Well I may be getting a job roofing (soon) full time which is gonna make keeping weight on difficult. Anybody done this before or have any tips? I’m definitely worried about working on a roof but if the pitch is big i’m tying down regardless what everyone thinks…Anyways, i’m thinking of not really training my legs during this time and just mainting them with a few random sets of squats and deads because I don’t really want DOMS when i’m on a roof…my legs are also a strong point in my physique so I don’t mind letting the rest catch up…I think i’m gonna shed a tonne of body fat too.
My cousin does roofing off/on. He just work out his upper body. Going up a ladder with a couple 70lb bags of shingles on his shoulder is enough of a lower body workout for him (At least thats why I think he doesnt work out his lower body, never really asked him why). Ill have to ask him next time I see why he doesnt if I remember.
I roofed one day only because I worked for my buddy doing landscaping and that day he wanted to replace his roof. The heat was the worst part, you need to drink up to 2 gallons of water per work day.
I think it is intelligent to maintain a little fear. It is better than forgetting where you are at.
Get a straight claw hammer one that if you were to start sliding you could swing the claw through the roof. Good luck and be safe.
Roofing sucks,
it’s hot, the sunburn sucks,and sun screen will run down into your eyes.
Then it burns like a son of a bitch.
While you’re stumbling around looking for your jug of water you will unexpectedly do one of the following things, Trip over that jug of water causing it to slide down and fall off of the roof. While trying to prevent your 99 cent jug of water from commiting suicide you will eventually follow said jug of water and wind up landing in the driveway right next to the cozy bushes your water landed in.
So now your laying in the driveway, eyes still burning, and now your crying because when you landed in the drive way your roofing hammer folllowed you down and it’s now sticking in your thigh.
Now for the good part,
The tears are washing out the sunscreen.
If you were tied off, you wouldn’t have fell all the way to the driveway and have the roofing hammer sticking out of your leg,instead you would be dangling from the roof like a pinata…
Good luck Man
Bullpup
[quote]pittbulll wrote:
I think it is intelligent to maintain a little fear. It is better than forgetting where you are at.
Get a straight claw hammer one that if you were to start sliding you could swing the claw through the roof. Good luck and be safe.
[/quote]
Also watch out for punky/ weak spots. One of my friends who does roofing/ carpenter work fell though a roof a few years back. He broke a few bones in his arm & hand and has a few nasty scars from it. Now that I think about it, he doesnt work out his lower body either. He just plays with 50lb dumbbells for his upper, plays vollyball, dirtbikes… ect for his lower workouts when he isnt sweating pellets at work.
Always always always leave your roofing hatchet where you will return to. I did shake shingles for two summers and the first summer I was walking a wet valley where I slipped and fell on my ass, no big deal…until I looked down at my hand squirting blood. When I put my hand down to break my fall my hatchet had flipped around in my belt and I swiped my hand across it. 3 cut tendons and big nerve damage, plus a cool zig zag scar that’s about 6 inches long. But after a year of therapy and school, I went back the next summer.
An old roofer ,workout partner of mine,used to try to find light colored flanel shirts and cut sleeves off and soak them in water a couple times a day when hot,also soak a white towel and wear on head hanging down on his neck and shoulders.He still squated and was one of the strongest guys i ever saw on overhead presses.Stay Cool!
Roofing…yea, it sucks but it’s better than dry wall.
Just don’t shoot yourself with the hammer.
It’s actually pretty hard to fall off a roof, IMO. But, it happens often because people get in a hurry and lose concentration. On days that you’re hungover, be extra careful, trust me.
roofing isn’t that bad up north (I’m in New England, it’s humid as fuck, but rarely gets above 85). Down south is a different story. I lived in Texas for a year and regularly got sick from the heat just standing on the ground, I couldn’t imagine working on a black asphalt roof. Either way, just be glad you’re not doing insulation. Chopped up fiberglass + heat + humidity = itchy sweaty mess from hell. Ugh, I swear I’m starting to itch just thinking about it.
It’s a hard job but you’d have to be pretty fucking dumb not to have already figured that out. Drink alot of water, pace yourself, replenish electrolites, don’t skip breakfast. Don’t get shitfaced the night before a day that you have a huge roof and it’s going to be 100 degrees outside. ALso just a thought but if you’re boss starts acting like a dick or you don’t think you can cut it just keep at it and look for another job in the meantime. ALso might wanna look into some gylcerol to hold extra water. The claw hammer is a lifesaver to.
yeah like wideguy said : pace yourself. the guys i roofed w/ never worked less than a 10 hour day. plus they were pretty into saying shit like " we don’t need the hoist-ladder, we’ve got swivel… ". i really can’t imagine lifting after a work day. but beer will taste better to you than ever before.
YEah fuck that shit! I still hear shit like that all the time. “You’re a weight lifter. Let’s see how many pallets you can throw over your shoulder and climb up the ladder at once.” BTW dont’ test it that out. The ladder only holds soo much.
I’m a Carpenter/Builder. Over here we don’t spesialize as much as in the US, espesially the smaller crews/gangs. We pretty much do everything. Steel tying, concrete, framing, roofing, drywall, the works.
Forget about gaining weight to begin with, focus on just maintaining what you have and work from there. When I first started I used to eat about 2000 cals a day. I’m now at 4000 and just maintaining 165lbs @ 6’tall.
Liquid meals are essensial, it’s not like you can eat at your desk or anything. Plus, I don’t know how many breaks you get, but I can usually only 2 breaks in a 10 hour day, so not alot of time to eat solid meals. People wont look twice if you stop for a drink, espesially if they don’t know what you’re drinking. I know that sounds weird but I’ve got very bad reactions from workmates and employers when they found out I was drinking meal replacememnts “during work time”, even though they take twice as many water breaks as I do. One jackass even told me to keep working as I’d already eaten! Moral of the story is use non-transparent water bottles for your shakes. Trust me, it can save you alot of headaches.
Dude. That sucks. I spent almost half a summer roofing, before finally figureing out it was easier to do a night shift. The work is hard, the sun is hot, the hours are long.
Only piece of advice I can give you from a training perspective is try switching to a total body routine. This will help to minimize the DOMS in any one bodypart, so you’ll still be able to perform.