Santa’s Health and Fitness Courtesy of The National Association of Professional Santas (NAoPS)-see footnote
Introduction
Who said Santa’s job was an easy job? Professional Santas have to be healthy and physically fit to be a successful Santa.
Santa’s health issues are the major causes of Santa appearance cancellations or no-shows. Santa no-shows or appearance cancellations are the major reason that a Santa loses his job (and reputation) and does not get additional work during the season and is often not invited back the following year.
Health concerns are a major factor in selecting Santas for key jobs and particularly overseas assignments (like Hong Kong and mainland China). Most if not all customers are not willing to take a chance that a Santa will become ill and not perform as well as he should or not be able be able to do his job at all. An Agent or Staffing Company is not willing to take the financial risk of having to replace a Santa and pay all the associated replacement costs when a Santa becomes ill.Santas are expected to be round and jolly and when he laughs his “belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly”. The challenge is for a Professional Santa is how to be healthy and still be a little overweight. He can have a belly like a bowlful of jelly and not a belly like a barrel full of jelly. Professional Santas need to eat the right foods, exercise and maintain a healthy weight. What is a healthy weight, what exercise is needed and what test are needed to determine a Santa’s health? Read on and you will learn more. The DetailsAs any Professional Santa knows, the Christmas season requires Santa to be in good physical health and physically fit enough to work for approximately six (6) weeks without becoming ill or too fatigued. Each type of Santa job requires a slightly different level of health and fitness. Mall Santas need to have the stamina to work in a Mall for long hours and the strength to pick up children all day for photos with Santa and to talk to Santa. A Santa who does private and corporate parties has to able to work long hours as he becomes more popular with the same strength requirement as the Mall Santa plus a good personality that is not diminished at the end of a long day. Santas that travel internationally have to deal with the rush through airports, the effects of jet lag, the challenge of new foods and new cultures and also have the strength, stamina and good health that a Mall Santas has to have when working in the USA. Santas that do photo shoots for Portrait Studios and Print Ads, Santas that do TV commercials or want to do movie roles have to be healthy and must look healthy to be hired by the very discriminating professional Photographers and Casting agents.Santa should start a good health regime now to prepare himself for upcoming job opportunities. He needs to stay in the best possible physical condition throughout the year and throughout his career as a Santa.There are three things that Santa should be concerned about to be healthy and fit: 1. The food he eats, 2. The importance of exercise he gets and3. How well he Manages Stress for his health and how well he Manages Stress to stay happy and jolly for each child or adult he sees every dayThe Food Santa Eats:A Santa can find a number of articles in newspapers and magazines about the right food to eat to stay healthy. The food a Santa eats has to be wholesome and nutritious and follow the instruction given by his doctor. What follows is a list of 20 good foods to eat, food that nutritionists at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and experts in Healthy Aging have recommended in order to stay healthy. These foods should be included every week in Santa’s meals to stay healthy. Santa needs to be sure to check with his Doctor before starting any new health regime.The good foods according to the American Heart Association and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine:
- Salmon
- Halibut
- Turkey
- Chicken
- Soy products
- Navy Beans, Pinto and Kidney Beans
- Low fat and non-fat Yogurts
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Pumpkin
- Blueberries and strawberries
Oranges - Walnuts
- Almonds
- Oat Cereal
- Green Tea
- Dark Chocolate ( a maximum of 2ounces a day)
- Non-fat milk
- One glass of red wine a day before the season begins. One glass of grape juice a day once the work as a Santa begins.
