Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

This blog was written by Penny Pohlmann, MS. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

When cuts are being made in your organization, there may be even more pressure to earn your keep and ensure you’re meeting work demands. Finding time to exercise during the day may not be an option when workloads are mounting.

When weight gain seems inevitable in the midst of the stress, keep in mind that it is preventable with a bit of planning. Decide exactly how you will still get in some exercise, even if it is not as much as you’d like.

Here are a few tips:

• Take every opportunity. Instead of sending an e-mail to a colleague, take a quick walk to her desk and ask her your question in person. You can also take a break from sitting by standing up when you take calls on the phone. Use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you have the chance. Even these small activities can help minimize stiffness.
• Arrive early, stay late. Even if you can’t squeeze in a 30-minute walk in your wellness center during the day, three 10-minute walks throughout the day can be just as beneficial. Arrive to work 10 minutes early so you can spend 10 minutes walking on the treadmill before you get to your desk. If you can spare 10 minutes during the day and 10 more after work, you will have squeezed in a 30-minute aerobic workout.
• Get personal. Staff in your corporate wellness program can design an individualized, effective, and time-efficient workout for you. With knowledge of your goals and time constraints, a qualified fitness specialist should be able to walk you through an exercise program that is appropriate for your skill level and availability.

What do you do to fit in exercise when you’re short on time?

This blog was written by Lisa Larkin. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

Working at a corporate fitness center, I get a lot of questions on how to shrink the waistline. You may or may not have heard the phrase “you can’t spot reduce,” and it’s true. For example, performing stomach exercises alone won’t decrease the size of your stomach. There are, however, a couple of different things to consider when wanting to lose weight or tone up.

Cardio Burns Fat

You must do cardio; if you already do cardiovascular exercise four or five days a week, kick up the intensity of your cardio sessions. For example, add an incline while walking or jogging on the treadmill. Increase your resistance level on the bike or elliptical. If you aren’t currently involved in regular cardio exercise, that’s a good place to start. Spiking up your heart rate and oxygen consumption will help to burn fat.

Strength Training Builds Muscle and Bone Strength

Strength training is just as important as cardio. Performing strength training exercises can get your heart rate up, too, along with building muscle and bone strength. This will also help you to burn more calories while at rest. If you aren’t familiar with how to safely perform strength training exercises, schedule an appointment with your corporate fitness center staff.

Planks Strengthen Your Core

My last suggestion would be planks―and a variety of them! Planks help to strengthen your core (abdominals and lower back). I feel they are more effective than abdominal crunches. To perform a basic plank, you are on your elbows and toes. Keep your shoulders above your elbows and push your weight back toward your feet, as opposed to hovering over your shoulders. Start holding it for as long as you can and progressively add seconds onto your time. Ready, set, up!

Recently, the cost of health care has risen to over $2.5 trillion and is projected to increase, on average, 6.1 percent per year until 2019.  These costs have also risen for employers who pay for their employees' health plans.

Rates are rising due to employees' family members also becoming ill.  This forces employees to use more money and potentially miss work when a family member is sick.  An ill child can take a toll not only on the parents, but the company they work for.

The Cost of Unscheduled Absenteeism

The average annual cost for a company due to unscheduled employee absenteeism is estimated to be over $760,000.  These unplanned absences include personal days, or days one must stay home to care for an ill child.

Loss of productivity and administrative costs are the main issues when it comes to these missed days.  The extra work is then taken on by other workers, or less-effective replacements, therefore causing a loss of efficiency in the company.  Also, these replacements cost the company extra money, or the company needs to pay another employee overtime for their service.  Unplanned absences are responsible for 21 percent of productivity loss per year versus 15 percent for those absences that were previously planned.

Sick Child Care Helps Avoid Unscheduled Absences

A possible solution for companies to avoid spending an overabundance of money on these absences, would be to offer sick child care.  These services are becoming more popular among businesses.  Placing a child care program in a business has an immense impact on the company's expenditure.  When a child care assistance program is in place, the company spends less money than if the parent were absent from work.  This type of program can have an enormous impact on a company and may be worth the investment. 

This blog was written by Anna Hiple. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

Approximately 65% of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, which should tell us that some sort of a wakeup call concerning health is crucial. What if this wakeup call took root at work?

