Surviving Christmas
Standing is a natural position for humans but working in the standing position for prolonged periods is not beneficial to your health. It causes painful feet, swollen legs, muscle fatigue and cramps, as well as lower back pain, neck and shoulder stiffness; all making a busy day grooming hard work for our bodies. That coupled with extended hours and additional days to fit all our clients in before Christmas makes it a time of year when groomers suffer big time. We love our jobs, but joint and body pain and fatigue are a hard reality to smile through.
So how do we make sure we keep ourselves fit enough to keep our customers happy and enjoy Christmas?
These tips work so don’t just read them do them!
They are not meant for other people they are meant for you! We are absolutely rubbish at looking after ourselves, we put our customers demands before our own often making ourselves ill when the Christmas holiday eventually starts.
Tip 1
We all know what type of person we are, either morning or evening. If mornings are a struggle for you and you love the snooze button, with the best will in the world you won’t get out of bed any earlier to prepare for the day ahead, so preparation the night before is a must.
Tip 2
Make a packed lunch. There will be no time to pop to the shop or prepare anything to eat during the day and skipping meals results in tiredness, mood swings AND you’ll miss out on essential nutrients you need to keep yourself going. Top up with high energy snacks every few hours. Muesli or fruit bars are best as they have slow-release energy so no sugar crashes.
Tip 3
If you are a morning person then start the day with a short walk even 15 minutes is a great energiser.
Drink plenty, one of the best powerhouse drinks is orange juice. If you have time in the morning for breakfast then orange juice is a great accompaniment, if not then take cartons to work or better still fruit smoothies and keep yourself topped up all day, along with water.
Tip 4
Stretch. Stretching doesn’t mean do a workout, it means moving about your house tying to touch the ceiling or floor and you can fit that in while walking up and downstairs.
Prolonged standing causes our muscles to forget what they can do, and they become solid and firm in an attempt to support our bodies, so we lose the flexibility that enables us to move comfortably. Whenever you shower flex your neck as the heat from the water will make it easier and remind your neck it can move. Heat is great for relaxing muscles so a heat or grain pad on tight areas around your body will offer some relief.
Tip 5
Between grooms try your best to move. If you can pop outside, fresh air is fabulous for quick rejuvenation.
Tip 6
Noise also makes you fatigued and grumpy so if you don’t already own a pair of ear defenders, they are a ‘must buy’ purchase. Dryers, blasters and barking dogs all take their toll and wearing ear defenders can be a great way of just shutting out that penetrating noise and giving you some peace. Also, a radio that is constantly on, once turned off can give you a well-earned breather. You will be amazed at how your mood lifts just by muffling those constant sounds.
Available from amazon.co.uk
Tip 7
Sit down to groom whenever possible; if you are not used to sitting while grooming this can be awkward to start with, but a few minutes sat for trimming round feet or hand-stripping will have huge benefits.
Tip 8
Put your phone on to answer machine so your interruptions are minimal preventing you running late and becoming stressed.
Tip 9
And lastly if family or friends offer to help make light work of cleaning up at the end of the day, accept, it is always welcome!