– why is working a manual labor job (construction, manufacturing, etc) destructive to your body but going to the gym every day isn’t?

Question

I’m an electrician and a lot of the older guys at my job have so many knee and back issues but I always see older people who went to the gym every day look and feel great

In: Biology

Answer 1

Another thing that isn’t being mentioned is chemical exposure. It’s one of the reasons a lot of tradesmen were telling their kids to go to college.

Sure things are safer now than it was when the boomers were kids (And let’s be fair- boomers were the ones being told to go to college) but you could usually tell who the manual laborers were in retirement homes cause they often had Mesothelioma, farmers lung, or other chemical exposure diseases. My grandpa turned down an offer to join an HVAC company his buddies founded and he outlived everyone except the secretary and the accountant.
…by 65…