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Cold Weather Surivial Strategies

December 13, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Today many of you in Chicago and nearby states know it is very very cold. Extremely cold. And these extreme temps can be dangerous. Cold weather often makes us want to stay indoors. But indoor safety hazards like fires resulting from tipped over space heaters or carbon monoxide poisoning resulting can also be safety hazard. The Center for Disease Control has a great list of cold weather safety strategies.

HIghlights from the CDC Winter Weather webpage:

  • You may have to cope with power failures and icy roads.
  • Many homes will be too cold.
  • Space heaters and fireplaces increase the risk of household fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • Exposure to cold temperature can cause other serious health problems like hypothermia and frostbite.
  • When temperatures drop below normal, heat can leave your body more rapidly.
  • Do not ignore shivering. It’s an important first sign that the body is losing heat. Persistent shivering is a signal to return indoors.

Tips on dressing for the cold click here.

Download the extreme cold prevention guide in pdf format. Click here for link.

For more information about frostbite and hypothermia, see Winter Weather: Stay Healthy.

For a fantastic explanation of wind chill and how it affects your body, check out the Wind Chill Chart chart on this page.
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Give the Gift of the Earth This Year with Eco Express

December 11, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Looking for a gift for someone who has it all but doesn’t want to contribute to a landfill or environmental waste? Get them something consumable or earth-friendly from Eco-Express, a gift store that specializes in environmentally friendly gifts.

Their website says that Eco-Express creates natural and organic gifts that are unique, memorable and high quality. They provide beautiful gifts that let you support the environment with a wide assortment of earth friendly gourmet, fruit, spa and rain forest green gifts and baskets.

 

Some of their gifts  include:

Bamboo pens

Secret Garden-Flower Garden Kit

Go Green Kit-Shopping bags and more

For eco-friendly baby gifts click here.

For home and garden gifts click here.

For healthy water bottles click here.

For business gifts click here.

Benefits of using EcoExpress:

  • Demonstrates your company’s commitment to the environment
  • Ease of mind because you know unique, quality gifts will be delivered that reflect your company’s image and values
  • Quick, easy and convenient
  • Stand out from the crowd, especially during the holidays by sending gifts no one else will receive – from EcoExpress!

Services provided by Eco-Express:

  • Automatically send gifts to clients and employees for birthdays and special occasions
  • Custom design gift items to fit your company’s personality
  • Imprint company logo on gift items
  • Include business items such as cards, brochure, mugs, etc.
  • Present a professional image to clients, potential clients, and employees
  • Take the hassle out of gift giving by leaving it to the experts – EcoExpress!
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Looking to Learn More About Outdoor Adventure Gear? Check Out REI’s Expert Advice

December 8, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

There are a lot of different places you can get active outdoor gear. I like Amazon. com for the wide selection of items you can get from all over the country. But you can’t touch or test gear sold on Amazon, you can only read other people’s reviews. Sometimes that’s enough. Other times I want to go into a store and see and get a feel for items I buy such as camping gear, tools, GPS systems and bicycle equipment. And it’s helpful to have a seasoned expert tell me about the gear right then and there to help me make better decisions about the tools and equipment I buy to keep me active. At REI, they now added  videos and articles for shoppers to review basic information about active outdoor gear.

Dubbed REI Active Advice, the REI website has a page which links to how to videos, articles and more.  And they have a new REI Expert advice for families to help parents learn ways to incorporate outdoor activities into family time.

Check Out REI Expert Advice for Families

Watch an REI Expert Video

REI experts give you helpful tips, techniques and ideas to show you how to have great outdoor adventures and which gear you’ll need.  Some of the current videos include:

Video: How to Transport Your Boat by CarHow to Transport Your Boat by Car

Articles By REI Experts

REI and guess share expert advice on how to choose and maintain outdoor gear as well as how to  have fun and stay safe on your next outdoor adventure.  Current topics include:

How to Choose Wool Clothing

REI Expert Gear Checklist

REI’s website lets you print out a gear checklist to help you keep track of the details for your next adventure, including:

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Winter Fun in Will County Forest Preserves

December 7, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve. Photo by Sue Shekut

For my birthday in November, my boyfriend took me to a lovely gentle hike at Goodenow Grove near the  Plum Creek Forest Preserve in Crete township. Now that the first snow has fallen, it’s a great time to bundle up yourself and your kids if you have kids) and head to Plum Creek for a cold hike or a sledding adventure!  Plus Creek has a fantastic nature preserve complete with stuffed owls, live snakes and a project area for kids to learn about nature and make artwork. The Plum Creek Nature Center is part of Will County Forest Preserves and it looks like Will County has spent their conservation budget well. The trail is well maintained, the sledding hill is large and wide enough for many people to spend the day sledding on and the nature center guides are knowledgeable and friendly. Check out more about the nature center here.

