Keeping Healthy.

[Chelseablue]

It's scary the changes you feel in you're body doing this job after a lot of years . When do we pack it in though ? Gotta feed you're family etc . Can't see young guys sticking this job nowaday esp with the threat of our terms and cons bein torn up in the future. Rm shud be more pro active reg keeping posties healthy etc

[jimmynailsalive]

I ran 7k on Sunday and 8k on Monday, lot to be said for 25 hours over 4 days.

[OnAFlyer]

I've been a postie 18 years. I had to have a few weeks off with a knee condition a few years ago (genetic, not caused by walking) but other than that I've had no trouble whatsoever. I don't feel particularly tired after a 4-4.5hr delivery, but I do a lot of other exercise outside RM including straight after delivery.

This job itself doesn't keep you fit despite what many think, there are a hell of a lot of overweight posties and carrying that excess around is certainly going to affect your body a lot more. If you have existing conditions then some of them can be made worse obviously, especially as you get little time to rest from walking.

These days with P&L nobody should be carrying loads of weight and there's no reason for the job to knacker out a healthy person. Obviously things change as you get older and your body changes, but staying fit and healthy by having an active lifestyle outside RM will help.

[krussel]

Keeping the weight down help big time. Most walking posties in my office which go the distance are skinny.

[Mr_Pink]

I
These days with P&L nobody should be carrying loads of weight and there's no reason for the job to knacker out a healthy person.

I'd disagree with that, the trollies, both LWT & HCT, are a one size fits all, tall people end up stooped over them and shorter people always looking like they struggle with the HCTs. Walking 10+ miles a day on hard paved surfaces with poor footwear will accelerate joint wear, even more so if your pushing a weighty trolley that isn't set at a correct height for good posture.

[parcelpete]

Have suffered with re-occuring back problems for the last 3 years, Dims gave me a light weight trolley to deliver from, takes any strain off the back. For me it has been a blessing in the job with walks getting longer. Hope this helps

[Darren Bent]

I think every postal workers have niggly injuries and strains. The key is not to push too hard and keep listening to the body. I also go dancing twice a week and walk my dog on week off or Sunday. It is hard and strongly believe absorbing need to be scrapped for our health reasons and allow us little more recovery time.

Walk your dog once a week? Lucky dog!!

Well my Dad do take her a walk almost every day when I am not available.

[tonytucker]

I think every postal workers have niggly injuries and strains. The key is not to push too hard and keep listening to the body. I also go dancing twice a week and walk my dog on week off or Sunday. It is hard and strongly believe absorbing need to be scrapped for our health reasons and allow us little more recovery time.

Walk your dog once a week? Lucky dog!!

Well my Dad do take her a walk almost every day when I am not available.

Woof woof!

[bustedflush]

I think every postal workers have niggly injuries and strains. The key is not to push too hard and keep listening to the body. I also go dancing twice a week and walk my dog on week off or Sunday. It is hard and strongly believe absorbing need to be scrapped for our health reasons and allow us little more recovery time.

Walk your dog once a week? Lucky dog!!

Well my Dad do take her a walk almost every day when I am not available.

I find just leaving the Christmas Tree in the lounge after taking the decs down saves us walking ours in all this cold weather.

[Lincox]

I started when I was 54 and have enjoyed the fitness levels that the cycle gave me up until last Year when we changed to park and loop. I am now 64 and have 14 more days left at work before retirement
I have not been a driver on park and loop, so have been walking the loops which can take any time from 4 hours on a Tuesday to 5.5 hours on the heavier days. Just before Christmas I went off sick with chest infection. Been off nearly 4 weeks and started back yesterday. I can now hardly walk due to what I assume is shin splints. If you read my previous comments on threads relating to the pros and cons of park and loop as against cycles, I have vehemently come down on the side of the cycle. Walking on solid ground for long periods day after day does not aid anyone,s fitness. It is no where near a fitness aid compared to riding a bicycle.
The CWU should be ashamed of what they have allowed to pass as taking weight and strain off the shoulders. They have allowed Royal Mail to transfer that strain to the legs, hips and lower back and it is now causing havoc amongst the work force. This new system could never have been tested for health and safety risks, fatigue levels and to remove the one level of safety that we had under the previous delivery methods which was length of span is even a sadder indictment of how the CWU prefers to cover themselves by saying they are trying to protect full time positions, rather than protect the health and well being of the membership.

