Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Setting Up a Stroke Team Algorithm and Conducting Simulation-based Training in the Emergency Department - A Practical Guide
Published on: January 15, 2017
Leading From the Front: Leadership Fitness Is Associated with Fire Station Crew Fitness
Joel Martin1,2, Michael J Conner3,4, Lee Brown5
1Sports Medicine Assessment Research & Testing (SMART) Laboratory; George Mason University, Virginia, USA.
Objective:
To examine whether leadership fitness is associated with firefighter fitness within station crews.
Methods:
Annual fitness testing data from firefighters in a large urban fire department were analyzed. Leadership fitness was defined as the mean composite fitness score of captains and lieutenants assigned to each station-shift crew. Multilevel linear modeling evaluated whether mean crew leadership fitness and leadership composition were associated with firefighter fitness, adjusting for years of service and sex.
Results:
The sample included 838 firefighters nested within 99 station-shift crews. Mean leadership fitness was positively associated with crew firefighter fitness in units staffed with both a captain and lieutenant (β=0.116, 95%CI:0.005-0.228; p=0.045), but this association was attenuated in captain-only crews.
Conclusions:
Leadership fitness was associated with firefighter fitness, particularly when fire station crews have a more complete leadership structure.
Related Concept Videos
Obedience
Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...
Social Loafing
Cognitive Dissonance
Exercise and Cardiac Output
Sustained exercise increases the muscles' oxygen demand, which can be met...
Social Facilitation
