r/Firefighting • u/Humble_Warthog_7172 • 2d ago

General Discussion MSA G1 SCBA and cardio fitness.

I am not confident about my abilities wearing an SCBA. I feel I use my air too quickly. I go from a full tank to the bell going off in 15:33 while climbing stairs at a moderate pace. I want to improve. If you have any suggestions let me hear them. I am fairly new to fire service.

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u/Left_Afloat CA Captain 1d ago

I would avoid working out in gear, but wearing the BAs and your mask on air completing “CrossFit” style functional workouts will help you. You can also buy a blast mask attachment for the G1 masks and utilize that during other workouts to get you more comfortable working and breath with a mask on.

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u/Humble_Warthog_7172 1d ago

Thank you. I will look into the blast mask. Why do you sugest no turnouts during workouts?

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u/Left_Afloat CA Captain 1d ago

Unless they are brand new, turnouts will never be 100% clean. Opening up your pores by sweating allows absorption into the skin. You already do enough while training, we need to minimize our time in our gear. The new thing is PFAS, which is carcinogenic…:like most things. Just forever chemicals.

If you have a chance, find a place that does infrared sauna workouts. That can at least help with heat acclimation and sweating it out.

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u/Humble_Warthog_7172 1d ago

Makes sense. Thank you.