Winter Exercise and Activity for Keeping In Shape

Find an Activity and Keep Moving

Keeping in shape isn't a very hard job for us tree climbers, considering that we are continuously climbing ropes and limbs in trees and moving logs and brush on the ground. This type of daily activity keeps a person in top physical shape, but what happens when the work slows down, like during the winter months for us Midwest climbers? Winter exercise and activity can help keep our bodies in shape while we wait for the warm weather and steady work to come back. Let's take a look at some winter safety exercises and different techniques to keep us working at 100% day in and day out!

Honestly, the best thing we can do when the work slows down and the cold sets in is to keep moving. Living a sedentary lifestyle is one of the most unhealthy things you can do to your body. Get in some winter exercise and activity for keeping in shape with things like hunting or hiking throughout the winter months so you are still walking longer distances like you do on a normal work day. This will help keep your fitness level up and keep your joints and muscles active as well. The body works through a system of hydraulics, you need to keep all your fluids moving so your joints stay healthy!

Though this may not be the top thing on your list, activities like rock climbing are highly beneficial to our tree climbing careers. There are numerous indoor rock climbing gyms across the country that offer a really fun way of working out that doesn't involve the typical weight lifting regimen. Rock climbing will help with hand-eye coordination, as well as advance your foot work beyond what you thought possible. Your core will become stronger, which will help you with pulling limbs around, as well as improve your balance on limb walks. There really is no better workout than climbing things!

Great Way to Stay Loose and Limber

Another great winter exercise and activity is yoga. I know what you are probably thinking, 'I'm not going to wear yoga pants and twist my leg up and over my head while balancing on my hands!' I don't expect you to! However, I do recommend giving some of these stretches a try to keep your body limber throughout the long winter months. Yoga has been proven to help with your posture and hip placement, and it also helps reduce stress! If stress relief isn't enough of an incentive to give it a try, then I don't know what is!

Have a Ball this Winter

Small little things like the Arbor Ball grip strengthener can help you get through the cabin fever that starts to set in around February or March. This cool little ball works with gyroscopic force to create a tool that helps strengthen your hands, forearms, wrists, and shoulders. By simply getting the gyro to start spinning and then keeping it moving with a slow and steady turn of your wrist, you are sure to get your forearms pumped up in no time. This tool has been used for rehabilitation and preventative treatment of carpal tunnel, as well as other joint related issues. Visit our showroom and try one out to see how beneficial they really can be!

Hydration is Important in Every Season

Beyond ensuring you are getting enough winter exercise, another thing to really pay attention to is your water intake. As we all know, when the weather is hot and we are working hard, it's pretty easy to drink a gallon or more of water a day. This is great because it rehydrates us, but it also helps dilute the toxins in our body and flush them out through our kidneys. When the temperatures drop, we are usually drinking more coffee and nowhere near the same amount of water that we were in the warmer months. Try to keep on a strict regimen of a set amount of water per day. Drinking water helps reduce tight muscles and joints and headaches. If you have some beers the night before, be sure to drink some extra water to keep everything flowing correctly throughout your body! Water helps with the dilution of the pollutants that we put into our bodies!

Stay Warm, Stay Safe, and Keep Moving!

Simply the best thing that you can do, as I already stated, is to keep moving! Get outside and split some firewood, go for a walk through the woods with your family, take up a new hobby like skiing, or try your hand at ice climbing, or even winter tree climbing, just get outside and enjoy your little bit of free time before the work schedule sets back in! Your body is meant to move on a daily basis so don't lie around all winter and then expect to get right back at it when the leaves pop in the spring. Keep your body in the best shape throughout the winter and it will be ready to perform well for you when your back on the job in the spring. However, if you treat your body poorly and expect it to perform, don't be surprised when you get injured or your performance level isn't where it was before the snow started to fly! Stay warm, stay safe, and keep moving!