Effect of a High-Intensity Circuit Training Program on the Physical Fitness of Wildland Firefighters

Jorge Gutiérrez-Arroyo, Fabio García-Heras (), Belén Carballo-Leyenda, José G. Villa-Vicente, Juan Rodríguez-Medina and Jose A. Rodríguez-Marroyo ()
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Jorge Gutiérrez-Arroyo: VALFIS Research Group, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain
Fabio García-Heras: VALFIS Research Group, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain
Belén Carballo-Leyenda: VALFIS Research Group, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain
José G. Villa-Vicente: VALFIS Research Group, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain
Juan Rodríguez-Medina: VALFIS Research Group, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain
Jose A. Rodríguez-Marroyo: VALFIS Research Group, Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Wildland firefighting implies high physical and psychological demands for the personnel involved. Therefore, good physical fitness can help increase the work efficiency of wildland firefighters (WFFs) and safeguard their health. High-intensity circuit training (HICT) could be a good alternative to improve the physical condition of WFFs since it stands out for its functionality and economy. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the effects of HICT on the WFFs’ physical fitness. The study involved 9 WFFs (8 males and 1 female; 29.8 ± 2.8 years; 175.6 ± 6.7 cm) who completed a training program and 9 WFF candidates (8 males and 1 female; 24.7 ± 6.6 yr, 176.5 ± 7.0 cm) as a control group. WFFs performed an 8-week HICT program (two weekly training sessions). The training sessions lasted approximately 45 min and were performed at an intensity >80% of maximal heart rate and RPE values >7.5. At the beginning and the end of the intervention, subjects’ physical fitness (i.e., aerobic capacity, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular resistance and explosive strength) was assessed through different tests. After completing the training program, WFFs had significantly increased ( p < 0.05) the speed at which the ventilatory thresholds were determined (12.4 ± 13.9 and 5.7 ± 7.3% for the ventilatory and respiratory compensation thresholds, respectively) and also their abdominal (31.2 ± 17.2%), lumbar (34.1 ± 13.5%) and upper limb (13.3 ± 16.0%) strength. Moreover, improvements ( p < 0.05) in the explosive strength of legs (7.1 ± 5.8%) and performance in a specific physical employment test (12.2 ± 6.1%) were observed. In conclusion, the results of this study show that an 8-week high-intensity circuit training program could be an effective and safe method to improve WFFs’ physical fitness and performance.

Keywords: performance; exercise; physical activity; strength training; endurance; occupational health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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