Working in retail can be a very physically demanding job. Retail employees are on their feet for hours at a time, constantly moving around the store to help customers, restock shelves, and complete other tasks. But does all this activity actually count as exercise? Let’s take a closer look.
Quick Answers
– Yes, working in retail often involves as much physical activity as a workout. Retail employees walk 4-5 miles per 8-hour shift on average.
– Studies show retail workers exert as much energy as runners, cyclists, and swimmers during their shifts. Their heart rates often reach aerobic activity levels for prolonged periods.
– However, retail work tends to emphasize short, frequent bursts of activity rather than sustained periods of elevated heart rate. This makes it less effective at improving cardiovascular fitness compared to workouts designed specifically for that purpose.
– While retail work provides many physical benefits, employees should still aim for 150 minutes of more structured, aerobic exercise per week as recommended by health organizations. This helps improve cardiovascular health and provide additional weight control benefits that retail work alone may not fully achieve.
How Many Steps Do Retail Employees Take?
One way to estimate the physical activity involved in retail work is to look at the number of steps taken by retail employees during a typical work shift. Studies using pedometers to track retail workers’ steps have found that they walk approximately 4-5 miles over an 8-hour shift. This amounts to 6,000-8,000 steps per day.
To put this in perspective, health organizations often recommend 10,000 steps per day for general health and weight control. So retail employees walk about 60-80% of the daily step count that physicians advise for moderately active adults. Clearly, retail work requires a significant amount of movement compared to more sedentary office jobs.
However, these step counts can vary substantially depending on the specific retail environment. For example, one study found that grocery store employees walk about 5.5 miles per shift, while home improvement store workers walk approximately 4 miles during a typical shift. Clothing and department store employees fall somewhere in between, with step counts around 4.5-5 miles per 8-hour shift.
So while an average of 4-5 miles per shift is reasonable for most retail settings, step counts can range from 3-6 miles depending on the store layout, merchandise, and other factors. Overall though, it’s clear that spending hours on your feet in almost any retail job leads to a high level of physical activity compared to many other occupations.
Calorie Expenditure
Studies have also looked at calorie expenditure to assess the intensity of retail work. Research has estimated that retail employees burn 200-400 calories per hour while working.
At the higher end of this range, retailers can burn over 600 calories during an 8-hour shift. This is equivalent to the calories burned during an hour-long high intensity cycling class.
Burning this amount of energy clearly qualifies retail work as a significant source of physical activity. However, calorie expenditure varies greatly depending on your specific job duties and work pace. Cashiers who mostly stand in one place will burn fewer calories than stockers constantly on the move around the sales floor. Nevertheless, any retail job requires substantially more energy expenditure than sitting at a desk.
Aerobic Activity Levels
Another way to evaluate retail work in exercise terms is by measuring heart rate and aerobic activity. Health organizations recommend 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic exercise to maintain fitness. This equates to a heart rate of 50-70% of an individual’s maximum during those 150 minutes.
Studies of retail employees have found their heart rates often reach aerobic activity levels for significant portions of their shifts:
– In one study, retail workers’ heart rates exceeded an aerobic threshold of 55% of maximum heart rate for 35-53% of their shift duration.
– Similarly, another study reported retail employees’ heart rates surpassed 50% of max for over 30% of their work time.
– Some employees in particularly physically demanding roles, such as stockers, exceeded the recommended minimum of 150 weekly minutes of aerobic activity during just one 8-hour shift.
These findings indicate much of the walking and lifting activities that comprise retail work provide cardiovascular benefits on par with dedicated aerobic exercise. However, there are some important limitations in equating retail work to exercise, which will be explored later in this article.
How Retail Compares to Running, Cycling, and Swimming
Overall, research suggests retail work requires similar exertion levels as more formal types of cardio exercise:
– **Running:** Retail employees reach about 70% of the aerobic intensity and calorie burn of running during their shifts. Their heart rates while working are 65-85% as high as during running.
– **Cycling:** Retail work elicits around 75% of the aerobic activity and calorie expenditure as cycling. Heart rates range from 70-80% of levels during cycling.
– **Swimming:** Retail employees work at roughly 80% of the intensity and calorie burn of swimming. Their heart rate while on the job is approximately 75% of their rate during swimming exercise.
So while not equivalent, retail work comes surprisingly close to the levels of exertion required by these dedicated cardio activities. Employees who are constantly moving for hours at a time around large retail stores can meet or exceed the activity levels of runners, cyclists, and swimmers during exercise sessions.
Muscle-Strengthening Benefits
Retail work does not just provide aerobic activity benefits – it also helps build muscle strength. Retail employees frequently lift, carry, and handle merchandise weighing anywhere from a few pounds up to 50 pounds or more.
