2022 Fitness Review
2022 was a turning point in how I approached my strength, speed, stamina, and overall physique.
After getting my EMT license in early 2022, I decided that if I really wanted to pursue being a firefighter, I needed raw strength. I had decent stamina from all the running I did, but that wouldn't translate into raw power when throwing ladders or racking hoses. I decided to incorporate more functional exercises into my workout routine, primarily by adding weight lifting, dynamic movements, and additional resistence to body-weight exercises like running. Overall, I made decent progress in my lifts, and I'm working on getting back to my highschool race-pace.
Lifting Progress (lbs):
- Weight: 155 → 165
- Bench: 105 → 135
- Squat: 135 → 155
- Military Press: 50 → 75
- RDL: 65 → 95
Running Progress:
- 800m: 00:02:35 (March) [PB: 00:02:09 in April 2011]
- 1600m: 00:06:13 (April) [PB: 00:05:35 in April 2011]
- 5k: 00:23:54 (February) [PB: 00:21:38 in October 2021]
- 10k: 00:51:36 (February) [PB: 00:46:48 in November 2021]
Notes:
For my strength training, I tried to increase the weight or reps per set each time I worked out that muscle group. I would start at 6 reps per set, then do 7 reps per set the following week, then 8, then drop back down to 6 reps per set, but increase the weight. I was able to follow this pattern consistently, as expected with new gym attendence, but I expect a slower rate of progress during 2023 until my diet improves.
It seems like 10-20 sets per muscle group per week seems to be a sweet spot for optimal output, but I found modest growth even with 5-10 sets per week, but I'm unsure whether that was due to frequency of training, the progressive overload, or something else entirely.
My cardio strength isn’t that much slower than my peak, although my sprinting isn’t what it used to be, especially in the 800m. I will try to incorporate more hill charges and stair climbing in 2023.
The CPAT is a fun, task-oriented event that I can use to measure overall fire-fitness. I’d like to continue testing myself once or twice a year to see how I progress.
I severely underestimated how valuable consistency and balance are in strength training. I started to notice the most progress when I started being more consistent with hitting every muscle group rather than focusing on one more than others. It seems that maintaining the frequency of training yielded better results than maintaining the intensity, but I assume this will flip once I start to plateau.
Closing Thoughts
I'm looking forward to Fire School. They need 15 people to sign-up in order for them to hold a class, and as of the date I'm writing this there were 11 people on the list. If it happens, it won't be until the Fall, but I won't find out either way until June-ish.
I'm also doing my first 10m race in 2023, the cherry blossom 10m, so I'll be able to include that as a separate line-item in my 2023 review.
My lifting goals are to Benchpress 1.25x my body weight, and squat 1.5x. I'd also like to run a sub 5:45 mile, and a sub 2:25 800m.
See you next year!