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Turning as a "Vigorous" Cardiovascular Exercise

Joined
May 7, 2004
Messages
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Location
Lincoln Hills, CA (At the foot of the Sierra Nevad
Website
jerryhallstudio.com
As I wander well into my eighth decade I have recently decided to take my health seriously. Apparently some new (to me) research suggests the remarkable finding that vigorous exercise is a good thing. What got me thinking was when I found this:

"The Institute of Medicine recently released a lengthy report recommending that, as part of a routine regimen to maintain cardiovascular health and ideal body weight and body composition, we should all engage in 60 minutes of daily vigorous physical activity."

Pending the AAW BOD commissioning a large scale, multi year, peer reviewed study from our professional development funds supplemented by re-purposed educational development funds, I am seeking anecdotal evidence to support my bias that 12 hours of active turning equals or exceeds the requisite one hour of vigorous excercise.

For Starters a few examples of my personal such evidence:
- Starting my chain saw (20 pulls average, not counting cursing, marching around, and throwing it into a pile of chips) is worth a good five minutes
- My lathe yesterday hurling one half of a 10 inch bowl into my turning muscle (never mind the semi circle of bruises on my tummy) surely raised my heart rate to constitute another 14 minutes and 22 seconds.
- Every few minutes I walk, quickly, to the grinder, and back to the lathe. 10 steps round trip. Should I move the grinder upstairs? Or down the block to my buddies shop? Or more reasonably (less lost time) do jumping jacks to and from the grinder.
- Surely shop cleanup, constant log rearrangement, sealing log ends, searching for "stolen" tools, is of continued benefit
- I believe sincerely that my Tuesday midnight runs in my PJ's to neighbors' garbage cans to find room for shavings is of great, and certainly of measurable value. (As if they didn't know where the spillover on their sidewalk came from.)
- Hiding and retrieving logs hidden from my wife under her overhanging azaleas and rhododendrons while futile at one level (she finds them easily) does keep me and her quite active.

This is in reality a momentous matter to me. I need to make every year I have left count. Every time I have felt the urgency to vigorously exercise I have been in the habit of diverting my attention to turning. I hope this will not requre an intervention of some sort that leads to less time turning and more time doing........

I welcome serious contributions on this important subject. I am asking Betty to add a regular column by Mr. Ellsworth (a pioneer in such turning and health matters) on "Turning and your Heart" to the Journal. I believe this type of material would attract "healthy" numbers of new readers and AAW members.

Thank you for your consideration.
 
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Joined
Mar 25, 2008
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Location
Suwanee, GA
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www.mikepeacewoodturning.com
Ask most serious tennis about their workout and exercise training and you may find that more workout to improve their tennis game than play tennis to workout.

I joined a "Silver Sneakers" senior fitness class several months ago and participate in an hourly workout class three times a week. I have found that it makes it much easier for me:
  • to handle lifting and carrying turning wood
  • to stoop to pick up things I dropped or bend over to sweep up shavings
  • to start and use a chain saw
 

john lucas

AAW Forum Expert
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Reminds me of the guys who say they play golf to get exercise. That's about as much exercise as getting out of the chair to get a beer. :) I'm a golfer by the way. Well if you call chasing the ball into the woods golf. Any exercise is good. Cleaning the shop, lifting the chainsaw, even just walking to the grinder and back. Just keep moving.
Seriously though I think intense cardiovascular exercise does wonders for you. I know it helps my arthritis. I know walking is good but I can't get my heartrate over 120 bpm unless I do speed walking which is hard on my knees. That's why I ride a bicycle. My heart rate will get over 100 bpm and stay there for the 1 or 2 hours that I ride. I can't help but believe this is good for you (unless you get hit by a car) :)
I had a stress test a few years ago and the guy said, Well your heart shows some anomolies above 220 pbm but at your age you shouldn't even be able to get there. I guess that's a good thing. I know my heart rate gets above 180bpm. I really feel good afterwords when I push myself that hard.
 
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
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As I wander well into my eighth decade I have recently decided to take my health seriously.
....

Pending the AAW BOD commissioning a large scale, multi year, peer reviewed study from our professional development funds supplemented by re-purposed educational development funds, I am seeking anecdotal evidence to support my bias that 12 hours of active turning equals or exceeds the requisite one hour of vigorous exercise.
....

I welcome serious contributions on this important subject. I am asking Betty to add a regular column by Mr. Ellsworth (a pioneer in such turning and health matters) on "Turning and your Heart" to the Journal. I believe this type of material would attract "healthy" numbers of new readers and AAW members.

Thank you for your consideration.

