Most construction workers I know have a fatty liver and are prediabetic from corn syrup and too many beers after work. It is sad to see such strong men be so sick.
I agree. I install spray foam insulation and it is by far the hottest job most have experienced. The foam is applied at roughly 160 degrees, on top of being in an attic. The diet part is so important on whether or not you can keep pushing on or potentially blacking out from the heat.
I'll watch co-workers finish spraying literally looking like they've took a shower with clothes on and instead of drinking water or Gatorade they're slamming mountain dew smh.
I'm in the trade I am quitting in a month. So many guys who are out of shape and having body aches and pains. Not worth it, since I don't have kids or a wife.
Try being a truck driver like me work 12 hours a day no exercise and you eat off the dash board dinner plus the added stress of big city driving and being told that I am number 1 several times a day LOL not a long life span for me if I don't change
I taped and hung drywall for 15 years. I maintained 200lbs consistently after eating fast day. Rest is the key. Never work a Sunday no matter what. Diet and streatching is super important too. Aerobics and martial arts will round you out. I burned out bad. I wish I sorted it out sooner.
Awesome info Jocko! I'm a welder/fabricator. Been doing it almost 11 years now, been working 2nd shift for the last 2 years, and getting my diet on point has been key in keeping me energized to get my workout in 5 days a week.
Good one. After working 20+ years in corrections, dealing with the most difficult people, rotating shifts, and raising a family I'm burned out and retiring. The main thing that has helped me keep my sanity is consistently hitting the gym and bodybuilding. My therapy.
20 years? Working in that environment makes you a mental inmate. Godspeed and good luck man. Try picking up some feminine/softer hobbies to balance out the hypermasculine nature of corrections work. Back in the day, it's documented that samurai would consciously pick up feminine hobbies to balance out the aggresiveness of their regular jobs. A lot of them would do gardening, sowing, knitting, calligraphy, painting etc
I’m a dad 36 yrs old , meat cutter work 6 days week in a 35 degree room for almost 8 hours picking up meat boxes smallest being 40 lbs and they get heavier Workout about 5 times week getting about 6-7 hrs sleep diet is on point But towards the end of week damn I feel beat still push thru.. I have found my self sometimes fighting the emotions and the tiredness, but physical work keeps your body moving I think heavy lifting will compensate like jocko mention... we got this
No need to hit the gym in your case. Wake up really early, like 4am or so, get a 1 mile a run, come home do some calisthenics (push ups, pull ups, squats, leg raises, arm work etc) and then go to work. That way you start your day with a victory and on YOUR terms, instead of being a slave to your obligations and coming home too tired to exercise. Get after it
@@PermanentHigh i like that way of thinking man. Waking up early to go on a run to start the day off as a victory instead of a work slave. That really opened up my eyes man.
Thanks for your perspective on this I'm a construction mechanic all my life and suffer from back injury and right arm nerve damage almost cut my arm off severed my bicep. Met a guy who was a personal trainer who suffered back injury/broke his back from jumping from helicopters. He helped me immensely and he focused on mobility and core training. Also no machines all balance for the precision muscle control. Appreciate your guys knowledge on this!!!
Carpenter here. I still train 5 days a week but I'm only 26 with no kids. A lot of construction workers have good diets actually but there are of course a lot who don't but that's the same for all job groups
I can absolutely relate, I used to do landscape construction and it was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had. It was hard to balance work and training but I think this is great advice
Most relatable Jocko segment yet I'm also a drywaller and my lifts are all measurably heavier if I train first thing fasted than after a work day fully loaded with food. Thanks so much for covering this Jocko, huge fan of all you do.
My old man was a fire fighter. He used to tell me to run after dinner with him. You guessed it, I'd stitch up straight away. Wake up, smash your exercise then eat to recoup.
Started listening to this podcast three weeks ago, subsequently I started going to the gym every morning, eating healthy, and writing down my plans for the next day each night. Hadn't committed to such a productive lifestyle for five years. Jocko makes it tough to keep lying to yourself.
Make sure you check your spiritual health as well. Training can be tough in the military and it always helps me to remind myself of my "why" when I'm feeling burned out.
I was pushing a really heavy weight for me on the sled at the gym yesterday and every time the burn in my push muscles, legs and lungs got to the point I wanted to give up, I heard Jocko’s voice in my head saying “Don’t quit” in that gravelly, manly tone of his. He’s motivation personified. 💪🏻
Well...I've done landscaping lawn maintenance in Florida for over 25 years. Endurance and rest are the most important. Trying to remain calm and focused conserves alot of energy also. Diet and vitamins help alot also of course. Travel light is my motto. Jocko is truly an inspiration and thinker. Love this guy!
