Pulling their fat out of the fire

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She said that the group meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the LEARN facility on Merrick Road in Baldwin, then firefighters take their workout outdoors to Fireman’s Field on Saturdays. Asked about the exercises she puts them through, Lengel rattled off a list of outside-the-box challenges. “We do bear crawls,” she said, chuckling. “We have 500-pound tires, sledgehammers. We do bleacher work. They’re pushing and pulling cars. When we get outside, each workout is different.”

As their fitness improves, Lengel said, the men will be challenged to perform in their firefighting garb while carrying their equipment. So far, she said, they are ahead of schedule for reaching that goal.

“They’re full-throttle,” she said. “They’re texting each other all the things they’re not eating and drinking. They all feel better and are making better decisions when they’re out. They still watch football on Sundays, but they’re more educated about what they can eat and what they can do if they overeat. They look dramatically different every time I see them.”

The Herald will be tracking the firefighters’ progress over the next several weeks and will post their collective weight loss as well as a recap of their improvements in fitness after the final weigh-in on Dec. 12. For more information about LEARN, go to www.learnfitnessnutrition.com or call (516) 442-4343.

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