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Exercises

Apple Watch firefighter workout: CPAT prep and station-gym strength on your wrist

Published November 7, 2026

For firefighters, an Apple Watch is most useful for the training around the job: logging the strength work for the CPAT and for shifts. The CPAT is eight events in a 50 lb vest within 10 minutes and 20 seconds: stair climb, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise, forcible entry, search, rescue drag and ceiling breach. In RIRLift you log each set's weight, reps and how many reps you had left on the Watch, time stair and sled bouts from your wrist, and the next session's weights are set from what you logged.

  1. Stair Climber Quads, Glutes, Calves
  2. Sled Rope Pull Upper Back, Lats, Biceps
  3. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders
  4. Trap Bar Deadlift Quads, Glutes
  5. Dumbbell Shoulder Press Shoulders
  6. Lat Pulldown Lats
  7. Bear Crawl Abs, Shoulders

Stairs and legs

The test starts with three minutes on a stair machine with 25 lb more on your shoulders. Stair bouts build the engine; step-ups, squats and the trap bar build the legs that carry the load.

Legs and lungs for the stair climb

Stair Climber

Quads, Glutes, Calves

The stair climb is three minutes at 60 steps a minute after a short warm-up. Climb in timed bouts from the Watch and rate each one.

How to do it

  1. Step on the machine, hold the rails lightly for balance only, and start at an easy speed.
  2. Stand tall and place your whole foot on each step.
  3. Raise the speed until you breathe hard but can still say a short sentence.
  4. Keep that pace for the planned time, then slow down for a couple of minutes before stepping off.

Cues

  • Whole foot on each step
  • Hands just for balance
  • Steady breathing

Common mistakes

  • Leaning on the rails with locked arms: that takes the work away from your legs.
  • Climbing on your toes only: let the heel land on each step.

Swap for: Step-Up, Treadmill Walk, Stationary Bike

Build a session with Stair Climber
Log it in RIRLift

One leg at a time, like stairs

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Every step on a stair is a single-leg lift. Step-ups load it with dumbbells, with a vest on top when you have one.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the bench with two dumbbells.
  2. Place one whole foot on the bench.
  3. Lean forward a little and push through the top foot to stand up on the bench.
  4. Bring the other foot up only to touch, then lower it back to the floor.
  5. Finish all reps on one leg before switching.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the bench
  • Push through the top heel
  • Lower slowly, do not drop

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the floor with the back foot: that halves the work. Keep the trailing foot light.
  • Using a bench so high that your knee is far above your hip: you will rock instead of step.

Swap for: Barbell Step-Up

Build a session with Step-Up
Log it in RIRLift

Quads and trunk

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

A squat you can do with one dumbbell in the station gym. Hold it at your chest and sit down between your knees.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell vertically against your chest.
  2. Sit down between your knees, elbows inside them at the bottom.
  3. Stand up tall.

Cues

  • Elbows nudge the knees out at the bottom.
  • Chest stays up behind the weight.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight pull you forward.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Barbell Back Squat

Build a session with Goblet Squat
Log it in RIRLift

Legs and back for lifting and dragging

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

Picking up heavy things from the floor is most of the job. The trap bar keeps the load at your sides like two tools.

How to do it

  1. Step inside the trap bar with the handles beside your feet.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handles in the middle.
  3. Flatten your back, take the slack out, and stand up by pushing the floor away.
  4. Lower the bar to the floor under control. Do not drop it.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Flat back
  • Slack out before you pull

Common mistakes

  • Yanking the bar off the floor: pull the slack out first.
  • Rounding the back as the weight climbs: stop adding weight until the setup is solid.

Swap for: Barbell Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Trap Bar Deadlift
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Drag, pull and carry

The hose drag, the rescue drag and the equipment carry are pulling and carrying under load. Sled pulls and heavy carries train the same work.

Back, grip and legs for the hose pull

Sled Rope Pull

Upper Back, Lats, Biceps

Pulling a sled in hand over hand is close to the hose drag's final pull. Time each bout on the Watch.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the sled with the rope in your hands and your feet set wide.
  2. Sit your hips back and pull the rope hand over hand toward your body.
  3. Use your legs and hips to lean back on each pull, not just your arms.
  4. Step back as the rope piles up so you keep a good pulling position.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest up
  • Hand over hand
  • Lean with the legs

Common mistakes

  • Standing upright and pulling only with the arms: sit into each pull.
  • Letting the rope tangle at your feet: step back as you go.

