Construction as a workout...

[taste-icles]

So here I am south of the border, working construction on a condo, pretty much by myself. I look over at the other guys working on the other side of the road, and later in the day, they be hanging out at the pharmacia loading up on gear. My friend's 18 year old kid happens to joke about hitting the juice and helping me out.

Considering that construction is a lot of lifting, digging, hauling and loading, it is a form of a work out, but I am making a suggestion to most of you out there that may not be able to hit the gym or have free weights at your disposal. Your are gonna tend to favor one side of the body for shoveling, lifting etc, and the difference between left and right would/could/should become more and more noticable. Also the ability to target muscle groups for workouts, like the difference between hauling a toilet up a flight of stairs vs deadlifts, it is not the same.

I am not saying you are gonna look like a hermit crab with one huge arm and a tiny one, just saying that it is probably not the smartest idea being that it is 'sloppy' lifting. Really this is a thought I wanted to express to anybody that wants another shortcut by taking the needle and working their blue collar job.

Please correct me if I am wrong. This is all opinion.

31 years old
5'11"
182
20% b/f (chubrock)

 

[sweed]

did get a few good workouts holding up nail guns to nail in strapping and carrying around sheets of ply around all day... but thats only sumtimes... but all in a days work, it is a workout, thats why its hard for construction guys to build muscle cuz there always on their feet doing sumthing (cardio ) all day.. but if your lookin to hit the sauce.. drop that bf a littttle bit more, aight

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I don't find it hard to gain weight at all when doing construction work. Tomorrow I gotta get my broke ass no job ass up at 4:30am to go to labor ready and probably shovel and wheel barrel gravel for 8 hours at which time I'll shower up and hit the gym no problem lol.

The only time people got problems gaining weight when doing construction is if they either:

A. Have a very fast metabolism and this type of work ain't gonna help that

B. Don't eat and sleep enough

That's it. I've done construction work since I was 13 and it actually can be beneficial if you have the work capacity because the work is never" that hard". I like to think of it as recovery style working out because it keeps you moving and working at a certain level of intensity to get the muscles working, but not exhausted.

I just make sure I eat alot and drink alot of water and I'm fine. Oh ya, and take your vitamins and minerals.

 

[WalkingBeast]

Welcome to the boards brother!! I moved furniture for a year and never noticed any imbalances in muscle size, or really much of any size gains whatsoever that year. I also did construction on and off at different periods. If anything Id say it might have some benefits for building endurance but I find my gains are best when Im lifting and not doing any physical work. Especially out in 90-100 degree weather. I know I would never get larger doing heavy construction work without lifting weights. If I did it would be very minimal. Its very hard for me to gain when going all out with the weights and eating all I can. It does seem to get in the way of gains though. All those calories being burned dont help either.

 

[riverrock]

Would be useful for strongman as alot of lifting awkward objects, pushing objects without equal balance etc.

 

[USMC fighter]

I used to work at selective demolition, i used to alternate swings when using a sledge hammer for balance, 10 to 12 hours of doing shit like that gave me a hell of a workout

 

[taste-icles]

I used to work at selective demolition, i used to alternate swings when using a sledge hammer for balance, 10 to 12 hours of doing shit like that gave me a hell of a workout

Yeah, I have to dig trenches, swing the pick axe, sledge, and chop wood everyday for like a week, then start hauling lumber by myself up a few flights of steps. It is gonna be just as much cardio for me as actual heavy lifting. So with the kid working with me, I am suggesting he does not use for the time being, until he can get a regular gym work out.

Man, using wireless down here for net access to check this board is probably gonna be expensive lol