A majority of the time, nurses spend their day standing, stressing, and running around the hospital. You’d think that because of this, nurses wouldn’t need to exercise… however, this is far from the case. Did you know that a majority of nurses are more susceptible to obesity than other healthcare professionals? The combination of stress with lack of sleep and an unhealthy diet sets the stage for a myriad of health issues down the line. In other words, while nurses are too busy doing their best, they may feel forced to eat fast food because it’s the most convenient alternative available and, after wrapping up their shift, they fail to get a good night’s rest while at home.

Does this sound familiar?

Keeping fit as a nurse takes just as much effort as staying healthy in any other line of work; if not a bit more due to the long, unrelenting shifts. Luckily, we have found a few exercises that you can perform during your downtime to keep healthy and fit.

The Importance of Cardio

One of the most difficult exercises for many—since it’s so exhausting!—is cardio. However, it is one of the most useful forms of workout for anyone due to the benefits it offers. In other words, those who do regular cardio sessions enjoy of better stamina, less fatigue from walking around, more lower body strength, and an increased ability to push and pull objects, all of which are essential for nurses. If anything else, doing cardio also helps to release pent-up stress by literally walking—or running—it off.

As you continue to do cardio, your body will strengthen which, in turn, also leads to fewer work-related injuries. Lifting patients will no longer be as taxing as it was in the past, and standing for hours on end, while exhausting, won’t lead to pain in the calves and feet.

In other words, you can’t go wrong with cardio.

The Importance of Strength Training

If cardio was great for increasing your endurance and stamina, strength training focuses more on… well, strength. It involves other parts of your body, as opposed to the legs and calves exclusively.

Strength training is just as important as cardio, but for different reasons.

As a nurse, you’ll seldom find yourself lifting heavy weights other than the occasional patient or two that you need to help turn on their side, or when you need to transfer from a gurney to a bed, or vice versa. However, it is these rare occasions that, since our body is not physically prepared for them, cause more harm to our backs than what walking around or standing for extended periods ever could.

By honing your core and arm strength, you effectively prevent these injuries from occurring, with the added benefit that you won’t have to overexert yourself when transferring patients or when helping to turn them on their sides.

Useful Exercises

When it comes to cardio, all you need is a pair of good running shoes and an open track. You can either walk or run, depending on your age and physical fitness. According to many sources, the recommended amount of cardio you should get is at least an hour per session, 3 to 5 days a week.

However, when it comes to strength training, it’s not enough to simply flail your limbs aimlessly; there are some optimal exercises that involve many muscles, and that can give you the best bang for your time.

High Knees

Though technically a cardio exercise, these exercises can help strengthen your leg muscles due to the motions required to pull them off.

The exercise itself is simple: just stand in one place, and alternate lifting your knees as close to the chest as possible without using your hands. You can add some arm swings in sync with your leg movements to also exercise them—bonus points if you use some light dumbbells. Do this for 10 minutes at a time.

Reverse Lunges

This exercise is as simple as high knees. While standing straight, throw your right foot back to go into a lunging position. Afterward, bring it back and alternate with the left foot. Similar to the above exercise, you can raise your arms in sync with the lunges to get some extra workout. Repeat at least 5 reps per leg.

Calf Raises

Excellent for improving endurance in your legs and calves to withstand those long shifts of standing and walking around. While holding two light dumbbells, stand on the tip of your toes as high as you can go. Hold that position for a few seconds, and then lower your heels down. Repeat this in reps of 10 raises.

Squats

The ultimate bootymaker in exercises, which can also work wonders for developing core and leg strength. While standing straight, separate your feet just so they are slightly wider apart than your hips and, while slightly pointing your toes outward, descend as if you’re going to sit down on a chair. Stop descending when your thighs are parallel to the ground, hold for a second or two, then come back up. Repeat the exercise at least 10 times per set.

Remember that, when it comes to exercises, reaping the benefits is a matter of perseverance and consistency. Even if you’re just doing cardio, by walking at least an hour every day, you’re already working on improving your condition. At the end of the day, your body will thank you in the form of less exhaustion and pain after a long shift.