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Manly Gym

Because being a lumberjack is OK.
  (+16, -2)(+16, -2)
(+16, -2)
  [vote for,
against]

I have recently found great satisfaction in cutting back the larger trees in my garden. Each weekend I spend a couple of hours climbing and sawing, after which I stand back and admire a neatly stacked log pile and a bonfire of lesser branches, while sipping on a cold beer and nursing the minor wounds of my clumsiness.

Imagine if you will, a gym with telegraph pole sized tree trunks that you can saw off into useful fencepost lengths. Or maybe take a partner and use a 2-person saw to slice through a trunk that you can just about put your arms round. Each slice need only be a few centimetres thick, perfect for stepping stones in the garden lawn, a talking point at your next barbeque.

Perhaps excursions could be arranged where your personal trainer (tree surgeon) takes you to some Forestry Commission land and you fell huge trees or slice up fallen ones.

Back in the office, you grip your pen and the slight soreness in your fingers reminds you of a job well done.

marklar, Dec 31 2007

Baker's Gym Baker_27s_20Gym_20of_20Hunger
shameless promotion of own gym idea [xenzag, Jan 01 2008]

(?) alternatively, a gym... http://www.totaltra...ymsfitness/10053631
... in Manly [pertinax, Jan 05 2008]

[link]






       Is there anyone from accounts receivable in?   

       Nah, they are all at the Chain-gang gym for lunch break.
4whom, Dec 31 2007
  

       so busy displaying your manly muscles, you missed the other:general category trap.
po, Dec 31 2007
  

       Ah yes, I searched the Health: Exercise category but forgot to choose it.
marklar, Dec 31 2007
  

       that's what exercise does for you - ruins your brain!
po, Dec 31 2007
  

       // ruins your brain //   

       So women are immune ...... ?   

       [+] for the idea.
8th of 7, Dec 31 2007
  

       A chain-gang style exercise club sounds like it might really catch on. I've experienced the joy of man/chainsaw vs nature on some mountain property I once owned and found it to be about the best exercise you can get.   

       Fire breaks are a real necessity in developed areas that are adjacent to forested lands and this might be a handy way to get them made. Have the guys (ok, gals too) meet every Sunday afternoon at a different location for a 6 hour workout that they'd never get at a gym. "Bushmasters"? "Jungle Studs"? A catchy name would be necessary.   

       Maybe feed them healthy gourmet cuisine on their breaks that's paid for by money charged for the work done. That would be something that would make me want to do it. 6 hour workout in the outdoors, new location every time, fancy meals, meet new people.   

       I'd do it.
doctorremulac3, Dec 31 2007
  

       Could be a good idea. Go to gym, based on your BMI or muscle to fat ratio;
("How do you plead?"
"Overweight, slovenly and conspicuously consumerist, your Honour"
"You are *sentenced* to 20 *yrs* *hard labour*)
Automatic benefits include: harmonising those soulful chain-gang songs, wearing of uniforms with up-pointing arrows, deployed to local areas of need and acquiring a degree of humility in the process.
  

       May have to include a new entry in the 'bakery help file excluding, not only powered gyms, but *beneficial* gyms.
4whom, Dec 31 2007
  

       Cutting down trees and skipping and jumping is very good cardio.
doctorremulac3, Dec 31 2007
  

       // skipping and jumping is very good cardio //   

       ... but not easy in high heels ....
8th of 7, Dec 31 2007
  

       Yeah, people could get other people to pay to clean up there properties. You could start a second service that offers low-cost thinning/aboriculture services using the labour pool drummed up of inexperienced underfit urban-ites.
grim, Dec 31 2007
  

       //May have to include a new entry in the 'bakery help file excluding, not only powered gyms, but *beneficial* gyms.//
4whom, Jan 01 2008
  

       // aboriculture // - I sure hope that's a misspelling.
lurch, Jan 01 2008
  

       Don't they culture abors where you live ? Tch ...   

       The Carpenter's Olympics sounds good, too. It would win a bun if it were posted, but not quite different enough to qualify as a separate idea, which is a pity.   

       Maybe [Marklar] can expand the idea to include the carpentry and credit [21_Quest] ?
8th of 7, Jan 01 2008
  

       // for strenuous aerobic exercise //   

       ... and an interesting selection of tropical diseases and parasites.   

       At least in the temperate coniferous forests that the original idea implies, the worst biological hazards are midges, wasps, and treading in cat poo.
8th of 7, Jan 01 2008
  

       and falling trees....
4whom, Jan 01 2008
  

       I don't like this kind of exercise. My chainsaw has an engine bigger than on my motorcycle - it's not a big motorcycle, but it is a big chainsaw, and it's heavy.   

       Okay, so it's a moped - the chainsaw is still pretty big.   

       Yes, I understand part of exercise is lifting heavy things. It's also putting them back down, which is my favorite part.   

       I would enjoy the big two-man crosscut saw, though.   

       Combine this gym concept with a lumberyard, and let the members work for discounts on genuine hand-sawed rough lumber. (+)
elhigh, Jan 02 2008
  

       [21 Quest] It already exists, at least to the county fare level. I've seen it in films so it must be true.   

       [elhigh] The inclusion of free or discounted wood was implied by // perfect for stepping stones in the garden lawn //   

       I've been trying to think of other worthwhile pursuits but I can't think of any. Building a house involves too much skill and digging a ditch doesn't hold the same attraction.   

       I've thought of a better name - The Fella's Gym
marklar, Jan 02 2008
  

       So, it's the Highland Games taken to your local gym?
RayfordSteele, Jan 02 2008
  

       I spent a morning with my some university friends digging a foundation for a house (a Habitat for Humanity project).   

       Digging is easy to learn and a good workout, and if you make a mistake, you can just put the ground back again.   

       The thought of contributing to a good cause turned a pretty boring task into a worthwhile one (at least for the morning).
FishFinger, Jan 04 2008
  

       // So, it's the Highland Games taken to your local gym? // Yes, but with less tossing and more cleaving.
marklar, Jan 06 2008
  
      
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