For Immediate Release October 27th, 2004

“Fitness Training Prepares Local Firefighters

To Escape Hostile Environments”

For More Information Contact:

Battalion Chief Forest Reeder, Pleasantview F.P.D.

Frank Nunez, Co-Owner and Executive Director, UNICUS 630-960-9983

fnunez@unicuspt.com www.unicuspt.com/fire.asp

Chicago, IL-The recent film, Ladder 49 and the vivid memories of September

11th have done much to educate the world about the hostile physical

environment in which firefighters work every day. According to the National Fire

Protection Association (NFPA). “Approximately 100 firefighters are killed each

year in the line of duty—with 50% of deaths attributed to health & fitness issues

and 50% attributed to the physical environment in which they work.”

On a local level, Battalion Chief Forest Reeder of the Pleasantview Fire

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Protection District believes fitness training and conditioning could make the

difference in saving firefighters’ lives.

He has retained the services of UNICUS Performance Training, a Chicagoland

company that specializes in Firefighter and Law Enforcement fitness testing and

exercise programming. “Helping firefighters stay in shape will help them escape

hostile environments and be better physically prepared to help themselves and

rescue others,” says Battalion Chief Reeder, himself a 26 year firefighter veteran.

UNICUS has been working with the district for the last year and has

conducted complete fitness testing, baseline assessments and exercise

prescriptions; followed by individualized exercise programs and ongoing support

for each firefighter. “By bringing in high caliber fitness professionals who

understand our business and physical demands, we have elevated fitness to a

more professional approach. We are mindful of taking fitness to the next level,

but with a systematic methodical plan for improving and maintaining the physical

health and well being of firefighters, “says Battalion Chief Reeder. “We can get

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both firefighters and law enforcement officers into optimal shape to perform their

jobs,” says Frank Nunez, co-owner and executive director of UNICUS.

“Last year’s Chicago Loop fire tragedy was but another validation of the harsh

profession of firefighters and the even harsher training that must be

endured to do that job well. Commission findings stated that firefighters

MUST be in better shape to endure the intense fire suppression work that

comes with the job of being a firefighter.”

Says Nunez,” It’s not about pumping iron in a gym or getting on a treadmill. It’s

about biomechanically and functionally correct training designed to work the

parts of the body needed to perform a specific job. We are making a better

firefighter and police officer, not just a buffed out body.” Nunez’s vast experience

in this field earned him a recent appointment as The Chicago Director of The 911

Fitness Challenge, a 12-week shape up competition exclusively for fire,

police & emergency medical technicians around the country. They expect over

8,000 participants with the competition taking place between January 10^th, 2005

and April 4^th, 2005 . Last year, Nunez helped over 300 area fire and police

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Page 4- Firefighter’s Fitness Training

officers from the Chicago area by taking their body fats and providing guidance

throughout the 12 weeks of training.

UNICUS has developed protocols to energize systems of the body to support the

physical demands of firefighters. These include: dynamic flexibility to reduce

injuries to the body, muscular endurance and power, and maximizing aerobic and

anaerobic body systems. Other innovative fitness training methods include Time

Under Tension Training and Gravity Positioned Training, which incorporate

techniques such as high tension bands and an 80 pound sandbag to simulate the

gear firefighters wear.

” Encouraging firefighters to adopt and maintain health and fitness as a core

value begins with recruits,” says Reeder. In his role as Director of Training &

Safety for The Southwest United Firefighters District Fire Training Academy

(SUFD), Reeder has again brought in UNICUS to help recruits prepare for the

Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) one of the pre-entry tests that firefighter

candidates have to face in order to become eligible to become a firefighter.

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The SUFD Academy serves Pleasantview, Darien/Woodridge & TriState Fire

Protection Districts as well as the metro Chicago area fire service.

“We work with recruits as part of an integrated fitness training program adjunct

to standard firefighter academics,” says Nunez. “Recruits receive daily physical

exercise training predicated on completed exercise baseline tests and

customized training designed to help them pass the CPAT test with flying

colors.”

Says Reeder of the fitness training experience, “Firefighters and recruits

will be able to perform their job duties much easier after going through the

training that UNICUS has designed for them. They are being dipped into the fire,

so to speak, so that they won’t have to suffer in a real one.”

END