Kettlebell Can kettlebells replicate a lumberjacks strength

[Jamesjones]

Hello

I was watching a documentary on the old time lumberjacks and got thinking. Can a kettlebell replicate the kind of strength that those guys possessed ? I understand that they were doing this all day everyday but can you build a similar type of strength through kettlebell training ?

 

[Phonz]

When you ever have heard of Harald Motz, you will know.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

I'd suggest that a mixture of swings and loaded carries would certainly get you some, if not most, of the way there.

 

[Papa Georgio]

I think kettlebells can play a big part in getting to lumberjack status. But, you will still need to wear a plaid flannel shirt and eat pancakes every morning to complete that effort. JMO

 

[JeffC]

No and no.

A lifetime of manual labor cannot be replicated through fake work(exercise).

 

[John Locke]

At least you don't get an occupational desease

 

[pet']

Hello,

That sounds quite close to this thread:

Kettlebell - Farm strong

Hi all Does any body have any stories of farmer who haven't trained in the gym but when challenged lifted some big numbers or shocked you with a kettlebell Just thought I'd get people's minds ticking and have a fun conversation

www.strongfirst.com

But as always, I guess kettlebells can give you the strength / power / endurance that transfer to lumberjack work, but it would not replace the "specialization" of th work per se.

As far as transfer to this kind of "real work" goes, I'd go for Dan John's basics, so I'd pick up something like:
- Clean & Press
- Carry
- Goblet squat
- Swings

A park bench (almost daily) program could be:
- 2/3 Clusters of heavy (80% +) C&P (for instance, 3-4 heavy singles, 2-3 repeats)
- Same for squats
- Swings (such as Q&D or S&S) to be sure not being drained
- Carry: 1/2 bdw either during a defined time frame or length

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[JeffC]

At least you don't get an occupational desease

The dreaded Blue Collar disease.

 

[Don Fairbanks]

I would rather be a lumberjack with a disease than be under florescent lights all day and not have a disease.

 

[watchnerd]

Hello

I was watching a documentary on the old time lumberjacks and got thinking. Can a kettlebell replicate the kind of strength that those guys possessed ? I understand that they were doing this all day everyday but can you build a similar type of strength through kettlebell training ?

I was a logger / lumberjack (a topper) for 2 years before I went to college.

In short:

No

 

[watchnerd]

I'd suggest that a mixture of swings and loaded carries would certainly get you some, if not most, of the way there.

Not even close.

When I was a topper, I used to climb 100'+ trees with a chain saw on my belt, lop off the crown, climb (or fall, on two occasions) back down.

My other job was working green chain or on a log pond, which involves grabbing multi ton wet (green) logs with a hook and onto a chain driven conveyor belt with spikes, which then loaded them into a hydraulic debarker.

 

[watchnerd]

Hello,

That sounds quite close to this thread:

Kettlebell - Farm strong

Hi all Does any body have any stories of farmer who haven't trained in the gym but when challenged lifted some big numbers or shocked you with a kettlebell Just thought I'd get people's minds ticking and have a fun conversation

www.strongfirst.com

But as always, I guess kettlebells can give you the strength / power / endurance that transfer to lumberjack work, but it would not replace the "specialization" of th work per se.

As far as transfer to this kind of "real work" goes, I'd go for Dan John's basics, so I'd pick up something like:
- Clean & Press
- Carry
- Goblet squat
- Swings

A park bench (almost daily) program could be:
- 2/3 Clusters of heavy (80% +) C&P (for instance, 3-4 heavy singles, 2-3 repeats)
- Same for squats
- Swings (such as Q&D or S&S) to be sure not being drained
- Carry: 1/2 bdw either during a defined time frame or length

Kind regards,

Pet'

Because I have a background in logging as a pre-college job, and my house is on 1 acre of woods (fir, cedar, big leaf maples), I do a lot of light logging at least once a month.

Things that you do when doing light logging:

--Pulling with rigging to ensure correct tree fall direction

--Dragging logs across uneven, non-level terrain with obstacles

--Lifting, leveraging, or otherwise man-handling logs into position to be safely chain sawed

--Nothing has a 'handle', so grip strength is totally different, or 'whole arm'

--Cutting rounds from fallen trees, then carrying them (if light) downhill over broken terrain, or rolling them downhill over broken terrain if too heavy

--Splitting rounds with a maul

--Stacking the splits into a log pile for aging

--Splitting kindling with an axe


The closest directly applicable strength exercise I do might be macebell swinging -- it's reasonably close to axe / maul swinging.

