Manual labor job and triathlon training - Triathlon Week

08-10-2006, 01:18 AM

18 months ago I changed careers - went from a desk job sitting at a computer
all day long to starting up an irrigation installation business. I used to
be able to run at lunch, ride or swim in the evenings.

Now, after digging holes and working my a$$ off all day long in the heat, I
have nothing left for training of any sort. Occasionally I get a bike ride
in on weekends.

Hopefully in the next couple of years my business will get to where I am
just giving estimates and making sales calls, and someone else will be doing
the manual labor. Until then, any advice from anyone who IS able to mix
manual labor and training? I'd love to get back into triathlons again.

From December to April, I can train all I want, which that time of year
means running and very little riding, and indoor swimming of course.

Thanks,
George
IMC 97 98 00 01
On-the-Ball Irrigation, LLC
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

08-10-2006, 01:18 AM

George Ball wrote:
> 18 months ago I changed careers - went from a desk job sitting at a computer
> all day long to starting up an irrigation installation business. I used to
> be able to run at lunch, ride or swim in the evenings.
>
> Now, after digging holes and working my a$$ off all day long in the heat, I
> have nothing left for training of any sort. Occasionally I get a bike ride
> in on weekends.
>
> Hopefully in the next couple of years my business will get to where I am
> just giving estimates and making sales calls, and someone else will be doing
> the manual labor. Until then, any advice from anyone who IS able to mix
> manual labor and training? I'd love to get back into triathlons again.
>
> From December to April, I can train all I want, which that time of year
> means running and very little riding, and indoor swimming of course.
>
> Thanks,
> George
> IMC 97 98 00 01
> On-the-Ball Irrigation, LLC
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

When I was a student I used to work on a building site for a few months
every summer - digging holes, hod-carrying, mixing cement, that kind of
thing. Was training for rowing at the time. What I found was that
each summer when I first started back on the building site it would
take me a few weeks to adjust, during which I couldn't do any training.
Once my body adjusted to the new workload I could introduce some light
training - cycling to work, or a light run/swim/row before or after
work. Could then gradually build up the length and intensity of
sessions.

What you will find is that you can never get in the same volume of
training as if you had a deskjob. But the manual work you're doing
will help certain fitness areas - I found it built up very good
muscular endurance and could cut back on strength work for certain
muscle groups. You'll work out how to devise a training plan that
complements your work but be patient with it.

Other tips I found were that it is truly phenomenal how much water,
food and sleep your body needs to get through 8 or 9 hours of manual
labour plus a training programme on top. Good diet and rest are key to
getting your energy levels to the stage that you feel like training. I
needed 9 hours sleep a night and was eating 5 times a day and was still
as lean as I ever have been. Should also be borne in mind that I was
only 18-21 - didn't have many other responsibilities to worry about,
had a much better ability to recover than I do now and never seemed to
get injured. Would imagine that some stretching and core strength work
would be useful to avoid injuries, particularly in the lower back if
you're digging a lot.