Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

This blog was written by Jenna Pearson. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has issued new guidelines for the Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults. What exactly does this mean? Simply put, it means that fitness professionals now have a new framework to use when developing exercise programs.

If you think of exercise as medicine (which, in fact, it is!), personal trainers and corporate fitness centers are now using new guidelines for prescriptions of this miracle drug (including dosage and use).

Following are the recommendations for each type of fitness:

• Cardiorespiratory fitness is developed through training that improves the efficiency of the aerobic energy-producing systems and can improve cardiorespiratory endurance. The ACSM recommends apparently healthy individuals to partake in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week or 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise three days per week. This can be achieved by one continuous session per day, or multiple shorter sessions of at least 10 minutes in duration.
• Musculoskeletal fitness is developed through resistance/strength training. To have musculoskeletal fitness, you do not necessarily have to have great muscle strength. You should, however, train all major muscle groups 2 to 3 days per week, using 2 to 4 sets and 8 to 20 repetitions as the range for each exercise. A regimen including 8 to 12 different exercises should serve to exercise all major muscles in the body.
• Neuromotor fitness is “functional fitness,” and can be improved through a variety of balance, agility, coordination, and proprioception exercises (think yoga and Pilates). The ACSM recommends these exercises be incorporated into an exercise program 2 to 3 days per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session.

In addition to these recommendations, the ACSM also suggests that healthy adults participate in flexibility training at least 2 to 3 days a week. Similar to strength training, a flexibility routine should target all major muscle groups. Each stretch should be held 10 to 30 seconds (to the point of slight discomfort, but not pain) and should be repeated 2 to 4 times so that each muscle group is stretched for a total of 60 seconds.

Considering these guidelines, how would you rate your current fitness routine? If you are meeting the minimum requirements, keep up the great work! If not, remember that all of these requirements do not have to be met in one single exercise session. If you have an onsite fitness center, make sure you are taking advantage of all that your wellness center staff can offer you!

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

Although it’s hardly what you would call a wholesome meal, the McDonald’s Happy Meal has taken a small step in a more nutritious direction with the addition of apple slices. Apples have previously been an option in the past in place of French fries, but kids will now automatically find a small portion of apple slices paired with a smaller serving of fries in place of the traditional serving of fries.

With the added option of skim milk, there is potential for about a 20 percent reduction in calorie content as compared to the traditional Happy Meal. For fry lovers, special requests for the traditional serving of fries in place of the apple slices will be honored (and vice versa; a double serving of apples is also available).

What Are the Motives Behind This Nutritional Improvement?

Potential arguments explaining why McDonald’s has implemented this change include pressure from the government to combat childhood obesity, a marketing strategy, or even a sincere interest of the company in promoting healthier options.

There are a couple of perspectives to take on the change; on a positive note, regardless of the underlying intentions, the new meal should have at least a small, positive impact on kids by marginally increasing their consumption of fruit in lieu of a sodium-rich, processed alternative. It may help reinforce the fact that fruit is an important part of every meal; however, this must go hand-in-hand with sound nutritional habits and lessons taught by parents at home. Happy Meals can be enjoyed in moderation as a treat for kids who enjoy them.  

New Happy Meal Doesn't Stack up Well According to MyPlate

Sizing up the new Happy Meal in a more negative light, it is clear that the combination of breaded chicken nuggets or a hamburger on a white bun, French fries, apples (only a half-serving’s worth), and soda has a lot of ground to make up in regard to the new MyPlate recommendations. These guidelines present an ideal meal as a plate half full of fruits and vegetables (preferably fresh and unprocessed), a lean protein source, a grain (preferably whole), and a lean dairy item.

Some may wonder how much a change like this would really impact kids’ health and help combat larger issues such as childhood obesity. The unfortunate fact remains that if a child is being raised in an environment where fast food is a staple, there’s a good chance they’re forming bad habits and attitudes about nutrition that could set them up for health problems down the road. There are many more far-reaching issues affecting the health of American kids than the act of replacing a few French fries with apples.

All in all, this slight nutritional makeover of the Happy Meal certainly won’t hurt, but can spur a great deal of discussion. What are your opinions of McDonalds' actions?

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

For many years statements like “a calorie is a calorie” and “everything in moderation” were uttered by many health professionals to explain that in regard to weight loss, controlling total calories consumed is the most important factor. That is to say, it does not matter what you eat; whether it be a salad or a fried chicken leg, as long as your total calories remain below a certain number, you will lose unwanted pounds.

Research now suggests that this is not necessarily true. All calories are not equal, and the source of calories does much to help or hinder our weight loss efforts.

