Keeping up with it

One does not go to the gym once and expect to be immediately fit. Someone who aspires to be a bodybuilder does not come away after a workout without feeling “the burn”. How can we expect our job to not have any effect on our bodies if we don’t sustain it? Our type of business requires us to be fit (or at least fit enough) and we need to eat to keep our blood sugar levels in check throughout the day so that we can keep up the energy necessary to see out our day.

So what can we do?

Whether you are just starting to learn to groom or perhaps already be suffering from fatigue I hope this information benefits you. If you aren’t suffering don’t let it start, make the changes now! Oh, and BTW you don’t just have to be in the grooming industry this tells true for any lifestyle.

Give yourself (yes yourself!) at least 30 minutes every day (more if possible 15 if not). Use it to stretch and do some warm up exercises, take the dog/kids for a walk. Doing something first thing in the morning will help get the metabolism cranked up. If you don’t think you have 15 minutes before you head off to work, get up 15 Minutes earlier! Schedule it in! If mornings REALLY can’t be done then do it when you get home, Schedule it in! Going for a walk after a busy grooming day helps you wind down, I know, I know it’s the last thing on your mind but it will help declutter the day, if you’ve just picked the kids up get them out for a walk too, quality time…..schedule it!

Grooming exercises – I like to use a 1kg dumbbell (average clipper weight is around 500gms or so, weigh yours) If we exercise our parts with something heavier than what we use everyday then our ability to scissor and clip and lift a dog becomes easier. I will do wrist exercises with the 1kg dumbbell, I will use a heavier dumbbell for shoulder and back exercises. Back exercises are important to prevent issues like sciatica. I don’t accept the philosophy that repetition causes problems it is lack of muscle & joint strength that does. The stronger we build and maintain our bodies the less pain we have to manage.

Which brings me to the next issue – fueling our bodies. The reason our body screams in pain after a full on day of grooming is because we aren’t providing sufficient nutrients to repair and recover the damage caused by our job, this can be physical AND mental stresses. The body can’t repair and recover if you skip breakfast (simply because you have fasted overnight while sleeping 6-8hrs), live on coffee through the day, have one big meal in the evening and fast again while asleep. Even if you stopped for lunch that literally could be 15hrs without a meal, your body can’t sustain that! I hated eating breakfast but eventually forced myself to have at least something and now its automatic I can’t do without breakfast.

Ideally we need to have something every 2-3hours. Breakfast – snack – lunch – snack –dinner – snack. Low GI meals to ensure no spikes and slumps, it prevents craving for junk.

If you don’t have time to make meals to take – MAKE TIME – schedule it in. Most groomers will have Mondays off to do their personal stuff, preparing meals for the rest of the week isn’t difficult and if done in containers they can be simply grabbed each morning without having to take time to make it. If you make lunches for the kids, make yours too. Cook extra for evening meals and take leftovers for lunch….fruit, nuts, boiled eggs (can be boiled and refrigerated for up to a week). Protein shakes on the go are a quick fix meal replacement.