Swap for: Sled Push, One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Trap Bar Deadlift

Build a session with Sled Rope Pull
Log it in RIRLift

Legs and drive

Sled Push

Quads, Glutes

A heavy sled push builds the leg drive behind every drag. Time it from the Watch and rate the bout.

How to do it

  1. Load the sled and grip the high or low handles with your arms extended.
  2. Lean in until your body forms a straight line from head to back foot.
  3. Drive the sled forward with short, powerful steps, pushing through the balls of your feet.
  4. Keep pushing for the target time, then rest fully.

Cues

  • Low body angle
  • Short, hard steps
  • Keep the arms locked

Common mistakes

  • Standing too upright so the sled stalls: lower the hips and lean in.
  • Long, loping strides: keep steps short and fast.

Swap for: Sled Pull, Air Bike, Barbell Back Squat

Build a session with Sled Push
Log it in RIRLift

Upper back and lats

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

Rows build the back for pulling hose and dragging a body, and need only a dumbbell and a bench.

How to do it

  1. Put one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, or your hand on a chair seat with both feet on the floor, so your back is flat.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in the other hand with your arm hanging straight.
  3. Pull your elbow back toward your hip until the dumbbell reaches your ribs.
  4. Lower it until your arm is straight again, finish all reps, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow to your hip
  • Back flat as a table
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your chest open to lift the dumbbell higher: keep both shoulders level.
  • Shrugging the shoulder up toward your ear: pull the elbow back, not the shoulder up.

Swap for: Band Bent-Over Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, Seated Cable Row

Build a session with One-Arm Dumbbell Row
Log it in RIRLift

Grip and trunk for the equipment carry

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

The carry event is two saws walked around a drum and back. Heavy carries build the grip; log how many seconds you walked.

How to do it

  1. Pick up two heavy dumbbells with your back flat.
  2. Stand tall with your ribs down and walk with short, quick steps.
  3. Set the weights down with a flat back when the time or distance is up.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Crush the handles
  • Quick steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders round forward.
  • Walking so slowly the dumbbells start to swing.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

Build a session with Farmer's Walk
Log it in RIRLift

Trunk and grip, one side at a time

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

Carrying one tool on one side makes your trunk fight the lean. Walk, switch hands and walk back.

How to do it

  1. Pick up one heavy dumbbell and stand tall with it at your side.
  2. Walk with short, steady steps without leaning toward or away from it.
  3. Set it down, switch hands and walk back.

Cues

  • Shoulders level
  • Tall walk
  • Grip hard

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the weight to balance it.
  • Picking a dumbbell so light that nothing has to work.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

Build a session with Dumbbell Suitcase Carry
Log it in RIRLift

Overhead: ladder and ceiling

Raising a ladder and pushing and pulling a ceiling hook need strong shoulders and lats. Press overhead and pull down from overhead.

Shoulders and triceps for the ladder raise

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

Raising a ladder and pushing a ceiling hook up are overhead work. Press in sets of 8 to 12.

How to do it

  1. Set a bench upright or one notch back from vertical, sit with your feet flat, and rest a dumbbell on each thigh.
  2. Kick one knee up at a time to bring the dumbbells to shoulder height, then set your back against the pad.
  3. Turn your elbows slightly forward so they sit a little in front of your torso, palms facing forward or angled in.
  4. Drive both weights overhead on a slight inward arc until your elbows are straight, keeping your ribs down and your back on the pad.
  5. Lower slowly until the dumbbells are around ear height or a bit below, then press again.

Cues

  • Ribs down, back on the pad
  • Elbows a little forward
  • Press up and slightly in

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back off the pad to finish reps: that turns it into an incline press, so lighten the weight and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
  • Flaring the elbows straight out at shoulder height: bring them a little forward so the shoulder joint stays comfortable at the bottom.
  • Stopping each rep well above your ears: lower to around ear height so the delts work through a full range.

