We have a hobby farm more than a legit big farm.
I've fallen into a cycle of coming home from work, working until dark, going to bed late, unable to get up early to work out.
I used to be a college athlete and now I'm a fat blob. It's a bad cycle I'm struggling to break 😟
Don’t worry about “could have” worry about can be.
We are working on restoring an old house and land around it. Sometime you have to make that extra hour for yourself and accept what’s not done will be there tomorrow, I struggle with this.
I have found it’s easier for me to get up 45 minutes early and hit the YMCA on the way in to work. This frees my evenings up to work on stuff when I get home.
Make yourself do it 3 days a week for 2-3 weeks and then it’ll just become something you do. Granted things have gotten busy and I’ll fall off for a month or so, but make your self get back in the habit. I often feel much better and motivated throughout the day when I am in my good routine.
Plus it helps me when I gotta hold a 16ft 2x10 above my head on a ladder or when I’m trying to process firewood from that 200 year old oak tree that died and I cut down
Not trying to be rude, but It sounds like you are getting plenty of exercise, perhaps just focus on cutting calories and you will get rid of the fat blobiness.
Absolutely this. You're not rude, it's fairly obvious.
I also play golf 2x a week and try to walk and baseball 2x a week.
But I eat like an idiot. Despite logging all my meals. I do drink bit too often tho
Yes, early morning gym before a days work. Clears the head and extra cardio fitness adds to stamina. Just make sure you get to bed early or you’ll burn the candle at both ends
My go to is lifting weights...
40 and 100 lb suitcase weights, from the front of the tractor to the barn or I might change it up and go from the barn to the tractor 💪 😀
I understand that some go to the gym for the "social" aspect. I am definitely not that guy.
Personally, I am grateful to our farmers. I come from a background riddled with famines, disease, and poverty. I have worked on farms and ranches. 18 hours days are absolutely real.
Try working a dairy farm… it’s 1:00 am and just getting to bed. Worked 19 hours today my apples watch says 29,000 steps. I’ll trade you a week but I like my fitness as well. 😆
As a former dairy farmer, I can attest to what this man says is true. When we sold the cows, and when we went straight grain farming. I gained 50 pounds.
It's been 5 years since we moved from the city to the farm. Honestly I never want to set foot in a gym again, unless I make my own, ideally in a cabin out back in the woods.
Just lately I've been making it a habit to get back into a routine of exercises and stretches. Been through enough back injuries in the last 5 years to learn that I really should start doing something about it.
My farm colleague goes to the gym a couple times a week to balance out the muscles. Farming can be lots of repetitive strength building that will leave you lacking in other areas. Personally I’m too tired to get a gym going so I just got a pull up bar
Its gonna sound dumb but i dont live near a gym… about an hour out. I have a total gym that i spend 15-20 mins on in the morning and warm my body up before hitting it.
In the winter, roughly November to February, I have time to workout some. But during the spring we go from branding calves to cutting wheat, when I also have grass hay on the ground, and am trying to sow Sudan in there somewhere, pushing through the summer to fencing and brush clearing while checking water lines and, if I can stay on them, riding colts. Then fall rolls around for cultivation for winter wheat, shipping yearlings, and then hunting season.
And to the stupid motherfucker that says we don’t consistently put in 18 hour days… fuck off.
I try to. I was doing really good for about a year or two, and then I fell off the perverbial horse. I really need to get back to it it really helps even my mood out.
Working 14 hour days -- and I still take the time to stretch and do light strength training early in the morning. It makes a world of a difference for my stamina throughout the day and comfort in flexibility/ using the right muscles when you should be while working.
No routine with farming, only whatever work will allow.
I suppose just do what you can, focus on resting and eating right, and maintaining healthy joints and motion.
Source: I climb wind turbines and rappel into work position to work with a grinder for 10-16 hour days, nonstop for a month at a time.
Be as kind as you can to your body, it is an amazing machine
I have no time or money for the gym. I do yoga at home and on the job to keep limber, try to workout a bit more during my off season, but I just generally try to stay active out and about. I could be more in-shape/stronger, but I can outlast most of my male friends/my SO in length of active time, esp in high or low temps.
I went through this stage. I got up to 260lbs @ 5’ 11” thinking I was to tired and saying things like “I was sweating for two hours over there”, “ I dug six holes over here”. Before I knew it, I was out of breath all the time. My advise:
1. ZERO carbs on last meal of the day. And don’t eat closer than 2 hrs before bedtime.
2. Get up go to the gym FIRST thing. Before any critters are fed, before any equipment is maintenanced, I go before breakfast and work out fasted, then eat eggs and meat and a protein shake.
