There are many different types of endurance workouts firefighters can do to increase performance. As long as you keep moving, mix it up and stay consistent, your cardiovascular health will improve. Here are 3 endurance workouts that have been used in the HERO Elite Daily Workout Program
“3900”
This workout will test your cardiovascular endurance by measuring how well you recover between sets, even though this is non-stop. The main focus of this workout is the 100m sprints. Do not go 100%. Instead, focus on opening up hips and maintain proper form. Use the larger distances to recover between sprints by focusing on form and breathing. You can either go to a track, use a treadmill (carefully) or place a cone @100m or 130 walking paces.
- 200m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 400m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 600m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 800m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 600m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 400m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 200m run 50% max effort
- 100m sprint 90% max effort
- 10 min walk
“4R3”
4R3 mean 4 rounds of row, run and rest. The important part of this workout is maintaining a moderate and consistent pace throughout the entire workout. This workout will help with finding out your limit in terms of aerobic and mental strength. The emphasis should be placed on your rowing pace. For example, start your first set at 2:00/500m pace and see how that feels. If it’s too easy, perform your next sets at 1:50/500m. If you fail to maintain the 2:00/500m pace perform your next set at 2:10/500m. However, just remember you have to run 400m as soon as you get off the rower. As soon as you establish your working pace, you can then decrease the pace by 5 sec each time you attempt the workout.
4 rounds:
- 500m row
- 400m run
- 2 min rest
“Cindy + 200m Run”
If you follow our HERO Elite program, you have noticed we use Cindy as a way to measure progress. Adding running to Cindy makes it a little more challenging and a great endurance workout to improve firefighter performance. The best part of this workout is that you only need a pull up bar, a cone and a place to run. Your score is how many completed rounds of Cindy you complete in 20 min. For the run, you can place a cone @100m (130 walking paces) and run to it and back.
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
- 5 pull ups
- 10 push ups
- 15 air squats
On 0:00, 5:00, 10:00 and 15:00 run 200m
Good luck and be safe with your training!