Goodenow Grove has about four miles of hiking trails that crisscross the preserve. The Trail of Thoughts is  a 0.5-mile paved loop, leads around a pond filled with a cattail marsh to a wildlife observation deck.. The Pine Grove Trail, a 1-mile loop with a natural surface, provides you with a scenic overlook from the highest point in the preserve. For info on the Goodenew Grove Nature Preserve or Plum Creek Nature Center link here.

Will County Forest Preserve Winter Activities

Ice Skating
There are ice skating ponds at both Goodenow Grove and Monee Reservoir open to the public when conditions allow. Ice thickness is checked daily and conditions are posted on the website.

Sledding
There is a 40-foot high sledding hill at Goodenow Grove. Bring their own plastic sleds (no runners allowed), or rent a tube  at Plum Creek Nature Center. (Nature center is located within Goodenow Grove. Tube rental requires a driver’s license or state ID and $1.00/day/tube fee. after sledding you can warm up inside the Nature Center by the fireplace and enjoy a variety of nature-related exhibits. Goodenow Grove sled hill conditions are posted on the website.

As of 2010 a new new sledding hill is open at Butcher Road in the Forked Creek Greenway in Wilmington. This natural hill is not monitored for sledding conditions.

Snowshoeing
Enjoy snowshoeing  the winter trails in the Monee Reservoir’s 2.5-mile trail. You can bring your own or rent snowshoes at the Monee Reservoir concessions building. Then warm up by a wood-burning stove after your trek.

Cross-Country Skiing
Bring your cross country skills to Monee Reservoir, Goodenow Grove, and many other preserves to enjoy the quiet of nature in the winter and burn a lot of calories tredging along the trails..

Our Fall Hike Pics November, 2010 of Goodenew Grove and Plum Creek Nature Center

Plum Creek Nature Center. Photo by Sue Shekut

Trails at the Goodenew Grove Nature Preserve are well mapped and well marked.

Hiking Trails at Goodenow Grove. Photo by Sue Shekut

It’s difficult to get a perspective of how high the sledding hill is from the photo. But is’ a decent sized hill, high and wide enough for sledding.

View of the Sledding Hill from the Top at Goodenow Grove. Photo by Sue Shekut

The Hiking/Snowshoeing Path Sneaks Around a creek

Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve. Photo by Sue Shekut

The nature center at Plum Creek is top notch!

Inside Plum Creek Nature Center. Photo by Sue Shekut

Snakes are one of the many animals kids can meet at the Plum Creek Nature Center. The Guide holds a gentle snake and let me pet it. Kids can too!

Plum Creek Nature Guide Showing off gentle snake. Photo by Sue Shekut

You know a forest preserve is a place to see and be seen when the rap community deems it a good place to shoot a video!

A Young Rap Artist Shooting a video on Goodenow Grove sledding hill! Photo by Sue Shekut

My boyfriend and I prefer to let our shadows leave our mark, instead of littering or damaging nature preserve property on our hike.

Goodenow Grove Forest Presrve in the Shadows! Photo by Sue Shekut

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Self Care Tips for Muscle Pain

December 3, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Lately laboring long hours over my books and computers along with my regular workload has made me feel like some of my massage clients: I’ve had s sore neck, aching back and painful shoulders.  So I do what I tell my clients and everyone else to do when they have this kind of pain and intense amount of computer or book work. Follow these easy tips to help you reduce your muscle pain.  I’ve been doing them all the past few weeks and it’s getting me through final exams!

1. Since I don’t have much time for table massage as often as I need massage, I’ve been stopping by Whole Foods Gold Coast and Lincoln Park to get chair massages at the WWM massage stations. Check out hours and info here.

 

WWM Chair Station at Whole Foods Gold Coast, 30 W Huron. Image by Sue Shekut.

 

 

2. At night I’ve been using Herbal Muscle Heat balm to help reduce muscle pain and relax my tight muscle knots. I posted about this balm before and it really works. Check out my post here.

 

Herbal Muscle Heating Balm

 

3. When I get home from work or take a study break, I use the Miracle Ball Method to self massage my low back and shoulder trigger points. Link here for more info.

 

4. When I work too long on the computer, I get really sore upper back and neck muscles. For those days, I grab a cold pack from the freezer and wrap it around my neck and shoulders. It helps reduce inflammation and also acts as a mild analgesic (pain reliever). Read more about when to use heat or ice here.

5. I also find that soaking in a hot tub with Epsom salts helps relax my sore muscles, but using an ice pack first helps keep me from increasing inflammation in sore muscles.

