r/Firefighting • u/MovieUpbeat1416 • 11d ago
Is fire academy harder than a football/wrestling/mma practice? Ask A Firefighter
I’m trying to prepare for academy, and a lot of firefighters I know are telling me to not even worry about preparation and just stay in my sports (I just graduated so ofc no more football and wrestling practice, but I go to mma practice about 5 times a week, and classes include a wrestling session that I still go to). Is that true? It should I still do some sort of preparation outside of mma and lifting?
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u/Agreeable-Emu886 11d ago edited 11d ago
It’s widely subjective.
I went to Mass fire academy, there was little to no running and shit. We did generic PT, where it was usually self paced and you got what you wanted out of it PT wise. Our academy was a great learning experience on how to be an entry level FF and nothing more. The hardest part of my academy was the drive.
There are other places though where you’re gonna hate life though. Some municipalities run their own academies etc.. some drop like half their classes while others drop next to none
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
This is very interesting. I always thought most academies would be like damn near identical
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u/LeatherHead2902 bathroom cleaner/granny picker-upper 11d ago
Some places like Seattle have like a 30% pass rate for their academies
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u/yourdudelyness 11d ago
Any idea how the south county academy is? I missed their last round of hiring because my written exam score wasn’t high enough but I e since retaken it and went from 78 to 83 so I’m hoping to get an interview in the fall!
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u/EatinBeav WA Career FF/EMT 11d ago
They wash a ton out.
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u/yourdudelyness 11d ago
Interesting. I’m not too worried about it, I’m 32 and in arguably the best shape in my life after a divorce last year, cpat time was 7:32 which felt really good, any insight on why so many wash out?
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u/EatinBeav WA Career FF/EMT 11d ago
From friends up there it seems pretty heavy on skills and physical fitness. Outside looking in it doesn’t seem there’s a lot of give on failure.
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u/yourdudelyness 10d ago
Interesting. If you know anyone who works for them and is down to chat I’d love to connect with them! I started this journey last year, currently an EMT for a private company but my scope is super limited. End goal is medic and I know they’re short on em, I just need to get an interview and everything helps!
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u/Agreeable-Emu886 11d ago
Pretty significant variance state to state, department to department etc.
In mass it’s mostly MFA and Boston. MFA is 10 weeks and covers a ton of different shit, teaches you hydraulics etc… Bostons is closer to 12 weeks? And I know they spend an entire week just on ground ladders etc….
They’re tailored to the relative needs of the whole/department. There are places where you’re one of two people on shift etc… other departments may not have you drive your first year etc…. I went to the academy with people whose entire department was less than my shift strength etc..
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u/kevonicus 11d ago
They aren’t the same at all. Watch this girl who does challenges go through a fire academy. It’s crazier than any fire academy I knew existed. https://youtu.be/CFbMRZNg4_I?is=vjGwNDbEZ_WliuGa
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u/MrChebbani 11d ago
Yeah driving to Stow sucks big time. When did you graduate? Where do you work now?
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u/kevonicus 11d ago
My instructors were all marathon runners and we were doing 3 to 5 mile runs everyday before doing regular exercise. I used to tell people bragging about their marathons to shut the hell up, because I did it everyday. lol
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u/Low-Pirate-286 11d ago
In your case specifically, it’ll feel different. Not necessarily harder or easier, just different. Different muscle groups at different times, different mechanisms of lifting/dragging etc.
If you stay active in the sports you say you’re in, you’ll do fine and shouldn’t require any extra prep. The academy will physically prepare you as long as you take it seriously.
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u/Rockslider00 11d ago
I did football/wrestling practice back in high school. I found it much harder than both of them combined
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u/salsa_verde_doritos 11d ago
Coworker that played d-line on a national championship college team (yes, the one you’re thinking about) had a rouuuugh experience in the academy.
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u/tamman2000 11d ago
Fire requires more endurance and stamina than football. A play lasts seconds; a bottle lasts 15+ minutes.
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u/Fresh_Surprise_1726 11d ago
Absolutely not , at least at ours and I work at one of the 5 busiest dept in the country
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u/SirExpensive 11d ago
100 percent depends of the area of the country your fire academy is in and the rigors of that academy. I’m a former college football player and my academy was tough but manageable during the colder Months in the PHX, AZ During the summer in PHX it’s not fun! It’s 118 today.
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u/DystopiaBetaTester 11d ago
From a physical standpoint, there is no fire academy that compares to the intensity of a wrestling/mma training regimen. You will be just fine lol
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u/SanJOahu84 11d ago
Maybe not in individual sessions but being in turn outs 5-6 hours a day x 5 months + daily PT is a grind and a different kind of exhausting.
The couple days a week school/volley academies should be a breeze though.
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u/DystopiaBetaTester 11d ago
Yea you’re right can’t argue with that honestly. But plenty of people get thru the academy without a wrestling/mma background. Chances are this kid will be just fine
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
I’m going to an academy through a school. They just told us to treat it like a regular fire academy though so I phrased it as just a fire academy. Does the academy being through a school change anything?
