Fire Department Makes Fitness Key Priority

Fitness remains an integral part of the Morton Grove Fire Department's identity despite the department's first absence in 18 years at last weekend's 2010 Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge, the location of which changes every year. 

Sponsorship woes and the distance to the regional challenge prevented the MGFD team from participating this year. Despite the disappointment, Capt. Bill Porter, a 2009 participant, said they hope to attend next year.

"About 50 percent of firefighter deaths are cardiovascular related," said Rick Pryor, a Morton Grove firefighter. "Injuries could be prevented with outside training because the job has physical demands."

By keeping fit through exercise programs, firefighters prevent job-related injuries and perform at the highest level possible in their life-saving work., according to Pryor.

MGFD fitness

"The department encourages the firefighters to work out," Porter said. "Part of the workday is one hour for physical fitness. The department prides itself on being physically fit." Porter, 50, finished fourth in 2009 with his relay team and 12th with his tandem team partner, Frank Rogers, 50.

Pryor, also a certified trainer, is in charge of the department's fitness training program. He encourages the MGFD firefighters to start a total-body fitness program and stick to it. Pryor shows the firefighters an aerobic interval-training program for the treadmill, which is based on a workout for an 800-meter runner.  Participants sprint for 60 seconds and then rest for a period of time to allow their heart rates to recover. Then they repeat.
   
"During a workout hour [in the station gym], sometimes you see two to three guys working out," Porter said. "It's contagious."

World champion

In 2008, Pryor, won the individual over-40 category at the World Challenge. 

A former Western Illinois football player, he utilized his 6-foot-4-inch frame to his advantage in the competition.  He considers his best legs of the race to be pulling the hose up the tower and the dummy drag to the finish line.

"I used to do heavyweight lifting, a body-building type workout."  Pryor said. "Now I use a functional training program." Functional training is a fitness program that mimics the movements of the sport for which an athlete is training.

Pryor, 46, uses a routine incorporating dumbbells, pushups, pull-ups, medicine balls and aerobic interval training to stay in shape year-round. "It's easier on the joints and the training carries over better for the challenge events," Pryor said.

The course

The World Challenge competition features a course with a series of tasks that each individual or team must complete in the fastest time possible, all while in their full firefighting getup.

Competitors first run a 40-pound hose on their shoulders up a five-story tower and drop it in a box. At the top, they hoist a rope with another 40-pound hose on the end up the tower. 

Next, they run downstairs and drive a 160-pound steel beam a distance of 5 feet with 9-pound shot hammer. Then they wind through a serpentine course of cones to a "charged" hose.  They run with the hose for 75 feet through swinging double doors and open the hose line to knock down a target with water. Finally, they drag a 175-pound dummy 100 feet to the finish line.

To compete at the challenge, participants must clock a qualifying time at a regional challenge.

Teammates

Pryor says it's important to compete in the challenge to stimulate interest in the fitness program. Basically, the higher the team finishes, the more interested other firefighters become in staying physically fit or perhaps competing in future challenges.

Pryor has been competing for nine years and values the relationships he's built and the new perspectives he's been exposed to from his teammates and other competitors. The participants often share their job experiences and build a rapport with their teammates that carries back at the firehouse. 

"[The challenge] brings the guys closer together," Porter said. "It's a team-oriented competition, so you work hard for each other.  In fire service, you work as a team normally, so participating as a team makes sense."

Not only does the MGFD team bond together, they also earn respect from the Morton Grove community.