best ways to reduce fatigue?

i find after every detecting session Im absolutely buggered! Im sure its from dehydration and all the digging but what are some ways you found that helped you?

I do a fair bit of physical training and after a days sluicing and detecting I'm always cactus at the end of the day :beer: :beer: :beer: and sore for about 3 days afterwards.

Hmm... I started answering your original question. The 11" mono should be punching reasonably deep? What depths on what targets are you concerned about i.e. It's not going to pick up subgram gold at mind boggling depths.

Your new question:
Don't let yourself become dehydrated. Carry water with you - canteen, water bladder etc.
Have a break - it will let help you recover & refresh you mentally too.
Pace yourself/slow down. A lot of new (& not so new) detectorists go flat out digging obvious signals & trying to cover huge areas of ground too quickly. Concentrate on covering smaller areas more thoroughly?

Dehydration speaks for itself, more so for up coming weather.

Food. On the trail bike i used to carry these tubes of food gel. SIS GO. They are an isotonic. Not only really convenient but good for you and taste great. This can help reduce fatigue. Bananas, apples!

Lighter gear. Heavy detector? I was using a pick that had a short handle.i found it more fatiguing than the 36 pick i now use. I was more cranked over alot of the times.

https://www.scienceinsport.com/au/s...MIxIyk1qma5QIV2w0rCh0sHQNBEAAYASAAEgKpXvD_BwE

mbasko said:

Hmm... I started answering your original question. The 11" mono should be punching reasonably deep? What depths on what targets are you concerned about i.e. It's not going to pick up subgram gold at mind boggling depths.

Your new question:
Don't let yourself become dehydrated. Carry water with you - canteen, water bladder etc.
Have a break - it will let help you recover & refresh you mentally too.
Pace yourself/slow down. A lot of new (& not so new) detectorists go flat out digging obvious signals & trying to cover huge areas of ground too quickly. Concentrate on covering smaller areas more thoroughly?

Click to expand...

Realised I already posted that question before! Just little pieces of metal bits it hardly picks up at depths more than say 10cm I would easily walk over bird shot size gold st say anymore than 10cms. Im wondering if the enhance timing is causing the loss in depth.

Thats a very good idea on covering small areas, I get into the mentality of I have to look over there now helps mentally sometimes moving spots

Aussiedigs said:

Dehydration speaks for itself, more so for up coming weather.

Food. On the trail bike i used to carry these tubes of food gel. SIS GO. They are an isotonic. Not only really convenient but good for you and taste great. This can help reduce fatigue. Bananas, apples!

Lighter gear. Heavy detector? I was using a pick that had a short handle.i found it more fatiguing than the 36 pick i now use. I was more cranked over alot of the times.

https://www.scienceinsport.com/au/s...MIxIyk1qma5QIV2w0rCh0sHQNBEAAYASAAEgKpXvD_BwE

Click to expand...

Deffiently agree on the smaller pick tiring me out. I thought small would be better and lighter but its much more tiring and I recently ordered a 86cm handle pick on eBay cant wait.

VicGoldHunter said:

mbasko said:

Hmm... I started answering your original question. The 11" mono should be punching reasonably deep? What depths on what targets are you concerned about i.e. It's not going to pick up subgram gold at mind boggling depths.

Your new question:
Don't let yourself become dehydrated. Carry water with you - canteen, water bladder etc.
Have a break - it will let help you recover & refresh you mentally too.
Pace yourself/slow down. A lot of new (& not so new) detectorists go flat out digging obvious signals & trying to cover huge areas of ground too quickly. Concentrate on covering smaller areas more thoroughly?

Click to expand...

Realised I already posted that question before! Just little pieces of metal bits it hardly picks up at depths more than say 10cm I would easily walk over bird shot size gold st say anymore than 10cms. Im wondering if the enhance timing is causing the loss in depth.

Thats a very good idea on covering small areas, I get into the mentality of I have to look over there now helps mentally sometimes moving spots

Click to expand...

:lol: Don't worry I think we all get into that mindset - the grass looks greener over there.
Enhance will still punch deep enough but it's all relative to a number of factors like the coil size, coil type, ground, size of target, target make-up etc.
Up to 10cm on bird shot sized gold is ok with the Commander 11". For larger gold it will punch a lot deeper in Enhance too so it's more of an all rounder type coil.
I prefer to use a 15" coil, & although I still pick up small gold, I'm not too concerned if I'm missing some or those pesky bird shot (which I also still get too many of). I've never really tested it out myself but maybe a smaller spiral wound coil like an Evo 12x8 or Elite 9" might do better on that size of target if that's what you are after?
If you're worried about it you could put your mind at ease by doing a simple test using a common object (like a 5c piece) then post up the settings you used & what results you got.
Others with a GPX could then compare theirs & let you know what they get. Won't be 100% due to different locations, EMI etc. but may give you some piece of mind.
Confidence in your gear can have a lot to do with how much success you have - plays more of a part than we give credit IMO. :Y:
P.s. if you've got a nice light pick with a short handle an easy solution that will still leave it light is to replace it with a longer handle. I agree that bending over with a short handle pick isn't ideal all day.

