Being healthy and staying fit also depends on the little routines you maintain at work. LABELIANS is now transformed into a sports coach to keep you in top shape in front of your workbenches !
Staying fit is a matter of routine !
Everyone likes to feel fit, and makes good resolutions as soon as the slightest twinge in the neck, tension in the shoulder or thigh is felt. There’s no need to rush to the gym or set up treadmills and benches in the lab. It’s the small, regular, daily changes that will make THE difference to your health and fitness.
The first hurdle you will probably encounter in your daily work as a laboratory technician is that you probably spend long hours in the same position and often repeat the same actions. Your body therefore needs to compensate, and you must therefore offer it corrective positions, relaxation and stretching movements that will bring balance back to your body without too much effort apart from (a little) discipline.
Some advice from the LABELIANS coach to take care of your body
LABELIANS a relevé pour vous quelques conseils, faciles à mettre en œuvre que seul (e) ou pourquoi pas en équipe, pour prendre autant soin de vous que de vos échantillons.
Que ce soit pour rejoindre le labo ou le plateau technique en voiture, ou pendant la journée de travail, nous passons tous beaucoup trop de temps en position assise.
C’est effectivement confortable mais notre colonne vertébrale n’est pas prévue pour cela (rappelez-vous, avant le rire ou notre brillante intelligence, et notre humour qui déchire, c’est bien notre station debout de bipède qui nous a d’abord distingué de nos amis les animaux).
Quand on regarde un peu l’histoire de l’humanité, on constate que nous ne restons assis aussi longuement que depuis moins de trois siècles. Il faut un peu plus de trois siècles sans doute au corps humain pour s’adapter à nos vies sédentaires, et dans l’intervalle, notre génération est bien la génération des « tamalou ».
Si vous ne pouvez pas travailler autrement qu’assis, vous allez devoir faire des exercices d’étirement des muscles du mollet, de l’arrière de la cuisse, du psoas le long du torse.
Bref, assez parlé ! Vous êtes prêt (e) ? C’est parti.
LABELIANS has come up with a few tips that are easy to implement on your own or as part of a team, to take care of yourself and your samples.
Whether it’s to get to the lab or the technical platform by car, or during the working day, we all spend far too much time in a sitting position.
It is indeed comfortable, but our spine is not designed for it (remember, before laughter or our brilliant intelligence, and our wicked sense of humour, it was our bipedal standing that first distinguished us from our animal friends).
If you look at the history of humanity, you will see that we have only been sitting for so long for less than three centuries. It probably takes a little more than three centuries for the human body to adapt to our sedentary lives, and in the meantime, our generation is indeed the “tamalou” generation.
If you can’t work in any other way than sitting, you’ll have to do stretching exercises for the calf muscles, the back of the thigh, the psoas along the torso.
In short, enough talk! Are you ready? Let’s get started.
Staying fit in front of the bench: finding the right position. Here we go.
Standing up
Facing the bench, with your arms at your sides, stand up straight, keeping your neck in line with your spine.
Place your feet slightly apart to align them with your hips.
Imagine that an invisible thread connects your spine, the top of your skull, and a cloud above you.
Stand up straight, keeping your neck straight.
Count to 15, slowly holding this position.
Sitting down
Facing the bench on a well adjusted chair – a well adjusted chair allows you to sit in a position where your thighs are slightly higher than your knees (have you heard of our LABELIANS bioleader design chairs?).
Place your feet flat on the floor.
Stand up straight.
Place your hands flat on your thighs.
Count to 15 slowly while holding this position.
Staying healthy on the bench: keep your back safe
Relaxing the shoulders
Stand with your feet slightly apart and in line with your hips.
Cross your fingers in front of you and raise your arms above your head, palms facing the sky.
Extend yourself.
Be careful not to round your elbows, and keep your shoulders down.
Strech your chest
Stand with your feet slightly apart from your hips.
Cross your hands with your arms stretched behind your back.
Push your chest forward.
Relaxing the lumbar region
Place your hands on your lumbar region, and lean back gently and slowly and return to the initial position.
Staying fit in front of the bench: protect your neck and shoulders
Strech your neck
Lower your head, chin to chest. Interlock your fingers and place your hands behind your neck.
Gently bring your shoulders forward and stretch gently.
Stretch the neck laterally
Lower your shoulders. Place one hand behind your head. Tilt your head to the side without turning it. Extend your other arm downwards.
Do the same on the other side.
Small improvements have a big impact
Over the course of days and weeks, poor posture can have a significant negative impact on your health and your body.
LABELIANS bioleader design’s ergonomic advice on the design of workbenches, whether it be the choice of seats, the workbench itself, its lighting or the storage of materials, will be invaluable in supporting you.
