Any profession that relies upon some degree of manual labour relies upon us keeping our body healthy, keeping your body mobile and functional is the easiest way to earn more money in this industry.

Our knowledge is the primary component of being able to reach higher incomes and like most trades we will start to earn the most once we get into our 30s, 40s, 50s as we continue to gain more experience and skills

Thus we must maximise our longevity once we reach our later stages of life to ensure we are able to stay at the top and continue with our trades without some sort of threat to our career such as bad knees, bad shoulders or tendinitis etc which are very common in our industry

Common Threats We Face And How To Eliminate Them:

• Bad Knees - Mobility/Flexibility training that focuses on stretching and strengthening the muscles around our knees, Ben Patrick aka The Knees Over Toes Guy is our lord and saviour in this department.
• Bad Shoulders - Rotator Cuff/Back Exercises! As Electricians we continually work above our heads and in front of us with many awkward positions which can stress our shoulders and lead to severe internal rotation, thus we must strengthen every back muscle we possibly can and practice mobility of the shoulder on a regular basis.
• Elbow/Wrist Tendinitis - A common issue for us screwdriver rotating professionals, It is advised to use power tools where possible for fixings to avoid unnecessary elbow stress, get yourselves a FlexBar and practice the recommended movements to keep yourselves tendinitis free, strengthening of the triceps/biceps/forearms with high rep ranges is essential.
• Feet/Ankles - Being on our feet all day carrying equipment and tools can impact our ability to walk and foot health, ensure that you wear the most comfortable and high quality boots/work shoes you can possibly afford, it's worth the investment. Look up feet strengthening and balance exercises.
• General Health - Keeping on top of good nutrition and a healthy weight is essential for any aspect of manual labour and life in general so make sure you eat your veggies and do your cardio!
• Work Smart Not Hard (or both!) - Feel like a lone warrior when you have another colleague or apprentice on site? Don't try to throw in a cable by yourself, get them on the other end to pull while you push, communicate and build a good connection so you can work as an efficient power team with whoever you are working with.