I was running into the same issue with my job. I'm a mobile aircraft mechanic and I spend lots of time either squatting in awkward positions and also lots of driving to different airports, sometimes 5 hours away. Started doing more core exercises to relieve the stress in my lower back and more cardio. Now those 13 or 14 hour days don't beat me up as much as they use to. And I noticed my stamina has increased to a point where I can recover fast enough to do it all over again the next day. I think doing the right work outs that complement what you do also helps with motivation and stamina to get through the work day.
As a 38 year old boiler technician/welder who has been at it for 20 years I find R.O.M. (range of motion) work outs on your work day's and free weight squats and overhead presses with kettle bells and leg lifts has made me feel so much better throughout the week.
I don't know how you did it, but you did. I just started a work out program for various reasons. On my second day at the gym this podcast popped up. I'm subscribed however, this podcast was recommended of all of yours. So I listened. Like the questioner, I work a rather physical job, not drywalling by any means. But it helped point me in the right direction and think more about where I needed to add strength besides in my back. I also learned that while listening to you, I get more intense to what I'm doing, which at this stage probably isn't my best move! Either way, thanks for inadvertently helping me out.
I will literally take a near month long break in December and whole weeks off if I'm close to feeling burnt out because of working out or exercising. I return refreshed, energized and actually miss working out. Hence why a lot of newbies burn out, get injured, or don't see results within a couple of weeks or months because they don't understand the value of rest periods and rest periods that work for their body and workout routine.
Same. I'll do 5 days of weight training and 1 day of cardio per week, for 3 months. Then take 1 week off and back at it. I come back after that week charged and ready to kill it.
I work up to 12 hours a day labor. Im 52 and do my 5x5 program every day, squats everyday! Plus 30 min cardio during the week. Week ends boxing, cardio and 5x5. I have to stretch, eat right, and get my sleep including a 15 min deep nap at lunch. Took years to get everything together. This including injuries which I have learned to avoid for the most part by listening to my body. I come home beat but as soon as I get my gear on Im ready and always feel ready to go when I'm done. Either you want it or you don't. Oh and I drove the ship, Qm2 6th fleet flag ship USS Belknap '87 -'91.
I do a lot of pipeline construction at work pushing a wacker packer, shoveling dirt, jumping in and out of trenches.. hard work for 10 hours a day. Gained weight my first year, changing my diet now. Also ordered resistance bands, when I get home a quick 20 -30 minute bodybuilding set throughout the week is all I need. Changing my life, all because of this video. Thanks for the ideas.
"Have you ever hung drywall?" "I have seen drywall being hung, I have." LOL ! Another good tip is to own the business so your not draining all your physical energy doing the hard work all day long. Construction work wears your body out when you do it all your life; Just look at the majority of construction workers. Echo do you have a channel that you talk/show people about creating videos ?
Unless ur like me doing a landscaping job because ur 16 and trying to save up money for college and such when ur young and ur body can take it it’s good work and keeps u in shape
Whenever you're ever in a chaotic lifestyle and you can tell your job is taking a toll on your body. FIND A ROUTINE, some sort of comfort-zone or develop a NEW comfort-zone, so that you can fall back on something thats comfortable AND THEN you can start improving your situation. The only way to survive hard times is to adapt and get used to it, and begin doing the things that are important to you.
Terrific advice. I once worked as a house framer. It was the most demanding civilian job I ever held. There was no need whatsoever to do any additional strength conditioning, but it was necessary to do cardio. The stretching advice is really sound. 🤓
"I find it really hard to find discipline..." Jocko is such a humble guy! He literally has a pre workout called Discipline. Guy needs a pick me up, give it a try.
I've been a Construction Worker all my Life. And these guys are on point. My Personal experience exactly matches their Words. I been through all of that. I nearly got retired at 36 Years, but I fixed my Diet, get my Rock Climbing (that's the Pullups part ) going and do not Workout at all exept from stretching and mobility. Ocasionally I try some calistenics Regression as a Max. Strength Workout. Right now I'm picking my career back up. Strengthwise as well as opticaI I am in the shape of my Life. I can't do it fulltime anymore, but at least i got fit enough to make a Living again. It's not easy tho. It's like society is working against you. You have to be educated and concious about your nutrition. Also you need a good bullshit detector. There's tons of terrible advice out there . Great Video. Thanks for the Motivation.
I've been working as a gardener in Belgium before joining forces and I join Echo's argument on the diet : When you are doing a hard working job (I worked as a logger more than a gardener), you're happy when you can eat a delicious meal on midday or get full with junk food and soda. Once you realise that, you become so much more effective.
