New Groundman.

[fraidofheights]

Bah- deleting this because questions mostly answered down. Okay, changing the question! Since you guys can do this in your fifties, and I'm quite a bit younger (...well quite a bit...) than that, what the heck do you eat? What kind of fitness stuff do you do?!

I'm a long distance runner (though a rather slow one, depending on how long), and coming to arboriculture after working as a treeplanter for four years (and working on the rigs, which I only did for student loan... don't kill me ;0)

Also, am quite skinny, and wonder if you guys lift weights, or something, to lift the friggin' rounds !

 

[Ghillie]

Bah- deleting this because questions mostly answered down. Okay, changing the question! Since you guys can do this in your fifties, and I'm quite a bit younger (...well quite a bit...) than that, what the heck do you eat? What kind of fitness stuff do you do?!

I'm a long distance runner (though a rather slow one, depending on how long), and coming to arboriculture after working as a treeplanter for four years (and working on the rigs, which I only did for student loan... don't kill me ;0)

Also, am quite skinny, and wonder if you guys lift weights, or something, to lift the friggin' rounds !

You learn to work smart.

 

[fraidofheights]

You learn to work smart.

Is throwing three truckloads of rounds over a seven foot dump box and losing a weeks pay because of back injury smart? My foreman was hung over and didn't want to do the work and our boss ( ...a big tree company...) didn't send a bobcat.

Do you guys usually use a grapple or something for that stuff? Even on the friggin' rig we got tuggers for alot of stuff and it aint as awkward as those rounds. Yeesh.

 

[oscar4883]

Work smarter not harder if possible. No denying it is tough work however. If it has to be moved by hand and is to heavy, two man it or cut it.

 

[NCTREE]

Yep work smart, if you don't have the machinery to handle the wood than invest in cheaper equipment to get it done. Log dolleys and trailer work good together. Eat a good breakfast, eggs bacon pancakes lots of syrup. We burn lots of calories throughout the day so you must keep the gas tank full.

 

[troythetreeman]

drink water when youre hot, not pop/caffeine/sugar, and i prefer warm water, i think its better for you
and never drink from a hose, take it loose and drink from the spigot if you need to, no telling whats inside a hose and spigots are part of the plumbing and sealed
and stay safe, the climber will watch for you as best he can but hes got a lot to worry about in the tree
when you hear a saw, look up, and if he cuts something and nothing hits the ground theres a hanger, be aware of it
and once something is on the ground, move it from under the tree and then cut it up
i know thats not what you asked, but these are things that drive me nuts in trying to train a new ground guy
keep the climber moving and busy, standing around in the tree is more taxing then then anything
we get paid by the job, get it done as efficiently as possible
as for lifting weights? youll get plenty of that on the job
if youre going to work good, eat good, but dont fill up too much during the day, i eat modestly during the day and a huge supper when i get home
theres a lot of other safety related things i could talk about too, saws, chippers, ear and eye protection, chaps, hard hats, if you want to do this long term, its not old age you should worry about near so much as injury

 

[Youngbuck20]

hey man i can almost guarantee im smaller than you. a guy that hired me last year didnt even wanna hire me solely based on my size. ive lived on a farm my whole life with no real equipment, rolling 5 ft round bales on other 5 ft round bales aint easy, anywho, if you cant lift it you cant lift it. i hurt my back about 3 weeks ago trying to keep up with the 210+ pound guys lifting big rounds of black locust into a dump trailer. just two man it. when they whine about it just shrug it off. try to get the boss to buy a dolley or some sort of equipment. wish mine would lol. keep at er.

 

[beowulf343]

Since you guys can do this in your fifties, and I'm quite a bit younger (...well quite a bit...) than that, what the heck do you eat? What kind of fitness stuff do you do?!
Also, am quite skinny, and wonder if you guys lift weights, or something, to lift the friggin' rounds !

Forget about "fitness stuff" and lifting weights. The best way to get the strength and fitness needed to do the job is..........doing the job. Honestly, i could care less about strength in my groundies, there are dozens of ways to lift and move heavy items. Stamina is what i look for. I don't care if a guy can lift three hundred pounds, if he can only do it for an hour, he's worthless to me. My top groundie is barely 150 pounds, is 54 years old, but can lift and carry 100 pounds all day long, or drag brush piles from the backyard to the street all day long. That is a valuable groundie to me.
"Fitness stuff" makes me laugh. Go to work for a serious manual crew. Heck, work on my crew. Had a P-S intern this summer, lost 50 pounds in 6 weeks. My wife figures i average 7000 calories a day (10k in winter), and i haven't gained a pound in fifteen years. What kind of gym is going to give you that kind of a workout on a daily basis. Do the job, you'll either build the muscles needed or you'll start smartening up.

