Posts Tagged ‘workouts for busy people’
Promoting Physical Activity through Workday Workouts
Workday Workouts
Promote physical activity at your small business by Offer flexible work hours to allow for physical activity during the day.
Your corporate physical activity strategy needs to reflect and compliment your corporate plan, matching your goals, objectives, needs, and resources. Employees who do physical activity on a regular basis make up a more fit and healthy workforce. The benefit is having a workforce that is more efficient and loses fewer days from illness and stress. Individuals improve their self-esteem, increase their personal satisfaction, have less psychological stress, can relax more easily, and show greater mental alertness.
Having flexible work hours allows employees to participate in specific physical activities before work, during the lunch hour, or even during the work day.
Your Small Biz Action Steps
- Assist management in developing a corporate policy statement supporting flexible work hours and distribute it to all managers and staff.
- Define supervisory responsibilities in the policy for approving work hour flexibility for physical activity while maintaining staff coverage and workflow.
- Offer flexible working hours allowing people to arrive at work a little later or leave a little earlier to help them add physical activity to their day.
- Provide and maintain male and female locker rooms that will support employees in midday physical activity. Locker rooms could include showers, hair dryers, towels, etc.
Get Started Today!
You CAN control healthcare costs for you and your employees with practical and affordable wellness tools and strategies that will ultimately help them create a lifetime of healthy habits. For more information on any our small business wellness programs or services, Contact Us today and find out we can help.
Promoting Physical Activity through Stair Well Activities
Taking the Stairs
Promote physical activity at your small business by post motivational signs at elevators and escalators to encourage stair usage.
Taking the stairs regularly is a promising intervention for increasing physical activity. Deciding between using the stairs and using an elevator or escalator is a lifestyle choice that often occurs daily. Using the stairs requires little or no additional time and no additional cost because the building codes require stairs.
Your Small Biz Action Steps
Posting motivational signs at points-of-decision around a building is important in encouraging people to use the stairs. However, messages and artwork that are motivating to one audience may be a turn off to another, which is why it is important to test them with members of your audience first. Whether the messages are inspirational, factual, health-related, or humorous, find out what motivates your audience and tailor your messages and artwork accordingly.
- Put the signs next to the elevator buttons at eye-level or in a place where elevator and escalator users will easily see them as they approach.
- Vary the messages from time to time to keep people reading and interested.
- Post the first sign at all elevator sites for a week or two. Periodically post new signs.
- Consider doing a survey before posting the signs to find out how often people use the stairs.
Get Started Today!
You CAN control healthcare costs for you and your employees with practical and affordable wellness tools and strategies that will ultimately help them create a lifetime of healthy habits. For more information on any our small business wellness programs or services, Contact Us today and find out we can help.
Promoting Physical Activity through Activity Breaks
Physical Activity & Breaks
Promote physical activity at your small business by supporting fitness activity breaks during the workday, such as stretching or getting up for a walk.
Taking small breaks and stretching or going for a walk around the office throughout the day can help reduce muscle tension caused when we are sitting for too long. When we don’t get up from our desk muscles fatigue faster, circulation decreases, we become uncomfortable, and tasks become more difficult. Stretching can help relieve discomfort due to repetitive movements, awkward postures, and excessive force.
In addition, getting up from our desks and taking a break can help prevent certain types of injuries caused from Injury occurs from repeated physical movements, doing damage to tendons, nerves, muscles, and other soft body tissues.
Your Small Biz Action Steps
- Stretch breaks can be self-initiated or formally led by an instructor.
- Employees can schedule their own breaks in Outlook software or by email calendar.
- Software is available that will automatically notify you when it‘s time for a break and will lead you through some exercises.
- Hang posters of stretching exercises on the walls for people without Internet access. Incentive programs can also be incorporated.
- Hire a fitness instructor or group exercise leader to provide instruction on stretching, strength exercises, walking, or relaxation techniques.
- Bring in a massage therapist to provide chair massages.
Get Started Today!
You CAN control healthcare costs for you and your employees with practical and affordable wellness tools and strategies that will ultimately help them create a lifetime of healthy habits. For more information on any our small business wellness programs or services, Contact Us today and find out we can help.