Told to get more exercise so thought blacksmithing

[John Ocallaghan]

From the outside looking in. It would seem that blacksmithing would be ok exercise. I was recently told I needed to get out and exercise more. I took a desk job a few years back and put some weight on. I have some disposable money put back for another project that I could convert over. But my question is how much exercise is there to it. I have spent hours watching blacksmiths at different shows and places and it looks like a good way to use a lot of different muscles and burn off some calories. I am already into wood working and there has been many projects where something from a blacksmith would have taken the project to the next level. Just wanted some comments from some of you that do it a lot and ask if when your finished you feel like you have worked out.

Thank you

[arkie]

You'll end up with arms like Popeye! 

Seriously, if you haven't been doing much upper body and arm exercise before getting into smithing, go slowly, don't try to hammer hard at first and don't use hammers that are too heavy.  Beginners usually start out with 1 to 2 1/2 lb. and then 3 lb. as they progress.  Heavier hammers for when you are in shape or have a striker to help you.  Probably most of the blacksmiths you have watched have been at it for a while, years most likely, and are conditioned for proper hammering.  If you spend a day smithing, yes, you probably will feel your arms at least have had a workout...maybe your back too!  Full body exercise is best, but you probably already know that.  Take it easy at first.

[Ethan the blacksmith]

WELCOME TO THE CRAFT!

blacksmithing is a good way to get you fit... but its even more addicting than you think.is very fun but, you must be carful you don't stay in the shop over a long period of time, otherwise, you might not come out... lol...

make sure to get lots of good blacksmithing books, and YouTube vids are very helpful... one of my favorite channels for getting into the craft is: purgatoryironworks.

happy smithing. Ethan

[Quarry Dog]

If you want a cardio workout, try running a good sized oliver hammer (think slow stairclimber powered power hammer) for half an hour.  You WILL need a dry shirt.

  All jokes aside though, your arms will develop fairly quickly.  Your offhand will even develop a good bit just from holding onto stock/tongs and from turning a blower if you end up with a handcranked unit.  If you end up with/at a shop where there is a good bit of distance between forge/anvil/vise, there will be a good bit of fast-ish walking, so as not to waste heat, while still being safe.

  I also can't say I've ever seen anyone forging on their behind, except for traditional japanese smithing, which is not what most people would call a comfortable seating position.  I hear that just standing and maintaining balance while doing even an office job makes a difference for weight, not to mention swinging a hammer for a couple hours.  I'm sure that the elevated temperature in the general forging area helps as well.  Also, don't forgot that a lot of things that you will be dealing with are not what would be considered light. 

  All in all, I would say that there is a light to moderate amount of exercise in the average blacksmithing experience, even working 1/4" stock.  There are even certain situations that I would consider fairly strenuous, as my opening statement suggests.  It all depends on what equipment you're using, how heavy your stock is, and how your work environment is set up.

PS: DRINK WATER.  The forge will dry you out in short order.  It's like a sauna.

PPS: As Arkie said, start off light, and work up to the big stuff as you become more comfortable.  I learned the hard way that It is a lot easier to learn how to control a light hammer, than it is a heavier one.  4 pounds of steel swung at the back of your own hand while using a center punch is not fun.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Quarry Dog

[bigfootnampa]

Personally, I find that I work rather intensely, usually with two irons in the fire.  There is a good bit of walking involved and lots of arm work.  Not a truly intense workout but an enjoyable one and time seems to disappear when I am forging!  I like to use a rebounder a few times per day for leg and trunk exercise... but my arms and grip get a very nice workout while forging for two or three hours at a time!  

I also make a lot of real neat stuff while I am at it!  I can make better woodworking tools than can be bought... at ANY price!  Large gouges, spokeshaves, drawknives, carving knives, slicks... some of the woodworking stuff I make!  I also make scythes that will spoil you for weedeaters forever!  Handmade nails that are beautiful and STRONG!!!!  Vastly stronger than manufactured nails!  My detail carving knives are unequaled and my wife is moved, almost to tears, by the beauty of my simple J hooks!  Hinges, latches and iron bindings can take a simple piece of woodwork to the world class level!  YES, YOU NEED A FORGE!!!!

