Training to become a firefighter is different from most jobs' training because it requires extreme discipline as well as extreme versatility. Firefighting is a physically and mentally demanding job. The role requires candidates to not only lift heavy things and exhibit superhuman endurance but also think on their feet and make split-second risk calculations. In order to prepare, you need to train both your body and your mind.

Having served in the military will certainly get your boot in the door. But, there are challenging tests of physical and mental capacity that are no laughing matter. Read on to learn more about ideas anyone interested in becoming a firefighter should include in their training.

Training for Firefighters

Most fire departments require applicants to complete the CPAT or the Candidate Physical Ability Test. During this test, candidates will wear a 50 pound vest, long pants, gloves, and a helmet. While climbing the stairs, an additional 25 pounds is added to their shoulders. This extra weight slows you down and tires you out, no matter how in shape you consider yourself.

In addition to this impediment, they ask candidates to perform very specific tasks, like carrying a heavy hose, raising a ladder, or knocking down a door with a sledgehammer. So you need to develop the muscles to complete these activities while under duress.

Stew Smith, a former NAVY seal and now a Strength and Conditioning specialist who shares his fitness expertise on Military.com, suggests a multi-dimensional approach if you're interested in becoming a firefighter. He recommends a periodization program he has perfected over 20 years of trial and error. It approaches your training with specific movements meant to work on different aspects of your physical fitness, from endurance to agility.

His words of advice to those interested in firefighting or military service are to "Train like your buddy’s life depends on it." For an aspiring firefighter, this advice couldn't be more apt.

Mental Fitness Training for Firefighters

Once you know you can rely your body to accomplish the physical feats required of a firefighter, you need to trust your mind in high-pressure situations. Public Safety Testing explains that the written firefighter exam tests the following skills: deductive reasoning, mathematical reasoning, inductive reasoning, information ordering, spatial orientation, visualization, and written comprehension. The last two ideas will help train your mind for what you might encounter when firefighting.

Firefighting requires a person to act quickly and effectively under physical and mental duress. A person's endurance under stressful circumstances must be developed over a long period of intentional training. The training exercises detailed above can help prepare you for a life of firefighting.