climbing-tearing up your body-how long can we do it for!?

[outofmytree]

Someone beat me to it! Darn!

Best tip for reducing hand pain is reduce the strain of gripping rope and good gloves do just that. Best gloves I have used are between $5-10 a pair ( ironclad riggers run at $40 a pair here ). They are rubber faced, cotton backed and work best if you cut off the finger tips. They are much cooler to wear that way and dont restrict your fingers for knot tying etc...

Best way to reduce torso pain is to warm up! Exercise in your spare time is a great idea but getting into the tree without spending a lousy ten minutes stretching is just asking for pain.

I see my chiropractor 4 times a year and get a deep tissue massage once a month or as required. You think your tough? Get a serious massage from a hard core masseuse and you will cry like a little girl. Do they take special courses in sadism??

 

[Pelorus]

Someone beat me to it! Darn!

Best tip for reducing hand pain is reduce the strain of gripping rope and good gloves do just that. Best gloves I have used are between $5-10 a pair ( ironclad riggers run at $40 a pair here ). They are rubber faced, cotton backed and work best if you cut off the finger tips. They are much cooler to wear that way and dont restrict your fingers for knot tying etc...

Best way to reduce torso pain is to warm up! Exercise in your spare time is a great idea but getting into the tree without spending a lousy ten minutes stretching is just asking for pain.

I see my chiropractor 4 times a year and get a deep tissue massage once a month or as required. You think your tough? Get a serious massage from a hard core masseuse and you will cry like a little girl. Do they take special courses in sadism??

Test post

 

[Panama]

Everyone is different. How long we can keep climbing depends on many factors, some we can control, some we cannot. 52 and climbing over 20. Never flew a bucket nor used a crane (yet). I offer the following tips from an old climber.
- Use grip gloves. Being macho will only hurt your body.
- Take the time to do it carefully. Zero damage means zero $ and time spent fixing damage, not to mention your reputation, and if it's your body damaged you may be out of work.
Listen to your body.
- If you hands go numb, your saw is vibrating too much or you are pushing to cut with a dull chain (usually both). Run only smooth cutting chains that are sharp enough to feed themselves without being pushed. The gloves help reduce the damage.
- Hard work makes us different than the average couch potato. Two years ago I was told my heart was stopping in my sleep (happened 25-30 times up to two minutes), and had a pacemaker installed. The same week, my heart doctor diagnosed me with some technical name for Low Sodium. Said I was sweating out all my salt and it had damaged the channel between my SA node and my heart. Told me to SALT MY FOOD MORE or take a salt tablet daily. I immediately started salting my food more and it FIXED the problem. My pacemaker only keeps my heart from dropping below 40 beats per min, and it has never once had to work. My point is we are not the ones on the couch that the American heart association is speaking to when they preach a low sodium diet. Hardly anyone sweats out ten pounds of liquid per day, every day any more. If your sweat isn't salty, you may need more salt, especially if you sweat profusely. I ease off the salt in winter as my sweat is once again salty.
- Lastly, learn from someone else that took years to figure out what to do or not to do to keep going. I did, and I am still learning from you folks. Thanks! BTW, I know personally how hard it is to not be macho. I slipped and had a short fall the day after getting the pacemaker installed and they came unglued about me working. A check revealed I was ok and had not pulled the wires out of my heart, but I should have took it easy for at least a few days of the recommended two weeks. Macho will hurt you. EDIT: Forgot to say, if gloves are too hot for you, cut off the finger tips and the cuffs. It's the only way i can wear them in the heat, makes them MUCH cooler.

 

[Grouchy old man]

Gotta laugh. My father-in-law got a pacemaker a few months ago and the "instruction" book that came with is says never to use a chainsaw.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Just be safe, eat well, keep in shape, that's all you can do.

 

[Big L]

A local tree guy took this red oak down at my home yesterday, no access for a bucket truck ... so a climbing he went. He's 56 years young, and with this 54 year old groundie, the tree was down in about 2 hours. Nice work!

.

 

[treeclimber101]

Number2 is a great picture , the tree pic not the old man flexing !

 

[Big L]

Number2 is a great picture , the tree pic not the old man flexing !

It looks great because about 15' beyond that tree is a 120' drop-off cliff ... nice clear background

 

[beastmaster]

I climb 5 to 7 days a week. I work for some really great local companies, I get top wages for the work I do. I work with people half my age most the time and like being a mentor of sorts to them. I never use gloves. I keep up on the latest climbing techniques and the only thing "Old School" about me is my age. I'm coming up to 56 years old. I
've been climbing for over 30+.
I know I'm getting up there in age. I at some time should try to get into management and out of the trees, but man I love climbing trees and take my job serious.
What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.