Great advice, as an HVAC tradesman I gave up hard heavy lifting for yoga/stretching and focused on using the heavy furnace’s and Air conditioners as my “heavy lifts”. All my lifts went up, and back pain went away. Diet in trade life is also hard but staying away from gas station food is a big one.
Jocko isn't kidding, used to work in landscaping, most of which consisted building foundation walls and other things. 8-9 hours a day of carrying cinder blocks, masonary block, running equipment and lifting/moving large trees and plants, all you really needed at the end of the day was the cardio. If you want another "whole body" workout, try rock climbing. Seen a ton of guys in the gym laugh at this but the first time they go their arms are so sore they can't even grip a door handle, lol.
I work 6am to 6pm Monday to Friday and I work out at 7pm 6 days a week. I have a 7 year old son and 11 year old step daughter who have all kinds of schedules and activities I need to attend. The days where I have to go somewhere after work like a baseball game I'll do pullups during breaks or down time at work on the bathroom stall. Wake up and do a few sets of pushups til failure and get a nice pump then tell me how much better your day goes. Also yes meal prep is key. I eat at the same times every day and eat the same few meals!
I deal with this all the time, ive even quit a few jobs when im chasing the gains but yea find something that compliments your day like cardio or some type of bike work or short 15 min body exercises but I would not recommend goin heavy, maybe and I mean maybe on a day off and make sure you also have the next day off, the last thing you want is injury.
You mentioned construction workers having a bad back at times. A lot of that is because of the heavy tool belt. The reason I say that is because we see the same thing in Police offices, under ground Miner's, and almost every other occupation that requires a tool belt or duty belt. If anyone is looking to design a new product that would be an awesome opportunity. Belts cause untold injury's.
Pre-workout stretching has been shown to have negative effects. Warm-ups should include mostly body movement things. Think arm circles, jumping jacks, that kinda thing to loosen up. I think I read something about post-exercise stretching, but stretching in general builds flexibility
@@finalcountdown3210 yea i agree about the pre workout stretching, i would say that stretching afterwards or at the end of your day is most beneficial.
Only stretch what you need to. Stretching the wrong muscles can cause imbalances ie, stretched hamstring and loose quads, stretched back and tight chest. Figure out what’s right on your body and stretch it or foam roll it. Tip; if your sitting all day, stretch your hip flexors and pectoral muscles & stengthen your core.
I’m a delivery driver, 8-10 hr a day, early morning routine starts early lift, inverse table for stretches and back pain. Work all day then come home hit the table again before bed! Eating smart throughout the day...plenty of water as well! Rest and repeat!!
When I frist joined the work force right after high school I weighted over 300lb I got a job straight out of high school doing landscaping. I lost so much weight! I realize that I was working out for 8 hours a day so I ate a 6inch sub with no sauces bc I didn't want the extra calories. I also never brought a soda to work for lunch instead I would bring a Gatorade or body armor drink. This was a year ago and I'm now 225.
I'm a farrier so I can relate. I started training jiu jitsu and have also been through the fatigue of exersize before and after work. I'm always all or nothing which gets me in trouble so it's either a long hard workout or nothing. Diet is probably the foundation to the fix. Just like these guys said. Just do short workouts like 10 minutes you can get alot done in 10 minutes if you push super hard and do it in the am so your loose for work!
Strength training would make construction (usually a HARD job) easier. I speak from experience. “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people and more useful in general.” - Mark Rippetoe
@@brandonderks6466 but it is unlikely you will have the strongest mind possible without putting yourself through difficult feats of strength or athleticism.
Hey bro I would say you don't know how much your videos help me but I know it is the reason that you do them God bless your heart thank you for your service🌴🤸♂️🌴⚓🎗
Jocko accepts Burnout as an excuse only if you got set on fire by a napalm-grenade and burned to ashes, BUT he still expects you to inform your superior officer before taking your last breath.
I always pack my lunch might not teast the best lol but its what the body needs cold oatmeal.. Cold chicken n some spinch w a boat load of pepper lol n if i dont have the time i grab a can of tuna n sardines
I’m a grape swamper in the Central Valley. We toss/load 2500 boxes of grapes onto a work truck in 95-100 degree heat. I am drenched in sweat most of the day. My advice would be to try to clean up your diet 1, and 2 do a lot of stretching to keep u fresh most of the day. Get knots out of ur back or hamstrings and you won’t be as tired to lift when u get home.
