact, its “old school”. It’s nothing fancy, and to say it comes with no fluff would be an understatement. If you are not familiar or heard of Russian kettlebells and Pavel Tsatouline, the time is now.

If you, like just about every other department out there, are strapped for available space, cash, and time, your answer is here. The Russian kettlebell is the perfect solution.

If you have room in your firehouse to lay down a standard piece of plywood (4’x8’), then you have a decent size space to work out in. The space has to be clear of clutter and have overhead clearance, but you don’t need hundreds of square feet.

As for price, the money you will spend on, say, three kettlebells of various sizes, will be a mere fraction of what any of the new “infomercial” driven exercise gadgets that are out there that make promises as empty as your pockets.

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Wrestling Drills For Strength And Conditioning

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Get Into Shape While Improving Your Wrestling Skills

…wrestling, like lifting heavy weights, is necessary for a strong, healthy, virile body.

Wrestling is a sport based on shoving, grabbing, slamming, pinning, and otherwise controlling an unwilling opponent. Although many other sports, such as football or rugby, incorporate these strategies to some degree, it is the primary goal of the wrestler. It is easy to see then these guys are some tough SOBs. In fact, wrestling has been one of the primary means of demonstrating manhood across cultures and throughout history. From Icelandic glima to Japanese sumo to Turkish oil-wrestling almost every culture has had some indigenous form of grappling. A quick read through anything written by early European and American physical culturists such as Hackenschmidt, Leiderman, and Sandow will reveal a consensus – that wrestling, like lifting heavy weights, is necessary for a strong, healthy, virile body. However, at some point this connection between strength, physique, and wrestling was severed leaving many guys with buffed-out beach body muscles they couldn’t use to defend themselves if they had to.

The intent of this article is not to make anyone feel insecure or start some sort of physical culture revolution. My goal is to reintroduce some exercises and training methods were lost to the strength and bodybuilding world when lifting and wrestling parted ways. These exercises are designed not only to build strength and endurance, but also to add some mental toughness and competitiveness to a possibly stagnant training program. Incorporating some of these drills into your program will work your muscles in ways you didn’t know possible – and also to reconnect with your inner barbarian. So read this article, watch Conan, and then give these exercises a try.

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