(36) EXPLORING FIREFIGHTER ON-DUTY EXERCISE PREFERENCES AND PRIMARY EXERCISE GOALS

Purpose: Only 27% of fire departments effectively implement fitness programs and the majority of firefighters fail to meet the minimum physical activity guidelines. Understanding firefighter on-duty exercise preferences and primary exercise goals can inform work-site exercise interventions and improve health and performance in the fire service. The purpose of this investigation was to explore firefighter on-duty exercise equipment preferences and primary goals of exercise. Methods: A total of 252 career firefighters (15 females; age=36.0±8.5yrs; height=1.8±0.1m; weight=94.8±17.4kg; BMI=29.7±4.8kg/m2) from eight departments in the Southeast region volunteered for this investigation. Participants answered select-all-that-apply questions about their on-duty resistance training (RT; 8 options) and aerobic training (AT; 5 options) equipment preferences with an option to indicate “other” and type in a response if their preference was not listed. Firefighters who selected more than one equipment preference were asked a follow up question asking for their most preferred option. “Other” responses that didn’t include equipment or correct exercise mode were excluded from analyses. Firefighters were also asked another select-one-response question regarding their primary exercise goal (10 total options). “Other” responses that aligned with an existing option were reassigned to the appropriate category. Results: For RT, firefighters (n=252) indicated dumbbells (88.1%), barbells (81.0%), weight stack machines (75.0%), cable machines (65.5%), kettlebells (64.3%), equipment to support calisthenics (63.5%), elastic resistance bands (45.2%), medicine balls (42.9%), and other (2.0%; e.g. sleds, tires, sandbags) for the select all that apply question. For the most preferred RT equipment, the top three firefighter (n=247) responses were dumbbells (30.0%), weight stack machines (19.8%), and barbells (17.8%). Regarding the AT equipment preferences, firefighters (n=244) indicated rowing machines (61.9%), stair climbers (60.2%), treadmills (58.6%), cycle ergometers (45.5%), ellipticals (21.3%), and other (1.6%; e.g. ski ergometer) when able to select all that apply. For their most preferred on-duty AT equipment, the top three firefighter (n=243) responses were stair climbers (28.8%), treadmills (24.7%), and rowers (20.6%). Regarding primary exercise goal, firefighters (n=252) indicated improve fitness (46.4%), improve or maintain job performance (17.5%), weight loss or prevent weight gain (11.1%), look better (8.7%), reduce risk of disease (8.3%), improve mental health (2.8%), have less pain (2.0%), improve camaraderie or build friendship with crew (1.2%), feel less fatigued/tired (1.2%), and prevent injury (0.8%). Conclusions: When allowed to select all-that-apply, firefighters preferred dumbbells, barbells, and weight stack machines for RT equipment and rowing machines, stair climbers, and treadmills for AT equipment. The most preferred RT and AT options for firefighters were dumbbells and stair climbers, respectively. Regarding primary exercise goal, almost half of the firefighters indicated improve fitness followed by improve/maintain job performance. Practical Applications: Findings provide insight into firefighter on-duty exercise preferences and primary goals of exercise and can be used to inform work-site exercise interventions in the fire service. Acknowledgements: