If your work involves physical activity every day, you might consider it a bit pointless squeezing in regular exercise into your already busy schedule. Surely you’re doing enough to remain healthy? You might be surprised to know that the answer is no.
Exercise is not only about keeping a slim waist to fit into your tradie work pants; it has a far more strategic role. Let’s explain why.
Your Body And Your Work
As a tradie or a person whose work involves physical activity, you often use your muscles, ligaments and joints under straining conditions and repeatedly use the same parts. If these parts are not kept super fit and healthy, you can develop chronic conditions and acute injuries.
Your body is a tool, just like those precious tools in your toolbox or van, and all equipment needs maintenance. Without a fully operational set of tools that can work at maximum strength, you will be less productive or unable to work at all in extreme cases.
Common Injuries
If you are still not convinced, here is an overview of the history of injuries incurred by unfit people in physical jobs. History shows that hundreds of thousands of muscle, ligament and joint injuries are incurred from lifting heavy items, operating machinery under strain and repetitive strain injuries to the musculoskeletal structure. Common injuries include lower back pain, sprains, joint decline, long-term pain and damaged nerves. These can happen simultaneously or build up over time.
Stamina At Work
Most contractor work is not a straight 7 to 8-hour day like office workers. Work can start very early and finish late at night. Contractors who clock overtime hours daily are up to fifteen times more at risk of developing chronic conditions.
Mental Health
Contractors, or tradies, are entrepreneurs, which adds an extra layer of stress to your life. Unlike office workers, you don’t have a salary plopping into your account every month. There is a low level of financial and risk stress daily as you attend to work, deal with clients, process admin and try to muster up new work. Your new work projects and income are not guaranteed, and financial stress is in the top five stresses experienced by people.
Exercise is a key tool in reducing and avoiding mental stress and depression.
What Exercise To Consider
You don’t need to become Dwayne Johnson, but labour unions recommend you do regular cardio and resistance or weight training. This will help you develop denser muscle mass (strength), increase oxygen levels in your blood (stamina) and allow more serotonin to pass over your brain-blood barrier (mental health and stress reduction).
Eat a healthy diet, include ten minutes of stretching every day and drink up to 3 litres of water a day. Lastly, keep a regular sleep pattern, avoid squatting (rather sit) and take mini-breaks from your work instead of long breaks after long work sessions.
Need to downsize your tradie work pants for the new, healthier you? Order now!
