Effect of 12 weeks of complex training on occupational activities, strength, and power in professional firefighters

Meng Liu; Kaixiang Zhou; Bin Li; Zhenxiang Guo; Yan Chen; Guozhen Miao; Limingfei Zhou; Haoyang Liu; Dapeng Bao; Junhong Zhou

doi:10.3389/fphys.2022.962546

Effect of 12 weeks of complex training on occupational activities, strength, and power in professional firefighters

Front Physiol. 2022 Aug 17:13:962546. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.962546. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Meng Liu¹, Kaixiang Zhou², Bin Li³, Zhenxiang Guo⁴, Yan Chen¹, Guozhen Miao^{5

6}, Limingfei Zhou⁷, Haoyang Liu¹, Dapeng Bao⁸, Junhong Zhou⁶

Affiliations

¹ Sports Coaching College, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China.
² College of Sports and Health, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
³ Cycling and Fencing Sports Administrative Center Under the General Administration of Sport of China, Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Physical Education, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.
⁵ Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Harvard Medical School, Bos-ton, MA, United States.
⁶ Maranatha High School, Pasadena, CA, United States.
⁷ School of Strength and Conditioning Training, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China.
⁸ China Institute of Sport and Health Science, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the effects of 12-week complex training (CT) programs on professional firefighters' occupational activities, strength, and power. Methods: Thirty men professional firefighters were randomly assigned to the CT group (n = 15) and control group (n = 15). The CT group performed complex training and the control group completed resistance training (RT) twice a week over 12 weeks. The occupational activities, strength, and power were assessed at baseline and immediately after the intervention by measuring the performance of 100 m load-bearing run (100 m LR), 60 m shoulder ladder run (60 m SLR), 5 m × 20 m shuttle run (5 m × 20 m SR), 4th-floor climbing rope (4th-floor CR), countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJas), seated medicine-ball throw (SMT), one-repetition maximum bench press (1RM BP), and one-repetition maximum back squat (1RM BS). Results: The results showed that compared to RT, CT induced significantly greater improvements in 60 m SLR (p = 0.007), 4th-floor CR (p = 0.020), CMJas (p = 0.001), and SMT (p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that CT is a novel intervention with great promise of improving professional firefighters' occupational activities, strength, and power.

Keywords: complex training; firefighter; occupational activities; physical training; strength.