Fire Rescue Wellness

Matt Spaid and I have been friends since 2020 when he heard me on the Power Athlete Radio podcast and reached out to connect.  You can hear what Matt listened to here Matt Spaid is a Firefighter, Strength Coach, and a Marine Corps Combat Veteran. He is also a dedicated husband and father of two amazing kids. Matt fought in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines and served from 200...

Today I spoke with my IG homie, Dr. Jen Hosler about the importance of keeping the nervous system feeling safe, downregulating the nervous system, and the power of breathing as well the awesome tool known as CARs (controlled articular rotations)-all important info for my firefighters out there.  Dr. Jen is a fitness-forward physical therapist, who specializes in bridging the gap between rehab &amp...

Today s*** got weird and my IG friend Paul Pongratz interviewed me and asked all kinds of great questions about setting up FD health and wellness programs. I hope you'll get some good nuggets out of this one because he asked great questions. Paul Pongratz has been a student of the Fire Service since 1998, he started his service as a volunteer in a combination department serving as a Firefight...

Get on the waitlist for Building Your Career in Fire: A Health and Wellness Professional's Roadmap This week's episode is repeat guest Dr. Erin Terada and special guest Steve the Corgi. Steve got vocal and passionate about a topic, so he was escorted out by security. I'm not sure he'll be asked back on the podcast :) More to follow. Erin and I spoke about disordered eating and...

Grab a new FRW PDF here! The six degrees of Scott Caufield strike again. This week's guest is a recent acquaintance and a complete bada** who works with Scott at Norwich Military University. Rachele and I riffed on nutrition, fitness, and wellness for their student population and LEO/FIRE/MILITARY. Rachele Pojednic, PhD, EdM, CSCS is an Associate Professor & Program Director of Exercise S...

Keeping firefighters, warfighters, and athletes' core temperatures down is critical to optimized performance. I was introduced to CoolMitt two years ago at a conference, and at that point, they were getting into the bulk of their firefighter research. Today, we sat down and discussed efficient and effective cooling methods for firefighters (hint: it's not sitting in a chair with your arm...

Guess what!?! It's my podcast-versary! Congrats to me and my main genius producer, Jeremiah, for a whole year of shows! I'm never going to try to monetize the podcast by begging for money with a button, but if you've ever wondered how to support me or the show, here's your way. Jeremiah was recently robbed of his sound equipment, including his hard drives. He lost several thous...

Coach Jo Zabal (JZ to me) is one badass coach and superstar friend. We met just before C***id and became fast friends, supporting one another through various life trials and tribulations. I am honored to have her as my 71st podcast guest. Johannah comes from a diverse athletic background, with a demonstrated history of coaching in high school, collegiate & private industry for over 20 years. S...

The Rescue RD has been on the podcast so many times, that I'm going to need to make her a co-host! Please welcome 3-time guest Megan Lautz!!! Megan Lautz is a Registered Dietitian and strength coach with a Master's in Sports Nutrition. Megan’s mission is to help firefighters perform better, recover faster, and enjoy long healthy retirements. Before joining Fairfax Fire in 2021, Megan wor...

Today I share eight tips that I feel are important for Firefighter health, wellness, and longevity. 1-Life balance/find joy 2-Prioritize sleep 3-Exercise a little most days instead of a lot every once in a while 4-Discover a sustainable method of eating that works for you 5-Medical monitoring-do it! 6-Maximize mental health 7-Breathe! 8-Manage your time What would you add? Send me an email at: inf...

Risk vs Reward I've had cancer.    Don't let that be your story too. The *good* kind...{please, for the love of god, never ever say that to another human.} Therefore, watching other firefighters and coaches do physical fitness training such as burpees, assault bike, pull-ups, and jumping jacks in gear grinds MY GEARS. It's reckless and, worse yet, just plain ignorant. And saying you...

Don't forget to leave me a podcast review, and let me know via info@firerescuewellness.org so I can put you into the Flame Decon care package giveaway drawing! The deadline is 8.15.2023. I met Rob Hartman at the NSCA Coaches Conference in 2020. We bonded over Diet Dew, motorized scooters, margaritas with the Bridge Athletic crew et al., and conversations about training, and the rest is histor...

