How Fit are Firefighters?

Firefighters are FIT (easy there girls, we mean exercise!). But it's important that everyone keeps themselves fit and active.

That's why we have come up with the

• Firefighter
• Athletic
• Response
• Timing
• System

(um, we were going to come up with a catchy acronym, but couldn't think of one...) to help you get an idea of what our Firefighters go through to stay healthy.

Before you can begin the er, FARTS program, eat plenty of beans and cabbage!! No, seriously, make sure you read the following top tips and advice so that you can exercise safely.

Wear a helmet when you’re supposed to

You might think you're pretty tough, but to protect your brains you've got to use your head - so wear a helmet! Helmets are important if you're cycling, playing hockey, skateboarding - anything fast or with heavy objects flying around. Make sure it’s the right type of helmet for the activity you’re doing. It’s not smart to use your bike helmet for hockey!

Make sure your helmet fits right too, a wobbly or tight helmet won't offer good protection.

Get your kit on!

Helmets are just one important piece of safety equipment. To stay safe, you might need to wear other types of gear depending on what you’re doing. Like how you need to wear guards on your wrists, elbows and knees when you’re roller blading or skate boarding. You usually need different gear for different sports and activities, so check with your parents or PE Teacher to make sure you’re fully equipped to have fun and that everything fits you right!

Warm things up

When it’s cold outside, your parents might warm up the car for a few minutes instead of starting to drive with a cold engine. You need to do the same with your muscles before you start doing sports or exercise or you could injure yourself. If you play sports, your PE Teacher will get you to do warm-up exercises before each practice or game. If you’re doing something on your own, you can warm up too. Like when you ride your bike, start by riding slow for a few minutes so your muscles can warm up—then pick up the need for speed!

If it hurts, don't do it

If you fall, get bumped or feel pain when you exercise, it’s smart to stop what you’re doing and ask an adult to check you out right away. If you keep going when you’re injured, you can make it a lot worse and be out of action for a longer time.

Keep it safe and stay smart

It’s definitely not a good idea to do stuff like riding your bike after dark, swimming alone or without a lifeguard around, using broken equipment or playing on surfaces that are rough, slippery or full of holes—you could get hurt!

If it's advertised on Telly - it can't be good for you!!

Okay, when did you last see an advert for grains, or milk or fruit or veg? Never?, and when did you last see an advert for fizzy-pop, string made of cheese or chocolate bars? Exactly.

Usually, only BAD foods get advertised on telly. The sorts of foods that will make you fat, spotty and short of breath when searching for the remote control.

Food that grows on farms (grains, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, cows (and milk!)) is GOOD for you.
Food that gets made in factories (instant pizza, microwave chips, string cheese) - is BAD.
FACT.

Diet (the food you eat) is very important to help keep you fit and healthy.

The FARTS programme

The FARTS programme encourages you to take part in the following 4 key exercise types:

Use your Feet

Feet, you know, those funny shaped hands at the bottom of your legs? Use them.
Walk to the shops. Walk to the library. Walk to your friends house. Walk to school. It's nice in the summer as you get fresh air. It's nice in the winter as the air is even fresher (and, if you're lucky, there's snowball fights to be had!).

They recommend you walk 10,000 steps a day are you anywhere close to that, why not try and count how much walking you do?

Switch off the telly

and the computer (but after you've read this!). Why are you watching repeats of Scooby Doo™ when there's so much to be done outside?

• Have you climbed all the trees in your street?
• Have you run to the bottom of the hill and back and challenged your friends to keep time?
• Have you swept up all the leaves in the garden and dived into them at least three times?

No, then don't even think about switching on Yu-Gi-Oh™ or the Salon!!

Play with your friends

No, not Halo2™ on the XBox™, we mean active play. Go to the park and play football. Go cycling with your friends. Walk to the shops and spend an hour running up and down the escalator in Topshop if you like, just do something sociable.

Challenge yourself

So you found it easy to go on a bike ride? Then next time, go for longer, go up more hills. You can swim 10 lengths of the pool? Well done. Next time try 15. Then 20. The more exercise you do, the more exercise you can do. If you want to be a couch potato, fine. If you want to be healthy, you must get your b*m off that sofa and do something about it.

Other ways to keep fit and have fun:

• Have a handstand contest – see who can stay up the longest.
• Invent dances to your favorite songs.
• See who can do the most cartwheels in a row.
• Ride bikes (don't forget your helmets!).
• Have a skateboarding contest.
• Play catch.
• Play outdoor hide-and-seek.
• Set up and have a treasure hunt.

Passing FARTS only indicates that you possess the minimum physical abilities required of potential Firefighters. Once in training, recruits must perform at very high physical levels. Just because you pass FARTS does not necessarily mean that you have the strength or conditioning to meet the requirements of Firefighter training.

Many FARTS can be done in your spare time, either alone or with friends and families. And even incorporating "incidental FARTS" into your daily routine -- for example, stretching while you watch television -- can help make FARTS a regular part of your life.