Tractor Legs is a term I first heard early in my country footy career. We'd have trained for months to be fit for the footy season and right up until the opening rains of the season would be moving as well as ever. Then once seeding got underway you could spot half a dozen blokes running around the footy field moving about as well as a ute with square tyres. When the coach asked, "Why the hell cant Robbie get a bloody kick out there?" someone would pipe up, "He's got tractor legs". I can offer no excuses as to why I couldn't get a kick any other time of year either! What they meant by tractor legs is that I'd been sitting on the tractor for long hours and had a body that was tight, tired and not moving well.
As I write this it's harvest time! Another time of year where many of us out in the bush are spending long hours sitting on our butts for weeks on end. Technology is a wonderful thing and advancements in technology have meant modern agriculture is as productive as it has ever been. One of these technological advancements has been a huge increase in the size of machinery. Across the board we have seen a massive increase in the capacity of agricultural machinery. While this is fantastic for efficiency there is one major drawback to all this big gear - more time spent continuously sitting. Air Seeders with huge grain carts have allowed for far more time seeding and far less frequent filling, the introduction of the chaser bin has meant we don't even need to stop to unload a box full of grain during harvest. Grain receival sites have become more spaced as 50-60 tonne semi trailers have replaced the single axel 10 tonne farm trucks, meaning a longer haul for the drivers and bigger queues. It was only a couple of generations ago that our grandparents would've had to hand fill and stitch wheat bags then lift and stack them on the truck, now we don't even miss a ball of the test match while we unload on the move. Isn't it interesting that a previous generation was throwing 50-100kg wheat bags around during harvest and seeding (how strong you were, determined how full you filled a 3 bushel wheat bag, so I'm told). Yet here we are sitting in an an air conditioned cab, on an air suspension seat while the harvester steers itself, yet we are the ones getting a sore back! There is a reason for this which we will dive into in a tick.
Sitting has been described as the new smoking. Long hours spent sitting can be detrimental to our health. Your body is designed to move and spending long hours sitting goes against that design. To ensure our survival, humans have had to be able to adapt to our environment and our bodies have become extremely good at it. There are amazing survival stories of humans lost at sea or stranded in the desert for long periods, that demonstrate just how the body can adapt in order to survive. These are extreme cases but on a lesser level your body is constantly adapting, day in, day out, to the stimulus it receives. Much of what we do in fitness is trying to get the body to adapt in the ways we want. Exercise is just a stimulus that signals the body to adapt, for example; lifting heavy weights sends the signal, "I need to be stronger so I can handle this weight." That is the stimulus. Growing bigger muscles and getting stronger, these are the adaptations.
The bodies adaptability can also work against us. When you spend long hours sitting you are sending the signal, "I need to get good at sitting," and your body adapts accordingly. Since your hips are constantly in a 90 degree position the muscles responsible for flexing the hip will get tight. These muscles are not spending any time in a lengthened position so your body will decide we don't need that range of motion. The opposite is true of your glutes (your butt muscles) they are constantly in a lengthened position when you sit. Your body will figure since you aren't using these muscles you don't need them to be strong, so they will adapt and get weak. I'm sure you've heard the expression "use it or lose it" and this is definitely true of mobility. Just the other day during a fitness class one of our clients young children was playing with a toy while sitting in a perfect deep squat. All the adults that were doing the fitness class were trying to perform the exact same movement and it was challenging, yet this child could do it subconsciously. It was a great demonstration of something I want you to remember. You were not born tight, stiff and immobile. When you were a small child you too could move your limbs through full ranges of motion with ease. It is a combination of time, habits and moving (or not moving) in particular ways that has made you tight. Sitting constantly is one of those habits that speeds up the process of becoming stiff. So it is well worth taking measures to counter these adaptations.
Getting better at sitting may sound like a good idea if you are going to be sitting all day, the trouble is when you have tight hips and go to stand or twist or lift something overhead often your lumbar spine (low back) has to make up for the lack of mobility in the hips. This is one of the reasons we can get a sore low back from sitting, our lumbar spine which is meant to be stable is having to give up some stability to make up for the lack of mobility in the hips, upper back or shoulders. Freeing up your hips, upper back and shoulders can be a great way to protect your lower back from injury.
I'm sure this message is not new to you, since the introduction of the computer much of the worlds workforce spends long hours sitting at a desk and there is endless information out there warning of the dangers of being sedentary. If you have spent days on end in a seated position you will know your body feels like shit. You are probably also aware that moving your body and getting some exercise would probably be a good idea. None of that is practical advice however. For those of you doing seasonal driving work, or working long hours in a desk job, the last thing you feel like doing when you get home form a 12+ hour day is trotting on down to the gym for an hour. You may want to spend those limited remaining hours in the day with your loved ones before getting your well earned sleep. So what can you do?
