Useless gym strength on the job site?

min0 lee · 08-14-2005, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

sand bag lifting
deadlifts
overhead presses
barell presses with water filled barrells
chain dragging
static holds
farmers walks (with implements)

Try doing situps with a sandbag......not easy.

**CowPimp** · 08-14-2005, 05:03 PM

The activities that you perform on the job site are just like any other lift. When you introduce a new lift into your routine, it is going to seem weak compared to the others until your central nervous system adapts. However, there are certain lifts that will transmute into real world benefits much more readily.

That is one area where the routine that I currently take part in, dinosaur training, excels. It allows you to be creative in finding exercises that make you work hard: pushing your car, lifting sandbags, lifting kegs, olympic lifting, grip strength exercises, turkish getups, farmer's walks, etc. It also stresses than you need to be doing heavy compound exercises. All the alternating DB curls in the world aren't going to help you carry around 100 pound sheets of drywall.

However, I guarantee if you hadn't ever worked out at all, then you would be weaker when it came to performing your duties more so than now. My lifting definitely helps me do the manual labor I'm required to do at my job with relative ease compared to the others I work with.

min0 lee · 08-14-2005, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowPimp

All the alternating DB curls in the world aren't going to help you carry around 100 pound sheets of drywall.

So true!!!!

However, I guarantee if you hadn't ever worked out at all, then you would be weaker when it came to performing your duties more so than now. My lifting definitely helps me do the manual labor I'm required to do at my job with relative ease compared to the others I work with.

True again.

.

Sam40 · 08-14-2005, 05:19 PM

Pipe crews are good training places. I worked in SC on a pipe crew in 97-98.
We had to drag 00 chains around to hook pipe for 8-10 hours a day. Then when were finished with that, we would carry two 5 gal. buckets of wet cement to dress the pipe joints. Sometimes several hundred yards up and down hill. We didn't call it a farmers walk though, we had a little less polite name for it.

min0 lee · 08-14-2005, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam40

Pipe crews are good training places. I worked in SC on a pipe crew in 97-98.
We had to drag 00 chains around to hook pipe for 8-10 hours a day. Then when were finished with that, we would carry two 5 gal. buckets of wet cement to dress the pipe joints. Sometimes several hundred yards up and down hill. We didn't call it a farmers walk though, we had a little less polite name for it.

Now that's a great workout.

Sam40 · 08-14-2005, 05:35 PM

Well you did'nt have any problems sleeping, but it was a little hard to find time to eat enough. That was just some of the labor we did, you really would not believe how much work goes into laying water, storm drain, and sewer lines.

**Mudge** · 08-14-2005, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam40

We didn't call it a farmers walk though, we had a little less polite name for it.

Son of a bitch? Fuckin bullshit?

Sam40 · 08-14-2005, 07:10 PM

Dumbass Shit !.

* Legion * · 08-14-2005, 09:55 PM

you will laugh, but on top of what i do in the gym, i heave kegs of beer around all night at my bar. sometimes, we have keg tossing contests, but were a bunch of goons who laugh too much to be serious about it. the younger bartenders laugh when a keg blows, "its heave-ho time!" and i bear hug the kegs from the beer cooler to the tappers.

yeah, i know. im a loser.

ST240 · 08-15-2005, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowPimp

However, I guarantee if you hadn't ever worked out at all, then you would be weaker when it came to performing your duties more so than now. My lifting definitely helps me do the manual labor I'm required to do at my job with relative ease compared to the others I work with.

This is true. Even after my first day of work i wasnt sore at all except i thought i tore something in my fucking wrist. It felt just like that "gym soreness" you get after trying a new exercise or whatever except it was right in my wrist... i was like wtf? Turns out my arm just wasnt used to pounding spikes with my flashy new 28 oz. hammer

.

LAM · 08-15-2005, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudge

I agree, things dont often carry over but I carried a straight 6 shortblock up 4 flights of stairs and there is no way I could have done that without lifting weights.

ditto. I once moved a 600 lb sofa bed up a steep flight of steps by myself. I surely couldn't have done that with out having lifting some weights. but on the other hands I have friends who can't squat 185 lbs but can carry 3 bundles of 30 year shingles 40 ft up an extension ladder all day when I can't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

While it is true that objects are often awkward and imbalanced, I have to disagree. Since starting my strength training, I have found many things easier to do in everyday life. Doing the normal lifts can have a very big transition into carrying strange things. I do agree with what I've heard you say before though: in order to get good at something, you have to do it. In other words, practice makes perfect and the easiest way to get better at Exercise A is to do Exercise A and keep training until you reach your goal.

ever try carrying a 53" Pella Bay window by yourself ? I have and can't do it. but have 185 lb buddies who can't bench 200 lbs that "know" how to carry such akward objects because they have been doing construction for 20+ years.

