Fire Rescue Wellness

Vanessa Frost-Piedrahita drove six hours to teach my motor control and learning class at Oklahoma State University a couple of weeks back, so it was only proper that we do an in-person podcast while standing around my kitchen island.

You can grab Vanessa's bio at her previous episode, linked here: Previous VFP Episode

So what, now what?!?

Health can equal performance!

Email Vanessa: [email protected]

Jenna Yentes Episode

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Jenna Yentes is an incredibly kind and fun nerd with whom to share grocery store beers! In this week's episode, hear about our outing to the grocery store bar in College Station, Texas. We also talk about science, of course!

Dr. Jenna Yentes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management at Texas A&M University. She is a human movement scientist with a focus on locomotion and posture. Recently, Dr. Yentes has begun investigating the performance effects of a limited range of motion due to restrictive PPE in firefighters. Her other research investigates movement disorders associated with aging and disease.

Dr. Yentes served as the interim director of the Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance, where she worked closely with Texas A&M Athletics' Sports Science and Sports Medicine. She has degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, California State University Fullerton, and the University of Nebraska. Before coming to Texas A&M University, Dr. Yentes was faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and research staff at the Veterans’ Affairs Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Her fur children, especially the corgis, keep her busy in her free time.

So what, now what?!?

Gear fit matters!!!

Listen to the previous episode regarding gear fit here.

Female firefighters, scan your body and help Dr. McQuerry make patterns that fit us!

X: Dr_JennaY
IG: @jennarita_y

website

Texas A&M Performance Summit Jenna mentioned

Science to the Station

Athlete Engineering Event

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Joel and I talked about one of my favorite topics (sleep) and he has some tremendous insight into FD shift schedules, alerting systems and organizational impacts on sleep.

Joel M. Billings, PhD is an assistant professor at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He is the Program Chair for the undergraduate degree program in Emergency Services and teaches courses in fire and emergency services. Dr. Billings’ research expertise focuses on firefighters’ sleep and health. Specifically, he studies firefighter sleep process and sleep-wake cycles, fire department shift schedules, and the cardiovascular and sleep impacts of firefighter alerting systems. His research is funded by NIH/NHLBI and DHS/FEMA.

His goal is to improve health, safety, and performance of members in the fire and emergency services profession by bringing together research and practice. He has former experience as a volunteer firefighter and EMT-Basic in Michigan. Dr. Billings serves as a member of the Science Alliance, council member for the Healthy Work Design & Well-Being cross-sector program at NIOSH, and serves on the Council of Governors at the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress.

So what, now what?!?

Joel's top considerations to improve firefighter sleep:

1-get rid of the Kelly schedule
2-integrate appropriate and responsible napping
3-get rid of the morning wake up "alarm"
4-shift start time later

https://faculty.erau.edu/Joel.Billings

Connect via LinkedIn

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Cindy McKnight is an incredible human and great supporter of the fire service! Make sure to listen all the way to the end for an wonderful piece of advice regarding compassion fatigue. (After the music outro...)

Cindy McKnight is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), currently licensed in 4 states. She received her Master of Science in Human Services/Community Counseling, her Bachelor of Arts in Behavior Sciences and her Associate’s in Human Services.

She additionally holds certifications as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP), a Board Certified–TeleMental Health Provider (BC-TMH), a Certified First Responder Counselor (CFRC), Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), Human Services & Mediation Certificate, and is also trained to render Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) services.

Cindy has over 20 years of experience in the mental health field, having practiced in both NFP, for profit and for the health department before opening her own private practice, Living Pono Counseling, in 2017.

Cindy’s passion for working with the first responder community is deeply rooted, having been raised by first responder parents. Cindy has worked with numerous fire and police departments across the state supporting teams throughout trainings, mental health awareness, debriefings, individual therapy, and critical incidents.

Her wellness mission for the first responder community has continued to grow as she’s built the team at Living Pono Counseling, with many of the staff coming from first responder families as well and working with the population and their families currently.

She has served as a breakout speaker and panelist at state-wide and national conventions for first responders to bring awareness from a mental health lens to the community. 

Cindy uses a trauma-informed and solution focused approach to therapy and has many collective years of experience additionally in forensics, sex therapy, crisis management, care coordination, and community outreach. Her goal is to provide a nurturing environment for a healing journey for all her clients, fostering a space to help cultivate personal growth and ultimately achieve a sense of harmony within her clients.

So what, now what?!?
Feeling comfortable with your therapist is the first and might be the most important step!

Living Pono Website

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Sign up to hear Drs. Lockie and Dawes speak at the ISSN Virtual Tactical Summit

Dr. Bob Lockie does great tactical research, is a great friend, and his sock game is unparalleled.   

Dr. Robert Lockie is an Associate Professor of Strength and Conditioning at California State University Fullerton and has been a sports and tactical researcher for over 20 years. He has conducted numerous research projects with law enforcement, fire, military, and sports organizations. Dr. Lockie has authored or co-authored over 150 manuscripts and 100 presentations on the topics of law enforcement, firefighter, and military fitness, testing, and tactical performance. He has presented his research findings locally, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Lockie has been recognized by Elsevier & Stanford University as one of the top 2% most-cited scientists in the world (https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/6). In 2024, Dr. Lockie was awarded the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Tactical Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year.

So what, now what?!?

Determining an exact minimum standard for firefighter health and fitness is difficult, but being in better condition is never a detriment!