I've put together a short 15 minute routine with no equipment to bring you back to neutral after a long day sitting. The key here is consistency, it took you a good period of time to become stiff, and it will take consistency over a period of time to regain your full range of motion. Mobility responds really well to frequency so you can do these multiple times a day if you wish, you can even break it up into smaller chunks and do one exercise whenever you have a spare 5 minutes. The key to building any new habit is to make it easy, if you think you struggle with discipline, then stack the odds in your favour by committing to what you know you can achieve. If you can only see yourself committing to one exercise a day, or 5 minutes a day, then do that. Doing one of these exercises a day if you are currently doing nothing is still a great improvement. Set aside your 5-15 minute block at the same time each day. I've found right before bed the best time for me to be consistent with my passive stretching, but do whatever floats your boat. I suggest the time slot that is going to be the easiest for you to commit to is the best place to start.
If you are reading this, and the above time constraints are not an issue, then I would always recommend a more individualised fitness program. Everyone has different goals, different movement patterns and restrictions, and something tailored to you specifically is always going to be best. However, if you are sitting on a tractor with limited time and want to be proactive in looking after your body, then these exercises will go a long way to making you feel better, lower your injury risk, and minimise the effects of long hours sitting.
Here is the routine
If you feel pain with any of these movements stop immediately and go see an allied health professional such as a physiotherapist. An uncomfortable stretching feeling is normal but sharp shooting pain in your joints is not.
Exercise 1: Couch Stretch
Time: 2 minute hold each side
This stretch is targeted at the hip flexors which get tight from constantly being in a shortened position when we sit. Go slow, don't force it and remember to breath and try to relax into the stretch This is a long hold passive stretch and time under passive tension is the key to effecting change here. So I would rather you hold an easier position for longer than force a deeper position and have to come out of the stretch sooner. Use your phone as a stopwatch and time your stretches.
Exercise 2: Pigeon Stretch
Time: 2 minute hold each side
This stretch is another fantastic hip opener. In the back leg we are getting a good stretch of our hip flexors and in the front leg we get a good stretch of our rotators and outer hip. Again these are areas that get tight from sitting as our hips don't go into much external rotation. As with the couch stretch this is a passive stretch. Raise your front knee onto books if you need to and aim for long holds.
Exercise 3: Cobra Pose
Time: 2 minute hold
Cobra Pose is a back bend, it activates and strengthens the posterior chain. The muscles on the back of our body get weak particularly if we sit with a rounded upper back and forward shoulder. Strengthening the muscles of the back such as our erectors, rhomboids and lower traps with cobra pose help bring us back into better posture.
Exercise 4: Wall Angels
Reps: 10-15 repetitions, slow and controlled (one repetition in going from the arms extended start position, to elbows bent, then back to the start position. So do this 10-15 times or "reps")
When we sit for long periods we tend to adopt a forward head and shoulder position, this leads to getting weak through the upper back and tight through the front of the shoulders and pecs. Wall angels are a fantastic postural exercise that activate and strengthen the muscles of the upper back and simultaneously stretch the muscles in your chest, neck and shoulders. This will help bring us back into better posture. The key to this exercise is to move slowly and maintain tension throughout the movement.
Exercise 5: Glute Bridge
Reps: 10-15 repetitions (slow and controlled)
As the name suggests glute bridges are targeted at strengthening the butt. The glutes tend to go to sleep and get weak when we spend long hours sitting. The Glutes are prime movers in hip extension and when we sit for long periods of time we rarely go into hip extension. Glute bridges will help fire those glutes back up and as a bonus we will also get some activation in our hamstrings and core.
There you have it have it legends. I hope this helps you out and has that body feeling supple throughout long hours in the driver seat. If you aren't ready to give these exercises a crack that's cool, just try to add some movement to your time in the seat, wriggle your toes, move your arms, legs and head around. Movement is key and a little bit is far better than nothing. Conversely, if you have been consistently following the routine and would like to progress you can add time onto the passive stretches (couch stretch and pigeon stretch). I wouldn't exceed 5 minutes as you pass the point of diminishing returns. The extra time gives you minimal extra benefit and could be better spent on a different stretch or by spending it with your loved ones. For the tension exercises (cobra pose, wall angel & glute bridge) add an extra set. So do one set of 10-15, rest for 60 seconds then perform a second set of 10-15 reps.
Over and Out, Robbie
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