6. Lastly, get some rest! Taking time off from the computer or from the desk helps your body relax and rejuvenate.

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A Gym That’s a A Kitchen–A Cooking Class That Offers Fitness? Check Out My Fitness Kitchen

November 30, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

 

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Nutrition+exercise=Good Health

Today I came across an article about a gym that offers cooking classes and teaches basic nutrition to its members. Sadly for Chicagoans, the gym isn’t located in Chicago, but in Pittsburgh, PA. But maybe some enterprising Chicago gym owner/Entrepreneur will like the idea and start one here in the city of restaurants! Hint hint.”An article by Debbie Black in the FOR THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW describes the fitness/nutrition experience of My Fitness  Kitchen here:

With over 23 years of experience working in the fitness industry, the owner of My Fitness Kitchen, Mark Rullo is an exercise physiologist, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, a medical exercise specialist and certified golf fitness instructor.

Gym members can learn to cook from nutritional recipes and are trained in a healthy lifestyle starting with calories, cooking and eating. My Fitness Kitchen recommends supportive nutrition, stressing the need for oxygen to work muscles, concern for muscles, and relaxation and recuperation.

Read the entire article here.

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Thank you for reading Working Well Resources blog and Happy Thanksgiving!

November 25, 2010 by workingwellresources

CORONADO, Calif. (Nov. 22, 2007) Storekeeper 1...
CORONADO, Calif. Storekeeper 1st Class Andy Zhang enjoys Thanksgiving dinner with his son. Image via Wikipedia

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to give thanks and count our blessings. It can also be a time to overeat and overindulge. Here a few tips to help keep you from feeling like you lost control of your healthy eating habits on this feastful holiday:

1. Eat small portions of each food item you want to sample.

2. Don’t deprive yourself of dessert or you may overeat something else. If you want a slice of  pie, have one. Just cut a half  a slice, let that digest an hour or so before you think about having more!

3. Make sure you drink plenty of water. Dehydration can make you want to consume more food. And drinking water fills your stomach so you don’t have as much room for food.

4. If you drink alcohol, remember it is dehydrating. Trade off between one glass of water for every beer or glass of wine (or mixed drink if you are hitting harder stuff.)

5. Remember that this holiday is really about spending time with friends and family. Focus on the social interactions and the food becomes less of an issue.

6. If you are struggling with overeating or overindulging, do the dishes! It helps out the hostess/host and gives you something to do with your hands besides munch!

A Heartfelt Thank You

And thank you for reading my blog. It’s been a great year for Working Well Massage, am exceptionally happy year for me and a wonderful year for the many people in my life that have benefited from massage therapy, wellness coaching, personal training, better ergonomics, outdoor exercising, and good nutrition! I am grateful to have the opportunity to meet so many interesting and positively motivated people as I travel around and find interesting stories for  my blog. It’s the people I meet and work with that make my life interesting and fulfilling. A heartfelt thank you to all of you I’ve come in contact with this year, on the blog and in real life!

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Working Over the Weekend Reduces Productivity and Increases Burnout

November 24, 2010 by workingwellresources

 

The Artculating Easel in use with an iPad

 

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

This past weekend I did what I tell other people not to do. I spent the bulk of the weekend at my desk and computer, studying, writing a paper and reading  a textbook. In all, I likely logged 20 hours sitting in my chair, typing, reading and researching. I did use my Port-A-Book to hold my textbook but even with good ergonomics, sitting for that long take sits toll. The result: I got a lot of work done, but I also felt exhausted, my back and neck hurt and I felt my immune system wearing out. I missed my weekly, long forest preserve hike and overall, I missed my weekend. I don’t do this often and I don’t advise spending the weekend working or computing, especially if that is what you do all week at work.

Now research shows that you do on your weekend can effect how well you feel and how productive you are during your workweek.  A study conducted by German researchers on emergency medical service (EMS) workers showed that weekend time spent socializing with friends and family tended to reduce workers’ burnout and increase their general well-being. Kind of a no brainer, don’t you think?  But  many people who work long hours during the week in office jobs that come home to a weekend of more work done in front of their computers. Why do we work so hard? For some, it’s a matter of managers giving workers too many tasks to complete in too little time. But if your manager is one of those people who doesn’t believe you should have time off from work on the weekend, you may want to share the results of this study with him or her. AND, if you are the one that drives yourself to work during the weekend, you may want to read more about this study yourself. And then, give yourself some time off! You will be glad you did.

Researchers at the Technical University of Braunschweig studied the effect of nonwork hassles, time spent in social activity and time spent reflecting positively about work on 87 EMS workers. Nonwork hassles were defined as conflicts with family members or spouse, car trouble, excessive housework  or similar irritation. Social activity was defined as spending time with people one enjoys and positive reflection about work was defined as thinking about the benefits or successes of one’s work. It appears it was easier to study EMS workers (paramedics in U.S. terminology) because they would have a difficult time “bringing their work home with them.” Thus,  the weekend experience for an EMS worker would not include work tasks. (Contrast this with U.S. office workers than can do their work anywhere a Blackberry, laptop or iPhone can be powered up.)

