The server's daily workout.....

For all you servers, let’s breakdown our workday and see how it compares to a good workout…..


We’ll start with legs….I’ve never worn a pedometer, but I have heard that on a busy shift you can log a couple of miles. They say brisk walking is good for you, so we’ve got that covered. Now add the carrying of heavy objects. When dealing with a large tray with many plates, it’s not simply lifted onto your shoulder, it has to be hoisted up. Some, like myself use momentum to hoist these trays up, others use the squat approach. They bend at the knees until their shoulder is even with the tray, slide it on, and then use their legs to handle all the weight. Now you have to walk at a brisk pace with the load, then you have to set it down. If it’s too heavy to just lower your arm, you again have to use the squat method, at which time I always hope my knees don’t give out. Add to the mix, stairs. Essentially what you have is a combination of Stairmaster, squats, and bicep curls.

Which brings us to the arms. Just because a small tray with ten drinks on it looks like it’s easy to handle, it’s not, especially when the glasses are heavy to begin with and then they are filled to the brim with liquids. You have to use all the muscles in your tray arm to balance the tray, and with every glass you remove, the point of balance changes. Meanwhile your free arm is constant motion setting glasses down, and you can’t do it fast enough, because your tray arm feels like it wants to break. So biceps, triceps, whatever the muscles in your forearm are called, they’re all getting a good workout.

And now for the stretching…..You’re clearing plates off of a table, you have a stack of plates in one arm, your free arm is again moving as quickly as possible as the load of plates in the other grows ever more heavy, you’re trying to reach around people, and then you get to the grand dame who can’t budge an inch so you can reach around her, you say “Excuse my reach” as your elbow almost grazes her face, you’re reaching as far as you can, bending at the waist, your shoulder is practically in her face now, you feel like a contortionist from the Cirque De Soliel, you’re in the danger zone of dropping all the plates in your other arm or falling over, or both…..and all you want to do is shout, “Hey moron! Would it kill you to do a little manual labor and slide the plate towards me a few inches?”

All the bending and stretching also incorporates your back and abs to a degree we don’t even bother to think about.

Set one of the server workout complete. Repeat.