Does strength training impair ability to do precision work?

[NiHaoMike]

I recently heard that those who do precision work (e.g. soldering/reworking SMD) should limit upper body strength training as that may interfere with doing precision work. How valid is that? Is there a tradeoff between being able to move more heavy equipment and working on the fine pitch SMD parts found in such high tech equipment?

[kolonelkadat]

It's totally true, for about an hour after a solid workout. Once your muscles have had some time to rest, it's not a problem. Just remember, stretching is just as important as lifting. If you dont exercise properly you can ruin your body.

[Smokey]

Strength training can directly result in higher self confidence and becoming more attractive to the opposite sex, which can decrease the likelyhood you will finish your engineering degree. Watch out!

[marshallh]

Weight training has greatly increased my ability to focus afterwards, great for smd assembly. Of course there are tons of other benefits also, everybody on the planet would benefit, just got my sister started.

[Dago]

I haven't noticed any adverse effects.

[steve30]

I do some weight lifting, and I wouldn't say it makes any difference.

But I've always been a bit clumsy with precision work anyway.

[G7PSK]

Too much strength training can make the fingers thicker which can have detrimental effects on dexterity. It can also have detrimental effects on mental agility as proved by someone I knew who went to fetch an argon cylinder and carried it on his shoulder instead of using the forklift, he complained about the distance of the gas store from the workshop.

[Mechanical Menace]

If you don't just do the strength training and have a balanced, healthy workout no. If all you do is strength training yes, and paradoxically can make you weaker than someone with less muscle but a better workout regime.

Just strength training is asking for a heart attack before you're 55 too.

[T3sl4co1l]

I find I have the opposite problem: after playing some Theremin (which requires very fast, precise movements, but otherwise very little strength), my hands are too jumpy and jittery to do much of anything else.

I would guess there's a series of limiters, filters, negative feedback, stuff like that -- in the path between motor cortex and muscle.  With proper training (and a bit of warm-up or meditation to refocus), I expect you are exerting control over those systems -- which allows you to do very precise movements, or very large movements, but not usually both at the same time.

It's not merely analogous to, but directly the case that, you are changing the characteristics of the servo system; different amounts of open-loop (fast, imprecise; requires lots of practice to pre-compensate) and closed-loop (precise, slower; incorporates proprioception as well as touch, visual, etc. sources) control, as well as the dial on how much gain we're working with (lifting takes strong activation signals, placing SMTs not so much).

I expect if there were a way to measure activation of these systems, someone like Bruce Lee would've absolutely pegged on all counts!

Tim

(Disclaimer: I am not a trainer.)

[EEVblog]

I recently heard that those who do precision work (e.g. soldering/reworking SMD) should limit upper body strength training as that may interfere with doing precision work. How valid is that?

Not the least IME.
I only do high rep weight training though, not heavy lifting.

[all_repair]

A bit side-track, I do see more young men that drink having shaky hand and finger, than muscular men having shaky motor control.

[VK5RC]

The basic fast 'action' tremor is increased for about 48 hours (to a subtle degree) after modest intensity exercise. Pistol shooters/marksmen won't even go up a set of stairs before a big shoot. Most of the tremor can be reduced greatly by hand/arm positioning and feedback esp visual.
Alcohol and beta blockers reduce the tremor and are banned substances in target type competitive sports.
I think the physical and mental benefits of a varied exercise regime far out way the tiny drawbacks. Do it regularly, not seriously and with some friends.

[steve30]

Alcohol and beta blockers reduce the tremor and are banned substances in target type competitive sports.

I wonder if that's why I like having a pint of beer when soldering .

Note that I don't do that very often. I normally drink coffee and water.

[G7PSK]

Pistol shooting is very good for eye hand coordination training. Easy for those in the US but not so here in the UK any more other than air pistol.

[pickle9000]

Never had a problem with strength training.

[Mechanical Menace]

Pistol shooting is very good for eye hand coordination training. Easy for those in the US but not so here in the UK any more other than air pistol.

Just join a local club. That's how I kept shooting them even with the stricter laws on keeping handguns at home, I don't keep them at home. But I don't see home defence as a legitimate reason to own a firearm but do have shotguns here so meh, I'm probably a bit of an hypocrite even if I don't own them for that reason.

Ammo's cheaper as a member of a club too.

[madires]

Pistol shooting is very good for eye hand coordination training. Easy for those in the US but not so here in the UK any more other than air pistol.

The virtual equivalent, i.e. FPS, provides the same training. Medical research has started to look into using video gaming as treatment of several deseases.

[JackP]

Alcohol is a depressant, as opposed to caffeine, a stimulant. Alcohol will suppress a tremor, coffee is likely to do the opposite (at least in some measure)

[M4trix]

Hmm, body building and electronics...hmm...nope! A rare combination.   

[poorchava]

I don't think that physical size (height,  musculature and so on)  do not have much influence on one's ability to work with small electronic parts (of course unless you are trying to reach somewhere in a tight place inside a device).

I've known a guy once,  who could easily be described as "biggest dude you've ever seen" - about 2.1m high, like 140kg of weight and he worked out a lot. And his hobby was miniature plane and tank models. He didn't seem to have any difficulty with using very fine tweezers gluing some super-tiny pieces into his models.

[Tinkerer]

I recently heard that those who do precision work (e.g. soldering/reworking SMD) should limit upper body strength training as that may interfere with doing precision work. How valid is that? Is there a tradeoff between being able to move more heavy equipment and working on the fine pitch SMD parts found in such high tech equipment?

It sounds like someone took the idea that because an ape like the chimpanzee evolved more towards upper body strength at the cost of more precise movements, that somehow the idea would apply to humans who built up upper body strength.

[CatalinaWOW]

There may be an age effect also.  I am now in my 60s, and find that after an extra heavy workout I have tremors for hours that would prevent fine work.  A mild or normal workout causes no problems.

Don't agree with the size of the hands thing.  My hands are enormous (palm basketballs easily) and not slender and when not trembling I do fine under the microscope.  The best precision worker I ever knew was 6' 4" and weighed about 450 pounds.  (about 1.95 and 215 kilos for you metric types).  The only problem he ever had with size was getting a bunny suit big enough.

[os40la]

  The only problem he ever had with size was getting a bunny suit big enough.

.?

[CatalinaWOW]

Bunny suit.  Full cover clean room dress.  Big guys have problems with standard suits.  I'm 2.03 and tend to talk with a high voice after a couple of hours suited up.

[Mechanical Menace]

Bunny suit.  Full cover clean room dress.  Big guys have problems with standard suits.  I'm 2.03 and tend to talk with a high voice after a couple of hours suited up.

I'm a smidgen taller and have had similar problems*, especially when two piece suits are not appropriate.


*Though not in an electronics setting.