Four members at CrossFit Rimouski teamed up to compete in the FireFit challenge, a fast course set to replicate the demands of a fire.
Imagine a heavy Fran with limited air supply. This is what the participants of FireFit take on.
FireFit is a fast course, set to replicate the demands of a fire. There are a series of tasks in the competition including, a stair climb, a hose hoist, forcible entry, a run, a hose drag and a victim rescue.
“The best in the world do it in less than 1:20,” Benjamin Jean of CrossFit Rimouski says. “It’s demanding on the cardio and anaerobic level, but it’s also a technical course. To have a good time, you have to be strong and fast, and have cardio, but you also have to have great technical capabilities.”
Jean opened CrossFit Rimouski in August 2011. Right away, David Lepage, 27, and Valerie Guimond, 29, started to attend classes. Both were part-time firefighters, and had experience with FireFit. Lepage competed in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Two months after opening, Yann-Eric Pelletier, a 38-year-old part-time firefighter, started to take classes. Guillaume Leclerc, a 22-year-old full-time firefighter, joined in May 2012.
These four members make up the FireFit team that trains at CrossFit Rimouski. The team trains three to six times per week, which includes regular CrossFit sessions and two specific FireFit training sessions per week.
Jean created a benchmark set simulating the FireFit competition, encompassing the pulling and dragging movements. All members of CrossFit Rimouski are invited to give it a try. “People are amazed by the intensity of this quick course,” he says. “It takes about 10 minutes to recover.”
FireFit Benchmark WOD
15-meter suicide
10-meter dog sled pull standing (45 lb.)
15-meter suicide
10x sledgehammer
15-meter run
15-meter hose drag (90 lb.)
15-meter dog-sled pull back (135 lb.)
Jean has three types of training situations for the team. They are made up of this benchmark workout, a simulated course where they use a real hose and a dummy and the every day CrossFit programming at Rimouski. Even though the hose, bag and dummy at Rimouski are heavier than competition weight, for training purposes, Jean finds the regular workouts help increase strength, so the team can focus on skill and technical development. “The general physical preparedness of CrossFit takes care of all the different physical capabilities and gives them the time to focus on the specific aspect of the competition,” Jean says.
One major difference between CrossFit and FireFit is that there is no scaling for FireFit. As firefighters, women must lift whatever weight they face as a matter of necessity. “They have to drag the same hose and carry the same body,” Jean says.
This outlook shapes how he approaches his programming. “At CrossFit Rimouski, we don’t scale by gender,” Jean says. “If a girl can handle the so-called men’s weight for the WOD, than she’s going to. In real life, as in a FireFit competition, the person you have to carry out of the blaze won’t scale itself because you’re a girl.”
All of the team members have seen the benefit of CrossFit as their time in the FireFit Benchmark WOD has improved. Pelletier dropped from 1:43 to 1:37. “I have better cardio and more power,” Pelletier says. “I used to run 10k for my training. In my daily life, I’m more powerful and I’m eating much better. This is a great achievement to reach 40 years with this physical health and still improving.”
For Lepage, aside from his improved FireFit Benchmark time, there has been another measurable improvement with the addition of CrossFit into his training. “My air tank lasts a lot longer,” Lepage says. “I can do more with less effort. It happens often that after or during a WOD we have to go on a fire. Still sweaty from the box jumps, I still can get up the stairs with all my gear without even feeling that I am losing energy. It is just like the continuation of the WOD.”
