 Hey Crew 👋!
I've been getting a lot of questions about how to make the quick pivot back to working out at home while staying on a budget. Many areas over the world are back into shutdowns and this means no gym access and equipment becomes hard to come by. I've done a little research and I've come up with 3 different budget items that will give huge bang for your buck. All of these items are available on Amazon with free shipping if you have prime. SANDBAGS One of the biggest barriers when switching to working out at home is access to larger expensive equipment like barbells & bumper plates. One amazing option is to get a solid sandbag with multiple filler bags so you can adjust the weight. We love our Brute Force bags if you're looking to make a solid investment, but they are pricier if home workouts are a temporary situation for you. Synergee Pro Sandbags are a great budget bag to start out with if you are thinking short term or wont be using them aggressively. Just fyi, sandbags don't come with filler, you can use sand, rubber mulch or even kitty litter which is all available at your local hardware or grocery store. Resistance Band Kits Large looped bands are great for more than just a cable machine substitute. They can be added to other dumbbells, kettlebells, barbell, and bodyweight movements to increase or in some cases decrease resistance. A set like GRM Resistance Band Kit comes with handles, a door hanger and carry case. Super convenient for use at the home gym or to take with you when traveling. Dumbbell to Kettlebell Conversion Handle Kettlebells are great, but they can be expensive and space consuming. One option is to buy a grip convertor like the Kettle Gryp. That way you can convert any dumbbell you have to a kettlebell. I'd still suggest purchasing the most common weight(s) you use as actual solid bells, but with the grip you can have lots of other options. All three of these options would total you around $150 and will always be a benefit to have around the house even when your back at the gym! Hope this helps 🙏
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It's shift day! You wake up early, jump in your vehicle for the morning commute to the hall. You’re excited to meet up with your crew and catch up over a cup of coffee. You walk through the door, bend over to grab your gear and wham, your lower back tightens up and you know that means trouble. Lower back pain still contributes to over 50% of all line of duty injuries for firefighters. Which affects everything from lost work time, medical expenses, quality time with the family and in general is super frustrating. This situation is far too common and also very preventable with some regular daily movement maintenance. General lower back injury prevention requires developing healthy mobility & flexibility along with stability & strength. Let’s dive into phase 1 of our Fit by Fire Lower Back Injury Program to get you started towards your bomb proof back. When we look at injury prevention we are going to start with building a bomb proof back in two parts. The first has us working on creating mobile joints, functionally flexibly muscle and improving our posture with the Fundamental 3 Mobility Drills. Then we will tackle multi-dimensional torso toughness by including the Foundation 4 Core Exercises. The Fundamental 3 Mobility Drills for LBP Injury Prevention are the: Samson, Spiderman Reach and the Downward Dog to Cobra stretches.
Each one of these amazing stretches can be done to improve the flexibility of the musculature around the hip and shoulders to take unnecessary stress off the lower back. Each of the three also works to improve toe-to-fingertip mobility across commonly critical firefighter related movement. Look to perform each for approximately 30-45 seconds. You can move through all three and then repeat for 2-3 rounds. The Foundational 4 Core Exercises for LBP Injury Prevention include: Hip Bridges & Variations, Side Plank & Variations, Front Plank & Variations and Anti-Rotation Holds.
A big mistake many newbies make is to jump right into core exercises that are fancy or gimmicky. Everyone should be able to perform each one of these movements for over 60 seconds comfortably before jumping into more complex options. If you are lucky to be able to perform this routine before shift great! If not just completing it 2-3x a week would be fine. This also could be done as an extended warm-up before your regular workout at the gym.
Once you feel you have conquered Phase 1, look to add other Fire specific mobility and strength exercises to your routine. Picking functional movements like squats, lifts, lunges, pressing and pulling patterns in all sorts of combinations will prepare you for a successful career and retirement. Check out FitbyFire.com for more information on injury prevention and workouts for firefighters. |
