As many people say, “farming isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle”, so how will improving a farmer’s physical fitness, benefit his/her lifestyle?
- Physical strains or damage are more of a regular occurrence when muscles aren’t used, or supported correctly, or are pushed to beyond limits they are naturally capable of. To prevent long term injury or reoccurrence, taking part in strength workouts or fitness builds muscle, training correctly benefits you at work to be stronger for certain jobs, but also protects your body in relation to physical movements/demands.
- With the development of machinery, farmers are less active than they used to be, a significant part of their day is spent sat in a tractor or sat in the office. Being inactive heightens your chances of having future health problems and can weaken your immune system – a day off from farming is not as easy as calling in sick at most other jobs. Keeping your cardiovascular fitness healthy or maintained, doesn’t have to be in the form of a fitness class, but could be walking instead of driving around the fields or walking to check stock. Take half an hour at lunch to get out of the office – it has been proven that 30 minutes a day of exercise reduces the risk of major health risks by 50%.
- Sweat out the stress and release those endorphins. As with any job, farming has its good and bad days. Start your day off well, to focus your mind and be energised for the day ahead or do your fitness at the end of your day, to remove any stress and pressures, releasing some endorphins before heading home.
- Have a break! Go to a class, gett out on your bike or play sport, switch off from farming using fitness as an enjoyment, to escape a couple of times a week for yourself.
Ellie Stephenson
Country Core Fitness Yorkshire
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