Gym Exercises to help with training course

[EastCoastRecruit]

I took the practice test at my local cities training center. I struggled on a few things despite being somebody who goes to the gym 3-4 times a week. I know it's because a lot of the training I did isn't exactly what I train to do in the gym. Hoping to find out certain exercises/routines I can do to help me during the training course.

http://www.vbgov.com/government/depa...ical-agil.aspx

You can see the types of drills we have to do.

3 things stick out that I'd need help with.

Carrying the dummy
Ventilation/Forcible Entry Evolution
Overhaul evolution

Now, the overhaul evolution is the last drill to complete which is why I think I struggled. Plus i had on gloves that probably weren't the best for that type of drills. The gloves kept causing my hands to slip on the bar. If I had done' that drill first I would have had a lot easier time but I still would like to get some type of gym exercise that could help me with the stamina aspect of it.

Carrying the dummy...I'm only 5.6 so while I did complete the course (100 feet). It kicked my ***! I think next time it will be "easier" because I'll know what to expect and also know how far I have to go. I really had no idea when to stop because I was doing everything for the first time.

Highrise shuttle evolution. While I did complete this with no problem I wish I could practice it more. I completed but since it was the first time it did give me a good work out.

Thanks

[Elson]

Well, it sounds like you need to step up your overall endurance. The dummy is only 125 lbs - that is super light - (most tests use the 165 lb. dummy which isn't that heavy either) , so work on your grip strength and legs. You can buy weight sleds to pull, or for a cheap alternative, I load 175 lbs of weight onto carpet scraps and pull it along the driveway - the carpet wears down but it works! For grip strength, take 35 lb kettlebells (to start - work up to 50 lbs) and just carry them around the gym, or the 25-45 lb weight plates work great if you grab the rim with just your fingers and carry them about 100 ft. at a time. The ventilation/forcible entry drill is the kaiser sled. I've only done it once so I'm not as experienced - it seems that popular opinion is to take shorter chops with the sledge hammer and use your legs to help with power. That's an easy one to practice - buy a sledge hammer and swing it in the same chopping motion against a tire. If you do a search for kaiser sled than you'll probably find more advice. How did you do on the ladder extension (because it's similar to the overhaul evolution in terms of pulling and the muscles used)? You will be much better at these tests if you do high intensity training. What gym do you go to? See if they have reasonably priced classes that are like sports conditioning or crossfit style workouts. There are tons of posts on these forums where people have posted sample workouts, so I'm not going to list specific ones. (look up CPAT posts - it doesn't matter that it's a different test - the principles are the same). I think the cffjac website has training tips, like doing wind sprints, etc. which are helpful. It's great that you already exercise 3-4 times per week - keep it up!, but firefighter training is much more intense, so you need to be adding the high intensity training, and you will find that your strength and stamina will improve substantially, and the firefighter entry tests will be fun...and not a struggle. When is your final test?

[carchila]

I would look into crossfit or crossfit type workouts. Since in one workout you could be hitting multiple body parts along with the muscle endurance. Yeah you need to be strong but the most important part is being able to keep that strength for the duration of the test