Hey Jocko, I wanted to know, what you would do to succeed as an artist. Serious question. Also, I would find it incredibly valuable to see you personally coach someone in whatever field they are in or with whatever problems they are having. Almost something along the lines of those reality shows where a professional comes into a failing environment and gets shit working again.
I had the same exact problem I was just burnt out working 10-12 hrs 6 days a week, but what I did is I switched to mornings Do a 30-40 minute morning workout Heavy weights, you’re already rested. You just get to burnt out at the end of the day. Unless he is already doing this or Quit drinking during the week maybe once on the weekend
Honestly I think he should just push through and do the workout anyway. I used to be a mover for 7 1/2 years and I would literally RUN heavy ass furniture and boxes and pack the truck simultaneously because I was also a crew chief. And I would work 10 hours a day and sometimes I’d even do moves that lasted 22-24 hours and I’d still come into work the next morning with no sleep! Those days I didn’t get to workout after work but on normal days I’d workout everyday after I finished work. I struggled with discipline but I forced myself to do it even though my fingers and body were sore as hell and callused. It was hard, really hard. But I noticed that when I would workout despite being sore, on the next days when I worked doing moving I would seriously work way harder and more effective whether I was sore or not. I was just simply much stronger because of the workout. And since I struggled with not having perfect discipline, I would regularly workout about 4 days a week and rarely hit 6 days a week but I KNOW IN MY HEART that if I constantly managed the 6 days a week with pure discipline, I’d always be at my best on the job site. Because on those days where I decided to skip my workout, my body looked less pumped and I wouldn’t be AS strong as when I forced my workout in. Just saying, he should force through it and workout anyway.
Eddie 'Flat Earth' Bravo goes bananas after this vid. So true. I am an IT guy who works in a toxic environment. But bjj classes make me better and relief all the office crap out of me.
i love when this dude says . . back in the day , in the deep voice , shit kills me . and its even better how funny they think it is . gotta love a good laugh , especially when youre out here " GETN AFTER IT " 💪
When I worked at a gas station, it was an area that was booming. Most of my customers were construction workers and most of them were out of shape, ate nothing but junk and processed food. They would buy and drink 3-4 energy drinks a day. I would always think if you need this to make it through 1 day then you need to eat better. I tried talking to some about it, but most don't want to hear it. Until something happens with their health
People with physical jobs often talk about not being more physically fit. I think you’re correct about diet, but I think there is a lot to be said for sustaining a target heart rate for a period of time.
I hate to open the can of worms, but what are some components of a “Good diet?” I’m a band teacher my diet gets wrecked in the fall with the meals we feed our kids during football season. With the season ending, I’m working on rucking with my son in the evenings to get time outside and exercising, but I need to adjust the diet side too… Do you have any tips?
Not as cool, but 6 miles every day after school for cross country running. It wasn't fun per se, but it was rewarding and gratifying, and definitely kept me in good shape.
@Elias Anatolios yeah that's true but at least a general meal plan. Like eat eggs and oatmeal for breakfast chicken and spinach for lunch and steak for dinner with a potato or something
It’s really simple just go to the gym b4 work coz after a day of manual labour Ur tired. This is the only way I have found to do both coz after work I’m too tired
Jocko said, "Don't eat crap and you won't need as much sleep". This is truth. I work weird hours that sometimes have me running 4 days in a row with 3 or 4.5 hrs of sleep with a 2AM wake up time. I'm pretty worn by day 4 but I have been doing this for over a year and have been maintaining momentum. My diet could always be better I am certain that I eat healthier than the majority. Were it not for the fact that I eat well and exercise I doubt I could have lasted this long. That said, I know my long term health will benefit from more sleep. All the more reason to work harder while I have the opportunity.
Jonathan McLaren must be nice to get that much sleep.... pussy. I routinely go 72+ hours with no sleep ( 2 or 3 times a month), and at least 48 hours no sleep once a week. Change your tampon and keep moving
"I can be the most disciplined person in the world, I can eat right, work hard, exercise daily, stay focused, and delay gratification, but if my relationships with God and others are missing, I will miss life" Bob Merritt
I think training with autoregulation is a big thing he didn't mention. It's perfect for lifting with unreliable readiness without overly taxing yourself while still making steady progress. Barbell Medicine's programs would be my suggestion.
Diet is super important I'm a construction worker and if I'm not eating good Im exhausted, if I'm on point with my food I can go workout till midnight when I get home.
@@stevenbrown6593 right now my diet is not the greatest, but when I'm trying to eat good I eat tons of meat and fats with lots of mixed vegetables. I try to stay away from too much sugar and bad carbs that's always my weakness that gets me back off track and feeling sluggish again.
