Introduction: The leading cause of on duty death of firefighters is sudden cardiac events. Current research has shown the effects of fire physical training programs on firefighters, but has not researched fire specific physical training programs for the fire science major population. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a six-week functional program on fitness and body composition of fire science majors. Methods: Fire science college students (N = 16) volunteered to take part in a six-week fire specific fitness program. The subjects that fully completed the study (N = 12) were randomly assigned to a control group (CG; n=6) or an exercise group (EG; n=6). Both groups underwent pre and post testing prior to and following the six-week training period. Subjects performed a battery of fitness tests which included: one-mile run, body fat percentage, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, push-up, sit-up, flexed-arm hang, and a fire specific physical performance test. The CG was asked to resume their usual fitness and nutrition regimen. The EG participated in the six-week, four-day per week training program. Results: Age (yr.), EG: 21.8 + 3.5; CG: 22.2 + 4.5; Height (in.), EG: 72.0 + 5.5; CG: 71.6 + 3.1; Weight (lbs.), EG: 203.8 + 40.1; CG: 170.1 + 21.8. The EG showed a greater percent change than the CG in body weight, body fat percentage, the one-mile run, the stair climb, and the push-up tests. No significant differences were found for any of the tests. Discussion: The results suggest that the low sample size was a major limitation in this study. Although no significant differences were found for the battery of tests, beneficial trends were shown in the percent changes in comparison of EG to CG from pretest to posttest. With a greater sample size, potential improvements from fire specific training could be revealed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Introduction: The leading cause of on duty death of firefighters is sudden cardiac events. Current research has shown the effects of fire physical training programs on firefighters, but has not researched fire specific physical training programs for the fire science major population. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a six-week functional program on fitness and body composition of fire science majors. Methods: Fire science college students (N = 16) volunteered to take part in a six-week fire specific fitness program. The subjects that fully completed the study (N = 12) were randomly assigned to a control group (CG; n=6) or an exercise group (EG; n=6). Both groups underwent pre and post testing prior to and following the six-week training period. Subjects performed a battery of fitness tests which included: one-mile run, body fat percentage, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, push-up, sit-up, flexed-arm hang, and a fire specific physical performance test. The CG was asked to resume their usual fitness and nutrition regimen. The EG participated in the six-week, four-day per week training program. Results: Age (yr.), EG: 21.8 + 3.5; CG: 22.2 + 4.5; Height (in.), EG: 72.0 + 5.5; CG: 71.6 + 3.1; Weight (lbs.), EG: 203.8 + 40.1; CG: 170.1 + 21.8. The EG showed a greater percent change than the CG in body weight, body fat percentage, the one-mile run, the stair climb, and the push-up tests. No significant differences were found for any of the tests. Discussion: The results suggest that the low sample size was a major limitation in this study. Although no significant differences were found for the battery of tests, beneficial trends were shown in the percent changes in comparison of EG to CG from pretest to posttest. With a greater sample size, potential improvements from fire specific training could be revealed. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["LeBrun, Kristen Anne"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Exercise and Sport Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z","subjects":["body composition","cardiovascular","firefighter","fitness","functional fitness","physical performance","Cardiovascular Diseases","Exercise Physiology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2015 Kristen Anne LeBrun"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/391","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["LeBrun, Kristen Anne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Exercise and Sport Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["body composition","cardiovascular","firefighter","fitness","functional fitness","physical performance","Cardiovascular Diseases","Exercise Physiology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2015 Kristen Anne LeBrun"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/391"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Introduction: The leading cause of on duty death of firefighters is sudden cardiac events. Current research has shown the effects of fire physical training programs on firefighters, but has not researched fire specific physical training programs for the fire science major population. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a six-week functional program on fitness and body composition of fire science majors. Methods: Fire science college students (N = 16) volunteered to take part in a six-week fire specific fitness program. The subjects that fully completed the study (N = 12) were randomly assigned to a control group (CG; n=6) or an exercise group (EG; n=6). Both groups underwent pre and post testing prior to and following the six-week training period. Subjects performed a battery of fitness tests which included: one-mile run, body fat percentage, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, push-up, sit-up, flexed-arm hang, and a fire specific physical performance test. The CG was asked to resume their usual fitness and nutrition regimen. The EG participated in the six-week, four-day per week training program. Results: Age (yr.), EG: 21.8 + 3.5; CG: 22.2 + 4.5; Height (in.), EG: 72.0 + 5.5; CG: 71.6 + 3.1; Weight (lbs.), EG: 203.8 + 40.1; CG: 170.1 + 21.8. The EG showed a greater percent change than the CG in body weight, body fat percentage, the one-mile run, the stair climb, and the push-up tests. No significant differences were found for any of the tests. Discussion: The results suggest that the low sample size was a major limitation in this study. Although no significant differences were found for the battery of tests, beneficial trends were shown in the percent changes in comparison of EG to CG from pretest to posttest. With a greater sample size, potential improvements from fire specific training could be revealed.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects Of A Six-Week Functional Training Program On Fitness And Body Composition Of Fire Science Majors"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["LeBrun, Kristen Anne"],"dc:description.abstract":["Introduction: The leading cause of on duty death of firefighters is sudden cardiac events. Current research has shown the effects of fire physical training programs on firefighters, but has not researched fire specific physical training programs for the fire science major population. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a six-week functional program on fitness and body composition of fire science majors. Methods: Fire science college students (N = 16) volunteered to take part in a six-week fire specific fitness program. The subjects that fully completed the study (N = 12) were randomly assigned to a control group (CG; n=6) or an exercise group (EG; n=6). Both groups underwent pre and post testing prior to and following the six-week training period. Subjects performed a battery of fitness tests which included: one-mile run, body fat percentage, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, push-up, sit-up, flexed-arm hang, and a fire specific physical performance test. The CG was asked to resume their usual fitness and nutrition regimen. The EG participated in the six-week, four-day per week training program. Results: Age (yr.), EG: 21.8 + 3.5; CG: 22.2 + 4.5; Height (in.), EG: 72.0 + 5.5; CG: 71.6 + 3.1; Weight (lbs.), EG: 203.8 + 40.1; CG: 170.1 + 21.8. The EG showed a greater percent change than the CG in body weight, body fat percentage, the one-mile run, the stair climb, and the push-up tests. No significant differences were found for any of the tests. Discussion: The results suggest that the low sample size was a major limitation in this study. Although no significant differences were found for the battery of tests, beneficial trends were shown in the percent changes in comparison of EG to CG from pretest to posttest. With a greater sample size, potential improvements from fire specific training could be revealed.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/391"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2015 Kristen Anne LeBrun"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["body composition","cardiovascular","firefighter","fitness","functional fitness","physical performance","Cardiovascular Diseases","Exercise Physiology"],"dc:title":["Effects Of A Six-Week Functional Training Program On Fitness And Body Composition Of Fire Science Majors"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Exercise and Sport Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z"}