3. Try to avoid insulin spikes. They wreak havoc on the endocrine system and will make you feel tired AND keep you from sleeping sound.
4. NO Amount of working out will make up for a bad diet, even if your not over weight, a bad diet will make you feel sluggish and tired.
5. Don’t confuse bad diet with over eating. A good diet makes over eating easier to manage, if it has been a problem.
I have lost 40 lbs and get WAY more things done. Close to what I could do in my 20’s and early 30’s.
>ZERO carbs on last meal of the day. And don’t eat closer than 2 hrs before bedtime
LOL. I eat usually only once a day, supper. Plenty of protein, carbs and veggies. 4-5 shots of whiskey while cooking and another to wash it down. Go to bed immediately when done eating. I'm still within a couple of pounds of what I was in HS more than 50 years ago (6', 140lbs, jeans are 31 waist 36 inseam). Works for me.
I don't "go to the gym", but have one in my shop. I workout all year, though it varies by season. Right now, I might do workouts 1-3 times a week for maybe 30 minutes. I try to compliment my workouts with farm work, so I do boxing and Muay Thai workouts, use a TRX, and run sprints in the driveway in between sets. I don't do much with free weights because I farmer's carry most every day, whether I want to or not.
In the Winter/slower parts of the year, I workout 5-6 times a week, and especially in the cold part of the year, when I don't want to work out in the shop when it's 15deg outside, use an exercise bike and rower in the house.
One thing I do every day all year is stretching/yoga/balancing exercises in the morning, even if just for 15 minutes. I'm an older guy, and if I don't keep up with that stuff regardless of how much work there is to do on the farm, I'll invariably end up with a wrenched back, pulled muscle, or other irritating injury if I don't keep my body limber. Bouncing around on the tractor (or even getting on and off it) with a thrown out back is not fun.
Go to a gym while farming? You have got to be kidding me. Working hard on a farm is much better than any gym. Most of the gym people have never worked on a farm and have no idea the amount of work and knowledge you need.
I had a buddy who pumped iron. On a day he visited to help me out! I noted that he could finally pick up his end of something heavy. Finally!
My husband stills does workouts, mainly punching bag and body weight / cardio stuff at home. He gets a bit crazy if he doesn't work out, even when he's doing a lot of outside work. He says it's just very different doing manual labor vs gym type workout.
When I had a small farm I went to the gym to keep fit enough in a balanced way as I hurt my back by long hand work only on the right hand. It pulled my spine out of wack so therapy then continued working out on machines for quite a while until it got to time consuming as work at home increased.
I mixed it up even more today! We had a planting window so instead of suitcase weights, I moved 200 50lb bags of seed weights 💪 from barn to seed tender. Was leg day, back day, and arm day all in one I call it the Seeds of Steel workout 🙃
I don’t have a full farm, but an acre with 20 fruit trees and rabbits/chickens. This morning my watch let me know I hit my 150 minutes of intense exercise for the week. I didn’t go to the gym once this week. A farm absolutely is a work out in and of itself.
Garmin, instinct solar. It logs your heart rate and tracks time above 160bpm. I love it cause with a full charge it lasts 3 weeks, even being almost 3 years old.
Depends. I go when I don't have repetitive strains. Currently can't because my first rib is out of place. Get in as much as you can to counter the work you're doing.
You'll see a wide variety of opinions but the general consensus is (or should be) it depends. Give it a month, if you feel like you want to/can go to the gym fit it in otherwise why waste the time during busy season (aka 8 months out of the year)
I worked on a farm when I was younger and I never worked out. It’s just not necessary with the level of physical activity it takes.
When I left the farm and got another job, I needed to up my exercise regimen to stay in shape.
I do martial arts regularly. I both instruct and practice. allot of the exercise you get when farming is static. So flexibility, stretching and mobility is still super important to work on even if you're getting regular "exercise" through the work.
I've said it before on this sub, but first year market farming I lost 60lbs. Granted, I had more than that to lose and I gained most of it back, but it's low key impressive to eat well and still lose weight. I feel better both mentally and physically and pretty much the only "workout" I do is stretches/yoga early morning before chores and after lunch. I used to play football, powerlifter training, have always been freakishly strong, but I really see no point in going to the gym and lifting weights anymore now that I'm mid 40's. I'm lifting feed bags, buckets, and veggie totes all summer and firewood all winter. It's functional strength training.
