Big Bear City, CA, February 8, 2013 – Once a year, local Fire Fighters are put through an intensive physical fitness screening process. First there blood is drawn. A week or so later, an Exercise Physiologist of Fitness Appraisals and Sky High Training tests the fire fighters with his array of physical fitness testing equipment. The results from the blood tests and fitness testing are all entered into a computer program that issues a wealth of information for the individual being tested and is grouped into an overall rating for the fitness level of the Department. Individual results are confidential. A comprehensive report is provided to the Chief that encompasses the entire Department. Information includes how many tobacco users are on the department, flexibility average scores, along with charts and graphs of the average overall scores. This information is vital to the training plans for the coming year. As a Department, training can focus on gaining more flexibility, for example. Also, healthier eating can be encouraged.
Fitness testing for both Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake has taken place for many years. In the beginning the scores were on the low side. As friendly competition and appropriate training occurred, the scores have increased dramatically, putting Big Bear Fire Department at the top of the ranking of participating Departments in Southern California.
Pictured are the top scorers in the Physical Fitness testing process for 2012:
Robert Whitmore, Rick Seward, Joseph Webb, James McDaniel
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