ST240 · 08-15-2005, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAM

ever try carrying a 53" Pella Bay window by yourself ? I have and can't do it. but have 185 lb buddies who can't bench 200 lbs that "know" how to carry such akward objects because they have been doing construction for 20+ years.

thats the main concept here i think. their body "knows" how to do it. just like that other crew member "knew" how to carry that drywall, even tho i could prolly outlift him in the gym

stonev16 · 08-15-2005, 05:31 PM

i do everything for looks mostly....I'm in highschool so i aint into construction.if you look liek ur in good shape alot of ppl wont mess with you, n u'll more then liekly be at somehwat of a social rank if u have a really toned body. at least soem freinds.....cause alota ppl are shallow and will hang out with u because of how u look. well if ur in good shape n u have alot of friends ....ppl dotn mess with you too much and if they do u have friends

BiggerNstronger · 08-15-2005, 07:13 PM

I love this thread. I work with a guy who I also workout with. He is an ANIMAL in the gym, he benchpresses probably 160lbs more than I do but at WORK I am the animal. We throw around and carry around big plates of steel, something Ive been doing for 10+yrs and he is amazed at how easily I can throw the steel around. Technique, experience and specific type of strength for what I do at work give me the advantage over him at work. I have always had to do "manual labor" that involved quite a bit of heavy lifting (used to work in a tire re-treading plant and threw around HUGE tires all day long) and it has translated to improved gym strength over the years. On the other hand.........
........I can remember one time when I was much younger I was asked to help re-shingle a house. They had me and this other guy carrying bundles of shingles up a ladder and stacking them on the roof. I grabbed a bundle of shingles and struggled my way up the ladder...quite proud that I lifted that heavy thing and went up the ladder. WELL, the little dude that was also helping was sitting there kind of chuckling at me...then he proceeded to put 2 bundles of shingles on EACH shoulder and climb the ladder faster and easier than I could have done WITHOUT shingles on my shoulders! I was impressed. Come to find out this guy had been helping for quite some time and had developed that strength. I outweighed him by 50+lbs and could probably out-lift him in the gym but he was THE MAN that day.

To me the bottom line is: Big PECS/Bi's wont necessarily help you at your job BUT your job wont necessarily give you big PECS/Bi's.

BiggerNstronger · 08-15-2005, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonev16

i do everything for looks mostly....I'm in highschool so i aint into construction.if you look liek ur in good shape alot of ppl wont mess with you, n u'll more then liekly be at somehwat of a social rank if u have a really toned body. at least soem freinds.....cause alota ppl are shallow and will hang out with u because of how u look. well if ur in good shape n u have alot of friends ....ppl dotn mess with you too much and if they do u have friends

Im drawn to people who have a seemingly low I.Q. because they cant type worth CRAP......wanna' hang out?????

j/k

ST240 · 08-15-2005, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonev16

i do everything for looks mostly....I'm in highschool so i aint into construction.if you look liek ur in good shape alot of ppl wont mess with you, n u'll more then liekly be at somehwat of a social rank if u have a really toned body. at least soem freinds.....cause alota ppl are shallow and will hang out with u because of how u look. well if ur in good shape n u have alot of friends ....ppl dotn mess with you too much and if they do u have friends

dude

what does this have to do with job site strength vs gym strength lol.

joshp · 08-15-2005, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ST240

I work out steady when class is in which is usually september to the end of april. I gain size and strength in the gym using proper diet/lifting techniques (hopefully haha). I'm always training for size and never training for strength or cutting.

This summer i started framing houses for a construction crew. In the beginning you start out as the "bitch" cuz you dont really know anything. Youre hauling lumber/studs/sheets of plywood/drywall etc. When i started i was all "oh this should be easy if been lifting weights for about 3 years now".... Yeah right. I could barely even carry 3 sheets of sheeting at first. When it came time to lift the drywall i only made it about half way to my destination before i gave up carrying only two sheets (for your info one sheet of 8x4 sheet drywall is approx 100lbs). One of the other guys from a partner crew carried 3 and hes about the same size as me without working out (obviously not as defined tho

) although he has 2 inches on me.

Man you should have seen how badly i got ridiculed because of how built i was compared to them in perspective. To this day they still call me "show muscle", and say things like "what, those melons on your chest are just for show?!" haha.

So my question is, if i switched my routine to a more strength orientated routine would i have had a better experience trying to carry that drywall? or is it maybe just conditioning a labourer ie. framer recieves that makes them so strong? or what is it??

