Are there any lumberjacks out there? I have a question about the job itself and what kind of exercise is involved...?
I would like to know current or past lumberjacks, if when you worked as one was there any significant increase in your fitness? Did you notice any stamina/endurance gain, forearm, bicep development and strength,did your back get stronger etc... How much did your strength increase and how long did it take to notice you got more fit? Would you say it is a great workout and not even intending to get a workout in?
Anonymous2018-10-21T18:47:11Z
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I worked the woods for 25 years. Mostly in the Sierra Nevadas of Calif. When I was working the woods, I was extremely fit, because I was working outside every day and walking a lot in order to accomplish my job. I always worked on the ground, because I didn't like operating the log skidders or skid cats. I fell timber, Bucked logs, single jacked and bumped knots or set chokers as my preferred occupations. When working on the cutting crew outside of the landing in the woods, the USFS required we carry a shovel and a fire extinguisher along with the equipment we needed to cut the trees. Chainsaw, axe, plastic wedges, tape measure, files, wrenches and gas and oil. Top that off with a metal hard hat, caulk boots and your water jug or jugs and you would be packing a heavy load. Up and down on the logs measuring and bucking and limbing; Swinging the axe pounding the plastic wedges into the back cut of the standing tree to drive it over and so on adds up to a lot of exercise 5 or more days a week 6 to 8 hours a day. Setting chokers requires speed and agility when the skidder is waiting on you to hook up the logs and send them to the landing. I used to like to run 8 or 10 chokers at a time, that way I could have a round set and ready to hook up then set the others while the skidder was taking them to the landing. Then walk thru the woods to find all the logs and the best way to get them out without damaging the remaining trees or reproduction. Lots of exercise and weight lifting there because the chokers are long cables of usually 3/4" but sometimes 7/8" diameter wire rope and they are heavy. Bumping knots is a really hard job, because there are always more than one skidder dropping logs off in the landing. You have to unhook the chokers from the logs and send the skidder back out into the woods for more. You have to use the stamping hammer to mark the logs designating their origin place. You have to use a chainsaw to remove the limbs and "knots" that broke off from the underside of the log. Those will mess up the loader guy stacking the logs onto the trucks. You have to stop everything and run over to the next skidder that is in the landing dropping of their logs and then release the chokers and stamp those logs and send him back out to the woods. That goes on all day, Some skid crews work 10 or 12 hours a days. So that guy gets worked very hard. Remember too, that he also has to keep the chain sharp on his saw too. So, if you take a job working in the woods, you will build strength and stamina quickly.