People do it all the time, to put up the screens, clean the gutters or paint the trim.
But wearing protective gear weighing about 60 pounds, and hauling a 35-pound air pack on your back and a heavy hose at your side, turns that same climb into an exceptionally strenuous workout. That, combined with extreme temperatures and noxious smoke, is what firefighters endure at the scene of even a small fire. He came up with a regimen of exercises that mimic the movements firefighters use most during a fire. For example, the workout includes tossing medicine balls back and forth while running sideways, to enhance footwork agility. Participants also ran up stairs to imitate climbing a ladder.