ATCff

This will be my fourth year working as an Athletic Trainer for a high school in Westchester. All that is required at a high school football game is one of the three: a MD, EMS, or a ATC (Athletic Trainer). To provide the best care possible I still make sure that our local EMS and an orthopedic MD is there. There is not restriction on what type of MD or EMS level. This type of protection is really only warranted for full contact athletic events like football. The school that I work at does not have a lacrosse team or a hockey team, so I can't really speak to that. But if anyone really wants to know, PM me and I can find out for you. Coaches are required to have CPR with AED and First Aid from the ARC, AHA, or another approved provider. At the college level it is a whole different story. The NCAA requires a certain level of care for each sport game and practice. That can be found under the Sports Medicine section of the NCAA handbook off of their website.

New York State requires that all students who wish to participate in a sport must have a physical done every year. This is a great thing. But as you said, it is usually just HR, BP and vision, no true or thorough orthopedic exam. The rest of their exam is filled with WNLs and checks, followed by the MD's signature. I can say that out of all the medical forms I have gone through, only one or two were completely filled out. Blood work is rarely done. Whether or not these issues had anything to do with the environment, high schools are not being regulated as they should be with regards to practicing in heat. Or practicing times for that matter. The NCAA has started to regulate college practices especially during preseason. Leaving it up to the school boards who either don't care or don't have the time to worry about it until something bad happens. But I guess the emergency service and public education have a lot in common.

PCFire2163 what have you been doing to stay in shape? As stated before, when training for the CPAT you are looking at an endurance test. Everyone who has taken it has said the Stairmill is the hardest part, the rest is easy. The links that Seth and others have posted regarding the training is good, but not great. Just remember overall you want to be specific to the test, but also go beyond it. So if you are on the treadmill for 5 minutes for the test, then when you train you want to be on there longer. To be general stick to free weight exercises and core lifts that focuses on you having to stablize your body as you do the exercise.

With all the documentation out there that states that firefighters die from more cardiovascular related issues than any other in the fire service, I was just wondering what departments out there as a whole are doing for their members. Is there any requirement that your department has for their members to keep up their physical fitness to be eligible for interior operations? If no requirements, does your department do anything to provide options for their members to get healthy i.e.: set up a discounted gym membership, provide a fitness equipment in the fire house, etc.? If your department does not have any requirements, how would you feel if there was? It is easy to say that you would welcome requirements, but if you are one of those persons that says we should have requirements and your department does not have anything in place, then what are you doing on your own to stay fit?

There isn’t one set stationary bike workout out there. Actually, there isn’t really a set workout for any cardiovascular machines. What it boils down to is what you want to achieve? For fire fighters, as Seth stated, interval training is most fitting. Don’t worry about periodzation if you are just starting out. If you are a true beginner on the bike, just start out with getting on the bike and going for 15 minutes straight at a comfortable level. Do this 3 times for the first week, maybe 2, to get your body use to it. As you get use to it, then you can start interval training. Remember, all workouts revolve around your heart rate. So you will need a way to get your heart rate. If you make it to the third week, then I would think about getting a heart rate monitor if one isn’t installed on the bike. Interval training is designed to elevate your heart rate then bring it back down over and over. Again, starting out, stay on the low side. Total length of workout: 45 minutes 5 minutes of warm-up at 50% your max HR 30 minutes of interval training 1 minute exercise at 70% your max HR, then 2-3 minutes back down between 50-60%, repeat this until 30 minutes are up 10 minutes of cool down – most important – bring your heart rate back down to your resting heart rate Number of times per week: 2-3 To find you max HR do 220 minus your age. It is pretty simple from here on out. As you get better, you go longer. Every 4 weeks or so I like to change it up and prevent plateau-ing. This should go without saying, but these are just tips. Nothing more. Consult a physician before you start a physical workout and meet with an exercise specialist in person so they can create a plan for your personal needs. Stupid lawsuits…

Moosecfd368 - To keep it short, because I could ramble on forever, especially because my profession is often under-appreciated and now physical therapist are trying to push us off the roof... yes I am a "trainer". An Athletic Trainer, not a personal trainer, but I do develop conditioning programs for all ages along with evaluating, treating, and rehabilitating injures. I will stop there before I start advertising for ATC's everywhere. Any questions just let me know.

So how do you eat on a crappy schedule? Sure fast food is easy and all of us complain about not having any time, but in the end, it comes down to planning ahead. If you want to eat healthier than what you have to start doing is planning what you are going to eat ahead of time. Yes, the frozen dinners are quick and easy to make, but they aren't the every day answer. I work a similar schedule about 60 hours but you can find me every weekend at stop and shop planning out what I am going to eat during the week. At the start it may seem boring, but over time and after you develop a good routine, you'll be better off. Exercise isn't the only thing we need to do to prevent the leading cause of LODDs. When I go to the store, I am looking for four (4) things: some type of breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack all for that week. For dinner my girlfriend and I decide on three (3) items either chicken, steak, etc. We go with three because we usually have some leftovers we can stretch out later into the week. Don't leave your house in the morning without breakfast, whether it be cereal or a bagel, something. Eggs aren't bad; just don't have them every day. Stick to egg whites if you can. Your snacks should be a decent size. I have either a couple of granola bars, an apple or a PB&J sandwich. They aren't meant to fill you up, just settle the hungry stomach. Lunch, I stick with cold cut sandwiches that I make at home. You'll save a lot of money this way. When I get bored I'll either have some leftovers or make myself a grill chicken or steak sandwich. I agree with aowen, stick with water no soda. I know you were probably looking for a quick fix and I sure I was preaching to the choir but the fact is to be healthier it takes a lot of effort. As for workout ideas... I'll tackle that one later. If you have any other questions about physical fitness, getting healthier, conditioning programs, injuries, just PM me. It is what I do when I'm not sitting around waiting for another false alarm to come in.