It’s common knowledge that happy, healthy employees will be more productive and have lower health insurance costs, which satisfies employers. However, implementing a successful wellness program in the workplace can sometimes be a bit of an uphill battle.

Provide Access to Health Screenings

We all know how difficult it can be to overcome bad habits, and if you have a group that is particularly set in their ways, starting small is key. Many individuals will not acknowledge they’re unhealthy until they are presented with hard proof; for instance, a diagnosis of pre-diabetes or high blood pressure may be what propels them to act.

How do they receive the testing necessary to identify these conditions? It may come in the form of a health fair with screenings, which can be less invasive and less intimidating than a doctor’s visit. A follow-up doctor’s appointment can be the next step, if necessary, and with proper education about nutrition and exercise, that employee will hopefully be on the road to better health.

Create a Healthy Workplace Environment

If you’re an employer, consider implementing a program that provides employee access to health professionals (anywhere from a doctor to a fitness professional) who can guide them in setting goals and achieving (and then maintaining) healthy habits.

Also, creating a healthy environment in the workplace (nutritious food options, active employee outings, etc.) always helps! Involve company leaders, which enhances the effectiveness of these types of initiatives.

Take a look at your workplace. What sort of action would be best suited to its employees?  

This blog was written by Melissa Cusick. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

If you're having trouble finding time to keep up with your household chores and do your workouts, why not combine them?

My Chore Workout

Time to work out! I begin with dusting to work my forearms, followed by vacuuming to work my biceps, triceps, and abdominals. I scrub the floors, feeling more and more like Cinderella while working my shoulders and biceps, among other muscle groups.

While in the kitchen I notice that the pile of dishes in the sink is beginning to look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so I do the dishes and target my back and arm muscles, making sure to alternate hands. Now for laundry: to wash, to dry, to fold, providing a full-body challenge. After all this I sit down, feeling exhausted.

More Ways to Burn Calories Around the House

By doing common chores such as dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing the floors, dishes, and laundry, you can burn several calories. Other tasks can be a great workout as well. For example, mowing the lawn with a push mower, or shoveling snow can be a full-body workout. Painting, if you include a squatting motion and alternate hands, can also use most muscle groups. Even pulling weeds can provide you with health benefits by improving grip and the muscles of your forearm and biceps.

Depending on your weight and how intensely you go about these tasks, you could burn as many calories as if you went to NIFS for a workout. Can’t make it to the fitness center today? Consider cleaning your house…I mean, look how buff Mr. Clean is!

This blog was written by Melissa Sherman. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

“What is the best time to exercise?” is a question I receive more often than not when people are looking to begin or alter an exercise routine. It may just be wishful thinking that your body is going to burn more calories depending on the time of day you choose to exercise; there is no reliable evidence to show that calories are actually burned more efficiently at certain times of day.

However, there are some things to consider when choosing your exercise time:

• Your personal body clock: Are you a night owl or an early bird? If your schedule allows, use this to help you decide when you are best suited to get your workout in. It may help make your routine more consistent if you exercise at the time of day you feel best.
• Perks of morning exercise: If your biggest problem is consistency, morning may be your best time to exercise. The biggest benefit of morning exercise is that there are no other conflicts, meetings, schedules, or mishaps that can creep in during your day. Most corporate fitness centers are open early to accommodate morning exercisers.
• Don’t let exercise interfere with sleep: Your energy levels need to stay consistent if you want to feel good and maintain a consistent exercise routine, so adequate sleep is important. Exercising right before bed will increase your body temperature and your heart rate, which can make it difficult to fall asleep.

For more tips on choosing your best time to exercise, see this article. Still not sure when you should exercise? Try different times to see which works best for you, but keep in mind: No matter what time of day you choose, the best time to exercise is any time that you fit your workout in consistently!

This blog was written by Melissa Sherman. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

With the holidays fast approaching, we are rolling into a busy and hectic time of the year. Stress can take a heavy toll on employee health. Here are some quick and easy ways your employees can de-stress and rebalance their minds and bodies.

