Industries like farming and agriculture provide more than just food, income, and a sustainable economy for the area that it is settled in. They provide a sense of community and strength that maybe one never really expected them to evoke. Ever seen an advertisement for tractors and see some farmers looking rather muscular and well toned? Those who have seen these men and women in magazines and have worked in the fields can tell that it is one fantastic workout! And you know what? It didn’t cost them a $40 monthly gym membership, but it did strengthen their bodies, minds, and communities.
Working to build muscle in a closed room with standard machinery built specifically to work the muscles you did not even know you had may be the way to go for city-slickers and busy-bodies. But men and women who work solely in the industry of providing us with food and supplies can obtain killer bods with daily labor. Real world strength is gaining popularity not just because of it’s cost efficiency, but because of its practical use. An article from 2010 in the Chicago Tribune emphasized how people can gain serious muscle and physical strength by using traditional pragmatic farming techniques. For example, hauling hay bails can work your abs as a substitute for weighted squats and putting up fence is a good way to exercise biceps by the constant motion and tension. Working hard in a farming community is the perfect way to implement a daily workout. Not only does it sustain your physical health, but can provide innovative tools and techniques to use daily.
Spending $30 to $50 on a lock system will seem silly once you take a look at how you can use materials you already have and muscles you didn’t think to use. Bailing twine is a wonderful example on how putting in a little elbow grease will not only tone up upper body muscles but will also help you not break the bank. Masters of ingenuity, farmers and ranchers all over the globe are not only giving themselves the advantage over seemingly tedious daily obstacles, but are giving themselves a healthy lifestyle of a fantastic workout via manual labor. If you also take a look at figures like MacGyver who uses minimal tools at his disposal to create amazing gadgets that he uses to his advantage, you will see that it is not just about using what you have to get out of a tight spot. This principle of phenomenal practicality can be applied with a workout routine. Tipping over 450 pound tires can strength your back and glutes; installing a fresh garden bed can tighten your pecks and shoulder muscles. It will help keep your money in the bank and your body in check. Sound familiar? Mainstream work out trainers have adopted the farmer’s creativity and style in muscle-toning exercises as a part of Cross-fit training and obstacle course marathons. The whole jumping through tires thing? Yeah, that came from how agriculturists have been able to maneuver their surroundings to get the job done. Again, think of MacGyver and his entertaining creativity. Working on the farm, as you can plainly see, is anything but boring, especially when it comes to burning those calories and working to technical tools to make things more efficient.
Real strength is not only a lifestyle but a mindset. Working men and women need to be able to keep up the strength of spirit, body and mind. And nothing works all three like a day in the fresh air, warm sun challenging your self with a grey-water reed bed. Society today is all about the mainstream but what could be more popular and self-sustaining that growing your own food and getting in your daily 30 minutes of weight training? Keeping one’s body and mind in sync can not only prove a challenge for most, but can also deter one from the main focus: internal efficiency. Trying hard to work in a yoga class or cross-training routine into one’s daily life can prove to be stressful and unsettling. So why not try “killing two birds with one stone” and move that mulch while focusing on your core?
Let’s talk about the mainstream for a moment. Not only is growing your own food and becoming more agriculturally sustainable steadily becoming more popular for the average working man in the fields, but for the next generation and the office-worker. Organic foods, cost-efficient water systems and home-grown food is pushing themselves into our daily lives. With the economy climbing up slowly but surely, it is becoming very obvious that the larger population is taking notice of the unpractical benefits of agriculture. Besides the cost-effective and pragmatic lifestyle of working out while working in the fields, farming also provides a sense of that bohemian nostalgia that takes us back to how things were made and how people grew as a community and individually.
Now one thing that will make you think outside the box even more so, is how farming and agriculture has effected the general population in the form of media. Video games and puzzles and other sources of media-based entertainment have shown us the light on the amazing and versatile power of the daily agricultural influence. Young generations are seeing the majesty and practicality of farming and every day labor such as that in video games like Minecraft, and television shows like The Quest. These sources of entertainment are not only to delight us for half-hour periods, but to also inform the general population that it takes strength, physically and mentally to produce such things and latch locks and minimal but effective irrigation systems. In this light, farming is fun!
Taking a step back, let’s look at how a farming lifestyle cannot only change a person, but an entire economy. Resources stem from the land, and those resources can travel across seas and vast stretches of land. This enormous responsibility not only demands the hard work on the backs of it’s workers, but of the people around it. Supporting local farms and ranches provides a bond that can last generations, and with that, comes a competition for knowledge. Knowing where your local farmers stand and how it affects your local grower’s markets can help us realize just how much it costs to keep those purple carrots and sugar beets growing and making it’s way onto our plates. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, and no one knows this mantra better than the farmer. Their sense of community is not solely based on consumerism and profit, but of making their surrounding the best it can be. Fantastic ingenuity over the years in the agricultural sector has helped the economy grow and sustain itself during times of crisis, but has also given the aura of comrade-based growth for their friends, neighbors, and families.
So the next time you take a peek an agriculture report or a magazine for sustainable energy, think outside the box. Energy does not just mean how we power our houses and cars, but how we power our minds and bodies. You can’t beat what works, and working out in the fields, breaking a sweat, is so much more than just crawling into that combine: it’s a sustainable way of life. It provides the foundation of a stronger community, the backbone of a solid economy, and the muscle of the very farmers who sweat and toil daily for their bodies, minds, and economy.