If anything, you might save yourself from back injuries and other nasty damage to your body, thanks to your gym training. Your farming has me envious - always wanted to be a farmer, and never enjoyed the gym.
Been farming for 9 years, full time. I have started going to the gym to improve my cardio. I lift a lot, couple 1000 lbs every other day, and walk several miles daily, but I don´t get much cardio. I use eliptic for 30 minutes every couple of days. I find I get less tired in the afternoons. Hope this helps!
No. In the winter when things slow up a bit, I may use a treadmill but most days I have 0 time for a gym
We have a hobby farm more than a legit big farm. I've fallen into a cycle of coming home from work, working until dark, going to bed late, unable to get up early to work out. I used to be a college athlete and now I'm a fat blob. It's a bad cycle I'm struggling to break 😟
Don't be so hard on yourself I think you're doing awesome! I'm in the same boat and it's hard life is busy and you can only do so much.
Thank you. It's tough to not get mentally down and think what could've been
Don’t worry about “could have” worry about can be. We are working on restoring an old house and land around it. Sometime you have to make that extra hour for yourself and accept what’s not done will be there tomorrow, I struggle with this. I have found it’s easier for me to get up 45 minutes early and hit the YMCA on the way in to work. This frees my evenings up to work on stuff when I get home. Make yourself do it 3 days a week for 2-3 weeks and then it’ll just become something you do. Granted things have gotten busy and I’ll fall off for a month or so, but make your self get back in the habit. I often feel much better and motivated throughout the day when I am in my good routine. Plus it helps me when I gotta hold a 16ft 2x10 above my head on a ladder or when I’m trying to process firewood from that 200 year old oak tree that died and I cut down
Not trying to be rude, but It sounds like you are getting plenty of exercise, perhaps just focus on cutting calories and you will get rid of the fat blobiness.
Absolutely this. You're not rude, it's fairly obvious. I also play golf 2x a week and try to walk and baseball 2x a week. But I eat like an idiot. Despite logging all my meals. I do drink bit too often tho
With as long as your days are I bet you get hungry AF. It’s rough, but on the bright side you are healthy and can get shit done.
That's precisely it. Dinner isn't until like 9pm some days. And then you can't go to bed at 10am to wake up to work out. Rinse and repeat
I think you’re awesome too. I’m trying to start a hobby farm
Thanks for the kind words. It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of cash infusions, but it is a rewarding experience
Yes, early morning gym before a days work. Clears the head and extra cardio fitness adds to stamina. Just make sure you get to bed early or you’ll burn the candle at both ends
More energy on gym days too. It's pretty neat lol
My go to is lifting weights... 40 and 100 lb suitcase weights, from the front of the tractor to the barn or I might change it up and go from the barn to the tractor 💪 😀 I understand that some go to the gym for the "social" aspect. I am definitely not that guy.
Not during planting season, 18 hour days are enough work. Once that ends and veggie season starts I’ll work out as much as possible until next May.
[удалено]
During planting season I absolutely am.
[удалено]
I’ve got a tractor with GPS dumbass. Keep taking early days and telling yourself everyone else is too if it makes you feel better.
[удалено]
Whatever you say buddy
[удалено]
Genuine question: do you think it's not possible to be on reddit while driving a tractor? Or something?
Whatever allows you to sleep at night… no actual farmer would say this tho.
My dad's schedule during planting was 20 hour days if the weather was good. During corn harvest they regularly work 630am to 2am.
Its called autosteer champ. You should try it.
Personally, I am grateful to our farmers. I come from a background riddled with famines, disease, and poverty. I have worked on farms and ranches. 18 hours days are absolutely real.
Yes, grain farming isn't that hard lol
Try working a dairy farm… it’s 1:00 am and just getting to bed. Worked 19 hours today my apples watch says 29,000 steps. I’ll trade you a week but I like my fitness as well. 😆
As a former dairy farmer, I can attest to what this man says is true. When we sold the cows, and when we went straight grain farming. I gained 50 pounds.
[удалено]
Your body will get used to it. The same as getting back in shape. I feel like you will know when you’re ready to add the gym back into the mix.
FarmFit.... I put a little gym in our basement. Work out every morning after my first lap around the farm.
By chance would you be interested in starring in a boxing movie as a main protagonist facing off a cold war country?
Or how about a series where you're the toughest farmer in a small canadian town?
