Blessing or a curse?...

JohnMatrix · 15-Jul-06, 11:44 AM

Pretty shortly I am about to change jobs from sitting behind a desk to manual labour. Will be helping fit heating systems and will be doing a lot of heavy lifting and carrying.

I am really not sure how this is gonna affect my training.

Part of me thinks this is a GREAT opportunity as I will effectively be working out all the time and that if I can get enough protein and quality food inside me through out the day I could really pack on some lean muscle.

The other part of me is a bit worried that I'm just gonna get burnt out, loose a lot of my muscle mass and be too tired to work out in the evenings.

So what do you guys reckon, a blessing or a curse?

I'm currently training a pretty successful 4 day split and not sure whether I will have to drop this in favour of something else?

Need advice from you all on how to adapt to this new job!

ebon00 · 15-Jul-06, 05:56 PM

At first it might be a good idea to cut back on your lifting routine so that you can adjust to the new stress. But once you have the job down start building up volume/intensity again and you should be able to handle both if your recovery and nutrition is alright. I think it can be a blessing if you get it "right". I've had plenty of manual laborers in the family (my grandfather worked in a shipyard for instance) and they never worked out in a gym and still had some serious shoulder/back/arm mass even when they'd quit.

JMike · 16-Jul-06, 03:37 PM

Watch for injury too. But I'm guessing your back and forearms will grow massivly from doing farmer's walk type exercises.

Mike

standAPART · 16-Jul-06, 10:01 PM

I say its a blessing....belive it or not, you will now get alot of conditioning work done. You simply have to follow 3 new rules:
1.) Get your sleep (7-8...no matter what)
2.) Increase your total calories
3.) Shorter workouts

Blaze · 17-Jul-06, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by standAPART

3.) Shorter workouts

Make sure those shorter workouts count and your good to go

tweeter · 18-Jul-06, 12:19 AM

ahh manual labor, how i miss those days...not lol

injury is a major factor when it comes to manual labor, i worked for a furnature store and lifting, couches, bedroom sets, and the like. MAKE sure you are lifting with your legs my friend, that is *key*

and depending on what time you work/lift you might not even have to worry to much about calorie intake, maybe just some added protein. im kinda in the same boat as you, i play softball and run around alot for an hour and I still do my HIIT cardio.

Good luck and keep us posted on if your body goes thru chances so we can help you out

DBZ Status · 19-Jul-06, 02:02 AM

when i did construction for the summer. My strength went up but my cardio went down i was just simply too tired to run in the morning, go to work, go lift. My strength went up but believe it or not but even when i tried to do cardio i was just too tired

JohnMatrix · 19-Jul-06, 12:54 PM

Thanks for all the advice guys. Im gonna try and pack some more protein into my day and ensure I sleep a decent amount.

Like standapart and blaze highlighted it may be better to go for shorter more 'quality' workouts.

What do u guys reckon on switching from my current 4 day split to something like this a one lift per day routine....

routine is 7x5 week 1, 6x3 week2, 5x2 week3 week 4 off.

Code:
Day 1 Squats
Day 2 Bench
Day 3 Bent Barbell Rows
Day 4 Military Press
Day 5 Deadlift

Do you reckon this would be under training?

Would I see be able to continue to increase muscle mass with this routine?

**Todd** · 19-Jul-06, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by standAPART

I say its a blessing....belive it or not, you will now get alot of conditioning work done. You simply have to follow 3 new rules:
1.) Get your sleep (7-8...no matter what)
2.) Increase your total calories
3.) Shorter workouts

This guy nailed it fully. Do the 3 things he listed above and you should be able to easily gain muscle no problem and won't have to worry about losing any gains. Oh, and don't bother doing any cardio if you're going to be active most of the day with your job.

DBZ Status · 19-Jul-06, 08:45 PM

if i was doing your routine john i would put deadlifts on day 4. Your might not be able to put a maximum effort into your squats if u do deadlifts that close. If you put them on day 4 and militarys on day five

1. you give your legs the same time to recover for squats as for deadlifts.
2. you give your shoulders more time to recover from bench.

As long as you lift heavy you should be fine with your routine. If it doesnt work u can always tweak it with more volume.

JohnMatrix · 31-Jul-06, 03:16 PM

Well I started my new job today and I think its gonna be a blessing.

My hands are ripped to shreds and although I took my gym stuff with me I didnt exactly make it to the gym! just a nice hot bath at home instead

but overall it seems like its gonna help.

Was moving a lot of heavy stuff which I think is gonna increase my grip strength and the whole day just felt like being at the gym!

Am gonna seriously have to rethink my diet though.

Im defintely thinkning about working a whole load more protein in there.

What do you guys think?

DBZ Status · 06-Aug-06, 12:15 PM

when i did construction i ate whatever i could whenever i could and i didn't gain a pound.....i also drank 2 gallons of water a day and didn't pee.

Oh one suggestion DO NOT DRINK WATER THATS NOT YOURS bring your own water or use the bottles they should provide. I got mono from sharing a 5 gallon water cooler with about 10 people. We used cups but the water was old and they never changed it. I didn't know that at the time. I ended up getting mono from someone there. I lost 25 pounds when i got mono and i couldnt do anything for a month was really sick.

JohnMatrix · 14-Aug-06, 02:11 PM

Well after a few weeks the verdict is defintely blessing!

I am heavy lifting at work every day mon-fri.

My grip strength is WAY up.
Forearms have grown MASSIVELY.
Back, biceps and shoulders much stronger.

I am eating alot more too and not putting on hardly any fat.

The only downside is I have not been to the gym since I started! Also my chest and tri's are not getting that much work.

This is where I need your help.

At this moment I am defintely too tired for a full work out in evenings.

I have a bench, dumbells and barbell at home.
Also I could probably manage one trip to the gym either sat or sun.

I benched at home after work today and I did 3 sets of 10 but could only manage a much lower weight that I could normally do. So if I am gonna do something in evenings at home it looks like it will just be one excercise.

If I did one workout at the gym on weekends what would you guys recommend I do?

Need all your help!

rab91787 · 14-Aug-06, 03:35 PM

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hitworkout.htm

You could try that. I never lift like that but hey might work especially with your limitations.

DBZ Status · 14-Aug-06, 03:54 PM

john i feel like i was in your same situation last summer. What i did is did legs on saturday so i didn't have to walk on them all day because i had sunday off. You could also do a full body workout lower body saturday upper body sunday. I read it in mens fitness its called "the weekend warrior". You can virtually push as hard as you can because you have all week to recover they said.