If you're new here, we're the First Responders Support Training (FRST) Center, and we're dedicated to promoting health and wellness for first responders statewide. This month, we are excited to share a recap of the Firefighter Wellness Summit, along with practical resources to support a healthy lifestyle. Thank you for joining us this month -- we are excited to have you here!
Firefighter Wellness Summit Thank You
Thank you to everyone who attended our first Firefighter Wellness Summit. We truly appreciate your time and participation in helping us advance our research through these focus groups, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share our mission with you!
Strength Session
Developed under the guidance of Seth Daughters, MS, CSCS, the strength session was led by current Exercise Science Master Program students, Bethany Byers (pictured) and Keely Simonsen. Firefighters worked through functional movements and focused on proper form, which they can carry into both their work and everyday routines.
"Thanks to everyone that attended the strength and conditioning seminar during the Firefighter Wellness Summit. We hope that this gave you some ideas to take back to your departments. The FRST Center Strength and Conditioning philosophy is to meet individuals where they are and provide realistic and manageable solutions to your fitness needs and routines. What we covered in the strength lab, was an overview of the functional movement patterns that make all tasks more efficient by building strength, flexibility, and resilience through movement. The 3-Day Workout Template provides an easy-to-follow directive in progressive resistance training. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 2-3 days of resistance training by exercising all major muscle groups through a repetition range of 8-12 repetitions. You will see that each day is reflective of this goal. By providing examples of total body workouts, we can help meet you where you are but also begin the journey of aiming for the recommendations. Workouts are designed to fit a wide variety of spaces, equipment options, and fitness levels by providing you options within each movement pattern. A resistance training exercise may be listed as a choice or a broad “upper body pull”. This allows you to reference the exercise selection key at the bottom based on the space and equipment you have available. A quick YouTube search will allow you to narrow down the exercise you would like to complete and then the sets and repetitions are laid out for you over a 4-week period. We hope that giving directives with options allows you to personalize this plan to meet the needs of yourself and those around you. Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have!" - Seth Daughters
Functional Strength Traning
Seth Daughters and his team created this 3 day plan to be used throughout the month to help guide your strength training. Take a look at this outline for easy ways to build strength into your routine!
Dr. Dakota Witzel discussed and demonstrated how both on-duty and off-duty stressors impact firefighters’ physical and mental health. As shown below, undergraduate research assistants, Kayla Neugebauer and Ella Wieland, added weight for each stressor identified, highlighting how quickly they add up. Dr. Witzel also shared practical strategies for managing stress and encouraged a culture where firefighters feel supported to reach out for help.
"One of the biggest things that people don’t think about when it comes to stress is how it can build up and really wear you down. Physiologically, it literally wears your organs, blood vessels, and your whole body out. Over time, this can really put a detriment on your body - we know that chronic stress on the body can lead to everything from headaches to event increased risk of death, but it’s hard to really wrap your mind around that when you don’t feel it happening. So, we implemented a weighted vest exercise where we added “stressors” (5lb weights) to the vest for a volunteer for every stressor that was provided by the firefighters and the volunteer was able to feel the physical weight of stress. It was really cool to watch as the volunteers stood differently to deal with the weight - it added to the exercise. But what can we do about these weights? One easy management technique is to regulate your breathing. When you are thinking about your breathing you do two things: (1) you take your mind of the stressor, and (2) you regulate the physiological response to stress. I recommend - if you can’t do anything else - to start with the 5-5-6 technique. Breathe in for 5 second, hold for 5 seconds, and exhale for 6 seconds! Give it a try when you encounter a stressor!" - Dr. Dakota Witzel
Interactive Cooking Lunch
Megan Northrup, RD, LN, along with undergraduate research assistants Erin Unzen and Kenzie Thomson, led a hands on experience showing that healthy eating can be both enjoyable and approachable. Firefighters had the opportunity to get in the kitchen and cook!
"Our Interactive Cooking Lunch with some of South Dakota's volunteer firefighters was an incredible experience! With 97% of the state's firefighters being volunteers, it's easy to overlook the critical role they play in our communities. It was a privilege to shine a light on their work and explore how nutrition impacts their demanding day-to-day lives. Volunteer firefighters face unique challenges compared to career firefighters, and we were grateful for the opportunity to connect with these dedicated individuals. The group had a blast preparing delicious Mexican-style dishes, and it was a great way to emphasize the importance of nutrition, teamwork, and building stronger relationships. We're excited to continue collaborating and exploring how nutrition and wellness can enhance the health and wellbeing of these invaluable community members!" - Kenzie Thomson & Erin Unzen
Fueling for Fire
Take a look at the recipes below, created by our nutrition team and prepared at the summit. They offer easy, nutritious ideas that can be used to support health both on and off shift!
Don’t miss out—explore the FRST Center website today for previous newsletters, updates, expert tips, and resources designed to keep you strong, healthy, and ready for the job. Everything you need, all in one place.
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First Responders in the Field
SDState School of Health and Human Sciences, 1060 Campanile Ave., Box 2275A, Brookings, SD 57007
