Manual labor job

[marcm7979]

To jocko or anyone with a suggestion. I'm just about 40 years old, 2 kids, wife, regular household stuff on my plate. I'm a tree climber for a living. Hard physical labor 5 days per week. One night of jiu jitsu per week. I try to workout in the am before work. I have been inconsistent with that, mostly due to recovery. I recently started with jockos beginner series workouts. My recovery especially after a hard work day and after getting mauled in jiu jitsu sometimes leaves me taking 2 or 3 days before I can get back into my garage in the am for another workout. Any recommendation on either workout structure (days on vs off) and other methods for quicker and more efficient recovery?? Thanks. Out.

[mynewunit]

This is a great question. If you are climbing poles I am assuming you aren't trying to knock down your body fat. That leaves a few options. The question is What is your goal. Do you want every tee shirt to have the sleeves stretched out? Do you want silly dead lift and squat numbers? Or do you want your cardio to be endless? These are 3 different missions. To get swole/jacked/yoked you need to learn about hypertrophy. Good sources of information include Mike O'Hearn and Steve Weatherford and Joe Manganello. To get 3 plates on all your lifts, you want starting strength with Mark Ripetoe and his posse, barbell logic, barbell medicine, etc.
For endless cardio, it is the run slower to run run faster. This is the principal of not out running any of your cardio vascular systems. Typically this means don't out run your lungs, and watch your pulse. Good resources on this come from primal fitness.
How do these play with your life. Starting strength only wants you lifting about 3 days a week. A normal day takes about 80 minutes.
Getting swole is probably the biggest commitment. Lots of reps, soreness and generally no days off.
Building your cardio this way, you shouldn't leave you exhausted. You generally run at the rate you can go forever. You stop when it is time. And the more days you do it the faster the forever rate becomes. Probably 3 long runs a week. Maybe a mile or 2 in between days.
Generally, I tell people to start with pushups. Get to 100 in a day. Then get to 100 in 4 sets. Then get that down to 2 sets. Then get the 2 sets done in 5 minutes. If you have any level of fitness when you start this, it takes a month or 2 to get to the end goal. Then find a new goal.
I have 2 girls, approaching 40. Desk job. I don't get the work out everyday. But I do take 7 stories of stairs at least once a day. Little steps get progress progress gets improvements.

[Dylan - SoCal]

Jocko for President!

Just watched The Rubin Report. Jocko, I hope you make us proud and accept the ultimate responsibility in running/winning the Presidency.

You are what we need. True leadership with the right ideology!!!!!

[shane]

Try squeezing in some mobility and stretching work to help with recovery times. I do some modified yoga stretches along with some techniques from Kelly Starett's 'Becoming a Supple Leopard' (highly recommended read for anyone with old injuries, aging bodies, etc.). A 10-minute session of this before bed or right after your workout can be a huge help. Additionally make sure your nutrition is good, lots of good proteins and joint support (fatty acids, calcium, collagens).