Foods to avoid: The American Heart Association recommends that a person avoids foods that are high in fat that can cause heart problems. These foods, for example, include Ice Cream, fatty beef and French fries and other fried foods. Also avoid food high in salt to help reduce blood pressure, avoid large amounts of caffeine to help reduce stress and avoid large amounts of sugar to reduce the chance of developing adult onset Diabetes. The key to developing good eating habits is to focus on the foods you should eat, limit the amount of food that is high in fat, salt and sugars. Try to forget about foods that are not on the list of 20 good foods
Santas Weight:Few jobs today require that their workers to be slightly overweight. The challenge for the Professional Santa is how to be slightly overweight and healthy at the same time. How heavy is too heavy?A body mass index greater than 30 is too high. Here is how you calculate Body Mass Index (BMI):Body Mass index score = weight in pounds divided by height in inches squared and the result times 703. For example a 5 ft 10 inch person weighing 210 pounds has a body weight index of 30. 210 times 703 = 30.12 body mass index 702 Other examples: a 6 ft 4 inch person weighing 275 pounds has a BMI of 33; a 5 ft 8 inch person weighing 200 pounds has a BMI of 30.4 Normal weight is a score of 18.5 to 24.9An overweight person is a score of 25.0 to 29.9Obese is a score of 30 or higher Santa is expected to be heavy or a little overweight but not obese. What is another way for a Santa to determine if he is too heavy? Santa is too heavy when his weight causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, diabetes, joint damage (particularly knee, hip and back) and heart disease. Santa is too heavy if he can’t exercise enough to manage his weight and maintain the strength he needs to do his job. A Santa should ask his doctor what is his ideal blood pressure, his desired cholesterol level and have the Doctor check his blood sugar level for Diabetes risk. And particularly important, Santa should ask the doctor to run the necessary test to determine if he has heart disease that needs special attention.The Exercise Santa needs:The best exercise is the exercise that you will do regularly. Santa needs to exercise for many good reasons: Cardio vascular health, weight control, building strength and stamina and for stress management.Exercise for weight control, strength and stamina. Santa needs to walk or swim or other low impact exercises approximately 20 to30 minutes a day three times a week. Santa needs to do muscle strengthening or muscle maintenance/toning exercises with free weights approximately 20 to 30 minutes a day three times a week. After 6 days of exercise, rest for one day every week. Again, ask your Doctor what is the correct exercise program for you.It is not necessary for a person to go to a Gym to exercise or buy expensive exercise equipment to meet the need for cardiovascular exercise and strength building. One can walk in his neighborhood or at an enclosed Mall when the weather is too hot or too cold. Santa can use 4, 6, 8 or 10 pound free weights or dumbbells in his home for muscle toning and to maintain strong bones. As a Professional Santa you have the time and there is very little cost, all you need now is to be motivated to start exercising and continue to do so on regular schedule.Exercise for Stress Management:Now that you have developed healthy eating habits and you exercise regularly you are ready to develop habits the allow you to manage your stress.One of the most stressful times in the life of Santa are the last two weeks of the season when the Malls are the busiest, the parents are the most harried, the photographer is rushing to take as many photos as possible and the children are still being children. This means Santa has to do his job without all this stress affecting his performance and his health.Santas who are going to company parties or private parties have a full schedule. They often have to deal with traffic, poor direction on how to get to the job site and the stress of trying to meet the expectations of the party host or the parents and the children attending the party.Stress often causes the body to produce adrenaline and the body pumps the adrenaline into the blood stream. One good way to use up this adrenaline is to exercise (the same exercise you do to keep fit and have good stamina, that is: walking and weight lifting). Get up from of the Santa Chair and walk around once every few minutes as you feel yourself becoming stressed from the constant demands of the job. Or take a break and get away for 5 or 10 minutes. Best of all, help your body not to become stressed by managing your feelings and avoid the upset. Only you can let yourself become upset, the situation or the other people don’t cause you to become upset. You have control over your emotional reaction to a stressful situation. Keep in mind, the children do not want something from you; they want to talk to Santa Claus and they will often tell something to Santa Claus regarding their hopes or wishes for Christmas. Enjoy your celebrity status for the time you are working and take pride in the happiness you are bringing to the children. Remember: Be sure to have a complete physical examine by your Doctor on a regular basis and get his advice on the best exercise and eating program for you.