Working Up To It (A Guide for Women and Men)

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Once you've improved your condition, you'll still have to find a work pace that's comfortable. The important thing is to acknowledge your level of fitness, then find a level of exertion that matches your conditioning and stick to it ... regardless of the speed of your coworkers.

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK
Even the most physically fit folks know the value of letting the body take a rest now and again. Muscles are responsive to a little care, too, so if you break your work with short periods of stretching or relaxation, you'll noticeably aid your muscle recovery speed and reduce end-of-day fatigue.

The long spells of standing that we all face—when hoeing or shoveling, for example—produce pressure in the blood vessels of the legs, and as a result the veins there can become dilated. (This is especially true for women whose veins have already been weakened by such circulatory stresses as pregnancy.) It's a good idea, then, to take short breaks during activities that require prolonged standing ... in order to relieve this strain on both the muscles and the circulatory system.

Working in a standing (or slightly bent) position for an extended length of time also stresses the back muscles. The thin column of vertebrae, which is effectively held together by ligaments, isn't well-designed for lifting or supporting weights. It's not surprising, then, that in heavy work the back—and especially the lower back—is generally the most misused area of the body. After laboring in the garden for an hour or two, for instance, the weight of your shoulders and head ( and that of whatever implement you may be swinging) bears down on the spinal column, pushing each vertebra onto the one below it and squashing the spongy pads between these thin bones . . . until you feel a familiar soreness in your back. When this occurs, most people tend to slump in order to reduce the strain on the natural arch of the lower back. And—if you're sensible— you'll listen to this message from your body and take a moment to relax.

I've found the following relaxation technique to be a marvelous muscle refresher. Developed by Edmund Jacobsen in the 1940's, the sequence is based upon the principle that in order to relax fully, we must first become aware of the degree of tension in the body and then gradually reduce it.

To perform Jacobsen's exercise, you'll need to lie down on a grassy spot or—if you're indoors—on the floor. Starting at your feet, make an effort to become aware of that part of your body. Tense the muscles, and then relax them. Continue the sequence of contracting and then loosening the muscles in each consecutive body part, all the way up to your head. Then tense and relax your entire body. Let your breathing deepen and visualize breath flowing into any part of your frame that still feels tight. It helps to imagine that you're creating more space for your muscles to expand, and to relax them until it feels as if they're dissolving into the ground below you. Allow your body to experience the full release of tension, and don't rush to grab control again. After all, you deserve a break ... so take it!

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