[matto]

john where you from,  don't see O'Callaghan alot with the O and g.  My great grandpa O'Callaghan was a blacksmith in nebraska.

yes you can stay in shape with smithing.

[DSW]

My doc would tell you "no" as it doesn't really get your heart rate up like Cardio does. Then again, he didn't think me pushing wheel barrows doing concrete work was the right sort of "exercise" either... I suggested I bring him a 7 cf wheel barrow and fill it up with a 2 or 3 hundred pounds of stone and he could push it up and down the parking garage at a dead run with someone screaming at him for about an hour or so and see if his heart rate was up. After that he could take a break and flop 50 lb stamps for 2 or 3 hours and beat them in with the 40 lb beaters. Then tell me it's not a whole body work out....

I'd certainly say forging is a good upper body workout. I'd be split on whether it works well on raising your heat beat up to the levels they might want. I know when I was upsetting 1" bars for the legs on my forge I certainly got my heart rate up pounding that steel up and down like a digging bar. I wouldn't say that about doing small hooks and so on though.

[VaughnT]

If smithing was a great workout, I wouldn't be so fat!

It's great fun.  And, I do work up a sweat while doing it, especially in the summer, but I wouldn't call it a proper exercise regimen.  If you want to study the trade, great.  It certainly won't hurt.

[kevan]

I am inclined to go with Vaughn on this one. Yes hammering  will help build arm and upper body strength but it is not what was intended by whoever suggested you get out and do more exercise.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Tell you what, I need a striker... I bet my 14# strait pein will get uour heart a pumping! Eithen just posted a vidio that showes good teckniqje. 

 

[turbo7]

Do yourself a favour mate, walk hard as you can for at least half an hour every mourning. If you want to do something good for yourself get into forging, you will really enjoy it.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Smithing will build some strength, but it won't burn a ton of calories. You can sweat off a lot of pounds, but you get it back when you rehydrate yourself. 

Now depending on how you acquire your stock, you could get a bigger workout.....some of those dumpsters are deep!   

Swimming is a lot better workout.

[matto]

It is not the fact of blacksmithing being good or bad.  Anything we can do to keep our bodies guessing on what is going to happen next is good exercise.  Our bodies adapt to quick.  You can make anything a work out by doing something different while doing your routine.  In the old pics do you ever see a fat blacksmith????  Blacksmithing is a good workout.  The problem is what we put in our mouth before during and after!!!   If we would eat like our great or great great grandparents did then yes blacksmithing is a great work out.   Try an 80/20 rule.  Be good with what you feed your self 80 percent of the week then you can be bad 20 percent.  Cut out your breads and pastas for a month and add in more meat and veggies.  Give it one month see what happens.

[SpankySmith]

The latest studies are saying just 10 minutes a day of exercise that raises your heart rate is highly beneficial, so I would think smithing falls in that category.   I know few who smith for less than several hours at a time and there are normally times in there when the old ticker gets going, so yes, I'd say it does count as exercise.  Cussin at steel when it doesn't act right will get the heart rate up, too, at least for me it does!  

[Dan P.]

Blacksmithing is not a good work out. It also has intinsic health hazards (airborn particulates, repetitive strains, etc.).

No reason not to do it for fun, though. But for working out, try cycling, walking, jogging or actually working out (in a gym).

[SmoothBore]

Doctors give lots of "advice", ... it's what they get paid to do.

It's a pity they don't get paid to think a bit more, about that advice, ... but their Mal-Practice Insurance Providers do that for them.

For that reason, their advice tends to be of the "one size fits all" variety.

