Exercise according to the characteristics of the work

Maintenance of functional capacity, health and vigilance in various types of work.

• A person whose work is sedentary needs physical activity that either stimulates the metabolism or strengthens their musculoskeletal system.
• Someone engaged in physical labour will benefit from exercise that develops the physical functional capacity needed in the work such as aerobic and muscular conditioning, balance and mobility. It is also good to train muscles other than the ones used when working as this strain can often be unbalanced and lopsided.
• For a person engaged in shift work, exercise should probably not be too strenuous in order to be first and foremost targeted at preventing the adverse effects of disturbances to their day-night rhytm.
• For information-intensive work, the focus is on releasing hypervigilance.
• People who work in exceptional temperatures will benefit from strengthening the circulatory system.
• Boosting the lungs’ functional capacity is useful when using protective respiratory equipment.

The Exercise According to Work table (pdf) provides further details on the characteristics of various types of work, the kind of exercise that is recommended based on them and what the exercise targets.

Programme Director, Docent Jyrki Komulainen and Development Manager Miia Malvela, the Liikkuva aikuinen (Moving adult) programme

Anu Kangasniemi, PhD, psychologist specialized in health psychology and occupational psychologist, Harri Lindholm, MD, medical specialist and Heikki Tikkanen, professor, medical specialist