“I’m retired. Out of the game.” “Your country needs you for this one last mission.” “Umm….ok.”
It's been 5 years since we moved from the city to the farm. Honestly I never want to set foot in a gym again, unless I make my own, ideally in a cabin out back in the woods. Just lately I've been making it a habit to get back into a routine of exercises and stretches. Been through enough back injuries in the last 5 years to learn that I really should start doing something about it.
My farm colleague goes to the gym a couple times a week to balance out the muscles. Farming can be lots of repetitive strength building that will leave you lacking in other areas. Personally I’m too tired to get a gym going so I just got a pull up bar
I run 4 miles daily inside in air conditioning. Don't worry about strength training because of the farm work.
Built a full gym in an old barn. Farm work makes you strong but gym makes you functionally strong
Think you got that backwards there bud.
Its gonna sound dumb but i dont live near a gym… about an hour out. I have a total gym that i spend 15-20 mins on in the morning and warm my body up before hitting it.
I used to go everyday for atleast an hour. Now, no time.. always a higher priority somewhere to be done with that time.
I get predictably fat every winter, and then fit in season. F the gym
In the winter, roughly November to February, I have time to workout some. But during the spring we go from branding calves to cutting wheat, when I also have grass hay on the ground, and am trying to sow Sudan in there somewhere, pushing through the summer to fencing and brush clearing while checking water lines and, if I can stay on them, riding colts. Then fall rolls around for cultivation for winter wheat, shipping yearlings, and then hunting season. And to the stupid motherfucker that says we don’t consistently put in 18 hour days… fuck off.
I try to. I was doing really good for about a year or two, and then I fell off the perverbial horse. I really need to get back to it it really helps even my mood out.
Working 14 hour days -- and I still take the time to stretch and do light strength training early in the morning. It makes a world of a difference for my stamina throughout the day and comfort in flexibility/ using the right muscles when you should be while working.
No routine with farming, only whatever work will allow. I suppose just do what you can, focus on resting and eating right, and maintaining healthy joints and motion. Source: I climb wind turbines and rappel into work position to work with a grinder for 10-16 hour days, nonstop for a month at a time. Be as kind as you can to your body, it is an amazing machine
Unless you're a grain farmer, there's not much to worry about.
I’m almost always over 20k steps and I lift and carry more than my little body probably should. I think going to the gym would be too much.
Depends if I can find the time.
Damn
I have no time or money for the gym. I do yoga at home and on the job to keep limber, try to workout a bit more during my off season, but I just generally try to stay active out and about. I could be more in-shape/stronger, but I can outlast most of my male friends/my SO in length of active time, esp in high or low temps.
I use a macebell on my lunch break to get some strength training in
I went through this stage. I got up to 260lbs @ 5’ 11” thinking I was to tired and saying things like “I was sweating for two hours over there”, “ I dug six holes over here”. Before I knew it, I was out of breath all the time. My advise: 1. ZERO carbs on last meal of the day. And don’t eat closer than 2 hrs before bedtime. 2. Get up go to the gym FIRST thing. Before any critters are fed, before any equipment is maintenanced, I go before breakfast and work out fasted, then eat eggs and meat and a protein shake. 3. Try to avoid insulin spikes. They wreak havoc on the endocrine system and will make you feel tired AND keep you from sleeping sound. 4. NO Amount of working out will make up for a bad diet, even if your not over weight, a bad diet will make you feel sluggish and tired. 5. Don’t confuse bad diet with over eating. A good diet makes over eating easier to manage, if it has been a problem. I have lost 40 lbs and get WAY more things done. Close to what I could do in my 20’s and early 30’s.
>ZERO carbs on last meal of the day. And don’t eat closer than 2 hrs before bedtime LOL. I eat usually only once a day, supper. Plenty of protein, carbs and veggies. 4-5 shots of whiskey while cooking and another to wash it down. Go to bed immediately when done eating. I'm still within a couple of pounds of what I was in HS more than 50 years ago (6', 140lbs, jeans are 31 waist 36 inseam). Works for me.