 My claim to fame on my pod is that all my guests are personal friends. As of a few weeks ago, Dr. Bartlett was simply a friend I hadn't met yet! In this episode, we spoke a lot about scientifically backed treatment options and protocols and I'm so excited for you to hear it. Brooke Bartlett, Ph. D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and the CEO/owner of Center for Trauma, Anxiety, and...

Last year I was invited to a female firefighter Facebook group and although I didn't join (I violently hate me some FB), I was privy to a few posts while I was an invitee. One firefighter posted something of this flavor: "Hey! Is anyone else just SO CLUMSY? I seem to fall all the time on the fire ground." At least 40 others joined in with how clumsy they also are. That experience in...

Listener Roy asked, "Regarding firefighter and fire department training questions, my issues are less with leading the horses to the proverbial water and more with getting them to drink it. Strategies I see are usually focused on getting career firefighters to exercise on shift, but there are notable nuances between career and paid-on-call/ volunteer departments that result in those strategie...

Order FRW Swag through 7.14.2023 at midnight Eastern! My friend Dr. Z. and I sat down and talked about nutrition basics, dietary supplements, nutritional research, and how those topics relate to firefighter health and wellness.  Tim Ziegenfuss is a Past President and Fellow of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a consultant to sever...

Open Access ISSN Position Stand on Tactical Athlete Fueling Hey friends! This week I spoke with my guy Drew Gonzalez, a budding young scientist and a big fan of firefighter research. We hit on the ISSN Position Stand on Tactical Athlete Fueling and spoke about a novel antioxidant, as well as diving into some of Drew's work on virtual reality (VR). Check out the episode and share it with a fir...

Announcement: FRW Swag store opening in early July 2023! Stay tuned for more details. Today I interviewed my friend Jon Sanders. Jon and I met at the Illinois Firefighter Peer Support Symposium 2019, where we were both speaking. Jon has positively influenced my life and also hosted the first-ever podcast on which I appeared! I was a record-setting four-time guest, and he still owes me my tiara. Ru...

Thank you Flame Decon for sponsoring this episode. Check out Tara and her products over at Flamedecon.com I met the guest from Episode 60 right around a year ago and we became fast friends. Tara is local and her husband is a career firefighter. At the time we met, Tara was working at a local fitness facility and traveling the country for an education provider. She has recently taken a position wit...

Cancer in the fire service is a real threat. Effectively decontaminating your body post-fire is your first line of defense. Make sure and head over to check out Episode Sponsor Flame Decon! Thank you, Tara! The fire service is 100 years of tradition, proudly unimpeded by progress; at least until recently. Finally, the fire service is starting to listen to science and I'm here for it. There ar...

Support the Episode sponsor, Flame Natural Decon, while decreasing your odds of being a fire service cancer statistic. Alex Griff and I have been social media acquaintances for a few years and finally met in person this February at the Associated Firefighters of Illinois Health and Safety Summit. After having a brief conversation, I knew he'd be a great podcast guest. We were lucky enough to...

Please head over and support the Episode Sponsor, Flame Decon! Today you'll get to hear a great conversation with Erin Terada. In typical FRW fashion, we went down all of the rabbit holes, but the main topic of conversation was first responder mental health and some newer treatment options coming on the horizon. Erin Terada, PsyD, LCP, CEDS-S is the Director of Clinical Training at Relief Men...

Not to get ahead of myself, but BOURBON is one of the conversation topics today and my local is doing a bourbon raffle. If you'd like a $20 ticket, please email: LWFDBourbonraffle@gmail.com The drawing is on 6/6/2023 and tickets are $20!  OK, today's episode is all about eccentric training, me beating Dr. Krentz at arm-wrestling, cross-education, bourbon, and Dr. Scott Forbes' short...

One of the greatest joys of my almost 20-year career was switching shifts just before promotion and working with Joe Lissman as an ambulance partner. In three short months, we had numerous ridiculous and joyful adventures. We were promoted the same day in 2014, and not long after became station officers at one of our busiest stations along with Luke Peterson (Episodes 3 and 5). Listen to Luke here...

Big spoiler alert: most fire departments don't need a fitness program ; they need a comprehensive health and wellness program. This week's podcast episode has a few life updates (moving, gym equipment, and B.A. vs. A.A., AKA before Andy and after Andy) and a skeleton to follow if you're attempting to start a Health and Wellness Program in your department.  If you can't be bothe...