Fire Rescue Wellness

We, humans, seem to complicate things just for fun. We were BORN knowing how to eat and move. Still, it takes a multi-million dollar fitness and weight loss industry to tell us what to do? Christina  says, "No f***-ing way!" Hear about her philosophies on eating, movement, intentional exercise, and letting yourself out of a cage on this week's episode. We had a blast getting togethe...

Networking stinks like 3-day-old unrefrigerated fish. I said what I said. Connecting is different. Connection is taking the time to get to know someone enough to put them in your solar system. Connecting is worrying more about what you can do for someone else than what they can do for you. Connecting becomes important if you're a health and wellness professional attempting to break into the w...

Sometimes you spin around in someone else's orbit for years before you meet them for real. I call these people "friends I haven't met yet." Brandon Dreiman is one perfect example of someone I've known for a long time but only recently got to meet via our podcast time. We spoke about addiction, recovery, dogs (of course), and his position with the very progressive Indianapo...

Anxiety is weird. Some people are anxious about everything   while others, like me are anxious about specific things. For me, it's parking and coffee, shops-especially stupid Starbucks. So what, now what? Perspective is everything. When someone is anxious about something, their perspective is the one that matters. Be part of the solution rather than the problem.   Book a Discovery Call NSCA C...

Air management drills can get frustrating, especially when having no way to rate your performance or even compare yourself to previous years. Dr. Andrew Jagim and Joel Luedke, ATC are working to change that story. Their research into air management in firefighters is helping to define and rate performance. I recently was privileged to present some of their data at the Society for Neurosports Data...

It's time to pass the baton on Spring4Change, but today's episode is a recap of nutrition week. In case you're new here, Spring4Change is a mental and physical health initiative to mitigate firefighter suicide through education on upstream intervention. The biggest take-home regarding nutrition is that we tend to complicate it...it's simple but not easy, and that's where w...

Chris Fields is an incredible human and an even more incredible friend. My life is better because Chris Fields is in it, and when I started my podcast, I knew I had to have him on to talk about his story, both the darkest hours and the triumph. Chris Fields joined the Oklahoma City Fire Department on July 12, 1985, promoting through the ranks and retiring as a Major on March 1, 2017, serving the c...

#Spring4Change week 1 is finished, and today I recapped the information. Sleep is crucial for both mental and physical well-being, and there are so many small steps we can take to ensure better quantity and quality. So what, now what? Knowing is 1/2 the battle, so you need to know that sleep deprivation is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, suicide, accidents, and cancer...the...

I got a call a few years ago from a young man who had just been hired at a local FD. He was a former athlete (Go Dodgers), certified strength and conditioning coach, and an all-around nice guy. And he told me his department wanted him to take over their fitness and wellness as soon as he got off probation. We had a great conversation, and I gave him all the advice I could, but when I hung up, I th...

"Only two things are inevitable, and you can only cheat on one."-paraphrased from Benjamin Franklin We're not getting out alive, but at least we can thrive instead of merely surviving. As firefighters, we tend to be extremists: all or nothing instead of all or something. We keep pressing the reset button, starting over, and posting about "day 1" and 6-week challenges. How...

When experts talk about firefighter performance programming, the name on their lips is usually Mark Abel. Dr. Abel and I had a remarkable conversation about his research into heart rate variability, firefighter physical fitness training, and all things firefighter research. Mark Abel, Ph. D., CSCS*D, TSAC-F*D is a Professor and Director of the First Responder Research Laboratory in the Department...

#Spring4Change is a mental health and wellness initiative created by Chris Marella and AZ. 2023 is our 4th year of running the campaign together, and as per usual, we're shaking it up again. AZ will be holding down sleep and nutrition starting 4.3.2023 and Chris will swoop in and handle mental health and movement starting 4.17.2023. Your call to action is to follow #Spring4Change on the &apos...

