Fitness Facilities And Tactical Occupations: Is It Necessary To Have An On-site Exercise Facility?

PURPOSE: Many firefighting departments spend from their limited budget to provide exercise opportunities for their members. The primary purpose was to assess if weekly exercise energy expenditure (EE) was impacted by whether or not the firefighters’ department required them to perform a minimum amount of exercise per shift. The secondary purpose was to assess if EE was impacted by whether or not the firefighting department provided an on-site exercise facility or paid for a membership at a local fitness club. METHODS: 51 participants (46 M, 5F) who are currently full-time members of career firefighting departments were sent an online survey through Qualtrics (Provo, UT) to self-report their daily exercise and nutrition habits. The survey included questions related to exercise habits over the previous two weeks as well as the exercise facilities and programs provided to the participant by their fire department where they are a registered member. RESULTS: 44 total participants completed the study. 20 participants reported that their department required exercise to be performed during their shift (ranged from 30-60 minutes) and 24 reported that exercise was not required to be completed during their shift. No significant differences in overall EE were exhibited between groups (t = 0.637, p = .264). 39 participants reported that their department provided an on-site fitness facility/gym to exercise in and 5 reported that their department provided a paid membership to a local health club. No significant differences in overall EE were exhibited between groups (t = 0.933, p = .178). CONCLUSIONS: Based on these preliminary results, it does not appear that on-shift exercise requirement or providing an on-site exercise facility significantly improved EE. It will be important to determine what monetary costs are being spent on buying and/or constructing an on-site exercise-specific facility versus what the cost is to provide a membership to a local fitness facility. Therefore, future studies should look closely at performing a monetary cost-benefit analysis of buying their own equipment versus paying for their members to have access to a local fitness facility.