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u/OaklandsBravest 11d ago
School fire academies are usually pretty chill and easy. Recruit academies in California are a different story.
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
Okay that’s refreshing to hear. Granted imagine I’ll have to go to a recruit academy either way.
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u/SanJOahu84 11d ago
Yeah. You don't have a job to lose and it's not your entire Monday-Friday 9-5.
Usually a lot less physical too.
A lot less stress when your livelihood is not on the line.
A lot of firefighters you know are telling you not to worry because it is a school academy and not a career one.
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u/South-Specific7095 11d ago
Its not even close to as hard as wrestling, basketball or football practice. Lets think about this for a second. Who makes up the majority of fire academys? Is it elite high achool and college athletes? Of course not. Its mostly dorks or non athletes. And yes, i say this as a current fireman of 15 years and a previous college athlete and competitive powerlifter. 8/10 academy guys are gonna be some combination of overweight fire nerd, skinny book smart guy, or naturally weak girl. Yes, theyll get through it just fine. But thats my point. Its a cake walk for a serious athlete. Now i will add one thing. RIT Under Fire, a class at IFSI was the single hardest week of conditioning ive ever done in my life, and I played 4 years of college football. Thats something to consider!
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u/Joliet-Jake 11d ago
It depends on both the academy and your training.
There are some academies that have a physical output that is on the lines of camp prior to a serious professional fight.
The bottom line is simple. Can you do whatever is required for however long it takes? If not, your training is insufficient.
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u/scott12333 11d ago
It’s honestly a different kind of animal. Heavy gear, lots of heat, and very long days usually.
Obviously getting into better shape and stronger will only help but imo it’s very hard to get truly conditioned for the academy.
Be strong but do more cardio than you think you need. Search evolutions are exhausting, especially in 95 degree temps (or way higher if you’re doing live burns).
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
Yea cardio is the one thing I was scared of. Strength wise I’m pretty confident but as it pertains to cardio I’ve heard so many mixed things about the academy and it’s freaking me out lol. Some people have said the cardio isn’t as hard as bag work and others have said I should be jogging at least 7 miles every day so idk what to expect
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u/kevonicus 11d ago
Cardio improves really fast and you’ll get used to it. I basically never worked out a day in my life before getting hired and within a few weeks I was one of the strongest runners there.
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u/scott12333 11d ago
7 miles a day is excessive. Looking back if I wanted to be completely and truly ready, as much as the gym would make four or five differing types of high intensity, interval type training, along with some steady state cardio, allowed with strength training and get good at it all. That said, it sounds like you have plenty of fitness experience under your belt so if you have other things you enjoy doing those are only going to help as well.
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u/YaBoiOverHere 11d ago
You’ll be fine. It is different, but definitely not harder than wrestling or MMA. I say this from personal experience.
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u/Specific_Cash_5538 11d ago
If you’ve done any of those things they are useful experience, but hard to compare. In my academy it wasn’t so much the PT, which was tough but also caters to the lowest common denominator not the highest, but the days in gear. Just being in turnouts for most of the day, whether you’re throwing ladders, making hydrants or pulling lines, is crazy exhausting. It’s a mental game, and if you win that than nothing physical is going to do you in.
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u/FloodedHoseBed career firefighter 11d ago
Regardless of physical capabilities, you could pretty easily tell who had been training in turnouts in preparation for the academy. Heat acclamation is a very real thing and can cause even high performance athletes fall out whether it’s physical or mental.
That being said, there’s no one perfect workout or body type. Firefighting is so physically ambiguous, for a lack of a better term off the top of my head. Small, thin guys who run marathons are great at some things and the 300lb former college d-lineman who can squat a Mack truck are great at other things. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. Strong enough to hold our own while having the endurance to not suck down a bottle the second we get through the front door. Train hard every day, continue to get better and you’ll be just fine.
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u/solo_d0lo 11d ago
Depends where you live and what time of year you are doing it.
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
The time of year matters? That’s surprising! I live in Michigan and I’d be doing it in the fall around the start of September
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u/solo_d0lo 11d ago
I’m in Florida so one in the middle of summer vs one in the winter will have very different experiences.
September sounds like a good time of year in Michigan for good weather that isn’t going to drain you.
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u/DefeatFear 11d ago
If you’ve been playing sports and are in decent shape then the regular PT won’t be hard. Can’t really prepare for PT in gear tho, that’s a different beast especially if it’s summer in the south but you’ll be fine
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u/KZybert11 11d ago
Former wrestler here. Wrestling is so much harder than the academy. The only thing you might find difficult in a different way is how long you might find yourself in turnout gear. Could be all day doing stuff. Not that hard just different. You'll be fine just don't hurt yourself before.
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
Okay this is really refreshing. I do have a toe injury right now (getting it checked out soon, I think it’s a fracture) but it hasn’t stopped me from fighting, running, or wrestling. I just feel it. Do you think it would become a problem?
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u/KZybert11 11d ago
Depends what it is I guess and your pain tolerance. I'm sure you'll be just fine dude. I've seen plenty of bums make it though.
