TY - JOUR
T1 - High Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) Improves Fitness in Recruit Firefighters
AU - Chizewski, Annmarie
AU - Box, Allyson
AU - Kesler, Richard M.
AU - Petruzzello, Steven J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the men and women of the Illinois Fire Service Institute for allowing us to complete this project, without their support and assistance the completion of this project would not have been possible. Specifically, we thank Kurt Glosser for his assistance with instruction and testing in the Academy PT program. We would also like to thank those who participated in this study. Lastly, we would like to thank the ExPPL undergraduate and graduate researchers who assisted with the data collection for this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - Background: Firefighting is a strenuous profession requiring adequate levels of fitness for effective job performance. Providing firefighters with a safe and effective fitness program is essential for optimal performance. The purpose of this project was to examine changes in various parameters of physical fitness and firefighter ability following a 7-week high intensity functional training (HIFT) program. Methods: Participants were male firefighter recruits (N = 89; age = 27.1 ± 4.2 years, height = 1.78 ± 0.1 m, BMI = 28.1 ± 4.2) enrolled in a Basic Operations Firefighter Academy. Fitness and firefighting ability (via the Academy Firefighter Challenge) were assessed at Weeks 1 and 7 of the Academy. Results: Significant improvements in both fitness and firefighter ability were seen following the HIFT program. Specifically, fitness (BMI, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance) improved significantly [Hotelling’s T
2 = 8.98, F(5, 84) = 150.92, p < 0.001, η
2 p = 0.90]. Firefighter ability also improved significantly [Hotelling’s T
2 = 3.95, F(7, 88) = 46.26, p < 0.001, η
2 p = 0.80]. Conclusions: Following a 7-week Basic Operations Firefighter Academy that included daily HIFT, significant increases in fitness and firefighting ability were observed. These findings suggest that HIFT appears to be an effective means of improving fitness and firefighting ability in recruit firefighters.
AB - Background: Firefighting is a strenuous profession requiring adequate levels of fitness for effective job performance. Providing firefighters with a safe and effective fitness program is essential for optimal performance. The purpose of this project was to examine changes in various parameters of physical fitness and firefighter ability following a 7-week high intensity functional training (HIFT) program. Methods: Participants were male firefighter recruits (N = 89; age = 27.1 ± 4.2 years, height = 1.78 ± 0.1 m, BMI = 28.1 ± 4.2) enrolled in a Basic Operations Firefighter Academy. Fitness and firefighting ability (via the Academy Firefighter Challenge) were assessed at Weeks 1 and 7 of the Academy. Results: Significant improvements in both fitness and firefighter ability were seen following the HIFT program. Specifically, fitness (BMI, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance) improved significantly [Hotelling’s T
2 = 8.98, F(5, 84) = 150.92, p < 0.001, η
2 p = 0.90]. Firefighter ability also improved significantly [Hotelling’s T
2 = 3.95, F(7, 88) = 46.26, p < 0.001, η
2 p = 0.80]. Conclusions: Following a 7-week Basic Operations Firefighter Academy that included daily HIFT, significant increases in fitness and firefighting ability were observed. These findings suggest that HIFT appears to be an effective means of improving fitness and firefighting ability in recruit firefighters.
KW - firefighter
KW - functional training
KW - fitness
KW - high-intensity training
KW - High-intensity training
KW - Functional training
KW - Firefighter
KW - Fitness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121377130&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85121377130&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph182413400
DO - 10.3390/ijerph182413400
M3 - Article
C2 - 34949008
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 24
M1 - 13400
ER -