# How strong do you have to be to be an emt



## linziclip (May 29, 2013)

Hi! I just passed my EMT class and am taking the NREMT this Saturday. 
I had a question, just how physically strong do you have to be to succeed/get hired as an EMT?
    I'm a girl, 19 years old, pretty skinny, in moderately good physical shape, but I've never done strength training or intense exercising or stuff like that. Should I be doing any training before attempting to pass any strength and agility tests? If so, what exercises/training would you recommend?

Just as an example, here are the requirements from Care's website

"ability to lift 137 pounds to waist level (approximately 34 inches), ability to lift 40 pounds to shoulder height and ability to ascend/descend stairs with 90 pounds."

How hard is this for the average woman to do? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


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## Hunter (May 29, 2013)

There's a few other threads about this topic, I would link then but I'm on my phone.


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## linziclip (May 29, 2013)

yeah, I thought there would be, but I couldn't find any by searching..


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## Aprz (May 29, 2013)

Edit: I'm too lazy to search, but there are definitely a lot of posts like these. Guess you aren't using the right keywords. :[

I'm a 23-year-old male, weigh about 145 lbs, I'd say about 5'6", counter-strike source (online game) = exercise for me, I mostly sit down for 12 hours, and occasionally will stand up for 5 minutes, but get tired. A lot of girls I know would easily whip me in arm wrestling (I make sure I'm nice to them). :[

I know of a ton of girls that do it that don't work out regularly. There are also a ton of thin guys that aren't very strong either that can do it too.

At first, I think it's kind of hard, your wrist might feel like it's gonna snap in half like a twig for a couple of weeks, but you'll get used to it (no pain in a couple of weeks). Everyone is gonna feel heavy at first (even if they are like 90 lbs). :s

Things that I think make it easier/help:
- Keep the gurney close to you when lifting/lowering. I literally am touching the gurney with my upper stomach/chest when I am lifting/lowering/putting the gurney into the ambulance/taking it out.

- Use your legs to lift/lower things. Even if you drop a pen on the ground. Don't bend over to pick it up. Lower yourself to the ground using your legs/bending your knees and pick it up keeping your back mostly straight. If anything, a lot of it has to do with the legs too, not arm strength. Don't use your back.

- Minimize getting any position that's gonna pull you forward. You'll hurt your back. :[ Things to prevent this is raising/lowering the gurney to about upper stomach, raising/lowering the bed to about your upper stomach/chest, and then sliding the patient over.

- This is kinda big... communication. You don't want to start pulling on the sheet, and your partner isn't lifting on the other side because of poor communication.

- Use things like slide boards, slide sheets (or whatever people call it). I was reading a newsletter from an ambulance company that says to use garbage bags if a slide board/slide sheet isn't available. With newer Ferno gurneys, there are slide boards underneath the padding.

- Don't be afraid to ask for more help from people on scene or staff at hospitals/convalescent homes.

- Don't be afraid to move things on scene (unless a crime scene, haha, then be very afraid) eg if you are picking up out of a skilled nursing facility, and there are bunch of things like a wheelchair, bags, plants, cabinets, other beds, table, etc. It might be a tight squeeze and don't give you guys a lot of room to move the gurney or might put you guys in an awkward position to move the patient, move stuff. Make it easier on yourself.

- You don't have to move all your patients. If appropriate, you can have them ambulate to the gurney. It's OK to ask patients if they can normally walk, or if they need assistants. Examples are 5150s (California psychiatric patients on a 72 hour psychiatric hold) who are usually able to ambulance to the gurney no problem. I personally think it's a great to include in your paperwork that you investigated whether if the patient can stand and pivot or ambulate to the gurney, if they needed assistants. Remember some patients might be able to walk though, but shouldn't eg patients who are very short of breath or patients that you suspect cardiac ischemia.

I'm sure your company and FTO will tell you a lot about preventing yourself from hurting yourself when moving things and put a lot of emphasis on safety. They'll hopefully critique you/help you move patients more easily.


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## Anjel (May 29, 2013)

In general where I have worked. You need to be able to lift your half of a 250lb patient plus the weight of the stretcher. 

The lift test I did was 150lb 20ft forward and back. And 125lb up and down stairs.

I can do it, I'm not little though either. A lot of girls can't. You just got to work on it. There are a lot of women I work with that just cannot lift. They don't last very long.


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## Handsome Robb (May 30, 2013)

My old partner is 5'6" in boots and 115# soaking wet, in uniform and she can turn me inside out and upside down if she wanted to.

It's all about technique. I'd look into getting a trainer for the simple fact that they can guide you in learning to lift properly.