 

[adrenaline junkie]

I have only climbed for 2 years but have done concrete work for 7 years. I also competed in a lot of mma fights and grappling since I was 20. Im 31. I twisted a vertebrae and crunched one in lower and middle back when I was 22. All I can say is do whatever makes you feel better. Yoga is great. This business builds imbalances and you need to keep it in check. I follow russian style. Books like super joints or relax into stretch. Cheap and worth it. Also glc 2000 pharmaceutical grade glucosamine. I've seem to many old timers spent from years of climbing. Although i did know of guy who was 66 whos rope was cut by ground guy. He fell like 40 ft shattered his legs. He was climbing again in 6 months. But he took really good care of himself and his body healed quick. Take care of yourself guys and be safe.
My friend coach and inspiration to not stop. Numerous knee surgeries and shoulder surgeries. Hip replacement and sciatica but stretches and does things to keep going. Hes 57.

 

[adrenaline junkie]

Me after doctor said 11 years ago i needed back surgery and would have to quit hard labor and competing. Dont listen to them. Do your own research and keep going. Inversion tables are great. Reverse effects of hours in saddle tied in.

 

[treesmith]

Foundation training is very effective for addressing back problems including discs, back pain, sciatica, leg muscle issues and more, it teaches proper use of back muscles and glute/hamstrings. Egoscue method is brilliant for addressing imbalances in muscles and posture problems, most of us are one side dominant which can cause stresses and pain, bad movement patterns and more

 

[adrenaline junkie]

I'll have to look into that. Thanks!

 

[derwoodii]

Climbing at 17 was great fun, at 27 i thought was at my prime, at 37 reckon was time to find other ways to make $, at 47 this is just too hard and I now do it just for kicks and the exercise, At 51 now i still rope n saddle up but rarely and only when I want . The back n body held together along the way no real harm done i'm just dumb lucky

 

[since16]

I used to work for my uncle doing trees. He was in his mid 50's the only climber 3 ground guys. He was crippled as a teenager one leg 4" shorter than the other one hip barely turned and a shoulder not fully functional. He climbed with all arms used his legs just to stabilize biggest pole saw they sold! He hired a climber a few years later and only quit doing tree work when he got ran over by a distracted driver. I don't know why he never bought a bucket truck?

 

[cjtreeclimber]

This has been my new found passion for about 4 years now. What I think has been getting me is cracking too many cold ones and doing all my own ground work.
Also my neck started acting up about a year ago and through the past 2 months I was in so much pain and started losing streangeth in my arms, but Since I've been getting my adjustments from a chiropractor lately I'm about 87 percent of what I was a year ago; though. New climbing and rigging skills + plus equipment takes a lot of stress away for me. Also, had a friend tell me something that makes alot of sense "Work Slow, Think FAST". I have an idea about pacing yourself now, making the right choices, cuts, and so forth in the canopy, Could make the job a breeze. I sure would say its easier being in a tree than doing ground work and the landscape business work what a tiresome job that was! I Anticipate adapting to it smoothly so as to be able to stick to it until 80 or so. I can have 2 3 days of work and make what most people do in a weak or two it seems.

 

[treevet]

Used to be a 3 sport athelete in hs and some college. Afterwards military and then found tree work and karate. Then in 1976 I discovered racquetball. 2 leagues a week all year, plus pick up matches for 35 plus years and you want to stay in shape to not lose and it gives you a good gauge of what shape you are in weekly. Diet, weights and run/bike with rball, where you can still be a competitive athelete. Match usually lasts 1 1/2 hrs and at top levels of sport, you are beat when finished. All muscles and conditioning translates to climbing etc. Equipment and membership not real expensive either.

 

[oldugly]

started tree work in 76, started climbing in 77. Doing the math it makes me kind of old. Still climbing, crushed my hand a couple of years ago and decided to hire some climbing help...it was more work watching them, coaching them, then it was to do it myself with one bad hand. Still climb, but prefer to use the bucket truck. Probably climb about six hours a day max, before I got to stop.
Guessing that puts me in about the 36 year mark of climbing experience. I would quit, but I wasn't quite smart enough to learn to do anything else.

 

[treevet]

Don't sell yourself short. Beats working in a cubicle....and some days it borders on a great job.

 

[oldugly]

Don't sell yourself short. Beats working in a cubicle....and some days it borders on a great job.

Thanks, but actually that was more of a feeble attempt at humor, than anything else.
Most days I love what I do, and actually am quite proud that at my age I can still do it.