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I feel like a useless tit.

MentorX, we don't really get to pick what we do each day. It's varied from day to day, but there have been a number of guys half complaining that the easy work should be cycled the same way. It usually isn't; most of the time the guy who's been the longest full time employee gets that job.

As for how much weight I have to lift at once, I really don't know. It's not that much. Most of the jobs we pick up two "2X4" boards at a time, up to about nine feet long. But it is very repetitious, and it is a production job so there's a base amount of work that has to be done in one day.

We do also use coil-type nailguns. The big guns are about twelve pounds with a full coil of 3.5 inch nails. On the one job we hold the gun sideways, and on the other job it is held vertical (aiming down).

Ok and as far as the "no useless tit" comments...from what I can recall, "useless tit" refers to a cow that for some reason has no milk in a tit. Doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. Now it's been a while since I worked with cattle, so if anyone knows better, mention it.

I feel like a useless tit.

There's only so much a body can do at 120 pounds. How much weight do you lift at a time? How much do you throw during the day? I like the protein advice but you need more calories in general to make up for that kind of work. You might also try to work it out with alternating heavy days and light days. Mon-Wed-Fridays would be heavy days and your body would rest and repair muscles on Tuesday and Thursday.



lol, why?

I feel like a useless tit.

No tit is useless.

[spoiler]Sorry, there wasn't much more to say.[/spoiler]

I feel like a useless tit.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm fucking half drunk right now so I won't reply to everyone, but I will say a few things.

Yes, I realize that my diet could use a little adjusting. I eat ... well, like a bachelor who doesn't like to cook. My diet is actually pretty shitty. As to how much I eat, it depends on how hungry I am at the time. Sometimes I can eat a whole meal before I'm full, and other times I can only eat a burrito or one or two pizza pops.

I most likely don't drink enough water, mostly because when I'm at work I usually just get into what I'm doing and don't take the time to drink. I know I've dehydrated myself once or twice. Thing is, I do need to make a point of drinking more water.

Meeper, the reason I'm seeing a chiropractor is because ... when muscles get sore, it's quite often because they're overstressed because they're trying to pull joints back into place. So I'll go get the joints popped back, and the muscles will be able to relax. Been there before, done that. However, I am thinking about getting a good massage as soon as possible after I see the chiropractor.

For those of you who said to try workman's compensation, well, I've half thought about it. The problem with that is that compensation won't pay me enough to pay my bills and still live half decent. Right now I'm barely making it on about $1500 a month. I know compensation won't pay that much, so I'd be shit out of luck if I went that way. Plus, I'd be fucking bored sitting at home doing absolutely nothing for a while. In which case I'd most likely be liable to spend more money on beer and let the bills get behind. Which wouldn't be good.

DG, my system seems to be quite good. My metabolism is very fast (or however you say that), and I cannot seem to gain weight for anything. For a while I was eating as much food as I could, especially in the evenings, which I've heard will make a person gain weight pretty decent. Nope. Not me. Also, I can eat anything that tastes decent, and I will not get sick from it even when multiple other people who ate the same thing get sick from it. Oh, and I don't drink much soda, if any. I can't even remember the last one I had. Pretty much all I drink is coffee, water, and beer, although not in that order. Probably more like beer, coffee, and water.

Lee, you have a good point. My diet is lacking in protein. I blame this partially on my shortage of money for proper food, which I can blame partially on my poor money management.

To sum up, it all comes down to my money situation. It's not that great, which means that I need a job to pay all my bills and live half decently. Neither EI (Employment Insurance) or Compensation would be enough to keep me going. I can work, and I would prefer to work instead of sitting at home, but at least for the next while I can't do anything physical. At my current job, I've gotten damn good at operating lift trucks (aka forklifts), and can probably come very close to being at least as efficient as the person in the shop who has run forklifts the longest, which would be multiple times as long as I have run them. So that will be the main type of job I'll be looking for.

Meh, this all might sound pretty shitty, but I'm in way more of a relaxed state of mind tonight than I was lastnight. At least this is my own problem, and whatever happens only affects me.

EDIT: disturbed, pretty much all the lifting required at work is done while standing straight. It's all in the arms and abdomen (gut, back, and shoulders).

I feel like a useless tit.

If it's your muscles, I don't understand why you're seeing a Chiropractor. Wouldn't you see a Masseuse? Working your muscles in a nice, long, gooood massage can do wonders for you. Really.

In any case, hope you feel better soon. And happy job hunting!

I feel like a useless tit.

When I went from my sedentary college lackey life, to construction, I noted that I could eat about 3 times as much food and not worry about anything. I could eat ANYTHING and not get fat.

Not only could I eat more, if I didn't I would get insanely tired at work, even if I skipped break I would notice the slump. I also had to drink plenty of water.

I never noticed about salt intake, because the first half gallon of fluids I drank a day was Gatorade from powder that mom got from her work.

And contrary to popular belief, lots of food contain more Potassium than bananas. Like potatoes, raisins, lima beans, prunes, prune juice, spinach, canned tomato products...

The only reason you hear about Bananas is because they're portable, sweet, and readily available.

I feel like a useless tit.

Yeah your boss shoudl have filled out an incident report when you advised him of your aches and pains. Are you a union shop? If so talk to your union rep and maybe they can get you some special treatment. Assigned to the easy stuff and what not.

I feel like a useless tit.

did you ever thing about workmens comp ???? after all this all is happening because of work.

I feel like a useless tit.

My family has hereditary thyroid problems, a lot of my joint and muscle pain is from low thryoid according to my doctor because my body doesn't metabolize food normally. Same thing with my dad, a lot of his kidney and edema and diabetes problems are linked to the thyroid problem, according to his doctor. Last night I popped my hip out of place trying to kick over a ten year old's head. To which they all laughed at me. Fucking kids anyways. So its a good idea to see a doctor and get to the bottom of the issue too.

I feel like a useless tit.

As much as I agree with everything that's been said thus far, I must throw my experience into the ring as well. I was in the same boat a few years ago (around 2001-2003), and discovered that after the weekend, I felt progressively worse, and wasn't recovering as completely. As it turns out, there is a condition called degenerative joint disease. Though I'm no longer in the same profession, I still go to the gym almost every day. I work at my own pace and to my own tolerance. This seems to work well.

Also, be aware of a condition that causes muscles to break down from overuse. It's characterized by dark urine, apparently. Contrary to popular belief, not all people are created equal. Some have more of a physical tolerance than others. It's not something impossible to reach, but you have to build up to it. It's not something you can jump right into from the beginning.