The importance of physical and mental health in demanding professions like arboriculture is key to longevity.
We sat down with Kieran and Chris from TDRtrees, to gain key insights to a topic which is close to their hearts and something they take very seriously for themselves and for their team to perform physically and mentally.
Kieran, “For me, the mental is working on your physical.” Improving your physical health can enhance your mental wellbeing and overall job satisfaction. To take care of yourself has a positive impact on your overall life.
To be present in a job and being mentally there has had a huge impact into my overall happiness on a daily basis. I take a lot of care of myself. Just like I check my equipment is right for the job I also check in with myself. Remaining present with your surroundings is key to appreciating what’s right in front of you. When you are at the top of a tree, taking in the views, remaining present really makes you realise just how beautiful the world is.
Years before, I was on the other side of the coin and I had a very different outlook and view point on my job. If it’s just a job to you, you just want to get it done and get out of there as quickly as possible. But now it’s more like a hobby as well as a job. The role of recovery is key.
Being healthy mentally ultimately keeps you present and visually in a good place. Recovering well allows us to push on after a tough day's work and keep going. I’m always thinking of longevity and how I can improve my output and service. This ultimately prevents burnout, as an older climber looking to stay in the trade a long time. This is what we’re looking for with the Hyperice recovery tools that we’ve been using, especially for back pain relief.
So are there any tools that you’ve used to help with recovery in terms of your physical fitness and what advice can you provide our community?
Firstly, I think you need to establish a routine that incorporates physical fitness and mental relaxation.To prioritise recovery techniques pre and post-work is key to enhancing mindfulness and appreciation for the job.
A game changer for me in recent months have been the use of Hyperice products, portable massagers for pain relief. In particular the Hypervolt Go 2, which is great. It’s small and can fit in your climbing bag so you can take it out on site. I think it’s perfect just before climbing and getting the legs warmed up, or if you have lower back issues, which you can reach with the Hypervolt Go 2. And then we’ve also got the Venom 2 Back which is great for the lower back, which I’ve had a couple of issues over the years with. I truly believe these are the best
recovery tools for athletes.
Having the Venom Go Back with the vibrations combined is absolutely amazing, it's also perfect for those relaxing nights and enhances my recovery which leads to you feeling good to go the next day. We’ve also got the Venom Go which is brilliant. We keep this in the truck and its ideal on lunch breaks. Having it on your back, if you’ve got small pains, it has to be my favourite Hyperice product overall. It really does work. I’ve got a couple of aches in the upper back, so it done me good for that. So yeah. Perfect.
Investing in your physical and mental health can prolong your longevity to keep doing the job you love for the longest time possible.
We know how dangerous your line of work can be being an Arborist, and wearing the correct PPE and protective gear is essential. So why Arbortec and what are your favourite products?
Our line of work can be extremely dangerous at times, but this is helped and prevented by being fully kitted out in the Arbortec gear, because it looks so good and comfortable that you genuinely want to wear the products. This just goes hand in hand with a well-prepared body.
When I got into the industry nearly 15 years ago all products were either black, hi-vis yellow, or orange, you never had the different colours or styles which Arbortec has brought in. By doing this it has made the clothing personal to you or your company’s colours which I love, because it truly does help you want to wear the product. It also prevents trainees or apprentices coming into the industry not putting their chainsaw pants on because they don’t want to be seen in them.
With Arbortec they wear it with pride but most of all this means no cutting corners, taking chances and being the safest we can be out in the field.
For me the Arbortec Breatheflex Pros are my favourite product as for years I couldn’t find chainsaw pants that actually fitted right, they would literally hang off you and as a climber, this isn’t what you need as it prevents good movement in the tree, also end up getting snagged on every branch you look at.
But, once I wore the Arbortec Breatheflex Pros this all changed as they are fitted and flexible allowing you to move around the tree so much easier and efficient which has helped so much. I would literally recommend to anyone to get a pair, there is no going back once you do, I’ve tried every pair of pants out there in my opinion nothing comes close.
I have had a few close calls up the tree every time this has been on a wet day which is quite often in England. The one close call that sticks out in my mind, I was going out on a limb to reduce back, it was a beech tree so literally like an ice rink up there, I limb walked into position, it wasn’t good but I wouldn’t tend to worry as much when I was a younger man. I believe this was saving time not worried about what could and would happen if I were to slip and that was exactly on this occasion what happened, I slipped off the limb, swung back into the main stem as I had started cutting when I was on the tips my saw was running without the chainbreak on so it was a rolling chainsaw, as I’ve come into the main stem the rolling chain went straight into the side of my leg. All I can say it I count my lucky stars I had my Arbortec pants on. This meant there was no way the saw was getting through as it hit the trouser all the fibers were released and this just stopped the rolling almost straight away.
