THE OCCUPATIONAL ATHLETE
Did you know you employ them?..
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
-Socrates
Presented by: Public Safety Fitness Coordinator Aaron Mckissick & VBFD Wellness coordinator Michael Matz
OUR OBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
The Occupational Athlete (the Who, What, Where, and Why)
Occupational Athlete = Sport Athletes?
BUT FIRST, THE UNFORTUNATE SIDE
UNFORTUNATE SIDE
- 70% of U.S. firefighters are listed as obese or overweight
- It has also been reported that only 30% were given necessary medical recommendations on healthy ways to lose weight (Wilkinson et al., 2014).
- Consequently, individuals with a BMI (Body Mass Index) ≥ 30kg/m² or a waist circumference > 102cm are between 2.8-5.2x more likely to suffer from a musculoskeletal injury (Jahnke, Poston, Haddock and Jitnarin, 2013).
- This is not only seen within the fire department, but across many first responder and military operations.
- (Campbell and Evarts, 2020) In 2019 alone, reported injury increase of 4% (60,825) from 2018 in firefighters
Of those injuries, 23,825 (39% of the total) occurred at the fireground.
- Leading cause was overexertion/strain
- Inadequate fitness levels may lead to high causes of injury due to overexertion and strain (Dennison, Mullineaux, Yates, and Abel, 2012).
- Strain, sprains, and muscular pain accounted for non-fireground injuries (~56%)
- Average cost of injury ranges b/w $1.6-5.9 billion annually ($50k-200k per department; $1500-5500 per firefighter)
- You can’t deny that there is still an issue
CONT.
WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO CURE IT, BUT CONTROL IS A MUST
WHO & THE WHAT IS AN OCCUPATIONAL ATHLETE?
WHO
&
WHAT
- The Who: All sworn uniformed personnel and non-uniform staff members We all need to lead by example
- The What: Although considered different in terms of tasks demands when compared to sport athletes, occupational athletes are needing to provide a comprehensive athletic approach for job tasks readiness which can be considered vast and chaotic.
- For instance
- Any call can be challenging biomechanically which can stress the musculoskeletal system differently
- Duration and frequency of calls and their intensity challenges all aspects of the individual’s bioenergetics (aerobic and anaerobically)
- Dependent upon the type of call (fire, ems, lift assist, overhaul, etc) different biomotor abilities (speed, power, strength, endurance, flexibility/mobility) are stressed.
- The body only understands one type of stress AND that is STRESS
- It can be said that in comparison to preparation for sport, a firefighter’s job includes multiple variables that concurrently influence job-task performance (Gnacinski et al., 2015).
A
Larger Viewpoint
- Adopted Meyers Athletic Performance Management Model (MAPM)
- (Hess, Gnacinski and Meyer, 2019).
- Influence of all 4 aspects that play a significant role in the overall performance and well being of our uniformed personnel.
- Senior Management and Operations trumps all (Top-down)
- This cannot be a one man/woman show
- This is going to take time and effort amongst all to get things rolling
- Consistency is KEY Lighthouse Concept
- There must be an interdisciplinary collaboration between commands for the establishment of managing our uniformed personnel’s short-term and long-term health.
What can we take from these two models?
WHERE DO WE START?
- Because it starts at the top
- Buy-In is crucial and needs to be an all-in approach
- All personnel, not just sworn in
- Based off Brett Bartholomew’s Book, “Conscious Coaching: The Art and Science of Building Buy-In”
- To Build Buy-In
- Need to have TRUST and UNDERSTANDING
- Relationships
- Social Intelligence
- Time
- Conquering virtue.
- Being patient is not about waiting, but how you act while waiting
Know The Foundations of Health
Encountering the Different Archetypes
The Different Archetypes
- Everyone we communicate with can be described as embodying a specific personality and behavior in response to certain outcomes.
- This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, and not everyone will only possess one type, but may transition
- All in:
- Technician
- Soldier
- Novice
- Need to work on:
- Royal
- Specialists
- Politician
Easiest Attributes of Health
- Physical Activity
- Doesn’t always need to be a weight room environment
- Having Cardiovascular fitness (VO²Max Aerobic Capacity/Power)
- Muscular Strength/Endurance
- Mobility
- Agility
- Fueling the Body
- Balanced Diet
- Hydration
Easiest Attributes of Health
BUT DON'T GET TOO CAUGHT UP WITH THAT MATTER
CONT.
