Anything to get out of having to do your squats and deadlifts.
Was reading about the fires in Cal and came across a firefighters training site outlining the Work Capacity Test for wildland firefighters . Never heard performance training referred to as "Work hardening".
From the Forest Services: Work hardening is a gradual progression of work-specific activities designed to bring you to the job ready to deliver a good day’s work. While fitness training provides the foundation for work capacity, it is no substitute for job-specific work hardening
Anything to get out of having to do your squats and deadlifts.
Whatever it's called, they're right. There are some jobs that require doing that job to get in condition for it. You're not going to simulate shoveling and digging trenches by hand for hours and days on end in extreme heat while wearing protective gear by lifting weights for an hour, of which 45 minutes is resting, in a climate controlled gym.
Absolutely true. And you're not going to get stronger for firefighting -- thus making all the submaximal work easier -- by fighting fires. Both are essential components.
The Two-Factor Model of Sports Performance | Mark Rippetoe
I'll never argue that stronger isn't better, all else being equal.
"Work hardening" sounds like just a weird phrase to describe something we already have words to describe that eveyrone knows already.
"Work Hardening" is a metallurgical term meaning to harden through hammering. We live in a day when words and terms don't mean what they use to. When I was at work full time, folk use to get "hardened" at work, mainly the older guys as the management did not listen to them any more and would promote the younger inexperienced lads over the more experienced older guys.
Some of our Fire Fighters are heading your way, we had this last year on the east coast so I suppose you could say they are "work hardened" by the fires.
Seems like a fancy way to say "experience".
"Work experience is a gradual progression of work-specific activities designed to bring you to the job ready to deliver a good day’s work. While fitness training provides the foundation for work capacity, it is no substitute for job-specific work experience."
Maybe, I thought it had more to do with getting used to humping a heavy load over rough terrain and still be ready to fight fires when you got there. Anyway, here's the brochure I came across, there's some other sites, but this is tidy summery.
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