If you know me, you know that I love on my people and trust them implicitly. So when I needed to find a guest to talk about brain injuries and recovery, I went straight to my girl Dr. Katie Dabrowski ( Episode 7 ) from Old Bull Athletics in Miami. And as always, Katie said, "I gotchu!" She recommended I speak with Dr. Chung, and she steered me right! Dr. Chung and I discussed the differe...

Today I fielded some listener questions on the following: What younger me wishes I had known when I started the fire service What supplements do I take based on my comments ( Episode 36 ) regarding my geriatric container and prepared in-advance protein shakes? If I had unlimited resources, what change would I immediately affect in the fire service? What must happen individually and collectively to...

I had the fantastic opportunity to sit down in person and talk to my sleep bestie Major Allison Brager about her research and expertise on snoozing. We invaded Valerie's office at Nova Southeastern before our 4th Annual Society for Neurosports Conference and talked about sleep. We also hit on her unique path to serving in the Army, her experience competing in Crossfit, and her casual foray in...

No matter how skilled and credentialed the professional is, if you ask a sh***y question, you're likely going to get an equally sh***ty answer (unless, of course, you ask a guru; they are all-knowing and context doesn't matter!) Although there's not supposed to be a bad question, I'm here to tell you that some of them are certainly not good! So what, now what? Ask better questi...

Firefighter cancer is on the rise, and anything we can do to bolster our chances of avoiding it = winning! I sat down with Tara Cornett, the creator of Flame Decon products, and we spoke about minimizing risk and washing away the carcinogens and endocrine disruptors after the fact. Tara founded Flame Natural Decon, a company specializing in firefighter decontamination. You can now order her produc...

Have you ever taken a moment to consider how thankful you are that you completed a task yesterday, which has made your day easier today? This is the perfect opportunity to express gratitude to your past self . By completing a task or taking action in the past that benefits your future self, you can practice the idea of "doing something today that your future self will thank you for." Alt...

The Behind the Shield Podcast is one of the most successful and well-known podcasts for first responders and one of the first I ever listened to. James and I have been friends for years, and I was honored to bring him on as a guest. We discussed everything from his early life to his fire career to his thoughts about work schedules and recruitment/retention.  James Geering was born in England and s...

As firefighters, we stick to what we know: local conferences, maybe FDIC. As health and wellness pros, we tend to self-separate into our appropriate silo: strength coaches go to NSCA National Conference, Physical Therapists to APTA CSM etc. What if I told you I've learned and grown far more in places I don't belong!  What if I told you that breakthroughs in my growth and development of m...

What do CBD, red light therapy, breathing, and community have in common? Fringe. Fringe is a company based on education and options for feeling your best. Their products include high-quality and third-party tested water soluble and topical CBD, red-light wraps and panels, and the kalm breathing device. I'm such a fan of their company that I became an affiliate (disclosure: the link at the end...

Ironically, the less competent you are, the more confident you'll feel about your level of expertise. This phenomenon, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, is why career firefighters feel compelled to lecture their coworkers on the benefits of cold plunges or Wendler 5-3-1 after reading one article or listening to one podcast. Knowing about Dunning-Kruger might assist a firefighter or a fire d...

Covid did a number on the world and unfortunately, we still don't know all of the impacts. In Episode 31, I sat down with my girl Rachele B to talk all things cardiopulm physical therapy and Covid/Long Covid as it relates to firefighters. Rachele Burriesci received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the New York Institute of Technology in 2009. Rachele received her board certification from t...

It's the nature of the beast. As firefighters, we are very clear-cut. The world is black or white, with no shades of grey. We are on or off the wagon entirely, not doing 'something.' My girl Dana asked for an episode to help her crew set goals, and here we are! So what, now what? Making behavioral rather than outcome goals is clutch. You have control ! Keeping those behavioral goals...

What do professional athletes and firefighters have in common? They both likely struggle with their nutrition and more than likely overcomplicate it! Enter Maureen Stoecklein, RD. Moe is not only a retired career firefighter but a dietitian and the woman in charge of the Detroit Tiger's team nutrition. Hear about how she got to where she is today, her grouchy dog Bailey (and his BFF Kevin), a...