Get your partner to do the digging or swap jobs between yourselves. :goldnugget: ickshovel:

Cheers

Doug

Every 1 litre of water drink 1/2litre of something like Staminade or hydration salts, helps to keep your body balanced and you'll actually find yourself drinking slightly less overall. For muscle recovery add Quinoa into your diet, it's a super nutrient for muscles and a lot of dieticians add it to endurance athletes diets as it contains all the amino acids muscles need to re-build.

I know what you mean. I've just bought a 2L Camelbak to supplement my water bottle and extra 5 litres back up in the car (plus a couple of litres of tea for smoko and lunchtime).

I was finding that the water bottle was running out when it was warmer and I'd have to keep going back to the car to refill it. Another biggy is appropriate clothing. I've ditched the heavy duty Yakka pants I used to wear for some Bisley Flex & move stretch pants

These are light weight and keep me much cooler, and the ones shown above are made for tilers and similar trades where they have to kneel down a lot. The reinforced sewn on knee pads beat having to put knee pads over the top that make you sweat and feel uncomfortable. I tried them out for the first time at Goldsborough (Vic) last weekend and they performed brilliantly on hard Quartz strewn clay and bedrock around a reef area.

I also recently bought three of their shirts that have Airflow features under the armpits and under the collar. Combined with my Funnelweb hat that has a neck protector to keep the sun off of the back of my neck, and the hipstick, bungy, & guide arm for the 25" DDX, I find it's getting easier each session to stay cool and alert enough to drive home after. It's also most important to keep the weight of a big coil from making it hard work. As well as the bungy, harness, and hipstick, I've moved the control box as far back as I possibly can to help counterbalance it all (thanks Nenad for the tip). Also, now that I've finally managed to get my detector humming along nicely, I've found that in a lot of terrain I don't need to use the guide arm, which then frees up my left hand to hold my pick over my shoulder as I go along, which seems to balance me even more.

I've found also that I've had to cut back on my exercise routine during the week. I swim 3 nights a week and was doing 50 laps each time, but I found whenever I went detecting and had to dig a couple of really deep holes I fatigued quickly and was completely wasted for a day or two after. I've now cut that back to 30 laps 3 nights a week (and sometimes 2), and never the night before I go detecting. It's made a huge difference.

Deepseeker, 50 laps 3 nights/wk, you're a flamin fish! layful: ower:

Ded Driver said:

Deepseeker, 50 laps 3 nights/wk, you're a flamin fish! layful: ower:

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Still a tubby old fish though mate

I also neglected to mention that it takes me 1 1/4 hours to swim 50 laps. People try to sit on me thinking I'm an abandoned inflatable Lilo :lol:

Take breaks stay hydrated alternating water and electrolytes :Y: if they don't help drink rum layful:

VicGoldHunter said:

i find after every detecting session Im absolutely buggered! Im sure its from dehydration and all the digging but what are some ways you found that helped you?

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Gday

Its usually only for the first few days out that I feel knackered after that it becomes easier, but as mentioned you will find it beneficial to drink something like staminade, I use the powdered form available in woolworths, coles, chemists etc, and just have a couple of spoon fulls in a a glass of water twice a day, helps with cramps and that depleted feeling you get when dehydration starts to set in, drinking excessive water will actually help you to dehydrate as it flushes the electrolytes out of your body.

Take regular breaks during the day, and a nanna nap during the hottest part of the day if you feel like it, don't worry the golds not going anywhere it will still be there when you wake up.

One other thing is I have found a few mid strength beers are beneficial at the end of the day, but not excessive amounts and not hard spirits, I think that too much alcohol actually contributes to you becoming dehydrated in the warmer weather.

cheers

stayyerAU

I wonder if you dissolved a Viagara pill in staminade would help with dehydration and stamina??

Jaros said:

I wonder if you dissolved a Viagara pill in staminade would help with dehydration and stamina??

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Well there would certainly be somewhere to hang your headphones!

Jaros said:

I wonder if you dissolved a Viagara pill in staminade would help with dehydration and stamina??

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Could be a good way to get that part of the goldfield all to yourself. You may need to carry your pick over your shoulder though Jaros to balance yourself layful:

Jaros said:

I wonder if you dissolved a Viagara pill in staminade would help with dehydration and stamina??

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Probably not Jaros you're be feeling stiff all day and make it a bit uncomfortable if you've gotta bend over to dig ower: :lol:

Sure would stiffen your resolve

Jaros, is that a divining rod in your pocket or are just pleased to see us! layful: layful: