Transforming First Responder Fitness & Wellness with TeamBuildr Strength & AMS

Introduction

The Virginia Beach Fire Department, part of the city’s broader public safety framework, is deeply committed to the health, performance, and longevity of its firefighters. Spearheading this initiative is Aaron McKissick, the Public Safety Wellness Coordinator for the City of Virginia Beach, who oversees wellness programs for both the fire and police departments.

Seeking a scalable and efficient way to manage fitness programming, data tracking, and health monitoring, McKissick and his team turned to TeamBuildr Strength to bring structure, insight, and simplicity to their wellness operations.

Challenges

Before implementing TeamBuildr, the department faced several pressing challenges:

• Inconsistent Data Tracking. There was no unified system for tracking workouts, progress, or long-term health metrics across the department’s diverse personnel.
  
• Scalability Across Various Demographics. With personnel ranging in age from 18 to 65, the department needed a solution that could accommodate a wide range of tech comfort levels and physical needs.
• Recruit Monitoring. In the academy, it was difficult to consistently monitor recruit wellness, including key indicators like stress, hydration, sleep quality, and readiness.
• Reporting Limitations. Without a central hub for fitness and health data, producing insightful reports for senior staff and stakeholders was labor-intensive and limited in scope.

Solution

TeamBuildr offered a purpose-built, intuitive platform that met the unique demands of the fire service environment:

Ease of Use Across All Ages. TeamBuildr’s user-friendly interface proved effective across generations. Firefighters—regardless of age—could easily access their workouts, enter data, and track progress over time.

“No matter the age of our incumbents—be it 18 or 65—they’re easily able to navigate the app to see their workout and plug in their data.”

Centralized Health & Performance Tracking. The platform enabled McKissick’s team to log critical health metrics throughout a firefighter’s career, from recruit school to retirement. Using features like daily wellness questionnaires, they could monitor hydration, sleep, stress levels, and readiness with ease.

Data-Driven Decisions. With structured data collection, the wellness team could extract insights and create meaningful reports to demonstrate the program’s effectiveness to senior leadership.

“We were able to track not only their workouts but also very important health metrics and data that we need to recall and present to senior staff.”

Enhanced Recruit Oversight. Daily check-ins via the TeamBuildr app allowed academy instructors to quickly assess the well-being of recruits, improving safety, training efficiency, and individualized support.

Results

Since implementing TeamBuildr, the Virginia Beach Fire Department has experienced:

• Increased engagement in physical wellness programs across all age groups
  
• Improved oversight of recruit health and readiness
  
• Streamlined data collection and reporting for departmental leadership
• Greater accountability and self-awareness among firefighters regarding their fitness and well-being

“The biggest benefit we’ve seen with TeamBuildr is how easy it is to use. Whether it’s an 18-year-old recruit or a 65-year-old veteran, everyone can navigate the app, plug in their data, and track their own growth.”