Fireground Fitness

Episode 85 Outlaw Strength with Eric McCormack

My learning has always come with scars. It has never been easy or intuitive, rather it has always been by trial and error. I have come to understand that life teaches us many things and often it takes perspective, distance and time away from something before we truly grasp the lesson.

While talking with Eric McCormack, our guest on Episode 85, I realized that I am not alone in this understanding. He shared wisdom he has gathered during his journey, reminding us that life is hard and it is in these trials that we find learning, growth and joy. Often it takes people coming into our lives that illuminate a path, engendering a whole new view and sending us in a new direction.

This is how Eric landed in Phoenix and fully leaned into his mission to support the health and wellness of Public Safety “athletes”. In this episode we discuss all of this and so much more, enjoy!

A little more about our guest…

My name is Eric McCormack, but some of you may know me as Outlaw Strength. From an early age physical fitness has been an important factor in my life. Now, with over 25 years experience in personal training and 13 years of law enforcement, I’m happy to be working with the Mountain Ops team @mtnops on their mission to improve the lives of individuals and families by giving them the tools to achieve their ultimate level of health and performance.

I have developed a system over the last 25 years that gives people a clear path on how to truly improve their overall health—which is to live a long productive life. There is so much fog and darkness in our world and I want to bring some light that gives people the tools to start taking control of their temple and change the trajectory of the obesity epidemic our society is currently facing. I know if we work together we can bring balance into their lives with spiritual, mental and physical connection.

As a direct to consumer business, I will be aiding in content creation and empowering our customers, but never neglecting the opportunity to connect, face to face, with customers and as things being to ’normalize’, we hope to host classes, boot camps and build a brand experience that we’re proud to share with elite partners, athletes and whoever else the Lord puts in our path.

I have been blessed to have worked with Cameron Hanes @cameronrhanes for over the last decade and have built a name for myself in the fitness industry, however my mission is to reach millions—or possibly billions— and share my love and passion for health and fitness. The mission for Mtn Ops, aligns with my core values in what I truly believe is a winning strategy for us to find success in improving the quality of life of every person we come in contact with.

Let’s get to work and Conquer More together.

Eric McCormack “Outlaw strength”

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Links mentioned in this episode:

https://outlawstrength.net/

https://www.bulletproof.org/

https://www.dexafit.com/locations/arizona/tempe

https://mtnops.com/

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You can find the Fireground Fitness podcast wherever great podcasts are located. So, search it out and subscribe. Your feedback is powerful, and greatly appreciated. Go to apple podcasts, subscribe, rate and review the podcast or shoot me an email!

If you would like to contact today’s guest...

IG: outlaw_strength

FB: Eric McCormack

On the web: https://outlawstrength.net/

Email: eric@outlawstrength.net

Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Episode 84 Fire Athlete

Firefighters have an amazing capacity to solve problems and make things better. Adrian and Joff, our guest on episode 84, are doing just that with their fitness program Fire Athlete. Their mission to craft an easily accessible and targeted training program for firefighters and allied pros is on point. In today’s episode we discuss their personal journey in the fire service as well as what inspired the creation of Fire Athlete and how it helps firefighter fulfil the mission. Tune in and enjoy!

A little about our guests:

Adrian is Fire Athlete's Head Coach. He has been Captain with his Fire Department for 15 years. Prior to that, he worked for Gila River EMS for 4 years achieving the rank of Battalion Chief, and B.I.A. for 2 years on a Wildland Firefighter Crew as a Squad Boss. With over 20 years in a wide range of areas within the Fire and EMS service, Adrian has a well rounded and real understanding of the physical demands of all aspects of the Fire Service and EMS.

Jonathan "Joff" Fierro has been with the Phoenix Fire Department for 3 1/2 years and has been working under Adrian for 2 years as a mentee in firefighter physical fitness. Through the new age use of social media, Joff has made it his goal to help share the knowledge and experience he has gained in what it takes to become a firefighter starting from ground zero.

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If you would like to contact today’s guest...

IG: fire.athlete

FB: fire.athlete

Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Episode 83 What's My Calling with Aaron Culwell

Have you ever considered where you got your work ethic? My Baby-Faced Brother, Fire Chief Aaron Culwell, a true Sooner, born and raised in Norman Oklahoma, has thought through this question. In episode 83 Culwell shared his findings with us. He also shares how his faith shaped the direction of his life, leading him to the fire service, the Air Force, and a life committed to public safety. Give it a listen and enjoy!

