A CROSSFIT-LIKE WORKOUT ROUTINE FOR FIREMEN:

We work 24-hour shifts. You could be here at the station and go from a dead sleep state to running into a burning building. The National Fire Protection Association says that we have to be at a fire within five minutes of the alarm. So you go from a resting heart rate to about 150 beats per minute in five minutes.

When you go to a regular gym and do 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill and then do a back and biceps routine, your heart rate is never really climbing. But functional fitness training involves full body movements and it involves an up-tempo. About halfway through our workouts, your heart rate is at max effort level. But you still have to dig deep to finish. It’s just like in a fire. We max our heart rates when we’re fighting a fire, and even when your body is telling you to stop, you have to keep going if the fire’s not out. . . .

When we go to a fire scene, everything is a full body motion. There are no bicep curls or triceps kickbacks at a fire ground. But there’s a lot of squatting. There’s a lot of farmer’s carries with ladders and different tools. There’s a lot of bear crawling when the heat drops us to the ground. So all these functional-fitness-style full body exercises mimic what we’re doing in fires.

The story has links to their workout, if you’re interested.