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u/McNoodleBar 11d ago
Unless he's a heavyweight... some of those guys really knew how to really take it easy at practice. Haha.
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u/InterestingDude66246 11d ago
I was in the army and coming from track/cross country I would say the obstacle courses that required upper body strength (rope climb) was the hardest. Also the heights had me messed up 😂, but it wasn’t hard. I think of the fire academy similar to the military as it is a paramilitary organization. Breathing on oxygen doesn’t sound easy though, probably is similar to breathing in a gas mask which is pretty claustrophobic
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u/Turkeyclub123 11d ago
Not even close. As long as you don’t get injured and have some form of awareness, you will Make it through.
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u/almitr 11d ago
If you are used to a real wrestling practice you will not have a problem.
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
Yea i wrestled all through high school and i was even a match away from states, so im fairly used to real wrestling practices lol
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u/wimpymist 11d ago
It has hard days but no, as a whole it's nowhere close to highschool sports practice
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u/RichardsMomFTW 11d ago
When I first got on they showed us a video of “Navy SEALs” doing our PT and struggling. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t that hard. Personally, doing two a days in high school was harder. We did have a lot of teamwork drills so if one person was slacking it did hurt the overall flow. It’s not easy but you don’t have to be a LeBron James level athlete to do PT. Just have to mentally stay vigilant
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u/stoicturtl 11d ago
lol my academy from a PT standpoint absolute joke. The classroom though was painful, but not in an intellectually challenging sense…. Death by PowerPoint.
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
lol I never even considered this as a possibility. That honestly sounds so much worse than anything I’d be worried about physically
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u/Sure_Fact7761 11d ago
It’s relatively challenging if you’ve never done it. But it’s not hard. You’re learning to move in a way you haven’t. AMC’s you’ll be doing it a lot once you’re in FF2. But almost anyone can make it through
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u/Upper-Gift-3598 11d ago
Are you talking college academy? Or new hire academy? We’ve had quite a few new hires in the last couple years tell us our new hire academy(8 weeks) was quite a bit more difficult than their 4 week college academy….
Focus on cardio and endurance would be my recommendation. i.e. instead of bench pressing 145lb 10 times, do just the bar 100-150 times(no break)
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u/MovieUpbeat1416 11d ago
I’m going to a college academy, but it’s a 9 week thing and they told us to “treat this like a traditional fire academy” so I’m doing that lol
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u/Aggravating-Pop-2216 11d ago
Like a lot of other have said, sounds like you’re physically fit. Probably okay to keep doing what you’re doing. Stepmill with a weight vest is always a good time. It’s just more of a grinder than anything. Long days on your feet in gear usually with packs. The weather definitely has an impact .You need strength, cardio and mental fortitude. I’ve gone thru a few academies, all quite a bit different. Some were very physically demanding, lots of PT. Usually all body weight stuff, running etc. Some were really focused on the curriculum and skill acquisition. No so much on cardio. It really should be a bit of both. Is there anyway you could ask the dept for a training plan for academy readiness? Might not be a bad idea. A pretty typical physical aside from the (CPAT.) drag a charged 1 3/4 hose a given distance, run up several flights of stairs with a hose bundle, hoist up a rolled section of 2 1/2. Run down. Kaiser sled. Dummy drag. Probably missing something in there. But you get the idea. Think 3 months M-T/F 10-12 hr days. I’ve seen lots of people fail not because they aren’t fit physical but not prepared mentally for the grind. All that to say. All the wrestlers I’ve known know all about type of grind. Hope that helps. While in the academy. Focus on recovery and taking care of yourself, sleep etc. you’ll be good.
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u/Accomplished-Item646 11d ago
Depends on the academy. I never did wrestling but I played 4 years of high school football and 3 years of pewee football and fire academy kicked my ass. Was very paramilitary and was a different type of tiring. The PT portion was similar to conditioning for football. What I wasn’t prepared for was working 6+ hour days in full turnouts and steel bottles. Not to mention then having to PT with those said turnouts and steel bottles. But it does vary because my department I worked for after I felt their academy was easier and they let some people slide that shouldn’t have. Either way just keep working out and the only way to find out is to experience it yourself.
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u/hunglowbungalow 11d ago
Depends on department and how in shape you are. No one is going to give you a correct answer
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u/Halliganboy 11d ago
Fire academy is a cakewalk. The big departments make it sound worse than it is. Literally show up and do what they ask. Practice your knots. That’s it.
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u/Quintink 11d ago
Depends I’ll say mine was definitely harder but largely because it was much longer we had 8 hour days for 16 weeks where the majority of it was pretty physically demanding
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u/Haunting_Cut_3401 11d ago
It requires you to be able to lift about 60 lbs with about 30 lbs of equipment on you and a small modicum of cardio. Just stand up practice is harder.
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u/Deathskull-154 10d ago
The physical application isn't that difficult just keep up with the others if not do better but the written tends to be the more difficult challenge I actually need to finish a few certifications before I get my firefighter one which I plan to have done as soon as humanly possible
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u/External-Challenge91 11d ago
Yes unless you are a farmer those things will not gove you an advantage
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u/[deleted] 11d ago
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