While starting any new job can be stressful and overwhelming, if the new job that you’re going to be starting will require a lot of manual labor that you may not be used to, the stress you’ll experience won’t only be mental but will be physical as well. Luckily, there are ways that you can prepare for starting this new job and get yourself in the best position to maintain your health and fitness after you start.
To help you see how this can be done for you, here are three tips for starting a new job doing manual labor.
Strengthen Your Body For An Easier Transition
As your start date gets closer, you should try to focus a lot of your attention on strengthening your body so that your transition to a physically demanding job will be a bit easier. To do this, you’ll want to think about the type of work that you know you’ll be doing, whether that’s unloading freight or standing for long periods of time, and then create workouts that will help you train those muscles.
Almost regardless of the type of physical work that you’ll be doing, your body will benefit from strengthening certain areas of your body that you’re sure to use. For example, focusing on strengthening your core will help with all kinds of manual labor. And if you can do a bit of conditioning to strengthen your heart, you won’t tire as easily once you start working.
Give Your Body Time To Acclimate
While you might show up on your first day on the job ready to go, you should also plan to give your body time to acclimate to this new form of work.
To do this, you’ll want to make sure that you are taking breaks so that your body has enough time to rest, either during your workday or at the end of your workday. Additionally, if there’s something that you can’t physically handle right now, you should always ask for help from someone else so that you don’t strain your body and wind up not being able to do the work you’ve been hired to do.
Take Care With What You Eat And Drink
Along with making sure that you’re wearing the proper safety gear and caring for your feet and shoes during your workday, you’ll also want to be careful with what you eat and drink both when you’re on the clock and when you’re off the clock.
To keep your energy up and fuel your body, you’ll want to eat healthy foods that will fill you up without weighing you down too much. This should include things like fresh produce, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. You should also have a plan for how to stay hydrated while you’re working up a sweat. This way, your body will be able to support you through all the work you need to get done.
If you have a job doing manual labor that you’ll soon be starting, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you get your body ready and keep it healthy while doing this challenging work.