 

Personally, ... there's nothing more mind-numbingly boring, that a Gym Rat routine.

I see a lot of guys my age, with health issues, BRIEFLY entertaining a "workout" regime, ... but quickly ditching that onerous behavior.

So, ... my FREE ADVICE, ... is to find something that you enjoy, ... and do it as often as you like.

It may, ... or may not, ... benefit your Physical wellness, ... but your MENTAL HEALTH will improve greatly.

And that, will help out your physical condition, too.

 

Thus ends today's sermon .....

 

 

 

 

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

"Practicing" medicine about somes it up. 

[Dan P.]

Excellent advice, smoothbore;

"in mens sana, in corpore sano"

Personally I keep fit by walking. I have dogs. It's very engaging, and these days as often as not I have a 1 yr old strapped to my back.

[SmoothBore]

as often as not I have a 1 yr old strapped to my back.

​Nearly 40 years ago, my best friend used such a contraption to haul His Son along, wherever We went.

To do my bit, ... I got the little guy a pair of Boots, ... with Spurs.

Needless to say, my buddy got LOTS of exercise .....

 

.

[ThomasPowers]

I used to have to haul all my smithing stuff out of the basement and into the back yard and to do the reverse when I was through.  Like to see the Dr climb a set of rickety stairs and walk through the kitchen and out the back porch and down the steps while carrying a 93" anvil and not elevate his heart rate.

But in general it's not much cardio; but can be a weight training workout; lots of reps with light weights.  You do move both arms and stand and move on your feet so it still a heck of a lot better than the TV or the Internet.

Yesterday I was demoing at a small Renaissance fair for charity and the city fire marshal said my propane forge had to be 10' away from the tent where the anvil and post vise and crowd resided. Boy did I get a workout!  my ankles, knees and hips tell me today that I did several miles at a fast pace.

And yes Drs can be pretty clueless about a patient's reality: had one tell me during an annual physical that I had an incipient hernia developing---but not to worry as they generally didn't cause problems; I should go about my regular daily activities with no changes.  I told him "Tomorrow is Wednesday, on Wednesdays I pick up my 165# anvil and carry it over and put it on my truck to go teach blacksmithing...."  "DON'T DO THAT!" was his reply and mine was "But that that is my normal activity!"  (Using the 134# anvil now; it's "light")

[DSW]

I used to have to haul all my smithing stuff out of the basement and into the back yard and to do the reverse when I was through.  Like to see the Dr climb a set of rickety stairs and walk through the kitchen and out the back porch and down the steps while carrying a 93" anvil and not elevate his heart rate.

​

 

Can we see picts of the anvil that's almost 8 foot long you hauled up and down steps please?! It's no wonder that you were developing a hernia!

[ThomasPowers]

always glad to provide amusement for my friends with my bad typing skills and typos (and bad eyesight).  This site's limited time for corrections helps out in that regard as well!

[j.w.s.]

Yeah, as far as exercise goes.. I might swing a 1000 gram hammer most of the day, but I do a few ice cold 16 oz curls at the end of the work day that pretty much nullify any "exercise" that may have taken place.. not so much now with the baby taking up most of my non working hours so I'll have to do some tracking and see if I'm getting more fit.  Personally I think you're better off with walking or even splashing around in a kiddie pool..not too much silicate particles, metal filings, carbon monoxide, hyperthermia, elevated bp, alcohol poisoning, accidental blood letting, dank lung or heavy metal fever floating around in those activities.

J

[SmoothBore]

There is one HUGE DANGER that's directly related to close association with the "short people".

AT ALL COSTS, ... resist the urge to teach them to talk.

Once that starts, ... it's all down-hill.

 

.

[j.w.s.]

There is one HUGE DANGER that's directly related to close association with the "short people".

AT ALL COSTS, ... resist the urge to teach them to talk.

Once that starts, ... it's all down-hill.

 

.

Sign language until she's out of diapers at the very least, my friend.

J