It took nine chops for Aaron Klug to cut his way through a tree trunk as thick as his own leg. His results weren’t due to his physical condition (which was impressive, thanks for asking), but to his efficiency. As Alpine Physical Therapy therapist Jess Kehoe put it, Klug’s overhead ax swing used a kinetic chain of muscles to get more power from his symmetrical flexion than he would have with the rotational motion of an over-the-shoulder swing.
“That’s it — I need those words,” Adam Washebek said to Kehoe. “I know the overhead swing works better, but I need to explain why.” Washebek and Klug are two of the U.S. Forest Service’s top ax-and-saw experts. They pack axes sharp enough to shave the hair off their own arms, and they teach fellow foresters the arcana of hand-powered sawing and chopping. But until now, they haven’t had the words to describe the physical tricks they demonstrate.
Enter Kehoe and colleague Leah Versteegen, who hiked into a patch of the Bitterroot National Forest where Washebek and Klug were helping make a training manual for tree-toppling techniques. The two physical therapists had no experience logging, but they knew all about the needs of what they call “tactical athletes.”
The “tactical athlete” term usually refers to military fighters and law enforcement officers, who need physical skills similar to, but separate from, those of sports athletes. Versteegen said the same training needs apply to sawyers and firefighters in the woods.
“We’re watching for the biomechanics of cutting,” Versteegen said. “We’re looking for ways to prepare the body beforehand, how to train to use a saw or ax. We’re looking for ways to minimize strain on the lower back and shoulders. We also want to see what happens when you’re in pain or fight-or-flight mode.”
Read more on this from The Missoulian at https://missoulian.com/news/local/tactical-athletes-forest-service-adds-pt-to-logging-training/article_a506e320-ce4e-51b0-956e-a453be6373c1.html?utm_source=Forest+Business+Network+email+newsletter&utm_campaign=dc5eaba9b3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3a629cb392-dc5eaba9b3-111950185.