 

[TreeAce]

If you wanna last in this biz

Staying away from alcohol is prolly worth mentioning. And drugs obv. If you dont smoke thats a big plus as well.

 

[ducaticorse]

Strongest climbers I've ever seen were the skinniest, and smallest. They're strength to weight ratio was nothing short of phenomenal. As far as a bull groundman goes, weight plus strength for getting the large brush piles pulled to chipper, without being a sloth as to run out of wind before the day is half over. Old timers run off oatmeal and sausage. New guys may like 5 hour energy and myoplex. My opinion is if you have it, you have it. Nothin for nothin TreeAce, I had a Sergeant that used to run a 2 mile in the pt test in 12 min flat with a red in his mouth the majority of the time, and I used to do a self administered saline lock before first formation after every night of drinking. It is what it is.

 

[TreeAce]

I mostly agree with Ducaticorse. Just keep in mind that you asked for advice so I gave you some. As far as a man who can run 2 mile in 12 min with a marbe in his mouth..well...he is a bad mo fo. and rare.

 

[fraidofheights]

Thanks for the advice, fellas.

Don't feel so bad, now, and finding better ways of lifting stuff (ie not always over your head, like my first foreman suggested). TreeAce, thanks for the drug/alcohol advice- I don't judge guys who do it, everyone has their reasons, but I saw it really affect some of the guys I planted and works on the rigs with, and it was pretty bad. Some guys can handle it, I guess, but man some guys...

Personally, I don't touch the stuff except my girlfriend lets me have a beer on Friday when I work hard. I'm quarter native and figure it coudl be bad if I got drinking.

Yeah, and looks like I should be packing some more food because I think I lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks, and can't afford to do that.

 

[ducaticorse]

I mostly agree with Ducaticorse. Just keep in mind that you asked for advice so I gave you some. As far as a man who can run 2 mile in 12 min with a marbe in his mouth..well...he is a bad mo fo. and rare.

It was absurd considering he was 6 years my senior when I was 19, running somewhere around 1245 and despised the idea of smoking ciggs........ And of course, for the record, I enjoy playing devils advocate.

 

[Section VIII]

I mostly agree with Ducaticorse. Just keep in mind that you asked for advice so I gave you some. As far as a man who can run 2 mile in 12 min with a marbe in his mouth..well...he is a bad mo fo. and rare.

No kiddin! I run a 1.5 mile in 11:30. Anyone who can smoke and run a 12:00 2 mile is envied...that is, until he falls over halfway through one day of a heart attack. Don't get me wrong, I smoke almost a pack a day but I also realize that it'll catch up to me sooner or later.

Anyway, to reiterate what others have said, just work smarter and the stamina and strength will come.

 

[Bermie]

Protect your back at all costs! If you don't do it now it'll show up later and cost you plenty $$$!

My motto is 'drop it in low gear and keep going all day...' consistency, steady work, keep the brush moving, and leave the heavy stuff until someone can help or there is machinery. Know your limitations and make up in other areas.

EAT a substantial dinner, and a healthy breakfast, carbs and protein, drink fluids all day, not just water, but the odd sports drink as well, dilute the sports drinks... at lunchtime I like one of those V8 fusion, loads of potassium in those, Don't stuff your self at lunchtime, have something, but keep a couple snack bars in your pocket for mid morning and mid afternoon, I like peanut brittle, doesn't get all melty like chocolate, is sweet and the nuts are good.

PS, I'm 116 lbs soaking wet, so skinny is no problem...

 

[DangerTree]

I'm 47years old 200 pounds mostly beer and potato chips with the occasional burst of gourmet jelly beans. I challenge anybody to feed a chipper faster than the guy I tell to feed it. And if the tree can hold my weight it can hold your skinny ass so get the frick up there. Just make sure you drink lots of water and if you know whats good for ya you'll do yoga to increase flexibility and reduce the chance of muscle strain. Now stop your belly achin' and get to work sissy!!!

 

[troythetreeman]

one more quick thought
dont argue with brush piles
it would be funny if it wasnt so frustrating, but i cant tell you how many guys i see grab the piece on the bottom, pull for a while and then run after a saw having just lost an argument with a brush pile
grab the top piece and go