AGILITY
What is agility?
- Getting from point “A” to point “B” through environment-informed decision involving a change of direction.
- OODA Loop
- Observe
- Orient
- Decide
- Act
- Mimic job specific positions and actions
- Quality over Quantity
NONE OF THIS MATTERS UNLESS
Forgetting
Something?
BALANCE DIET & NUTRITION
- Fuel to prepare, perform, and recovery
- Utilize all macronutrients
- CHO, PRO, and FAT
- Resist crash dieting rebound effect
- Don’t think of the word “Diet/Dieting”, but “Meal planning or nutrition regimen”
- Sets a plan of action towards goals, but also provides a sense of long-term outcome
- Eat towards goals and task demands
- Intake > Expenditure = +; Intake < Expenditure = - ; Intake = Expenditure = maintain
- Simple method
- Hand Portion for macronutrient measurements
- Adjust accordingly
HYDRATION
- Hydration (Fluids)
- Why is it important?
- Regulates temperature
- Lubricates and Cushions tissues
- Dissolves and Transports Substances
- How much do we need
- 30-40 ml per kg of body weight
- (160lb/2.2 kg) x 40 = 2909…..3000ml x .0338 = 101 oz
- Roughly 3-4 L’s a day 0r 101oz to 135oz a day
- Bigger/ Sick people need more
HYDRATION
- Things that effect hydration levels
- Training – Intensity, Duration and Frequency
- .5-2L of Sweat per Hour of Activity
- Fitness Level
- Environmental Factors: Heat, Humidity, Altitude
- Add two cups or more of fluid just for warm dry heat days
- Others…..Meds, Illness, Travel
- Performance
- Loss of 2-3% of body weight can negatively affect performance
- 10-20% associated with death
Mobility & Flexibility
Why is it important?
- Decrease chance of injury
- Prevention of muscle imbalances
- Correct Imbalances/joint dysfunction
- Improve/Correct Posture Distortions
- Enhance strength, joint range of motion and power
Clark and Lucett (2010)
Mobility & Flexibility
NONE OF THIS MATTERS UNLESS
Forgetting
Something?
BALANCE DIET & NUTRITION
- Fuel to prepare, perform, and recovery
- Utilize all macronutrients
- CHO, PRO, and FAT
- Resist crash dieting rebound effect
- Don’t think of the word “Diet/Dieting”, but “Meal planning or nutrition regimen”
- Sets a plan of action towards goals, but also provides a sense of long-term outcome
- Eat towards goals and task demands
- Intake > Expenditure = +; Intake < Expenditure = - ; Intake = Expenditure = maintain
- Simple method
- Hand Portion for macronutrient measurements
- Adjust accordingly
HYDRATION
- Hydration (Fluids)
- Why is it important?
- Regulates temperature
- Lubricates and Cushions tissues
- Dissolves and Transports Substances
- How much do we need
- 30-40 ml per kg of body weight
- (160lb/2.2 kg) x 40 = 2909…..3000ml x .0338 = 101 oz
- Roughly 3-4 L’s a day 0r 101oz to 135oz a day
- Bigger/ Sick people need more
- Things that effect hydration levels
- Training – Intensity, Duration and Frequency
- .5-2L of Sweat per Hour of Activity
- Fitness Level
- Environmental Factors: Heat, Humidity, Altitude
- Add two cups or more of fluid just for warm dry heat days
- Others…..Meds, Illness, Travel
- Performance
- Loss of 2-3% of body weight can negatively affect performance
- 10-20% associated with death
THE
APPROACH
- More Budget friendly ways
- Get outside
- Bodyweight movements
- Newsletters/email
- Nutrition recipes
- Station competitions
- Private YouTube page for training, nutrition, wellness discussions
BUT MIKE & AARON, THIS IS ALL GREAT, BUT WHY?
WHY?
- Its not uncommon to see and hear of individuals that have not participated in physical activity, but can still perform their duties within their department, so why start now?
- Longevity
- Want our guys to reach retirement, but to enjoy their retirement
- Don’t want to become a statistic
- 3% (need to be prepared for all scenarios)
- So often we are reactive, rather than proactive
- Low-cost fix
- Shouldn’t be satisfied with the status quo
- Status quo is not saving 100% lives
THANK
YOU
Contact:
mmatz@vbgov.com
(757)-385-1083
Amckissick@vbgov.com