Peach
Fire Department

Firefighter FITNESS: Fit to Serve, Fit for Life is a 16-hour Safety Stand Down 2026 course covering the seven daily focus topics of the FITNESS framework ” Foundations, Intentional training, Technique, Nutrition, Evaluation, Sleep, and Strategies for Success. Through self-paced interactive modules, crew discussion, and a hands-on movement practical, members learn job-specific functional fitness that reduces injury and cardiac risk and supports a long, healthy career.

1. 1. Explain why firefighting imposes unique physical demands and identify the five pillars of functional fitness (cardiovascular endurance, strength/power, muscular endurance, mobility, and recovery).
2. 2. Describe why general "gym" fitness is insufficient for fireground performance and cardiac safety.
3. 3. Establish a personal fitness baseline and build intentional, goal-driven training that matches the demands of the job, avoiding the "gray-zone" training error.
4. 4. Demonstrate proper lifting mechanics the hip hinge and braced core and identify the most common firefighter injuries and how to prevent them.
5. 5. Apply practical hydration and shift-based nutrition strategies that support cardiovascular health, recovery, and readiness.
6. 6. Describe the purpose and components of medical and fitness evaluations (consistent with NFPA 1582) and recognize cardiac warning signs requiring prompt medical attention.
7. 7. Explain the role of sleep in performance, recovery, and safety, and apply sleep-hygiene and strategic-napping strategies to shift work.
8. 8. Apply habit-building and consistency principles, and identify how crew culture and on-duty exercise policy support fitness across a full career and into a healthy retirement.

For firefighters from other departments.