Non work hassles correlated with poor general well-being post-weekend and lower performance in daily work tasks post-weekend. So fighting with your spouse tends to make you feel less healthy and perform more poorly at work the next week). Workers engaged in more social activity on the weekend reported higher levels of general health and well-being as well as better task performance post-weekend.  A high amount of non work hassles tended to associate with lower pursuit of learning post weekend.  Higher positive work reflection on the weekend led to higher pursuit of learning post weekend. Exhaustion was significantly related to task performance (those more exhausted did less well on task performance). The study recommended that workers try to spend more time in positive social activities during weekends and free time.  Employers and organizations could use this study as support for considering reductions in workload and allowing for breaks or comp time after periods of intensive work activity.

I, for one, will be taking time off from the computer and my textbooks for next few days for Thanksgiving activities with my family and friends. And I will be giving my back and neck a much-needed break. And maybe even get  some hiking or swimming in!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Source:

Fritz, C., and Sonnentag, S. (2005) Recovery, Health, and Job Performance: Effects of Weekend Experiences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10(3), 187-199

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Learn the Truth Behind Workout Myths

November 22, 2010 by workingwellresources

Personal trainer monitoring a client's movemen...
Image via Wikipedia

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

There are so many workout myths out there I can’t even count them all. Today I ran across an article I really enjoyed that breaks some of the most popular and entrenched workout myths. Number #1 is the myth that sit ups will give you a “six-pack” belly. I have low back problems and doing sit ups is the worst way for me to strengthen my core. Traditional sit ups really work your hip flexors (Iliopsoas muscles for the anatomically aware) more than the abdominal muscles. Instead I prefer Pilates Plank poses or other abdominal exercises that target the core of your torso. (Meaning those muscles deep to your spine  that support your spine. A good thing, supporting the spine, don’t you think?!). Click here for an explanation of how to do Prone Plank with Stability Ball. (Note: Click on More photos under the pic in this short article to show you visually how to do the exercise.)

Also explained: Why running makes you a better runner but doe snot make you necessarily more fit for other activities. How reading effects your body while you workout (Hint: It isn’t helping your posture.) Why weights are not just for bodybuilders. Why exercising longer may not make you burn more calories! Why stretching IS important despite some confusing reports to the contrary. How your workout will make you look like your favorite celebrity. Not. And why you can’t eat like a glutton if you work out a  lot.

Read the list of exercise myth busting tips here by By Gillian Reeves, Personal Trainer from Mail Online. And then workout with a better idea of what you are doing.

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Learn More About Work-Life Balance, Industrial/Organizational Research from the IOATWORK Blog

November 18, 2010 by workingwellresources

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer
Recently I heard about a great blog that provides posts about the latest research on Industrial/Organizational science, The IOATWORK blog.

Human Resource professionals, as well as those of you interested in reducing stress in your workplace, might learn a lot from articles in this blog. As a massage therapist and wellness coach, I see the effects of workplace stress first-hand. And I can do something about relieving the effects of stress for my clients. But I can’t eliminate the causes of stress. That’s the job of management and Industrial/Organizational psychologists. If you want to know more about what’s going on in the field of research, what’s been shown to work and what does not as far as reducing workplace stress, providing better work/life balance for employees or how to keep yourself from burning out, you would do well to check out this blog! (And of course there are a lot of other great non-wellness related posts in the blog as well.

Who Created the IOATWORK blog and Who May Benefit From Reading It?

The blog editor, Alison Mallard, Ph.D. explains why the blog was created and the audience they intend to serve:

Many consider Industrial/Organizational psychology as the science behind Human Resources, Organizational Development, Organizational Effectiveness, and Organizational Behavior.

I/O AT WORK helps to bridge the gap between I/O research and its application in the HR world (and beyond) by making it easier for practitioners to access and stay on top of recent published research.

So, instead of spending hours scanning multiple journals, we do much of the work for you.  With this site and a few minutes a week, you can stay informed about new research by scrolling through the new reviews posted each week.  Or you can search reviews by topic or journal.

Wellness-related  Blog Posts from IOATWORK blog (links included)

Your Lunchbox is Your Friend

Keeping it Safe for Daylight Saving Time

Heavy Workloads: Much More Than Just a Nuisance

If You Want to Prevent Exhaustion … Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

With Age Comes Wisdom…And Better Job Attitudes

Managing Grief in the Workplace

Oh give me a BREAK! (Why breaks are important)

When Helping Hurts: The Dark Side of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

When Mental Detachment from Work is a Must

Play Hard, Rest Hard and Maximize Your Performance

The Organizational Benefits of Work Life Balance

Home Sweet Home…At Work?

Work-Family Conflict: White vs Blue Collar

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