• Take slow, deep breaths. This takes no time at all and can have some beneficial side-effects. We tend to breathe more quickly, taking shallow breaths, when we are stressed. Focus on your breathing, making sure to take slow, deep, fulfilling breaths. Relaxing your body physically can have a positive effect on your mental state.
• Stretch it out! This is another exercise that can be done in a relatively short amount of time or while doing other activities that can have a big impact. Stretching will help to get the blood flowing and relieve any built-up tension you might be holding in your body. Focus on areas such as your neck, shoulders, core, and wrists.
• Phone a friend. It can help to have a mini venting session by talking to someone you love and trust.
• Fit in physical activity. Even if just for 10 minutes, give your stress to the pavement or the treadmill in the corporate fitness center and let it go from your body. Staying active can help elevate your mood and reduce stress.
• Eat healthy. Health and well-being are promoted by healthy eating, which can help enhance your resilience to stress.

Really looking to distress? Try a massage, take a warm bath, or take a weekend getaway!

This blog was written by Mechelle Meadows. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

Corporate fitness professionals as well as other health and safety organizations in the workplace stress the importance of preventing injuries, not just curing them. The recent strategy discussed among many worksites today is to engage employees in stretching and proper ergonomics training before an injury occurs.

The study referred to in this article found that just stretching alone was not as beneficial as incorporating ergonomic training as well. Teaching employees safe ways to sit, stand, and lift while at work, especially when doing repetitive motions, is the key to keeping proper musculoskeletal alignment and preventing overuse injuries. Stretching, then, plays a role in maintaining flexibility and releasing tension from muscles that have been held in a contracted state for long periods of time.

Most of our corporate wellness programming includes flexibility training, for example in the form of a yoga class or a stretching session at the end of a group fitness class. But, while we can provide programs like these, employees still spend the overwhelming majority of their workdays performing their actual job function, whether sitting at a desk, standing at a manufacturing line, or doing manual labor. So, the stretches and exercises they perform in their short visits to the onsite fitness center may be negated by hours spent in unsafe body postures.

Does your company or corporate wellness programming involve any new-hire training for proper ergonomics?

This blog was written by Lisa Larkin. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

I think walking, no matter what speed, is good for your health. Granted, you are going to burn more calories, get your heart rate up higher, and cover more ground if you pick up the pace while walking. Walking is low impact and doesn’t require equipment or a gym membership. All you need is a comfortable pair of shoes and possibly a walking partner.

Research shows that regular, brisk walking can better your heart health just the same as jogging or vigorous exercise. It can be gentler on your joints than other forms of activity. There is also a decreased risk of injury with walking compared to other forms of exercise.

A brisk walk can help clear your mind after a stressful day at work and help to decrease your waistline at the same time. Walking on a regular basis can help to improve your mood and self-esteem, which will lead to a happier and longer life for you!  

Check with your corporate fitness center to join walking groups this summer and fall. Working in corporate health and wellness, I’ve created walking/running route maps so that members can get some fresh air while being active at work.  

A recent AP/AOL poll of 1,000 Americans showed increased debt was directly related to increased perceived stress. Among those polled, individuals with the greatest debt exhibited the most physical and psychological health problems linked to their stress levels.

Debt Causes Physical Symptoms

For example, 33 percent of those polled with high debt said they had suffered from high blood pressure, compared with 26 percent of their less-debt-laden peers. Additionally, 51 percent of those with the greatest debt load reported suffering from low back pain and muscle tension. Only 31 percent of their reduced-debt counterparts reported similar symptoms.

Debt Leads to Unhealthy Behaviors

When bank accounts run low and personal debt (credit cards, lines of credit, and so on) runs high, Americans trend toward a host of unhealthy behaviors. Excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and food (overeating) become coping mechanisms for the super-stressed. It's also common for sleeping patterns to be interrupted as levels of stress rise.

Debt Produces a Self-Care Freeze-Up

In addition, those under financial strain may perceive that they lack funds for self-care, so they choose not to seek medical help for what appear to be small health issues. Those concerns grow with unrelenting stress (they are often linked to one another) so that a small, easily remedied health problem eventually becomes a significant medical concern.

If you are experiencing stress related to being in debt or keeping on budget, follow our Fiscal Fitness Email Series for more tips. You may also want to find someone you know who seems money savvy and get some ideas from them or look online for free resources.