Leslie Stenger and Stephanie Taylor-Davis were awarded an IUP Strategic Plan Mini-Grant for the IUP F3 (FireFighter Fit) Program. Graduate assistants Grace Kerr and Tara Baney will help to recruit and prepare undergraduate students in the departments of Kinesiology, Health, and Sports Science and Food and Nutrition to work together to provide fitness and nutritional opportunities to the volunteer firefighters in Indiana County by teaming with the Indiana Fire Association.
The program will start in February 2023 with fitness testing followed by individualized programming, which includes nutritional counseling, personal training, small group training, and corrective exercise programming. The fitness level of firefighters may be a matter of life or death, and their health and well-being should be paramount to the entire community. One aim of the program is to identify and monitor health-related issues (e.g., cardiovascular health) and provide opportunities for fitness improvement to optimize the performance of firefighters in the line of duty.
Any KHSS student interested in being part of the program should see Professor Stenger as soon as possible. Stenger is currently recruiting students to administer fitness assessments and reviews. She is also recruiting student personal trainers and student group exercise instructors.
Email Leslie Stenger at las@iup.edu for more information.