Train Smarter: Optimizing Recovery for Firefighters

“Recovery” according to Google, is: a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength

It implies that you’ve done something difficult or out of the ordinary and you need to rebound from that into your normal state.

But what if your normal state is sleep deprived, over-caffeinated, several joints ache, you have elevated cortisol levels, and your body is stuck in a cycle of chronic fatigue? Is that the normal state you want to return to? I don’t think so. However, that’s the reality for people in high-stress professions.

I work with firefighters and when I begin to discuss recovery with them, many have no idea why I would. They’ve accepted that the career they’ve chosen means they will be tired as well and the only way they know to achieve results in fitness is by pushing harder. I explain to them that recovery allows a firefighter to be able to perform in between bottles on the fireground, from shift to shift, or throughout a career.

When working with firefighters, I like to explain the nervous system using the analogy of a bank account. It’s something they can immediately relate to, and it helps them see how their day-to-day decisions impact their long-term performance.

I tell them to think about their shifts as a series of withdrawals. Every time they wake up after fragmented sleep, run back-to-back calls, lug heavy equipment, or gear up for the physical and mental demands of a structure fire, they’re pulling from their account. Even when no calls come through, the baseline stress of always being ready to respond is like a recurring fee that chips away at their balance.

But here’s the kicker—most firefighters aren’t making enough deposits to replenish what they take out. Recovery practices like sleep, proper nutrition, and active recovery often fall by the wayside because they’re tired, busy, or just don’t see the value. I point out that when the account runs dry, the consequences aren’t small. Fatigue, poor performance, increased injury risk, and burnout are all signs they’re running on "overdraft."

As coaches, our goal is to teach them how to balance this system. I focus on helping them recognize the small deposits they can make—getting 30 extra minutes of sleep, preparing better meals, or incorporating alternative training into their fitness routines—that will replenish their reserves. I also stress the importance of recovery as part of their career as firefighters, not something optional or “soft.”

When they start to see their nervous system as something that needs managing, just like their time or their finances, the lightbulb goes off. Suddenly, taking time to recover isn’t about being less tough—it’s about making sure they have what they need to keep showing up strong, shift after shift.

Whether you work with firefighters, other tactical personnel, highly competitive athletes, or the general population balancing the demands and stress of everyday life, using strategies to help them monitor and adjust for recovery is important. We’ll go over a few key strategies below, as well as some great features Teambuildr has to put those strategies to use, so you can help your athletes continue to make progress without running on “overdraft”.

Self Regulation

Programming using methods of self-regulation is an easy way to maintain a training schedule while allowing flexibility for how they feel daily. I like to use Reps in Reserve (RIR) for strength work and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) for conditioning work. Both allow for people to stay on the outlined training plan, but adjust for daily fatigue in contrast to using percentages for strength work and specific time cutoffs in conditioning.

Specifically with RPE, I provide them with guidance during each workout on what those RPEs feel like through talking, breathing, and familiar fireground tasks. For example, if a session calls for alternating between a 3/10 and 6/10, the instructions would contain:

EASY 3/10: Noticeable increase in breathing, able to maintain a conversation w/o getting out of breath, similar to being on deck, 360 size up, or carrying extrication tools to a scene.

HARD 6/10: Deep & rapid breathing, only able to talk in short sentences, similar to a blackout search drill, carrying bundles up multiple flights of stairs, advancing charged hoseline.

I find that having these within the workout itself is helpful as the majority of people I work with might not know what a 3/10 or 6/10 feels like. Additionally, many people I work with think HARD is  9/10, but in reality at a 9/10 I’ll likely experience breathlessness and can only maintain it for up to 3 minutes, whereas at a 6/10 I can maintain it for 10+ minutes. 

Thankfully Teambuildr’s session programming allows for this by adding RIR into the “additional information” portion of ‘lift’ portion of the workout. It’s even easier within conditioning sets as you can use RPE or HR within the SAQ+C session through intensity.

Learning how RIR and RPE can be difficult for people to learn initially, especially those who have traditionally trained with an all-or-nothing mentality. This is why the educational component around self-regulation and its benefits for long-term performance.

Wearables 

A benefit of using self-regulation is that it is free, but having an objective measure is more helpful for some people. Using a wearable like a Garmin, Fitbit, Whoop, or others allows for athletes to see objective data in the form of Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which is accepted as a reflection of nervous system recovery, or some overall score that usually takes into account HRV, sleep, and resting heart rate such as “readiness”.

When discussing these with firefighters, we look at their patterns and recognize how it might go up or down depending on the previous day's training, number of calls at night resulting in wake-ups, and alcohol consumption. We discuss how not only can these metrics be indicators if they’re under-recovering from their training, it also highlights when they do implement their recovery strategies, whether it affects their readiness scores.

From the Coach’s perspective, especially when working in large group settings, using the Wearables Dashboard helps you see from a birds eye view of the demands of the group. This is a feature I’m excited to use with an upcoming fire academy. It’s one thing to know generally what they’re doing, it’s another to see minimally their step count.

Modify Demand

Even with the best program on the planet, there are times when life hits hard. During these times, stress is usually high and recovery is usually low, so the planned training isn’t in the cards. A simply blanket way I accomplish this is offer zone 2 conditioning as a given alternative to any other conditioning that is on the docket. Let’s say we’re working on some anaerobic intervals, but a firefighter is on the back half of their 48 (working two days straight). I always offer low-intensity conditioning as a way to keep them moving but not require so much of their system as well as weekly yoga classes. Yoga is a great way to move the body and downregulate the nervous system.

Another method of doing this is providing resources that provide alternatives. I use the Free Form Programming feature and have built out a program that only contains “recovery” based workouts and education. Some programs are follow-along stretching videos, mobility protocols, rehab-type strength training, and educational content on the nervous system and managing load.

Group Monitoring 

1:1 training typically allows for easier adjustments to recovery as there is only one person's objective data (like HRV, RHR, etc) and subjective experience (perceived readiness, sore areas, etc) that you have to take into account. However, working in a group setting can present additional challenges. 

The number of athletes in a group setting presents a challenge, especially if those training are doing the same workout on different days due to scheduling. How do you keep an eye on how the group is responding to training as a whole? Yes, you can look at metrics like weight used, completion times, etc., but you do not gather subjective information from that.

This is where you can use tools like questionnaires to assess sleep quality and quantity shows you if that’s a contributing factor to the performance you’re seeing. The Recovery Radar allows a coach to view individual and group data of which areas of the body feel a little more beat up, this might highlight some areas that are being that need a bit more recovery. Using the Load Monitoring Dashboard allows you as a coach to compare those questionnaires to performance in one place and can be a game changer and time saver from a coach’s perspective.

Recovery isn’t optional—it’s the foundation for sustained performance and longevity. As coaches, our role is to shift the mindset that recovery is “soft” and show athletes how it’s essential for progress. For firefighters and others in high-stress professions, recovery is about more than bouncing back—it’s about building forward toward resilience.

By teaching self-regulation, tracking recovery metrics, and adapting training to stress levels, we equip our athletes to handle both immediate demands and long-term challenges. With tools like Teambuildr’s dashboards and recovery-focused programming, we can balance group needs with individual readiness.

When recovery becomes a priority, we’re not just improving performance—we’re building durability for the long haul.