Getting Older.

[NP317]

Old people should lift weights. That is the horrible truth.

Old weights are for lifting people.
~RN

[liveaboard]

I now believe in "Just say no" to heavy lifting.
If we were meant to lift heavy objects, we would never have built machines to do it.

[SteveHGraham]

As far as I know, your cardiovascular fitness potential goes completely to hell, starting in middle age. Strength seems to be taken away considerably later. I do a few little resistance exercises, and it's very helpful. One nice thing about it is that it's harder to hurt yourself when you have some degree of strength. Your body won't give way unexpectedly when you pick up a bag of groceries.

I have to fight with my chainsaws sometimes. If I were not exercising, I would be in need of a long rest by the fourth pull of the cord!

I just dug up an article about some old dude who benched 257 pounds in 2012. He was 85. Personally, I am happy if I am strong enough to work on the farm without needing assistance or an ambulance.

[Bill Shields]

living on a working 80 acre farm is all the 'exercise' I need.....but then I am not yet 70....

[Steggy]

Cardiovascular health is fine, but it won't help you pick up your rotary table.

In my shop, the cherry picker does the heavy lifting. It doesn't have spinal problems, isn't going to drop a nut and won't go into cardiac arrest.

[liveaboard]

I have a front end loader on my tractor that does most of the hard work around our place; now I want a gantry crane in the storage area, for lifting the pallet forks onto the tractor.
And another overhead in the machine shop to lift anything heavier than my boots.

[SteveHGraham]

The results of lifting weights can be funny. You reach to pick up something that seemed heavy a year ago, you apply what you think is the correct effort, and the object goes shooting into the air because it seems so light.

[JackF]

I used to pick up my 15" Bridgeport RT and duck walk it over to my mill. The last time I did that it took about 3-4 weeks to recover. Now I have a table sitting behind the mill. I raise or lower the knee to the table height to slide the RT on or off.


Jack.

[spro]

Jack. Yes. My garage is full of heavy stuff. I can't even pick it up anymore (well I can by other means). You know what a Cincinnati 12" universal dividing head weighs with a 9" chuck attached.. I can barely move it now, well I can and my back will send the bill later.
Those big rotary tables are something else. I know we say big or "heavy" and some are laughing because we don't know what "heavy" means. It is only that is heavy with one fellow trying to move it, lift and move it himself.

[spro]

Jack. Sure the table or a rolling bench ..

[liveaboard]

The worst weights are those we can almost handle; or barely handle.
Because then we handle.
It it's just really heavy, so you know you definitely can't lift it, you're safe.
And obviously, if it's light enough to be safe, that's safe too.
But when it's in that dangerous middle zone, and you're in a hurry, then temptation looms.
Don't be a wimp. What are you, soft? Grab that thing and heave!
Even a light injury means you didn't save time.





Just say NO to heavy lifting.
The back you save will be your own.
Unless you hire a kid to do it.
hehehehehe

[pete]

I have what's now looking to be permanent issues with my sciatica from being young and real stupid about lifting more than I should far too many times. The exercise is a good thing and not arguable, but the human body is capable of only so much. And much less so as you age. In both Canaduh and the U.S. there's regulated and rather low maximum weight limits set for industry that your allowed to lift for some very good reasons. Using your brain to move something heavy is in my hind sight opinion a whole lot smarter way to do things.