Swap for: Machine Shoulder Press, Arnold Press, Landmine Press

Build a session with Dumbbell Shoulder Press
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Lats for the ceiling pull

Lat Pulldown

Lats

The ceiling breach ends with pulling a hook down, over and over. The pulldown loads that motion with a pin you can move in small steps.

How to do it

  1. Set the thigh pad so your legs are locked under it, then stand up and take the bar a little wider than your shoulders, palms forward.
  2. Sit down with your arms fully stretched overhead and lean back only slightly.
  3. Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your hips.
  4. Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and your shoulders lift toward your ears, then pull again.

Cues

  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Bar to the top of the chest
  • Let the stack lift you at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back and rowing the bar to your stomach: stay nearly upright so it remains a vertical pull.
  • Stopping with the arms still bent at the top: the stretch overhead is half of what makes the pulldown work.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Lat Pulldown
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Lats and grip

Pull-Up

Lats

Pull-ups build the grip and the back for pulling hose and hooks. Log the reps, then added weight once they get easy.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar overhand, hands a little wider than your shoulders, and hang from fully straight arms.
  2. Pull your shoulders down away from your ears before your elbows start to bend.
  3. Drive the elbows toward your ribs until your chin passes over the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a dead hang and pull again.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, then pull
  • Legs still and together
  • Two seconds on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs to cheat reps: cross your ankles and brace the abs.
  • Half reps from a bent-arm start: finish each rep at a full hang.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Lat Pulldown, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Build a session with Pull-Up
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Whole-body power for forcible entry

Medicine Ball Slam

Lats, Abs

Forcible entry is swinging a 10 lb sledgehammer until the buzzer. Slams train the same hard, repeated drive from the hips.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet about shoulder-width holding a medicine ball.
  2. Reach the ball overhead and rise onto your toes.
  3. Slam it into the floor in front of you as hard as you can, bending the hips and knees.
  4. Pick it up and repeat.

Cues

  • Reach tall
  • Slam with the whole body
  • Exhale hard

Common mistakes

  • Slamming with the arms only: hinge the hips into it.
  • Using a bouncy ball: use a slam ball that stays down.

Swap for: Med Ball Rotational Throw, Battle Rope Slam, Kettlebell Swing

Build a session with Medicine Ball Slam
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Crawl and trunk

The search event is a crawl through a tunnel. Crawling and planks keep the trunk stiff with your weight on your hands and knees.

Shoulders and trunk for the search crawl

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

The search event is a crawl through a low tunnel. Crawling forward and back keeps your trunk tight with weight on your hands.

How to do it

  1. Start on hands and toes with knees bent and just off the floor.
  2. Move one hand and the opposite foot forward together, then the other pair.
  3. Keep the hips low and your back flat as you crawl forward and backward.

Cues

  • Knees hover low
  • Opposite hand and foot
  • Flat back

Common mistakes

  • Hips riding high: keep them at shoulder height.

Swap for: Gorilla Walk, Walkout, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Bear Crawl
Log it in RIRLift

Abs and trunk

Plank

Abs

A stiff trunk carries the vest and the tools. Start each hold from the Watch so it is timed.

How to do it

  1. Set your forearms under your shoulders and your feet behind you, body in a straight line.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and pull your ribs down toward your hips.
  3. Hold, breathing normally, without letting your hips sag or rise.
  4. For the harder version, reach one arm forward and lift the opposite foot, hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Glutes tight
  • Straight line

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging toward the floor: that hangs on your lower back.
  • Holding for minutes at an easy level: make it harder instead.

Swap for: Long Lever Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Plank
Log it in RIRLift

Chest, shoulders, triceps

Push-Up

Chest

Push-ups work anywhere, including in a vest. Log the vest's weight as the added load.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

Build a session with Push-Up
Log it in RIRLift

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

CPAT candidate, full gym, 3 days a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets47 a week
  • Per workout~40 min
  • EquipmentTrap Bar, Dumbbells, Flat Bench, Sled +3

You are testing for a department in a few months and train in a gym with a stair machine, a sled and a cable stack.