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## bbmtnbb (May 30, 2013)

I am 5' 3" female and weigh 115 lbs.  I could lift the lighter weight patients fairly easily but struggled on the getting them up high enough.  I needed to stand on my tippy toes.  I truly struggled on the heavier patients and almost dropped one.  I thought I would not pass training.  My FTO gave me crap and I had to lift every patient.  Honestly he helped me by building up my muscles.  He even made me lift him in and out of the ambu over and over again like 8-9 times.  I even told him I was going to drop him, to which he said "no you're not".  I did not.  SO, quivering the rest of the shift, I continued to lift every patient.  After 6 days, he asks what my worst fear or problem is.  Me- getting lost or figuring out the routes to the 30+ hospitals we go to.  He asks-"not dropping a patient?" Me, "nope, not dropping a patient."  If I can do it then anyone can. Seriously, you can figure it out but legs and butt need a lot of help and curls too if you are short.


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## mycrofft (May 30, 2013)




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## bbmtnbb (May 30, 2013)

^^^
Hahaha yeah that is it.:rofl::rofl:


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## Sandog (May 30, 2013)

I would not sweat it too much. Brains over brawn usually will land that job. And you can always bring a can of spinach


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## Handsome Robb (May 30, 2013)

bbmtnbb said:


> legs and butt need a lot of help



Pretty sure I'd get an infraction for posting what my brain just came up with when I read this :lol:


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## J B (May 30, 2013)

The stronger you are, the less likely you are to hurt yourself (assuming you use proper lifting mechanics).  Even if it is possible to make it work as a short/skinny/weak girl, I think it would be wise to start working out asap.


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## Christopher (May 30, 2013)

Aprz said:


> Edit: I'm too lazy to search, but there are definitely a lot of posts like these. Guess you aren't using the right keywords. :[
> 
> I'm a 23-year-old male, weigh about 145 lbs, I'd say about 5'6", counter-strike source (online game) = exercise for me, I mostly sit down for 12 hours, and occasionally will stand up for 5 minutes, but get tired. A lot of girls I know would easily whip me in arm wrestling (I make sure I'm nice to them). :[
> 
> ...



What this guy said...I too am a man with scrawny arms (you don't get beefy as a software engineer; my patients enjoy pointing that out), but you don't need beefmaster arms to lift patients.

It's all about technique.

Use the handles closest to the ground on the stretcher.

Lift with your legs.

Never. Skip. Leg. Day.

Learn to master blanket rolls, sliding patients, and the stand-up lift (you crouch behind a seated patient, with your arms grabbing their crossed arms in front of them, and stand straight up. I can lift quite a bit like this).

Learn to love a Reeve's Sleeve and your local Engine company.

If you think your local Engine company is going to get miffed you call them often, drop by with food, hang out with them every once in a while, and soon they'll go out of their way to come to your calls. Firefighters are suckers for free food.


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## Household6 (May 30, 2013)

I had some lift technique training that changed my life.. Squatting isn't the proper way to lift anymore, it's recommended that you use a "down on one knee" or Tripod method..  You roll the heavy object onto one knee, hold it close to your body, and stand. It works with everything; not just boxes and such.. 

The idea is that when you squat to lift, you have two points of contact with the floor. So not only are you using muscles to lift, you're using muscles to balance. If you use the Tripod approach, you have three points of contact with the floor, and you can focus more of your strength on the lifting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PdVV28rgy8

I'm 5'9", and 130 (female), it works great for me..

Also, to prevent strain when lifting small things like dropped pens, use the Golfer's technique to prevent injury..


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## EpiEMS (May 30, 2013)

I'm 5'7" and 140 (male), and I've no trouble lifting. I see larger people struggle with things because of improper technique -- and not using the tools available. The worst ones are the people who don't think to use the power stretcher or sliding boards and choose to struggle instead.


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## TheLocalMedic (May 31, 2013)

No two ways about it, you gotta have enough muscle strength and stamina to move people.  You can have all the technique in the world, but if you gotta get a 300 pounder out from between the wall and the bed where he coded, you gotta have some brawn.  

I apologize to all the wee folk out there, but you don't see too many little people in EMS.  Especially in the 911 system.


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## DesertMedic66 (May 31, 2013)

TheLocalMedic said:


> No two ways about it, you gotta have enough muscle strength and stamina to move people.  You can have all the technique in the world, but if you gotta get a 300 pounder out from between the wall and the bed where he coded, you gotta have some brawn.
> 
> I apologize to all the wee folk out there, but you don't see too many little people in EMS.  Especially in the 911 system.



come down to SoCal then. We have a lot of EMTs and medics who are really small on the ambulances. The fire departments are a different story tho


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## TheLocalMedic (May 31, 2013)

DesertEMT66 said:


> come down to SoCal then. We have a lot of EMTs and medics who are really small on the ambulances. The fire departments are a different story tho



Well, we grow 'em bigger in NorCal.  I think it's something in the water.