It's easy for them because they are lifting stuff all day long. Plus they learn techniques that help them out. It different than weight training. Most of the time they are holding up lighter objects but they are doing it for long periods of time.

08-14-2005, 05:03 PM	#32
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,428	The activities that you perform on the job site are just like any other lift. When you introduce a new lift into your routine, it is going to seem weak compared to the others until your central nervous system adapts. However, there are certain lifts that will transmute into real world benefits much more readily. That is one area where the routine that I currently take part in, dinosaur training, excels. It allows you to be creative in finding exercises that make you work hard: pushing your car, lifting sandbags, lifting kegs, olympic lifting, grip strength exercises, turkish getups, farmer's walks, etc. It also stresses than you need to be doing heavy compound exercises. All the alternating DB curls in the world aren't going to help you carry around 100 pound sheets of drywall. However, I guarantee if you hadn't ever worked out at all, then you would be weaker when it came to performing your duties more so than now. My lifting definitely helps me do the manual labor I'm required to do at my job with relative ease compared to the others I work with.
	The only time it's bad to feel the burn is when you're peeing... CowPimp Picks Up Heavy Shit MySpace YouTube Videos

08-15-2005, 05:31 PM	#43
stonev16 leftnutknockout Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: the shed Posts: 182	i do everything for looks mostly....I'm in highschool so i aint into construction.if you look liek ur in good shape alot of ppl wont mess with you, n u'll more then liekly be at somehwat of a social rank if u have a really toned body. at least soem freinds.....cause alota ppl are shallow and will hang out with u because of how u look. well if ur in good shape n u have alot of friends ....ppl dotn mess with you too much and if they do u have friends
	currently 155 lbs ......goal 165 by november (thanks for the help )

08-15-2005, 07:13 PM	#44
BiggerNstronger this pic is not real Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ks Posts: 482	I love this thread. I work with a guy who I also workout with. He is an ANIMAL in the gym, he benchpresses probably 160lbs more than I do but at WORK I am the animal. We throw around and carry around big plates of steel, something Ive been doing for 10+yrs and he is amazed at how easily I can throw the steel around. Technique, experience and specific type of strength for what I do at work give me the advantage over him at work. I have always had to do "manual labor" that involved quite a bit of heavy lifting (used to work in a tire re-treading plant and threw around HUGE tires all day long) and it has translated to improved gym strength over the years. On the other hand......... ........I can remember one time when I was much younger I was asked to help re-shingle a house. They had me and this other guy carrying bundles of shingles up a ladder and stacking them on the roof. I grabbed a bundle of shingles and struggled my way up the ladder...quite proud that I lifted that heavy thing and went up the ladder. WELL, the little dude that was also helping was sitting there kind of chuckling at me...then he proceeded to put 2 bundles of shingles on EACH shoulder and climb the ladder faster and easier than I could have done WITHOUT shingles on my shoulders! I was impressed. Come to find out this guy had been helping for quite some time and had developed that strength. I outweighed him by 50+lbs and could probably out-lift him in the gym but he was THE MAN that day. To me the bottom line is: Big PECS/Bi's wont necessarily help you at your job BUT your job wont necessarily give you big PECS/Bi's.
	Bigger and Stronger and Leaner and Meaner!

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08-14-2005, 05:19 PM	#34
Sam40 Alley-oop! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 174	Pipe crews are good training places. I worked in SC on a pipe crew in 97-98. We had to drag 00 chains around to hook pipe for 8-10 hours a day. Then when were finished with that, we would carry two 5 gal. buckets of wet cement to dress the pipe joints. Sometimes several hundred yards up and down hill. We didn't call it a farmers walk though, we had a little less polite name for it.

08-14-2005, 05:35 PM	#36
Sam40 Alley-oop! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 174	Well you did'nt have any problems sleeping, but it was a little hard to find time to eat enough. That was just some of the labor we did, you really would not believe how much work goes into laying water, storm drain, and sewer lines.

08-14-2005, 07:10 PM	#38
Sam40 Alley-oop! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 174	Dumbass Shit !.

08-14-2005, 09:55 PM	#39
* Legion * Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Suburb of Chicago, Il. USA Posts: 711 Photos: 2	you will laugh, but on top of what i do in the gym, i heave kegs of beer around all night at my bar. sometimes, we have keg tossing contests, but were a bunch of goons who laugh too much to be serious about it. the younger bartenders laugh when a keg blows, "its heave-ho time!" and i bear hug the kegs from the beer cooler to the tappers. yeah, i know. im a loser.