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EMS Tips Health and Wellness

Functional Fitness (#31daysofCE)

This morning health and wellness expert Melissa Cassera contributed an excellent guest post to Everyday EMS Tips about choosing healthy foods while working (living?) on the road. Regular readers know that personal health, fitness, and overall wellness are among my favorite topics for this blog. I thought I would follow-up Melissa’s post with a few resources for continuing education on fitness.

1. Firefighter, paramedic, and certified athletic trainer Keith Owsley created an EPS411 course on functional fitness that is available to CentreLearn and RapidCE.com users for 1.0 CE credits. Keith focuses on strength and flexibility exercises adapted to the functions we actually perform on the job. I am never asked to curl the “first-in” bag 10 times but throughout the day I need to reach and lift the bag from a variety of positions. I should prepare for what I will actually do. The lessons include movies by Keith to help you understand the exercises.

2. I am a regular reader of Bryan Fass’ fit responder blog. Bryan, like Keith, has a very practical approach to emergency responder fitness that is suited to the work we do. Bryan has also written a great e-book called the Fit Responder.

3. Episode 12 of the EMS Leadership Podcast discusses fitness in the EMS profession. Chris Monterna, Skip Kirkwood, Gary Wingrove, and Rob Theriault discuss best practices for work place fitness programs as well as the role of fitness and agility assessment in the hiring process.

4. Read the “Ask the Running Doc” blog by Dr. Lewis G. Maharam. In each post the Running Doc responders to readers, usually marathon runners, questions about aches, pains, illnesses, injuries, medications, and other issues relevant to marathon runners. As a marathon runner myself I enjoy this blog because it combines two of my passions.

Now turn off your computer and go get some exercise.

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.