Everything else just falls in the category of GPP -- yeah, it's better than nothing, but I don't think my front squat helps much when I'm dragging a log across broken terrain using a cable rig.

 

[vegpedlr]

“I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK, I sleep all night and I work all day . . .”

 

[Deleted member 316]

Hello,

That sounds quite close to this thread:

Kettlebell - Farm strong

Hi all Does any body have any stories of farmer who haven't trained in the gym but when challenged lifted some big numbers or shocked you with a kettlebell Just thought I'd get people's minds ticking and have a fun conversation

www.strongfirst.com

But as always, I guess kettlebells can give you the strength / power / endurance that transfer to lumberjack work, but it would not replace the "specialization" of th work per se.

As far as transfer to this kind of "real work" goes, I'd go for Dan John's basics, so I'd pick up something like:
- Clean & Press
- Carry
- Goblet squat
- Swings

A park bench (almost daily) program could be:
- 2/3 Clusters of heavy (80% +) C&P (for instance, 3-4 heavy singles, 2-3 repeats)
- Same for squats
- Swings (such as Q&D or S&S) to be sure not being drained
- Carry: 1/2 bdw either during a defined time frame or length

Kind regards,

Pet'

So basically ABC or almost any clean press squat program and toss in carries and sledgehammer smash tire (or actually chop wood. I miss chopping wood)

 

[watchnerd]

So basically ABC or almost any clean press squat program and toss in carries and sledgehammer smash tire (or actually chop wood. I miss chopping wood)

I'd put sandbag and/or slosh tube work in there somewhere.

You need some rotational / odd objects in the mix.

Rarely are real life loads symmetrical.

 

[Jamesjones]

Tha ks for the responses I appreciate everyone's feed back and input I think it's fair to say you can build a similar strength but nothings like a good days hard work

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

Not even close.

When I was a topper, I used to climb 100'+ trees with a chain saw on my belt, lop off the crown, climb (or fall, on two occasions) back down.

My other job was working green chain or on a log pond, which involves grabbing multi ton wet (green) logs with a hook and onto a chain driven conveyor belt with spikes, which then loaded them into a hydraulic debarker.

In which case, I will amend my statement: Kettlebells can help you look good in a plaid flannel shirt but they won't make you any better at cutting down trees.

 

[watchnerd]

Tha ks for the responses I appreciate everyone's feed back and input I think it's fair to say you can build a similar strength but nothings like a good days hard work

On the similar strength angle, here are the "logging strength" things that are missing from a typical KB regime:

--Multi-Angle Pulling--

Chains and cables are extensively used in all kinds of logging, even in light, human-powered logging. They're used to control tree fall direction via riggings and to drag logs around to places where they can be broken down on site or transported elsewhere (e.g. on a logging truck).

This involves a lot of cinching, tightening, and dragging work, usually at goofball angles and on terrain that may be broken, or at least angled / not level.

This is often cross-body work, using the whole torso, or even just walking while dragging something.

KB swings don't really mimic that cross-body pulling aspect very well.

--Overhead Swinging and Pounding--

Aside from the obvious maul and axe work at the final stages (only at the small scale), logging also involves heavy use of driving stakes, either into the ground to temporarily brace or anchor something, or into a tree.

 

[Don Fairbanks]

Not even close.

When I was a topper, I used to climb 100'+ trees with a chain saw on my belt, lop off the crown, climb (or fall, on two occasions) back down.

My other job was working green chain or on a log pond, which involves grabbing multi ton wet (green) logs with a hook and onto a chain driven conveyor belt with spikes, which then loaded them into a hydraulic debarker.

@watchnerd
What did a typical day of food intake look like for you when you were logging?

 

[watchnerd]

@watchnerd
What did a typical day of food intake look like for you when you were logging?

That's when I was 18 years old, so that adds to the appetite. I wasn't fully filled out yet, but I was still 190-200 lbs, 6 feet tall at 18.

Lunch was not usually that big when you're in the field, but breakfast was steak or ham, eggs, 2-3 glasses of milk, potatoes, or maybe biscuits and gravy and half a pack of bacon.

There was one pizza place that had an all-you-can-eat pizza plus salad bar. After work, we'd go there and I'd probably eat the equivalent of 1.5 large pizzas, plus 3 plates of salad with blue cheese dressing, grated cheese, hardboil eggs, kindey beans, etc.

I'm guessing at least 5,000 calories a day, but who knows...I certainly wasn't counting.