I started working in a fast food kitchen 2 weeks ago and it’s physically stressful so far. I do a lot of meal prep which includes a lot of chopping, carrying, and cleaning. Being on my feet for ~7 hours a day is slowly taking a toll on me and I really want to take preventive measures for long term problems that come with it. My right thumb is numb as I type down this post at 1am because I somehow woke up before 4:30am.
For a little background, this is my first official job where I’m being paid actual money for my work. As per usual, I can’t quit because of finances and I like my coworkers and managers so far. I just want my body to cope with it better and I’m not sure how I should go with it. I was pretty sedentary before I started working. I wear comfortable non-slip shoes with orthotics to better support my arch. I also bought a muscle rolling stick to help massage my feet and leg muscles after work. I think the compression socks I recently got isn’t doing much so I’m going to invest in some Bombas socks soon. What else can I do to prevent breaking my body doing this job?
Seconding the recommendation to S T R E C H and hydrate yourself, aim for minimum every couple hours. This will help keep your body in shape for longer no matter whether you work at a desk, standing, walking around a warehouse, a kitchen, a school, jobsite, WFH or whatever you do.
Yes please!
Also warming up your body with a short 5-10 minute walk might help as well. I do this before working out to loosen up my muscles and it really does help.
Personally, stretching, small amount of cardio, and hydration on three long life habits I never want lose
I’ll definitely hydrate better. I might just try doing a good sip every top of the hour to make sure I get enough during my shift. Guess I need to do more stretches throughout the day though