[aiden01]

I started when I was 54 and have enjoyed the fitness levels that the cycle gave me up until last Year when we changed to park and loop. I am now 64 and have 14 more days left at work before retirement
I have not been a driver on park and loop, so have been walking the loops which can take any time from 4 hours on a Tuesday to 5.5 hours on the heavier days. Just before Christmas I went off sick with chest infection. Been off nearly 4 weeks and started back yesterday. I can now hardly walk due to what I assume is shin splints. If you read my previous comments on threads relating to the pros and cons of park and loop as against cycles, I have vehemently come down on the side of the cycle. Walking on solid ground for long periods day after day does not aid anyone,s fitness. It is no where near a fitness aid compared to riding a bicycle.
The CWU should be ashamed of what they have allowed to pass as taking weight and strain off the shoulders. They have allowed Royal Mail to transfer that strain to the legs, hips and lower back and it is now causing havoc amongst the work force. This new system could never have been tested for health and safety risks, fatigue levels and to remove the one level of safety that we had under the previous delivery methods which was length of span is even a sadder indictment of how the CWU prefers to cover themselves by saying they are trying to protect full time positions, rather than protect the health and well being of the membership.

enjoy you,re retirement

[bustedflush]

I started when I was 54 and have enjoyed the fitness levels that the cycle gave me up until last Year when we changed to park and loop. I am now 64 and have 14 more days left at work before retirement
I have not been a driver on park and loop, so have been walking the loops which can take any time from 4 hours on a Tuesday to 5.5 hours on the heavier days. Just before Christmas I went off sick with chest infection. Been off nearly 4 weeks and started back yesterday. I can now hardly walk due to what I assume is shin splints. If you read my previous comments on threads relating to the pros and cons of park and loop as against cycles, I have vehemently come down on the side of the cycle. Walking on solid ground for long periods day after day does not aid anyone,s fitness. It is no where near a fitness aid compared to riding a bicycle.
The CWU should be ashamed of what they have allowed to pass as taking weight and strain off the shoulders. They have allowed Royal Mail to transfer that strain to the legs, hips and lower back and it is now causing havoc amongst the work force. This new system could never have been tested for health and safety risks, fatigue levels and to remove the one level of safety that we had under the previous delivery methods which was length of span is even a sadder indictment of how the CWU prefers to cover themselves by saying they are trying to protect full time positions, rather than protect the health and well being of the membership.

I agree. One common vein in this thread is age. It seems that the physiology of the human body cannot cope with 8-10km of hard-walking 6 days a week for up to 5 weeks between rota weeks, or 5 days for any amount of consecutive weeks, when you get beyond a certain age. They wonder why sickness levels are going up. Due to the healthy lifestyle of walking a fresh air, maybe colds and coughs etc. are lower than you'd find in other industries but when we do get things wrong they aren't the sort of ailments to recover from in a day or two. If you've got an underlying condition you previously weren't aware of, say arthritis then this job will exacerbate it and reveal it.
So instead of comfortably accommodating the job, you are basically just 'coping' with it, at the cost of sitting down aching and creaking in your free time. In one way, I consider my time off in the afternoon and Sunday as an extension of my work hours like a built-in 'recuperation period'.

[Lounge Lizard]

It's scary the changes you feel in you're body doing this job after a lot of years . When do we pack it in though ? Gotta feed you're family etc . Can't see young guys sticking this job nowaday esp with the threat of our terms and cons bein torn up in the future. Rm shud be more pro active reg keeping posties healthy etc

But there aren't many "young guys", the youth of today just expecting to be sat at a computer screen all day, and paid for it, while Royal Mail's workforce is mostly over 40, 40% over 50 and ageing.

[OnAFlyer]

It's scary the changes you feel in you're body doing this job after a lot of years . When do we pack it in though ? Gotta feed you're family etc . Can't see young guys sticking this job nowaday esp with the threat of our terms and cons bein torn up in the future. Rm shud be more pro active reg keeping posties healthy etc

But there aren't many "young guys", the youth of today just expecting to be sat at a computer screen all day, and paid for it, while Royal Mail's workforce is mostly over 40, 40% over 50 and ageing.

Definitely a VERY ageing workforce - looking at the seniority list, half my office has been working there since 1998 or earlier. Even if they started at 19/20 as I did that still make them close to 40 and everyone else in that 50% of employees is older.

[krussel]

It's scary the changes you feel in you're body doing this job after a lot of years . When do we pack it in though ? Gotta feed you're family etc . Can't see young guys sticking this job nowaday esp with the threat of our terms and cons bein torn up in the future. Rm shud be more pro active reg keeping posties healthy etc

But there aren't many "young guys", the youth of today just expecting to be sat at a computer screen all day, and paid for it, while Royal Mail's workforce is mostly over 40, 40% over 50 and ageing.

Definitely a VERY ageing workforce - looking at the seniority list, half my office has been working there since 1998 or earlier. Even if they started at 19/20 as I did that still make them close to 40 and everyone else in that 50% of employees is older.

Same at mine flyer, most are 40+. I think the ones starting younger had the sense to get out.