Are you fit enough for your job?

Are you fit? The way to correctly answer this, is to ask yourself: "Am I able to meet all the daily demands of my job and/or homelife?"

Being fit does not mean you are able to cycle over to Saudi in 10 minutes, or run through the desert without breaking a sweat. Although, having a heart, lungs and muscles that strong sure would be fantastic!

Professional sportspeople are fit because they have to meet the demands of their job - that is earning money by playing their chosen sport.

Olympic athletes are fit because they have to meet the demands of their job - to compete for their country and win a medal.

I have to be fit to meet the demands of my job - to run around after hundreds of teenagers five days a week and still have energy to perform all the administration duties that high school teachers have.

Then I need energy in reserve to go home and clean my apartment after my cat has dirtied it, knocked over my vase of flowers, and shredded my new magazine that I left on the coffee table.

Have a think about all the things you have to do during the day. Now have a think about all that you COULD do if you were fitter and how good you WOULD feel. Now put this into the context of your job. Having the goal to cycle over the causeway or run through the desert does not motivate a lot of people. It scares them.

Achieving your fitness goals can be as simple (and as honourable) as being able to perform all the things you do during the day to the best of your ability, and maintaining good health, including low body fat.

I interviewed three people about how their job has motivated them to be fitter and stronger, and how being fit has made them more efficient and happier workers.

The first person I interviewed was Cynthia. She is a part-time nurse from Australia. "I need a strong back to lift sick people in and out of bed, and the amount of walking I do in the hospital is just crazy!"

She is a semi-regular gym-goer who loves stretching activities, jazzercise (I try not to laugh as I picture her in pink leg-warmers with a yellow leotard and black tights! Bless her!) and goes for long walks with her husband, up to four times a week.

"If I didn't stay pretty active, there is no way I would be able to work as hard as I do."

So, does she get tired? "Yeah, very tired, but I look at it this way; I would be MORE tired if I did nothing to stay fit and healthy."

The second person I spoke with was a US Navy Law Enforcement Officer who drives boats on 12-hour shifts at a time. His name is Tim. "We need to be fit, even though we are just sitting down for most of our shift. We have to be ready in case an emergency situation arises. At night, we need to be alert."

Tim is tall, lean and also smokes a couple of cigarettes a day. However, he jogs weekly and has fitness tests and health check-ups regularly by Navy physical training instructors and doctors. He has passed every one of them with flying colours!

"We also handle dangerous and heavy weapons, so some upper body strength is necessary - if you can't do your job properly, it is simply not tolerated. You can put lives at risk and you won't be fulfilling your responsibilities".

Georgina, a drama teaching assistant, was the third person who spoke to me about the importance of being fit for your job.

"I teach young children and you have to be able to keep up with them. It can be physically and mentally demanding. I do regular pilates classes and other stuff to stay fit and also have to exercise my diaphragm to be able to project my voice."

A delightfully cheery and energetic young woman, Georgina trained at home in the UK with professional actors over the summer, as well as on-the-job training.

She explained how thankful she was that she already had good stamina! "What I do is not strenuous, but there is no time for resting. No way! And we use our entire body for warm up activities with the children, then go into character role playing."

If you are struggling to get through the work day and dread the thought of doing anything other than laying on the sofa when you get home, you must look at ways to improve your fitness to meet the range of working environment pressures that your job is placing on you.

If you are mentally stressed, rather than physically exhausted, look at ways to work smarter rather than harder, like delegating tasks to workmates and improving your time management skills.

Additionally, you might like to experiment with weekly yoga, pilates and massage sessions ... coupled with daily walks in the fresh air and sunshine.

Good luck everyone!

Finally, thank you to Cynthia, Tim and Georgina who gave me their valuable time for this article.

Work and stress are parts of life but being completely strung out does not have to be! Please see a qualified and caring fitness instructor for further information on what is right for you.