Connect with Dr. Lockie-

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Twitter

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Before you listen, download the PDF!

Last week, Andy Scott spoke about mobility training, and one of my listeners requested more information. Thanks for another great question, Paul. You can hear more of Paul's questions on this previous episode.

So what, now what?!?

We can't prevent injuries, but we might be able to decrease their likelihood if the joints that should move, move well and the joints that should be stable remain so!

Listen to Dr. Jen's episode

Follow Dr. Jen on IG

Follow Dr. Jamie Mraz on IG

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The Associated Firefighters of Illinois (AFFI) established the Resiliency Committee at their 2022 Convention. On today's episode, I interviewed Chairman Joe Galli, Co-Chair Andy Scott, and Dani Cook of Naperville Local 4302.

These three committee members took time out of their schedules to share the magic of the resiliency committee, and you'll want to learn more so you can get this committee working for you in your state as well.

Joe Galli is a 22-year fire service veteran, the former president of Elgin (IL) Local 439, and a 17-year member of its executive board. He created the resiliency committee concept when he realized that the best way to care for Illinois firefighters was to provide them with resources right in Illinois.

Lt. Andy Scott is the VP of Plainfield (IL) Local 4560 and was one of the original full-time hires when Plainfield transitioned from paid on-call to career firefighters. Andy is also an NSCA TSAC-F and peer fitness trainer. (We all aspire to create glutes like Andy's.) Hear Andy's previous episode. Listen to the episode re: rhabdo.

Dani Cook has been a Naperville (IL) Local 4302 firefighter for five years. In her short tenure, she has developed a rapport with co-workers that has allowed the tearing down of the stigma surrounding mental health.

So what, now what?!?

Taking care of your firefighters starts at the local and the state level. Relying on national-level resources might prove to be too little or too late.

Follow my friends on IG:

Joe Galli

Andy Scott

Dani Cook

Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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Our creatine use in firefighters review paper is out!

I've gotten some comments lately about our firefighters not being strong enough. But when I ask about the type of on-duty training the departments are conducting, it's often circuit-style training with limited weights.

Circuit-style training is a legitimate format for multiple people in smaller spaces. That said, it's unlikely to get the typical firefighter much stronger unless they are quite deconditioned.

When it comes to getting people stronger, I knew exactly who to ask. Dr. Taylor Dinyer-McNeely is a professor in my department at Oklahoma State, so we posted up in her office and had a great conversation. {You will all feel immersed in the experience because it sounded like someone was knocking down the Kinesiology building while we were having our conversation.}

Taylor Dinyer-McNeely is an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health and Recreation at Oklahoma State University. She teaches an undergraduate course in Sports Supplements for Human Performance and a graduate class in Principles of Performance Enhancement. Her primary research interests include understanding the mechanisms of fatigue and physiological responses and adaptations to resistance exercise in females.

So what, now what?!?

When it comes to getting stronger, multiple sets of 4-6 reps with several minutes of rest in between is what the Dr. ordered.

Connect with Taylor on IG

Check out coaching with Dr. D!

Check out the previous episode with Dr. Katie Hirsch

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Check out Newman's previous episode here!

Brian Newman returns to the show to talk about testosterone replacement, selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), and the ever-so-popular weight loss drugs.

He gives a fair perspective regarding all modalities that can be summarized as not all bodies work the same, and buyer beware. Another fact to remember is "test, don't guess!"

So what, now what?!?

If you are an obese firefighter or simply not 'feeling yourself' any longer, some of these therapies might be helpful. But the first and potentially best course of action is to get your house in order. Focus on recovery and sleep, nutrition, aerobic and resistance training, and hydration to start moving the needle in the right direction. And if you choose to partake of assistance, do it under the care of a physician monitoring your bloodwork 3-4x yearly!

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I needed to record a solo episode for this week unexpectedly, and when I went to bed last night, I wasn't sure what I wanted to speak about. But I woke up today and chose violence.

From my news feed: "Twelve Tufts University lacrosse athletes were hospitalized after a recent graduate from Navy Seal training took them through a workout."

Excuse me, please?

As I acknowledge in the recording, we don't know all the facts, so there may be more to this story, but at first glance, this is lunacy. What was a collegiate sports team doing in the care of a Navy Seal? And a better question: What were his qualifications for training (and I use that term loosely) these athletes?

But we in the fire service aren't doing much better. I've heard countless stories of candidates and academy attendees being harmed by those who are supposed to be taking care of them.

Physical fitness shouldn't be punishment, and randomly adding high-intensity exercise work as a penalty for poor performance on job tasks is just lazy instructing and has the possibility of causing real harm.

Making a candidate run a set of wind sprints every day because they aren't "in good enough shape" isn't going to significantly impact their physical fitness. But it sure could injure them, especially if they're already fatigued from PT and fireground task training.

So what, now what?!?

We, as a fire service, need to do better. It's time to stop tasking firefighters with the physical fitness training of other firefighters.

Call to action: We need to start conversations in the hallways of fire departments, research institutions, the IAFF, and even high schools. Academy students and FD candidates shouldn't walk in the door in dire physical condition. We must also figure out physical fitness standards that accurately correlate to job task performance to protect our level of service and the lives of the very employees who staff the stations.

Do you have thoughts to add to the conversation? Please send me an IG DM or email me at [email protected]

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