Homesteading Workout Tips

[Chuck]

my physical fitness schedule has changed dramatically since moving to the farm. Where I used to run marathons, mountain bike and lift weights, now my workout schedule goes as follows:

Strength Training

Dig post-holes.
Chop firewood.
Pump up tires on the tractor. (what I wouldn’t give for an air compressor).

Cardio

Chase goats out of the garden (or the living room, depending on how bad a day it is).
Push start the tractor (my 5 year old son always forgets to turn the key off when he’s done using it).
Practice the cardiovascular use of expletives when the farm truck runs out of gas at the far corner of the property.

Cool down

Lay on the ground and whimper.
Jump up quickly when the children turn the hose on me.

Any tips from those of you who are more experienced?

You're not beating your kids enough so they'll obey you cheerfully the way their home-school curriculum says they should! {laughing}

.....Alan.

[Chuck]

Hey, there's an addition to the cardio schedule!

[wy_white_wolf]

Might want to add bucking hay bales to your strength training.

I remember when I finished my jurnior year of high school. I weighted 120 pounds with a 30 inch waist. At the start of my senior year I was 155 pounds with a 28" waist. Way too many hay bales that summer. I think I got a nickel for every one.

[farmergirl]

My strength training comes mostly from unloading feed. The mill that custom blends it for me "tries" to get in sacked in 50 lb measures, but I swear some of those bags weigh 80 lbs plus! I know I'm in for a good workout when I show up to pick up my 500 lbs of horse mix and it's crammed into 6 bags! I get a good cardio workout chasing piglets around when I'm penning them up to deworm or castrate them. And I do practice the olympic sport of deworming my flock of barbado sheep!

[rabbitgal]

See, I believe in economizing time, so I combine cardio and strength training in one workout:

1. Hoist 50-lb. bag of feed to shoulder, being careful not to knock off your Supremely Cool Royster-Clark baseball cap or disturb your suave Clint Eastwood squint. (Granted, Clint Eastwood squints can be a little challenging to perfect, particularly when one's eyes are bugging out or one happens to be female. )

2. Trot 100 yard across newly-plowed field, taking deep, raspy breaths. Dodge the sprinkler, which family has just turned on to water said newly-plowed field. (Cardio workout begins here).

3. Turn around and run back across field to grab the baby sister (headed for the tractor). Return child to house and dash back to pick up feed bag, which is now getting wet from the sprinkler.

Do four repetitions of this exercise - who buys just one sack of feed anyway??

[trixiwick]

Get some geese. The burning hatred you will have for them will burn lots of calories, and your jaw muscles will be very strong from the angry clenching.

[Melissa]

But what do you do after breakfast?!?!?

[farmergirl]

Originally Posted by Melissa

But what do you do after breakfast?!?!?

Trek to the city-blech! and put in a full shift before returning to the homestead to start all over again

[mamajohnson]

ok, this brings a story to mind, and a true one at that!

When we first moved out here (5 years ago) oldest DS was 16, going on 17.
He was 5'5, 130 pounds soaking wet. skinny little punk. Well, DH was still working 300 miles away, we only saw him on weekends. DS and I had to litterally pull water from our well the old fashioned way. (read, rope, pulley, bucket, 100' well) We pulled the water and hauled it about 300 yards to the house, in 5 gallon buckets. Now folks, THAT is work! Nearly killed this over 40 woman!
Ok, DS has a 'buff' friend who works out at the gym. ohhh man, he was tough (he thought) and strong.
He shows one day as I am pulling my 3rd bucket from the well, water was at about 60 feet down that day. Friend was talking big, how strong he was, how easy that would be. I was pooped. DS says, "ok, well, mom just pulled up 3 buckets, I will pull up 3, then you do 3."
NO PROBLEM says buff friend.
DS pulls up three buckets, hands empty bucket to friend and says, "go"
buff friend nearly passes out half way through bucket #1 & DS has to rescue the bucket from falling all the way to the bottom.

Goes to show you, we have the best workout in the world out here!
(and I am ever so thankful to have an electric pump on that well now!!!)

Just thought I would share that useless information with ya'll!
:baby04:

[pookshollow]

Hmmm. . .

Strength training - working on the hay wagon, loading hay and straw (this week) - also very good for developing balance as the wagon bounces over the hard, cracked clay
- annual cleaning of the goat pens (ongoing)
- hauling, loading and unloading of second-hand lumber (read "full" dimensional lumber)
** note ** - all "organic" weights
- mustn't forget, milking three, soon to be four, goats by hand. Forearms like Popeye!

Cardio - throwing hay and straw up in the loft
- chasing the rooster when he beats up on the geese
- chasing the geese when they steal feed from the banties
- beating the Jack Russell when he's killed a chicken
- trying to get goats into the correct pen when they've been out on pasture
- longeing and ground driving young horse

[canfossi]

I'm in the same boat. Before I moved to my new homestead I lived on a busy road, it wasn't a homestead what so ever, I use to jog 1.5 miles 5 days/week and lift weights. Now at the new homestead I have no energy for that. Cutting wood, doing siding, biking 2 miles for the mail a couple times per week, collecting stone for the retaining wall and shovelling soil are my the activities in my fitness routine. Chris