Training legs.. But when?

[Thomas English]

Its really good to do gym on your legs. Squats, Lunges, Calves and possibly leg extensions. Mostly to help balance the leg and back muscles out and to protect against injury. But if you are working 2 to 4 days a week of hard Steadicam days; and it is important to have rest days. This leaves no place for Leg Gym and rest days, Especially considering its not good to smash your legs in the gym before a Steadicam day.

 

Is there even a solution to this? Have any of you worked out a workaround? Maybe a light leg workout at the end of Steadicam days if not booked the next day? Would this be "overtraining". Certainly I am pretty exhausted after solid Steadicam days.

 

Properly smashing your legs on Saturdays on the basis that you don't shoot on Sundays? A proper leg smash can leave me unable to walk for two days.

 

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and what you like doing on legs. Certainly I had a period of hitting the kettlebells but I've ducked out of that. A little too hard on the body but great for C.V. as well as leg/lower back strength.

[Lukas Franz]

Thomas,

 

I think, doing steadicam 2-4 full days a week is workout enough. What is much more important for your muscles is that you stretch your legs after a day or even during breaks. It is also good to take an easy walk after a hard working day. It really helps your legs for keeping resistant. I for myself going to gym when I'm not having a job to keep the muscles trained and my heart and lungs fit. Too much is never good and properly using a steadicam multiple times a week gives you an outstanding workout for your legs, back and heart and even your head.

 

My 2 cents.

 

Lukas

[Aaron Medick SOC]

When I'm on a run of steadicam days or I'm working 4 days a week. I try to end each day with yoga. About 1/2 of vinyasa 15 minutes balance poses and 15 minutes yoga ab work and stretching. If your hearts set on the gym, I'd recommend lighter weight high reps circuit training. Do a warm up first and the circuits done right will keep your heart rate up and a light sweat going.

 

Most important is hydrate while you work and work out. If you are in the gym after a steadicam day you should have an electrolyte replacement drink.

[David Goldman]

Hey, guys:

 

In my opinion, the best way to get better at steadicam is to practice steadicam with a moderate to heavy weight. The second best way to get better is to lose body weight. Stay away from krafty, take thirty ell bees off and operating gets a lot easier. Go to the gym, pick up a thirty pound dumbbell and walk around with it for two minutes, and you’ll get the idea.

 

The third best way to get better is to do hard cardio forty minutes a day. If you’ve got two hours for tell-lie-vision every night and you’re serious about steadicam, then you’ve got time cardio. The fifth best way is to get stronger in the gym, and there are dozens of ways to do this, all for about $1/day membership fee.

 

The problem with practicing steadicam more than a few hours a week is that, even when done with proper form, steadicam is injurious to the hips, knees, ankles and feet and all of ligaments, tendons and muscles involved therein. This is why guys tend to practice and improve on the job, and not at home, whether they will admit this or not.

 

Injuries result for two reasons: first, because operating steadicam is not a symmetrical exercise and therefore causes imbalances in the body; and, second, because operating steadicam compress and torques virtually every joint in the body from the lower back down.

 

Cardio, diet (clean and calorie restricted) and yoga will drop the bodyweight and help immensely with keeping the injuries off and correcting the imbalances. These will also help you get back to one right away, fresh and ready to go again.

 

Lifting weights to get better at steadicam? Better than doing nothing at all, but, in my opinion, not your first choice. Of course, anybody with an ipod can go to the gym to lift a few days a week. Calorie restriction is a 24-7 enduro sport. And un-American.

 

Fly safe.

 

- Dave

[GerryVasbenter]

Hi Thomas,

I agree it’s hard to fit in gym time as well as work.

I have found that regular exercise at home everyday, stretches, squats, sit ups, press ups, especially on working days to start of warmed up, combined this with gym twice a week when working, more often when not, work does not hurt... :rolleyes: this applies to regular operating as well as rig time.

Gerry

[chris fawcett]

The problem with practicing steadicam more than a few hours a week is that, even when done with proper form, steadicam is injurious to the hips, knees, ankles and feet and all of ligaments, tendons and muscles involved therein. This is why guys tend to practice and improve on the job, and not at home, whether they will admit this or not.

Dave,

 

I admit to the opposite. I do practice at home, and love it. Operating Steadicam well is the second most graceful, balletic, and rewarding exercise I have ever known, and I feel healthier, stronger, and fitter from it. Judging from my own experience, and from the experience of my many friends and colleagues in the business, I just can't agree with your thesis. I have only to compare my physical state to that of friends 20 years younger that sit with their legs folded under desks for 50 weeks of the year, expensive gym subscriptions notwithstanding, to know for certain that you are mistaken.

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Chris

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

The problem with practicing steadicam more than a few hours a week is that, even when done with proper form, steadicam is injurious to the hips, knees, ankles and feet and all of ligaments, tendons and muscles involved therein. This is why guys tend to practice and improve on the job, and not at home, whether they will admit this or not.

 

Injuries result for two reasons: first, because operating steadicam is not a symmetrical exercise and therefore causes imbalances in the body; and, second, because operating steadicam compress and torques virtually every joint in the body from the lower back down.

 

 

 

Then why am I not in a wheelchair? I do Steadicam several hours a day and have been doing that for the last 20+ years.

 

If it's injurious then your doing it wrong. Maybe that's why I made the comment about walking

[Kevin Andrews SOC]

 

Injuries result for two reasons: first, because operating steadicam is not a symmetrical exercise and therefore causes imbalances in the body; and, second, because operating steadicam compress and torques virtually every joint in the body from the lower back down.

 

- Dave

 

 

 

Same could be said for weight lifting. Doing shoulder presses, squats, bench press. These all compress the body, but does not ruin anything in it. Just lift weights at the gym and Steadicam becomes a treat. almost ;)

[William Demeritt]

Same could be said for weight lifting. Doing shoulder presses, squats, bench press. These all compress the body, but does not ruin anything in it. Just lift weights at the gym and Steadicam becomes a treat. almost ;)

 

As with Steadicam, form is everything with squats. I've been doing squats exercises since 2006, and at my max I squatted 315lbs. However, my form was off and I wasn't getting low enough. As a result, I was compensating too much with my lower back, and tweaking things quite a bit.

 

Moral of the story, get someone to teach you proper form for all the weight training exercises you take on, or you could someday hurt yourself quite easily.

[Sydney Seeber]

While I may not be the Steadicam expert, I have been lifting weights on a regular basis for over 2 decades and played a team sport on a national level for a few years. During that time I had access to some of the best strength training this nation has to offer. I can say without a doubt that after maybe 6 or so years working with a Steadicam, none of that physical training helped make me a better operator. If it did, guys like Lawrence Taylor might put down the cocaine and/or underage prostitutes and pick up a rig. While I do believe some sort of pack mule ability is necessary, I am of the opinion that probably 95% of what I've needed to learn over the last 6 or so years has been finesse, and I have a pretty long road to travel still. I guess what I'm saying is, going to the gym is good for your health and keep doing it... If your vest is expanded to its max and you're thinking about getting longer straps, or you're in danger of a light breeze blowing you into oncoming traffic, then your abilities might benefit from regular visits to the 24 hour fitness

[Thomas English]

I think you can practise all the finesse you like but when something goes wrong you need that extra muscle to prevent injury. If I didnt have legs that I trained as often as possible there is no way my smile would still be there after 12 hours of solid 435 steadicam. I dunno. We are all different.

 

But if your shlepping 4 days a week when do you train?