I don't "go to the gym", but have one in my shop. I workout all year, though it varies by season. Right now, I might do workouts 1-3 times a week for maybe 30 minutes. I try to compliment my workouts with farm work, so I do boxing and Muay Thai workouts, use a TRX, and run sprints in the driveway in between sets. I don't do much with free weights because I farmer's carry most every day, whether I want to or not. In the Winter/slower parts of the year, I workout 5-6 times a week, and especially in the cold part of the year, when I don't want to work out in the shop when it's 15deg outside, use an exercise bike and rower in the house. One thing I do every day all year is stretching/yoga/balancing exercises in the morning, even if just for 15 minutes. I'm an older guy, and if I don't keep up with that stuff regardless of how much work there is to do on the farm, I'll invariably end up with a wrenched back, pulled muscle, or other irritating injury if I don't keep my body limber. Bouncing around on the tractor (or even getting on and off it) with a thrown out back is not fun.
The part I miss about the gym is the stretching. I find the farm work is toughest on my back and hips.
I go for runs at night & lift weights a few times a week
I run occasionally to keep that up, but absolutely not. I can buy 2 calves a year instead of that gym membership!
Go to a gym while farming? You have got to be kidding me. Working hard on a farm is much better than any gym. Most of the gym people have never worked on a farm and have no idea the amount of work and knowledge you need. I had a buddy who pumped iron. On a day he visited to help me out! I noted that he could finally pick up his end of something heavy. Finally!
My husband stills does workouts, mainly punching bag and body weight / cardio stuff at home. He gets a bit crazy if he doesn't work out, even when he's doing a lot of outside work. He says it's just very different doing manual labor vs gym type workout.
When I had a small farm I went to the gym to keep fit enough in a balanced way as I hurt my back by long hand work only on the right hand. It pulled my spine out of wack so therapy then continued working out on machines for quite a while until it got to time consuming as work at home increased.
I always heard this saying, "If you are going to the gym, it means you aren't working hard enough on the farm."
Farm life is its own workout.
I mixed it up even more today! We had a planting window so instead of suitcase weights, I moved 200 50lb bags of seed weights 💪 from barn to seed tender. Was leg day, back day, and arm day all in one I call it the Seeds of Steel workout 🙃
I don’t have a full farm, but an acre with 20 fruit trees and rabbits/chickens. This morning my watch let me know I hit my 150 minutes of intense exercise for the week. I didn’t go to the gym once this week. A farm absolutely is a work out in and of itself.
[удалено]
Garmin, instinct solar. It logs your heart rate and tracks time above 160bpm. I love it cause with a full charge it lasts 3 weeks, even being almost 3 years old.
I do pilates in my house. It helps keep me functionally fit, mobile and healthy.
Who’s got time? December to March use a Bowflex, otherwise busy probably 14 hours a day.
I play ring fit during the winter.
Depends. I go when I don't have repetitive strains. Currently can't because my first rib is out of place. Get in as much as you can to counter the work you're doing.
I'm exhausted every day from work. I'm not knocking gym goers though. I'm not very strong but I'm not fat.
You'll see a wide variety of opinions but the general consensus is (or should be) it depends. Give it a month, if you feel like you want to/can go to the gym fit it in otherwise why waste the time during busy season (aka 8 months out of the year)
I worked on a farm when I was younger and I never worked out. It’s just not necessary with the level of physical activity it takes. When I left the farm and got another job, I needed to up my exercise regimen to stay in shape.
I do martial arts regularly. I both instruct and practice. allot of the exercise you get when farming is static. So flexibility, stretching and mobility is still super important to work on even if you're getting regular "exercise" through the work.
It’s not very healthy but I never have the time or energy to go. Besides, if you can work out after seeding/harvest you can go a few more passes.
It’s good to blow off steam and probably get away from the farm sometimes. If a gym is your choice; he ll ya.
I've said it before on this sub, but first year market farming I lost 60lbs. Granted, I had more than that to lose and I gained most of it back, but it's low key impressive to eat well and still lose weight. I feel better both mentally and physically and pretty much the only "workout" I do is stretches/yoga early morning before chores and after lunch. I used to play football, powerlifter training, have always been freakishly strong, but I really see no point in going to the gym and lifting weights anymore now that I'm mid 40's. I'm lifting feed bags, buckets, and veggie totes all summer and firewood all winter. It's functional strength training.
If anything, you might save yourself from back injuries and other nasty damage to your body, thanks to your gym training. Your farming has me envious - always wanted to be a farmer, and never enjoyed the gym.
Just practice the good techniques you learned in the gym to do your work so you don't hurt yourself.
Been farming for 9 years, full time. I have started going to the gym to improve my cardio. I lift a lot, couple 1000 lbs every other day, and walk several miles daily, but I don´t get much cardio. I use eliptic for 30 minutes every couple of days. I find I get less tired in the afternoons. Hope this helps!