[Dave66]

been at it now about 10 years.... the last 2yr wfp.. now i remember a hard day on the ladders and the knees and feet knew about it.. moving onto the pole and the knees and feet now fine, "but" the back and neck cop it now. Not sure what's tougher on the body? Anyone else suffering and what do you do to help yourself?

[Blue Frog Systems]

Lighter kit and stretches work for me

[dmlservices]

Lighter poles and brushes , also stand further back ,to lessen the angle you look up, and lastly rinse brush on, a lot easier and quicker.

Daz

[rosskesava]

Do stretching exercises every evening and by that I mean 'stretching' and not that stuff they do in gyms on those machines.

[GoodFella2006]

You might try memory foam pillow and mattress.

[Moderator David@stives]

Get someone else to clean the windows for you. I always find that helps

[Londoner]

Get someone else to clean the windows for you. I always find that helps

Good for your back but doesn't it do your head in?

[LWC]

Get someone else to clean the windows for you. I always find that helps

 

[SB Cleaning]

I have been at it only 2 years wfp only...

I have never felt better

[Paul H]

double your price and do half of what you are doing now ... for the same money

[g.brookes]

i try and switch which side i am poling from, that helps a lot.  i also intend on doing yoga.  i dont care how strong you are, 30 years of water fed poling is terrible for anyone.
the way i see it, if you are doing a physical, repetitive job, you have to accept that its going to damage your body over the years.  just as if instead of window cleaning, you'd put as much effort into a office job over the years, you'd have have years of stress instead that can make you ill in a number of ways.  just depends on when you retire you would rather have knackered shoulders or a frazzled brain

[andrew hamshare]

Well, as a newbie I have been fine thus far with the ladder and mop work.

HOWEVER!!!  I took on a care home garden tidy up the other day (2 days work) and my hands, shoulders arms were on fire.  In fact after day one of being on my hands and knees sifting soil my fingers started to curl, worked through the pain and fine now.    I did consider walking off site at one point but the copious amounts of tea, free dinner, good friendly banter from staff etc kept me going. 

It pee'd down too which was a gorgeous way of cooling down and saved me washing the paths.

I should mention that I've been out of manual work for some years and recently have been extreemely inactive for one reason or another.

Knock on benefit too; quoting for their new home on Wednesday, They're happy with my hourly rate so need to agree time for the job.  Told them I'll need to invest in some decent tools (petrol strimmer, hedge cutter etc) and they said to tell them what I need and they'll petty cash it so I glean from that that this could well be a longer term maintainentce (sp) job.     Lots and lots of windows too but I've not raised that subject just yet as I want to do a demo for the owner to get the job in the bag.

No pain - no pain.

[keyser soze]

have you seen that neck brace you can buy . looks good for doing lots of high windows

[Dave66]

only do standard houses.. thinking less hrs a day might be calling 

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

what type pole have you got maybe the weight did have that prob with the unger one.

[Dave66]

18 slx, dont come much lighter... guess its just wear n tear 

[james peters]

I dont get any aches and pains.......I was trad for 13 yrs and I have been wfp for 7........when I was trad I could work fast and moved up and down the ladders with ease but was overwieght at 16 stone.......
since going to wfp I have put on 2 and a half stone......
this is falling to pieces as I really need to get rid of at least 4 stone

[lee_dewing]

Dave,

I'm 41 and for the last year have had aching knees and on off lower mild back ache.

I've been doing a Pilates class once a week for about 8 weeks and has helped got a book off amazon Pilates for men by david lyons jr.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Book-Pilates-Men/dp/0060820772/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340755961&sr=1-4

I've just up'd to 3 times a week the class plus x2 mornings of 20 mins at home when i get up.

I am now feeling the difference.
I recommend you do a class with an instructor just to get the basics there will be mainly women their and not many men but hasn't bothered me

A common reason for Knee ache in men is usually tight hamstrings and tight hip flexors, which can also cause lower back pain.
Pilates strenghens the stomach muscles first to support back and you work outwards stretching tightness away rebalancing and working back to a fully range of motion, I really think it's great.
The guy who invented it was boxer and gymnast.
Alot of the beautiful people in showbiz do it.

I was really down a few months ago and taking pain killers (which justs masks problem and can cause liver damage over years of over using em)
But off the pain killers and started to feel alot better and upbeat.

Good luck Dave.
http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/body+fitness/news+features/5+reasons+why+men+do+pilates,11791
http://www.exercisespilates.com/blog/5-celebrities-that-do-pilates/

Just found these links
Don't be put off by strange looking machines and talk of gruelling workouts, my class is just mat work and my instructor Clare is very good.

It's challenging but I don't come out drenched in sweat. (if i can do it, anyone can) 

Lee

[gary999]

yep you can buy the ligfhtest poles you like but your body always adapts
physically to what your doing and will still feel the strain.

as poster has said above best to increase your fitness and strengthen your
cores muscles

[Dave66]

cheers guys,, thanks for the info Lee, i'll look into that, sounds like what i need