Do you even lift bro?

[Midge]

I think there is a difference between been physically strong and looking muscular. I've seen gym guys struggle at work, not just on tree work but any manual labour work, where as the skinny guys have been fine. I don't just mean sweating or been tired due to carrying extra(muscle) weight but actually not been as strong as they look. I know that may not make sense but if you're a worker, you're a worker, if you go to the gym to look beefy it doesn't necessarily mean you can put that muscle to use.

 

[bigtreedon]

Don, do you get many fine tippy reductions? If you do how do you manage?
 
I'm 5'8 and weight about as much as I imagine one of your shites do. I can see the benefits of being a unit for the takedown side of things but I reckon it'd get in the way in the tippy stuff of crawling through dense spindly hedges.
 

Hey joe my size is a disadvantage in everything other than big saws in the tree and cutting and holding big buts which to be honest is something I try stay away from prefer rigging I no wear stated my size was better for tree work I said even though I am heavy I still get it done in a timely fashion often allot faster than smaller lads I have found I read the tree cos of my size and usr my energy efficiently not scurrying up and down needlessly use good rigging big bits and try and stay away from tip pruning [emoji6]

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

12 hours ago, Stephen Blair said:

There's no doubt being strong helps.
I'm needing to do some training, haven't in nearly 5 years now and really feeling it. More for my balance , I'm a lot clumsier just in the last 6 months .
If you don't use it you loose it. My reactions are slow too.

Taekwon-Do sort that out for you!

[THtreeservices]

I trained in the gym around the same time i started tree work 2005. Got to 17st last year, was not good for anything but throwing weights around. Now trimmed down to 12 and a half stone, up from 12 stone in July. Went through a cutting phase which gave abs :O. But maintaining 12.7-13 stone over winter.

 

Being over weight and climbing is bad for the joints, i learned that being as big as you can naturally with a sub 10% body fat is good all round. Go to lean and your mood changes and always being hungry is bad for climbing.

 

Also try and train jiu jitsu and mma but work is busy so that's a chore.

 

I do think strengthening the muscles will aid in the prevention of injuries, assuming you put your ego down before entering the gym. Tho managing energy levels for the gym and doing tree work is an ongoing learning curve with age added into the mix.

[Khriss]

I lift a pen regular - and cycle ... to the pub K

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Just now, Khriss said:

I lift a pen regular - and cycle ... to the pub K

I jump to conclusions and fly off the handle many times a day!   

[Steve Bullman]

44 minutes ago, THtreeservices said:

Got to 17st last year, was not good for anything but throwing weights around. Now trimmed down to 12 and a half stone, up from 12 stone in July

Thats bloody good going!  

[bigtreedon]

I trained in the gym around the same time i started tree work 2005. Got to 17st last year, was not good for anything but throwing weights around. Now trimmed down to 12 and a half stone, up from 12 stone in July. Went through a cutting phase which gave abs . But maintaining 12.7-13 stone over winter.
 
Being over weight and climbing is bad for the joints, i learned that being as big as you can naturally with a sub 10% body fat is good all round. Go to lean and your mood changes and always being hungry is bad for climbing.
 
Also try and train jiu jitsu and mma but work is busy so that's a chore.
 
I do think strengthening the muscles will aid in the prevention of injuries, assuming you put your ego down before entering the gym. Tho managing energy levels for the gym and doing tree work is an ongoing learning curve with age added into the mix.

Love this why does everyone go on about if you like lifting heavy weights it's all about ego how sad I have been into strength sports since I was 13 and it's been my only other interest than tree climbing since the same age when I decided what I wanted to for a living if it was running and trying to be the best runner I could be and achieve good track times would that be ego driven or just a love for a sport

[Khriss]

Frankly if yr using the right kit- doing the proper cuts , rigging properly -why on earth do we still think you have to be Mike Tyson in this job ? If I had to lift 20 tonne of logs - I just get a Forwarder to do it !!!! Work smart ! K

[Big J]

12 weeks back into lifting after 9 years off and having a blast. I've more of less completely eliminated my leg and back pain (something for which I've had all manner of treatment, including surgery, physiotherapy and very strong pain killers) which has given me a quality of life I didn't think I'd ever get again. 

 

From a lifting point of view, progress has been quite rapid due to the fact that regaining strength and size is quicker than gaining it the first time around. Up nearly 10kg from 12 weeks ago and I'm progressing with my lifts each week. I'm also surprising myself with what I can do. I genuinely didn't think I'd be able to squat due to leg pain. Yesterday, I spent 25 minutes squatting, which felt great. I practiced technique, mostly stayed light but went up with singles up to 90kg (which felt very easy, but having not had a bar on my back for nearly a decade, I thought it best to stop there).

 

Trap bar deadlift is also something I'm going to do regularly. When I lifted in my younger days, I went up to 260kg on deads, but my form was always pants. The trap bar allows much better leg involvement and I can keep my legs straight. 5x115kg was easy enough but everything aches profusely this morning!

 

Anyway, as I said in the other thread about back pain in which I talked about weightlifting, don't see it as something that inevitably ends up with you muscle bound and a beefcake. It's just a good part of keeping you fit and well and strong in later life. You'll only get big if you eat accordingly. Stretching has it's place, but is no substitute. Throughout my adult life I've been able to place my palms flat on the floor (not just touch my toes) and I've had chronic and debilitating back pain for most of it.