Our guest introduces himself:

I am an experienced Fire Chief with the Will Rogers Airport Fire Department in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Previously, held the position of Deputy Fire Chief at a municipality outside of the Tulsa Metro Area. Additionally, I am currently serving as an Assistant Fire Chief with the United States Air Force Reserves at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. Personally, I am working on my own professional growth through Oklahoma State University Master’s in Fire and Emergency Management Administration Program and I am participating in the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. I had the opportunity recently sit on the 8 th Essentials Validation Committee with IFSTA, was awarded Fire Instructor of the Year by the Fire Instructors of Oklahoma Organization, I received the Executive Fire Officer designation from the Oklahoma State Fire Marshals Commission and gained my Chief Fire Officer and Chief Training Officer designations from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. At home I am a loving father of a wonderful seven-year-old daughter who has just as much of an adventurer’s heart as I do. We hike, climb, hunt, and fish as often as possible. I am blessed to have two patriotic brothers, one serving in Colorado, and another serving in Virginia who recently had a set of twins.

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If you would like to contact today’s guest...

IG: aculwe123

FB: Aaron Culwell

LinkIn: Aaron Culwell, CFO,CTO

Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Strategic Decision Making Mini Series Parts 1 through 4 (added as they drop)

So often we discuss how we make time sensitive decisions in fast evolving emergency events. This applies clearly on the fireground where rapid and smart decisions can be the difference in rescue and fire suppression. Frankly, we are making critical decision in our lives all the times - the skill transcends the fireground.

Good fireground decision makers easily arrive at concrete plans and execute clearly and definitively! Years of experience and training lead to this capability.

Strategic decision making is a skill and while experience is important it is also paramount that we are actively working to develop the practical skillset.

In this mini series, Chris Stewart (FGF episode 5) and your host, Rayne Gray, spend 4 episodes unpacking the strategic decision making process. It may be surprising that a process that takes 10-20 seconds on the fireground can take 2 hours to dissect on the podcast. Maybe we are just long winded, but we thought it was important to discuss why strategic decision making is important, the component parts and how to execute when shit gets real.

part 1: What is strategic decision making

part 2: Size Up

part 3: Risk Management and strategy

part 4: Incident action plan and deployment

I hope you find this helpful and learn a thing or three!

GetSome!

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Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Episode 82, What up Dawg, with Ben Belleuvre

Fire station 25 is situated in one of the busy burrows on the west side of Phoenix. This multi-company house is very busy and the firefighters stationed there choose 25 for that very reason.

A little over 19 years ago I rolled into 25 on assignment to complete my last probationary rotation and there I met today’s guest, Ben Belleuvre. Ben is a Firefighter in France and he came to Phoenix to learn the PFD way and study how we fight fire. He spent three months running calls on every rig at 25, every day, every hour. So, one day I took him home to give him a reprieve, we have been long time friends since.

In episode 82 Ben and I talk about his experience at fire station 25, the differences and similarity between firefighters around the world and the important lessons learned about firefighter maydays. Further, Ben shared his own personal experience with trying to rescue a lost firefighter and the changes that his department made in the wake of losing a brother in a commercial firefight. We talk about all of this and so much more, I hope you enjoy!

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If you would like to contact today’s guest...

IG: @bentmfdessins

FB: @ben TMF

Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Episode 81, Not done learning with Ardell Deliz

Do you ever stop and reflect on the many experiences that have shaped and formed who & what you’ve become? As you consider this, recognize that you have survived 100% of the most difficult and challenging days you’ve faced thus far. Carry this forward as you ponder the many adventures and learning opportunities that lay in wait.

In episode 81 Ardell Deliz and I did just this and discussed the many lessons learned growing up in Puerto Rico, moving to the United States, becoming a Firefighter, Captain, and mentor. Then looking to the future and recognizing how much more there is to learn and do. Tune in and enjoy!

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You can find the Fireground Fitness podcast wherever podcasts are located. So, search it out and subscribe. Your feedback is powerful, and greatly appreciated. Go to apple podcasts, subscribe, rate and review the podcast or shoot me an email!

