Riley O'Neill
Level 3 Valued Member
Geoff Chafe had some great life hacks/tricks that I think would make everything a lot better for you.
A few things you also want to consider. Make sure your employer isn't a slave driver. They expect you to work hard but they should not expect you to destroy your body in the process. People tend to gauge how much people get done in a day or an hour and try to rush it, however they will tend to underestimate how much they can get done in a year or a decade if they take their time.
I met a german bike engineer at an ebike convention earlier this year and he was talking about how different Americans and Germans work and he said Germans slow down and take their time and focus on getting it right and Americans work fast and long and try to get a lot done, and we know German goods are known for being high quality.
If you go for maximum exhaustion every day eventually you will break your body. I have heard people claim that you should leave the job site with 30% energy left in the tank and not completely spent yourself. I once heard of a guy who would whistle at work continuously and it was a means of knowing if he was going to hard, if he physically couldn't whistle he was over working himself and would back off a bit. Another friend of mine works at a local water district as a welder and explains to me that their corporate mindset is that an injury costs $100,000 to the company.
So if you have a team of guys work harder and longer maybe they can get more done in a day, or a week, but eventually murphy's law shows up and those injuries will happen and financially set back whatever gains they made from working as hard as possible. He tells me that their priorities are safety, impeccable work, and then getting things done quickly and that if they need to get something done faster the best way is to have more workers show up vs working faster.
See if you can minimize your work in direct sunlight. Even if it means using an easy up at work and constantly moving it around to where you need to put in your next post. Easy ups are cheap and the time required to set one up and move it around is minimal compared to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
I didn't see this mentioned but look for time to take stretch breaks. If you have a place to hang from a bar try that periodically through out the day. Just a good 30 second hang. You should also look into some Iron Mind expand your hand bands and keep them in your pocket and do them hourly or whenever you can get a minute or two.
Also look into fast and loose and super joints drills. See if you can fit them in periodically through out the day. Also, if you have to go down and do something, see if you can squat down as oppose to bend over or kneeling. If you can sit in a deep squat while doing something it may be helpful.
As far as your fitness routine I would consider the following. Get a pair of shoes with a Virbram sole and then go for a walk after work. If you wear work boots for work take them off when not working. I see guys wear them around after work and they will even be their go to shoe sometimes. Take them off. You want your feet and ankles go go through full range of motion. Look for stretches for your feet and hands.
For kettlebell stuff. I would consider focusing on the slow grinding movements over the ballistics. At least while you are still getting used to your workload. I would consider slow kettlebell flow complexes with a light weight. Things like the turkish get up, the bent press, the windmill, the side press, the military press, the halo, the goblet squat, the arm bar, and one legged deadlift. A 3 of each on each side would do it. Its a lot of skills, especially compared to the cut back simple and sinister. Maybe pick 3 different ones to do and then run through a complex of 3 reps of each per side for three or four runs. This may feel great with 16kg even if you think you can do it heavier.
When you are completely used to your work schedule and load and its not going to increase in intensity consider S&S. Especially for days you know won't be as difficult as others.
A few things you also want to consider. Make sure your employer isn't a slave driver. They expect you to work hard but they should not expect you to destroy your body in the process. People tend to gauge how much people get done in a day or an hour and try to rush it, however they will tend to underestimate how much they can get done in a year or a decade if they take their time.
I met a german bike engineer at an ebike convention earlier this year and he was talking about how different Americans and Germans work and he said Germans slow down and take their time and focus on getting it right and Americans work fast and long and try to get a lot done, and we know German goods are known for being high quality.
If you go for maximum exhaustion every day eventually you will break your body. I have heard people claim that you should leave the job site with 30% energy left in the tank and not completely spent yourself. I once heard of a guy who would whistle at work continuously and it was a means of knowing if he was going to hard, if he physically couldn't whistle he was over working himself and would back off a bit. Another friend of mine works at a local water district as a welder and explains to me that their corporate mindset is that an injury costs $100,000 to the company.
So if you have a team of guys work harder and longer maybe they can get more done in a day, or a week, but eventually murphy's law shows up and those injuries will happen and financially set back whatever gains they made from working as hard as possible. He tells me that their priorities are safety, impeccable work, and then getting things done quickly and that if they need to get something done faster the best way is to have more workers show up vs working faster.
See if you can minimize your work in direct sunlight. Even if it means using an easy up at work and constantly moving it around to where you need to put in your next post. Easy ups are cheap and the time required to set one up and move it around is minimal compared to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
I didn't see this mentioned but look for time to take stretch breaks. If you have a place to hang from a bar try that periodically through out the day. Just a good 30 second hang. You should also look into some Iron Mind expand your hand bands and keep them in your pocket and do them hourly or whenever you can get a minute or two.
Also look into fast and loose and super joints drills. See if you can fit them in periodically through out the day. Also, if you have to go down and do something, see if you can squat down as oppose to bend over or kneeling. If you can sit in a deep squat while doing something it may be helpful.
As far as your fitness routine I would consider the following. Get a pair of shoes with a Virbram sole and then go for a walk after work. If you wear work boots for work take them off when not working. I see guys wear them around after work and they will even be their go to shoe sometimes. Take them off. You want your feet and ankles go go through full range of motion. Look for stretches for your feet and hands.
For kettlebell stuff. I would consider focusing on the slow grinding movements over the ballistics. At least while you are still getting used to your workload. I would consider slow kettlebell flow complexes with a light weight. Things like the turkish get up, the bent press, the windmill, the side press, the military press, the halo, the goblet squat, the arm bar, and one legged deadlift. A 3 of each on each side would do it. Its a lot of skills, especially compared to the cut back simple and sinister. Maybe pick 3 different ones to do and then run through a complex of 3 reps of each per side for three or four runs. This may feel great with 16kg even if you think you can do it heavier.
When you are completely used to your work schedule and load and its not going to increase in intensity consider S&S. Especially for days you know won't be as difficult as others.