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## Sandog (May 31, 2013)

TheLocalMedic said:


> Well, we grow 'em bigger in NorCal.  I think it's something in the water.



Oh brother...


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## maddogmedic (May 31, 2013)

Regardless of your size (and I've met a LOT of very strong people who are tiny) physical strength and fitness are about MUCH more than whether or not you can get and do the job. It's about quality of life. 

I'm a paramedic in my 40s and, at times, my job can be very physically demanding (Extracting a pt from a car that rolled 15 feet down a sand-dune with no FD or rescue squad available). I try to stay fit for my job, of course, but the real reason is quality of life. 

I really like my work and I'd like to imagine I'll still be able to do it in my 50s. I don't want to be one of those "old timers" hanging around the ambulance bay with my gut hanging over my belt talking about the calls I used to run before my back went out. 

Find your own strength and fitness program. It's different for anyone. Me, I do stuff I think is fun and keeps me fit (Rock climbing, Scuba diving, sailing, mountain biking, swimming and weight lifting) and the benefit of that fitness goes well beyond by job. I'm able to do all kinds of fun stuff in a lot of places in the world and I don't feel restricted by my "bad back" or "bum knee" or that I just can't do it. 

When you're fit in a way that makes you feel good, everything else is a lot more fun. 

Especially the fun stuff with the clothes off! Heh! Especially that! If you ever lack in motivation just think, being fit WILL make you good in bed (and more likely to get there)! FACT!

_--maddog_


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## 46Young (May 31, 2013)

Front squats, deadifts, stiff-leg deadlifts, and dumbbell rows will help you. 5x5 with an 8 rep max, with a fast, powerful concentric motion will get the job done. 

Just because you can lift your half of a 250# patient in a controlled testing environment doesn't mean that you're ready for the street. Many lifts are done with unfavorable leverages, and may need to be done from an awkward angle. Think about an obese pt in a bathtub, someone wedged between the bed and the wall, or carrying a stair chair down a staircase that has a small landing, and tight turns.


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## hogwiley (May 31, 2013)

Core strength and lower body strength is much more important than upper body strength for this job, that's why many smaller women manage just fine as long as they are fit. Being able to bench press a lot is almost irrelevant. Dead squats are a little more relevant though, and women usually don't have as big a gap with men in this regard. I've certainly encountered women that can probably squat more than I can.

Its the really short really skinny women that can sometimes have problems. Having toothpick legs isn't conducive to lifting lots of weight, so working on lower body strength is important, as is technique. 

Personally I think EMT schools need to have students spend more time lifting patients on a cot. In some cases they give you a demonstration, maybe have you do it a few times, then you rarely see the cot again. So you see new EMTs who look like they've never touched a cot in their lives. I think it should be used in every class, for as many patient scenarios as possible. 

Almost every call you go on as an EMT results in you loading a patient on a cot into the ambulance, so as far as im concerned almost every patient scenario, backboarding, ked, and traction splinting you do in class should end with the patient being loaded onto an ambulance, so every student is comfortable doing it and knows what they need to work on. 

My EMT class did this, we almost always had to package each other for transport, move them up and down some stairs and outside to an ambulance. When I'm helping with lab I make them do it, the cot never just sits there in the corner unused.(I also make them take manual BP for most scenarios and not just voice it).


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## Niesje (Jun 1, 2013)

I'm not very large myself, but I can do it. The only issue I'm having starting out is lifting the stretcher from my waist up to my shoulders, but I'm still managing it. Nothing some curls won't fix  I'm doing a weightlifting routine and yoga, but it hasn't been that long. It helps. Seriously, stay in shape. Even if you aren't an EMT, you'll avoid a lot of injuries if you have a strong core and strong legs. But if you're short, do some curls cuz you'll have to lift the stretcher higher to get it in the truck.


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## Fire51 (Jun 1, 2013)

Size does help sometimes but your lifting techniques are more important. Working out will help when lifting patients of course. I have personally seen lots of shorter people left just fine and others that can't lift anything. It's helps your partner out a lot if you can lift very well. So just practice, read and look at examples of the right techniques to use , also working out wouldn't hurt.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 6, 2013)

http://www.ems1.com/search-rescue/articles/1455817-Ga-EMTs-push-patient-uphill-to-hospital


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