IRONMAN IN HIGH HEELS: TRAINING AND WORKING OUT….IN A GROCERY STORE?
Let’s face it. There are days where getting to the gym is impossible. You get stuck at work, life gets in the way or….and let’s be honest here….it’s Dancing With The Stars night. (There are priorities!) As someone training for an Ironman, this can be quite frustrating!
However, that doesn’t mean you have to completely miss your workout. It is actually quite easy to get work out without the gym and while doing your everyday tasks. For me, it is easy because one of my jobs is working in a grocery store. I am in the deli department, which means lots of lifting and running around. Most people don’t realize it, but this job is as much of a workout as being in the gym most of the day. Here is a sample of my ‘grocery-gym’ workout:
Strength Training:
Unloading Truck: Five days out of the week, my department gets a big truck filled with our meats, cheeses and salads. While my co-workers help me by taking it out of the truck and bringing it to my department, I still have to take everything into the cooler and display case. This means lifting several boxes filled with said meats, cheeses and salads, most of which weigh upwards of 40 lbs. Since there are usually up to 50 boxes that need to be moved, unpacked and put into the cooler, it is equivalent to a three hour strength training workout (in between running around to take care of customers and moving things where they belong.) The average truck unload burns up to 900 calories. Focus points: Arms, shoulders, back and chest.
U-Boat/Taking Out Trash: This might sound like a basic task, but it is one that can be a great workout if done often enough. Those of you who also work in grocery stores know that we have to take out the garbage several times a day. My particular department has several large garbage cans, which need to be emptied quite often. Since the bags are pretty heavy, they are loaded onto a U-Boat and pushed throughout the store. The bags are then tossed into the trash compactor, which is equivalent to a bag or tire toss in a gym. The same thing goes for tossing out cardboard and putting it into the baler. The boxes, which are also heavy, must be lifted and tossed. While it might not seem like much to some, when done often enough, it ends up being a tough workout that helps tone the arms, sides and shoulders.
Cardio:
This part is actually quite easy. Anyone who works in retail knows there is a lot of running around that occurs throughout the day. More often than not, I end up getting my 10,000 steps on my FitBit by 11am (starting my work day at 8am) and end up with 16,000-20,000 after an 8.5 hour day. While it is not quite a marathon….or even a half marathon, it is a wonderful way to get my stamina up and prepare for the Ironman marathon portion.
While I have yet to convince my bosses to build a pool or let me ride a bike in the store, the rest of my job is a great way to get half of my training in on days it is impossible to get to the gym….so thank you to my wonderful store!