If you would like to contact today’s guest...

IG: Ardell.deliz

IG: Franklin_mountainbiketeam

FB: Ardell Deliz

Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Episode 80, Your momma was right, eat your veggies with Megan Lautz

No one wants to talk about diet! It’s a hard topic, as with religion and politics, there are as many ways to “eat optimally” as there are people with opinions. We have anchored these opinions in facts drawn from firehouse kitchen table talks and other compelling anecdotal evidence. In full transparency, I have tried every plan – Carb loading, Zone, Atkins, Keto, Paleo, Carb cycling, and my all-time favorite – the See food diet. I have long argued that we are each an experiment of one and we must listen to our own bodies and eat accordingly. The problem I run into is my body is saying “you need sugar!” and while I recognize this is not the best thing, I struggle to stay ahead of the cravings.

So, in the quest to broaden my knowledge and reimagine that which I thought I knew, I sat down with Registered Dietician Megan Lautz. Her days are spent helping the Firefighters in her agency understand healthy nutrition and what she says should not shock you. Eating healthy is really simpler then we make it out to be. Give a listen to episode 80 and see if there are any things you can change to improve your health. You are an experiment of one, listen to your body and make adjustments – just be suspicious when it’s crying out for jelly doughnuts. You know dang well that’s not the path.

Getsome!

A little more about our guest…

Megan Lautz, MS, RD, CSCS, TSAC-F

Megan Lautz is a Registered Dietitian and strength coach with a Master's in Sports Nutrition. Megan’s mission is to help firefighters perform better, recover faster, and enjoy long healthy retirements.

Prior to joining Fairfax Fire in 2021, Megan worked with Montgomery County Fire and Police from 2017-2021. While a civilian, Megan has strived to understand the challenges firefighters face when trying to stay healthy. She has trained for and passed CPAT, completed 24-hour ride-alongs, and is heavily involved in fire recruit training and nutrition. Megan provides healthy dinner demonstrations, nutrition roundtable discussions, workouts, and mobility sessions to career firefighters out in the field.

Megan is the owner of RescueRD LLC, which provides nutrition seminars and coaching for tactical athletes across the country. Check out @Rescue.RD on Facebook and Instagram. A free Firehouse Dinner Recipe Book is available on her website RescueRD.com.

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IG: rescue.rd

FB: Rescue RD – Megan Lautz

On the web: rescuerd.com

Your host can be reached at:

IG: @firegroundfitness

FB: @fireground fitness

Twitter: @firegroundfit

Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com

Welcome to Fireground Fitness.

This blog has a deep archive of training sessions that will remain available for your viewing. However the content moving forward will not solely focus on fitness. Rather it will be a discussion of all things pertaining to capacity, effectiveness and survivability on the fireground.

Yours In Strength!

Rayne

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This forum provides examples of strength and conditioning for professional firefighters and affiliated individuals (this includes anyone who's serious about their physical performance). This training is hard and requires a committed attitude, make no mistake about it. Fighting fire is a very athletic and demanding occupation requiring equal parts strength, explosive power, endurance and tenacity.

This blog contains daily workouts tailored to the needs of the occupational athlete. I would submit to you that all athletes, law enforcement, military servicepeople, and of course firefighters will benefit tremendously from this form of strength and conditioning.

Be advised that these training sessions are very physically demanding and will put you in a “hurt locker” if not scaled and modified to accommodate your current level of fitness. I can not presume to address your personal needs, you must watch out for yourself and be realistic about what you can and cannot do. What I can tell you is this: You must put in the work and the fitness will follow.

If you have not been consistently training it is my recommendation that you start with the 28 day beginner progression. I have provided scaled examples in the workouts each day. Choose a training intensity that is scaled to your current level of fitness or suited to your personal training goals. The levels are defined here: Level 1, Level 2 and Level3 These are guidelines to help you scale your workload.

Disclaimer: The strength and conditioning outlined in this Blog are a very demanding form of training. Do not start any training program without first consulting your physician.

As a professional Firefighter, certified Personal Trainer and former Jarhead I am always striving to be better prepared for the rigors of “combat” wherever that may be. I hope that you share this ideology.

“Getsome!”

Rayne Gray

Please, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com