A legs and stairs day and an upper body and carry day alternate. The stair bouts are three minutes like the test; the lifts are heavy enough that the vest feels lighter on test day.

Day A: Stairs, legs and drag
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Trap Bar Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Sled Rope Pull 4 × 20–30 s 2 90 s
Stair ClimberTest pace: about 60 steps a minute. 3 × 3 min 2 2 min

Open Day A: Stairs, legs and drag in the session builder

Day B: Overhead, carry and crawl
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Farmer's WalkSeconds of walking. 3 × 45–60 2 90 s
Medicine Ball Slam 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Bear CrawlHand steps, forward and back. 3 × 10–20 2 1 min
Plank 2 × 45–60 s 2 1 min

Open Day B: Overhead, carry and crawl in the session builder

How to run it
Import the plan, then switch to it in My Programs so its routines reach the Watch. Alternate A and B three days a week. Start each stair and sled bout from the Watch and rate it when it ends; log every lift as you put it down.
How to progress
Lifts use double progression on the weakest set. Trap bar at 245 lb for 6, 6, 6, 6 tops 4 to 6, so the next session opens at 250 lb for 4. Shoulder press with 40 lb dumbbells for 12, 11, 10 against a target of 10: the weakest set hit it, so the target goes to 11 at the same weight. Stair bouts keep the time you set: when all three feel Hard rather than Max, put on a weighted vest.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

On shift: station gym, 30 minutes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets28 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Pull-Up Bar

You work 24-hour shifts. The station has dumbbells, a bench, a pull-up bar and some floor, and you want a session short enough to fit between calls.

One full-body routine with four lifts and a carry, about 30 minutes. Squat, pull, press and carry each get three sets, and the plank closes it.

Shift session
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Pull-Up 3 × 3–10 2 90 s
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per side. 3 × 30–45 2 1 min
Plank 2 × 45–60 s 2 45 s
How to run it
Run it once or twice a shift. Start it on the Watch and leave the phone on the charger; each set is saved on the Watch as you log it. Add the station as a gym in RIRLift and pick it when you start: if the routine needs equipment the station lacks, the Watch offers a replacement before the session starts and can remember the choice there.
How to progress
Dumbbells are logged per hand. Goblet squat with a 60 lb dumbbell for 12, 12, 12 tops 8 to 12, so next time it is 65 lb for 8. Pull-ups go by reps: 8, 7, 6 against a target of 6 means the next target is 7.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Days off at home: a vest and two dumbbells

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench

You train at home on your days off with a weighted vest and a pair of dumbbells, and want the load the job puts on your legs and shoulders.

The vest goes on for push-ups, step-ups and crawls, the way the test puts 50 lb on you for every event. Dumbbells cover the carry and the row.

Vest day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Push-UpIn the vest. Log the vest's weight. 3 × 8–20 2 90 s
Step-UpPer leg. Vest on, dumbbells in hand. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Farmer's WalkSeconds of walking. 3 × 45–60 2 90 s
Bear CrawlHand steps, in the vest. 3 × 10–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Twice a week on days off. On push-ups, log the vest's weight as the load: RIRLift adds it to your bodyweight, which you enter once on the iPhone.
How to progress
Push-ups with a 20 lb vest, logged as 20 lb: 15, 14, 12 against a target of 12 means the next target is 13. When every set reaches 20, add weight to the vest and log the new load. Step-ups with 35 lb dumbbells for 12, 12, 12 top 8 to 12, so next time it is 40 lb for 8.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are the CPAT events?

Eight events in a 50 lb vest: stair climb, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise and extension, forcible entry, search, rescue drag, and ceiling breach and pull. It is pass or fail on a total time of 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

What Apple Watch workout type is a firefighter strength session?

In RIRLift you do not pick one. A session with any lift in it is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training; a session of only sled work is saved as Functional Strength Training.

Can Apple Watch count my reps?

Not on its own: after each set you confirm the reps with a tap. With the rep counting beta in RIRLift Labs turned on, the Watch can suggest a count on some exercises, and you still confirm it with Log.

Do I need my phone in the station gym?

No. The session runs on the Watch and each set is saved there as you log it. It syncs to the iPhone afterward.