A collaboration between Aberdeen Fire & Rescue and the Avera Human Performance Center has yielded a spike in the number of fitness hours firefighters log.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, firefighters can join a fitness class tailored to the skills they use on the job.
The partnership started in 2020 and the numbers speak for themselves.
Aberdeen Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Stacy Vrchota tracks the department’s fitness hours. Here’s how they’ve looked in recent years.
- 2021: Up 15% from 2020
- 2022: Up 42% from 2021
- 2023: Up 88% from 2022
A few years back, there was a push to increase fitness options at the fire department, Vrchota said. South Dakota State University and Sanford Health looked at the physical tasks firefighters do and from that information, the Avera Human Performance Center designed custom workouts, he said.
Adam White, a trainer at the performance center, oversees the program and the workouts.
The half-hour sessions focus on functional strength and conditioning, White said. Firefighting is a physically demanding job, so exercises are designed to help do it more effectively, he said.
Squats, conditioning and shoulder work are common during the workouts, White said.
Vrchota said classes also improve core and leg strength. That helps on the job if, for instance, a firefighter has to move a victim or a charged hose.
The workouts also take into consideration that firefighters have to wear heavy gear when they respond to a call, he said.
There’s not much downtime during classes, but the same is true during a fire response, Vrchota said.
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“You wouldn’t think 30 minutes is a lot of time, but you can get a lot done if you just keep moving,” White said of the workouts.
That the classes are short means those who attend can get in a workout, clean up and get back to their regular duties without a big disruption to their day, Vrchota said.
Usually, there are between six and 10 people in a class, but sometimes it’s as many as a dozen, he and White said.
There could be 12 to 14 attending when there’s a fire academy, Vrchota said. That’s when the department hires four or five people at once. Those folks go through the workouts so they can see the value of fitness in doing the job, he said.
Even for those who don’t go to the class or prefer a different type of workout, the program has provided inspiration. When people leave for class, it stimulates others to be active either at the fire department, home or a gym, Vrchota said.
All three fire stations have weight, cardio equipment
All three fire stations in Aberdeen now have cardio and weight equipment, Vrchota said. Some equipment used at the performance center has been added in case somebody misses a workout, he said.
The classes yield both personal and professional fitness benefits, he said.
White said the firefighters don’t always enjoy the classes, but they enjoy the results.
For him, the workouts are a way to use his skills as a personal trainer.
White played basketball while attending Presentation College, but found that his passion shifted. His brother, Tanner, was doing personal training, leading to Adam wanting to do the same.
“I just fell in love with the training process even more than the sport itself,” Adam White said.
Tanner started the Aberdeen Fire & Rescue program before Adam took over.
Vrchota said it began as a pilot program involving both the Aberdeen Police Department and the fire department. It was then expanded for more firefighters to attend, he said.
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The classes weren’t ideal for police given the various shifts officers work, Adam White said.
Sometimes firefighters show up in their gear and change into workout clothes, he said. And sometimes they’ve had to leave for a call, he said.
White said he also works with local Special Olympics athletes at the performance center. He said he’s enjoyed getting to know people in both groups.
The performance center offers personal training for people of all ages. Young athletes like to focus on sports performance, but there are also programs for injury prevention and return to competition after an injury.
Personal training and specialized programming is also available, White said.
Fitness program has improved culture at fire department
The partnership has been great for Aberdeen Fire & Rescue, Vrchota said. He said he’s told people at the performance center how the program has improved the culture within the department.
While fitness hours have gone up considerably in recent years, the number of hours lost to injury have decreased, Vrchota said.
“We’re hoping that’s a direct correlation to the fitness hours,” he said.
The department has added flexible workout hours in recent years, which has also likely helped increase the number of fitness hours, Vrchota said.