Dustin,

I would say, as I'm sure most will agree, that you'd rather be built like a triathlete than a pro football player. If you were built like a defensive back that had great stamina and endurance, then I think that would be the best blend of the two. Remember, a lot of what you're going to be doing as a FF, like duck-walking thru a confined space for hundreds of feet. Being able to do that without getting too winded will be the key. Being able to rip a door off it's hinges with your bare hands is not that important when there are many tools that enable "un-strong" people to do it.

If you can run three miles in under 22 minutes, can do 50 push-ups, and 10-15 clean pull-ups, you'll be in good shape.

I'm eager to hear what others have to say also.

I would say a blend of muscular strength, flexability, and muscular and cardiac endurance are all the key to being a healthy and physically fit firefighter. Good diet is also important. You definately want to strive to be more like a triathlete than a pro football player. That type of body structure will only hold you back from doing your job most efficiently, unless we're talking about the structure of a safety or wide receiver here. Train for endurance like prochiro said, doing long distance running, biking, swimming, lots of repititions with less weight. If you can do 100 pushups in a row with no problem, 20 pullups no problem, run 3 miles in under 24 minutes no problem, then you should have no problem keeping up with the continuous stress of the job. Firefighters are strong, but you don't see them going around picking up cars all by themselves, right. All around endurance is the key! I'm not sure where you live, but try looking up "CrossFit" in your area. They have all the answers your looking for to get in the best shape of your life and properly prepare for this profession. Hope some of that helps.

I dont think your body type has much to do with it as long as you have good endurance and strength. You can be 250 pounds and it not matter as long as you can do the job and then some. Im recently out of the academy and we did crossfit.