Firefighter Combat Test Analysis and Training

Firefighter Combat Test^® Analysis - What's Important?

The Combat Test® - As part of their recruit training at the Bureau of Instruction and Training, Sixty-one Firefighters were run through the nationally known Combat Test®. The Combat Test® is exactly the same as the popular Combat Challenge competition as seen on ESPN. Each recruit ran the course twice - seven weeks apart. There was only one DNF (did not finish) resulting in total of 121 times for this analysis. The average time to complete the course was 4 minutes and 12 seconds (4:12). Times ranged from 2:55 to 8:54.

Firefighter Profiles - Proximal to when the Combat Test® was administered; height, weight, lean body mass, bench press, lat pulldown, hand grip, Max V02, sit-ups and percent body fat were tested and measured as part of the Professional Firefighter Profile evaluation that is given to each recruit. Using stepwise multiple regression (SPSS), it was determined that lat pulldown strength, height, Max V02 and hand grip strength made unique and significant contributions to the Combat Test®. The combined correlation was .740 for these four variables. See the pie chart.

Making some sense out of this!

*Discussion -* If we take time to look at each of the above findings, each one makes sense as they relate to Combat Test® performance.
• Lat Pulldown Strength - Flexion strength is very important in the hoisting task and also comes into play when chopping on the Keiser® Machine and more so during the dummy rescue. The lat pulldown I-RM estimate associated with the average Combat Test time of the recruits was 267.7 pounds.
*• Height -* Very important with the hoisting task also. Shorter people simply cannot get into a strong pulling position at the railing because they cannot bend over the railing. Taller people can not only get over the railing, but also have a longer pull on each stroke. Taller people also have a longer stride length allowing them to cover more ground between stations or when dragging the hose and the dummy. The height associated with the average Combat Test time of the recruits was 5'11½".
• Max VO2 - Cardiovascular capacity is the one thing most people would automatically assume as being important. So it is no surprise that it showed up in the analysis. The average time to complete the course (4:12), is a tip-off that the recruits who ran the course were engaged in a activity that demanded above average aerobic fitness because of it's duration. The Max VO2 in MET's (see the MET's PDF table) associated with the average Combat Test time of the recruits was 14.5 mets (50.7mil/kg/min).
• Hand Grip Strength - Grip strength is likely as important in the hoisting task as flexion strength is. It also comes into play when chopping on the Keiser® Machine, on the hose advance and during the dummy rescue. The I-RM hand grip (dynamometer) associated with the average Combat Test time of the recruits was 149.7 pounds.

Combat Test^® Training - A Theoretical Model

Combat Training - The best initial training strategy may be to simply run the course as much as possible. Once improvements stop or slow down with this approach, advanced training methods need to be introduced if progress is to continue. To the right is an advanced training plan that I put together a few years ago for some Milwaukee Firefighter's. It reads from top to bottom and from left to right, and proceeds from general to specific training methods. I think it is self-explanatory (well sortta). If you have any questions feel free to contact me. FYI: this is a very large jpeg picture. It will take some time to load.