Froch proves he's fire fighting fit!
Nottingham boxer Carl Froch proved he is still fighting fit, despite a six week break in training, when he put his fitness to the test alongside his local firefighters this week.
Carl popped into Carlton Fire Station on Tuesday (24 January) where he was put through his paces while hooked up to the latest piece of equipment used by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to monitor firefighter fitness levels.
A gas analyser – a portable unit that measures aerobic capacity - is used to ensure firefighters are fit enough for operational duties, whether they are new to the Service, returning from illness or injury or as part of routine annual fitness tests. It was introduced because of its extremely high level of accuracy when assessing aerobic capacity.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Fitness Advisor Tug Davies explains: “Firefighter fitness is extremely important, both to the firefighters themselves and to the fire and rescue service as a whole. In the past we have used various different methods for testing aerobic capacity but they can have a standard deviation of up to 15% with regard to accuracy.
“The gas analyser has a standard deviation of just 1% making it much more accurate, and this is particularly important where personnel are borderline pass or fail. It means that those who are fit enough for operational duties are not taken ‘off the run’ unnecessarily, while those who need to improve can be identified and given the support to get them back to full operational fitness as soon as possible.”
Firefighters are expected to achieve an aerobic capacity of 42 or more to gain a Grade 1 pass, meaning they are fit enough for operational duties. So far 620 Nottinghamshire firefighters have taken the test, with 94% of them achieving a Grade 1 pass.
Tug said: “Despite having had six weeks off from training since his last fight Carl is still exceptionally fit. He displayed an aerobic capacity of 57, an ‘excellent’ rating for someone of his age (34) and the equivalent of a very fit 20 – 29 year old.
“He was very interested in finding out his fitness levels now, and wants to repeat the test in a few weeks time to see how he has improved after returning to his strict training regime.”
Carl’s visit to his local fire station was made possible by one of his fight sponsors, North Fire, which has supplied firefighter helmets and other equipment to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service for the past three years.
Managing Director Oliver North said: “The visit to the station has helped Carl to appreciate how important personal fitness is to firefighters to enable them to do their job properly, and how they go about achieving the levels required.
“He really enjoyed putting his own personal fitness to the test while finding out how Nottinghamshire firefighters stay fighting fit and at the top of their game.”