Jerry,
Yoga, too? Meditation? I've heard that David Ellsworth sometimes has his students do stretches on mats on the floor. He recommends placing grinders a good distance away from lathes -- the walk to and fro is time for exercise and contemplation, so that's a definite "yes" idea. Place tools high on a wall to encourage stretching?

Title for column? "Heart-healthy turning" nah, not jazzy enough. No one wants to be that healthy. We need a more subversive title to lure the unsuspecting into our plans. Right now, a subversive/jazzy/appropriate title escapes me. I'll put some thought to the matter, though, as I take my walk tonight.

And congratulations on 80+ years! You said you'd been to Anderson Ranch. Did the altitude bother you? Or maybe you already live in rarified air?


Betty Scarpino, editor, American Woodturner
 
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does a 7' plus blank count?????? :D
 
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Denver, Colorado
Health

Jerry-If you are 80+ you must have good genes or have lived a life that should not change. Living a life of activity like your grandparents may have had will do more for you than planned activities. Congratulations on living past the big 80.
 
Joined
May 7, 2004
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Location
Lincoln Hills, CA (At the foot of the Sierra Nevad
Website
jerryhallstudio.com
I must count funny

Don't rush me people! Please.

I was counting this way:
0-9 1st decade
10-19..
20...
30
40
50
60
70-79 eighth decade

Thanks for all your good ideas. But they all add up to less turning time. I am going to have to think on those proposed serious life style changes for a few more years.
 
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jerhall,

I sugest that you and your wife renew former activites which may have been mutually beneficial to your cardiovascular health. :D

Dave Roller 72
 
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Apr 27, 2004
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Location
Green Valley, Az.
Don't rush me people! Please.

I was counting this way:
0-9 1st decade
10-19..
20...
30
40
50
60
70-79 eighth decade

Thanks for all your good ideas. But they all add up to less turning time. I am going to have to think on those proposed serious life style changes for a few more years.

Well okay...I'll be 89 next week so I'm a year away from my 10th decade? Hey, I'm impressed.

I take a mile and half walk in a nearby desert park before breakfast every morning. However, I'll admit that I recently installed a padded bar stool in my shop. I still stand at my lathe, but it's nice to sit down at my workbench. I may move the padded stool to my lathe when I reach 99.

Wally
 
Last edited:
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Denver, Colorado
100th decade

Wally-I believe it was just a slip counting your 100th decade instead of your 10th. The only one I know who could reach 100 decades is our current president.
 
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Ames, Iowa (about 25 miles north of Des Moines)
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My cardiac volume and heart rate always increased....

.... when I used to launch bowls off of the lathe during the initial steep learning curve stage. I haven't been 'fortunate' to have this opportunity in many years, but I suppose turning could count for some improvement in cardiovascular health.....given the right circumstances!! ;)

Rob
 
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May 13, 2007
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Turning a Healty Heart

Turning most assuredly is a health promoting activity. It keeps us out of the recliner and away from the pototo chips.

(weak, I know)

Later,
Dale M
 
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Sep 23, 2008
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For Starters a few examples of my personal such evidence:
- Starting my chain saw (20 pulls average, not counting cursing, marching around, and throwing it into a pile of chips) is worth a good five minutes
- My lathe yesterday hurling one half of a 10 inch bowl into my turning muscle (never mind the semi circle of bruises on my tummy) surely raised my heart rate to constitute another 14 minutes and 22 seconds.
- Every few minutes I walk, quickly, to the grinder, and back to the lathe. 10 steps round trip. Should I move the grinder upstairs? Or down the block to my buddies shop? Or more reasonably (less lost time) do jumping jacks to and from the grinder.
- Surely shop cleanup, constant log rearrangement, sealing log ends, searching for "stolen" tools, is of continued benefit
- I believe sincerely that my Tuesday midnight runs in my PJ's to neighbors' garbage cans to find room for shavings is of great, and certainly of measurable value. (As if they didn't know where the spillover on their sidewalk came from.)
- Hiding and retrieving logs hidden from my wife under her overhanging azaleas and rhododendrons while futile at one level (she finds them easily) does keep me and her quite active.

You forgot to mention the body shaping aspects of turning too...

You get a strong core from using your body to sway with the gouge. You can tell a beginning turner from an experience one because beginners usually have big arms instead of shreaded abs.

If you really want to get a workout, start making hats on a big lathe. Once the piece is rounded and balance, crank the speed up to get the stream of wood flying. Then, when you start sweeping, you'll have to walk 3x as far.

lastly, find a turning group where you are the youngest guy. As the "kid' in my group, I roll the logs and run the saws. The older guys just tell me how to do it :) (and usually get a good share of the wood without eating chips :eek:)

Hope I can still do it 30+ years from now!
 
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