Injury Prevention Exercises - Fitness Tips For Hairdressers

The standing jobs where you are on your feet all day long have many needs for regular fitness. Like a bank teller, most of these standing jobs usually have you sit very little if at all. Many of you are on the run for lunch, eating standing, or if you break it's for a smoke usually……so then you are still standing. Now I won't even comment on the smoking part since it is a fact and I am not writing about that. According to the work safe type standards the standing employee should have a box to rest a foot on and switch periodically through the job. Or course hair dressers could book time for sitting but realistically they will back up appts and skip lunches so as to maximize income potential of course at the sacrifice of pains.

With dress codes it can make things worse having to wear fancy, not comfortable shoes. In the end your knees start to hurt, then the hips and the back. Slowly this will creep up the spine to induce rounded shoulders and one or more postural issues such as scoliosis, lordosis or kyphodosis. These are basically things like poke neck chin out, belly hangs out forward and you sit back on the glutes, rounding shoulders and leaning toward left or right causing curvature in that direction.

Postural exercises are essential for you, stretching especially the chest, shoulders and hamstrings are also very essential for you. Look at things like shoulder blade squeezes, sitting on the hands then ear to shoulder, depressing shoulders, lying on the ground belly down and doing chest lifts, lifting the upper body like cobra pose in yoga. Small movements, simple exercises, yet very effective. Laying face up on a ball is a great way to stretch the core and chest by letting the arms out and gravity pull them down.

Core exercises need to be done as well, including simple crunches, knee raises, single leg dead lifts and ankle touches.

You don't need to join a gym and no need for equipment as you can do this all from home with a body ball and small slot of time.

Diet and sleep is going to get you through your long marathon days. Make sure to get some food in, many of you skip meals being busy but the least you can do is a protein drink and almonds. Don't let the day go without getting those small bites in as best you can.

Try to get at least 7 hours sleep per night. It seems no one sleeps more than 5 hours anymore and that is just absolutely crazy. The lifestyle planning is the best way to fit your food prep, sleep, work, and play all in comfortably without getting sick.

By Linda Cusmano