Studies have found retail workers lift anywhere from 1-2 tons during a full shift. This strengthens muscles throughout the body including the:
– Legs – from walking, standing, squatting, climbing ladders
– Arms – from lifting objects
– Back – from bending and improper lifting techniques
– Shoulders – from reaching and moving objects overhead
– Core – from stabilizing the body during lifting
These muscular benefits were demonstrated in a study comparing the fitness of retail employees to non-active controls. Retail workers showed significantly higher scores on tests of muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility compared to the control group.
The variety of lifting motions involved in retail work provides a well-rounded strength training effect. While not a substitute for targeted strength training to maximize muscle development, retail does provide tangible muscle-strengthening benefits.
Weight Control Benefits
With the high level of physical activity involved, it’s not surprising that retail work also impacts waistlines. Studies show retail employees have lower body fat percentages and healthier body mass index (BMI) scores compared to sedentary workers.
In one study, women working in retail had average body fat percentages of 29%, versus 37% for women in inactive office jobs. Retail employees also tended to have healthier BMI scores, indicating lower obesity levels.
This effect is likely due to the high calorie burn retail work requires. Employees moving frequently and rapidly around large retail stores can burn over 600 calories per shift. This high calorie expenditure makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight compared to more sedentary occupations.
However, retail work alone may not maximize weight loss and fat burning. Some studies indicate more structured exercise programs like running achieve greater reductions in BMI and body fat over time compared to retail work. But overall, retail does provide meaningful weight control and slimming effects for employees.
Limitations Compared to Structured Exercise
Despite the clear physical benefits, there are some important limitations to equating retail work to purposeful exercise:
– **Lack of sustained elevated heart rate** – Exercise physiologists recommend sustaining an aerobic heart rate for at least 20-30 minutes at a time to maximize cardiovascular improvements. However, retail tasks typically involve brief bursts of intense activity rather than extended periods of increased exertion. While retail provides some cardiovascular benefit, the sporadic nature limits improvements in cardiovascular endurance compared to workouts designed specifically for this purpose.
– **Less personalized** – Exercise programs can be tailored to an individual’s fitness level and health goals. Retail work demands are generalized for the overall job. Employees cannot modify activities to optimize their personal aerobic or strength gains.
– **Poor ergonomics** – Retail work often involves awkward postures while lifting, bending, reaching, etc. This can lead to higher injury risk compared to the proper form emphasized in fitness training. Proper rest intervals between heavy lifting are also not possible during retail work.
– **Mental stress** – Exercise provides stress relief and mental health benefits. Retail employees frequently experience high psychological demands, negating some of these advantages.
– **No warm-up/cool-down** – Retail shifts start immediately at a high activity level. Dedicated exercise includes warm-up and cool-down periods to optimize benefits and minimize injury.
– **Limited muscle groups** – Retail emphasizes the legs and back but does not provide a whole body strength training effect like a well-rounded exercise program.
So while retail work mimics some effects of exercise, it lacks the tailored programming, proper ergonomics, rest intervals, and mental health benefits of dedicated fitness activities. Employees should not consider retail work an adequate replacement for regular exercise.
Maximizing Overall Health
The ideal strategy is for retail employees to take advantage of the “free” exercise provided by their jobs, but supplement it with more structured fitness activities tailored to their goals.
Here are some tips for retail employees to maximize their overall health:
– Take short stretching breaks during shifts to relieve muscle fatigue
– Focus on proper lifting techniques to protect your back
– Monitor your heart rate occasionally to gauge intensity
– Wear supportive shoes to avoid foot pain and injuries
– Counteract mental stress with relaxation techniques like deep breathing
– Ensure you get sufficient protein in your diet to allow muscle recovery
– Lift weights 2-3 times per week to supplement strength gains from work
– Get 150 minutes of dedicated low-impact cardio like swimming each week
– Listen to audiobooks or music during long shifts to relieve mental fatigue
Think of retail work as a foundation providing baseline activity levels, with supplemental exercise tailored to your needs. This two-pronged strategy helps retail employees achieve all-around fitness.
Conclusion
Research clearly shows retail work provides substantial health and fitness benefits. Employees can burn over 600 calories and walk several miles during a typical shift. Heart rates frequently reach aerobic activity levels for extended periods. The heavy lifting involved builds muscular strength and endurance throughout the body.
Studies indicate retail work mimics 60-80% of the exertion required by workouts like running, cycling, and swimming. Retail employees also reap tangible weight control and body composition improvements.
However, smart employees should not consider retail work an outright replacement for purposeful exercise. The sporadic nature limits cardiovascular benefits. And the generalized job tasks do not allow personalized fitness programming.
Supplementing retail work with structured low-impact cardio, targeted strength training, rest intervals, and proper ergonomics helps maximize overall fitness. Retail provides a solid activity foundation – additional exercise tailored to individual needs puts employees’ health on the optimal path.