Data from a study that surveyed 122,000 men and women for 20 years found that more significant weight gain was linked to the consumption of potatoes (chips, baked, fried, or mashed), sugar-containing soft drinks, butter, refined grains, desserts, processed red meats, and fruit juices. In fact “a single-serving bag of potato chips added to one’s daily intake tacked on 1.69 pounds over 4 years.” Additionally, the study participants who experienced weight loss reportedly ate more yogurt, fruit, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables.  The reason for this is simple...the body uses more energy to break down nutrient dense foods than it does to metabolize processed items.

It is becoming more and more apparent that what we eat is just as important as how much we eat. What can you do to help your employees make the most nutritious food choices? Adding healthy vending options and cafeteria discounts on fresh fruits and vegetables is one option. Implementing a well-rounded workplace wellness program can be a great resource for educating your employees about making the best choices when it comes to mealtime and incorporating exercise for weight loss and preventing weight gain.

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

As soon as the fall season hits, flu shots are all the buzz. Pharmacies across the nation start advertising the vaccine and we start to provide cold and flu information in our corporate wellness centers. This year, you may want to start your planning earlier. Not only is it important for your corporate wellness clients to get the vaccine; you should get one for yourself, too.

Where to Find the Flu Vaccine

Both health care providers and pharmaceutical companies have stressed getting your flu shot earlier this year. Already, the vaccine is available at many local pharmacies and doctors' offices, and some have begun to offer it all year round. If you have an Occupational Health clinic at your worksite, check to see whether they offer the vaccine and how soon it will be available.

Additionally, ask what versions of the flu shot are available at the site you choose. Vaccine manufacturers have promised a larger supply of the flu shot in both child and senior citizen doses for the 2011–2012 season. These populations may need slightly different amounts of the vaccine.

Prevention Beyond the Flu Shot

Beyond getting a flu shot, what can be done to ensure that you and your clients stay bug-free? Since most of us spend the majority of our day at the workplace, tell clients to be sure the space around them stays clean. They should keep an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes handy.

In corporate fitness centers, be sure that members are instructed to clean their equipment before and after use. Think about taping small reminders onto each piece of equipment and leaving out a larger, more visible supply of cleaning products throughout the fitness center.

Lastly, wash your hands! Be sure to get under fingernails, between fingers and wrists, and avoid touching faucets, paper towel dispensers, or bathroom door handles after you’ve cleaned your hands.

Instead of spreading germs this year, teach your corporate wellness clients to spread healthy habits!

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

Shift work is anything outside of the normal 8am to 5pm workday. Millions of Americans perform shift work. If you are a shift worker, your health could be in jeopardy.

Effects of Shift Work on Employee Health

Working nights or inconsistent shifts affects your sleep pattern. And, when you are tired or stressed you tend to eat poorly. Being overweight can lead to a lot of other health issues including depression, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Even most corporate fitness centers open early in the morning, so the personal trainers/wellness staff are not always on a good sleep pattern, either. Working in a corporate fitness center myself, I have some early mornings. When my sleep pattern isn’t consistent I tend to be more tired, have less energy, and make poor food choices.

Tips for Lessening the Health Impact of Shift Work

If you are one of the millions of shift workers, try to take naps less than an hour in length to catch up on some rest. Buy fresh vegetables and fruits to have some healthy snacks on hand at home and at work. Visit your onsite fitness center to relive some stress and help yourself wake up on breaks.

We all have to make a conscious effort to get more rest and make the healthy choice.

This blog was written by Jenna Pearson. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

In 2010, the average American consumed over 44 gallons of carbonated soft drinks! While this number does include diet beverages, it does not take into account the number of non-carbonated, sugared soft drinks (such as lemonade, iced tea, juice, sports drinks, etc.), which tally up to about 17 gallons per person per year!

Looking at those numbers from a nutritional standpoint is eye-opening to say the least. Here are the facts, according to CalorieKing:

• A single, 20-ounce bottle of regular soda contains about 250 calories and 17 teaspoons of sugar (70.9 grams).
• An 8-ounce serving of apple juice contains about 120 calories and more than 6 teaspoons of sugar (26 grams).
• A 32-ounce sports drink contains 200 calories and nearly 14 teaspoons of sugar (56 grams).
• A 12-ounce glass of sweet iced tea contains 130 calories and more than 8 teaspoons of sugar (35 grams).
• A 12-ounce glass of lemonade contains 150 calories and almost 10 teaspoons of sugar (40 grams).

For those keeping track, these numbers show that the average non-diet soda contains about 12.5 calories and .85 teaspoons of sugar per ounce, while an average non-diet, non-carbonated soft drink contains about 9 calories and .6 teaspoons of sugar per ounce. This means that if the average American did not consume diet beverages in the figures above, he or she would have consumed roughly 70,400 calories and 4,787 teaspoons of sugar from carbonated beverages AND 19,584 calories and 1,306 teaspoons of sugar from non-carbonated beverages. That’s a total of 89,984 calories and 6,093 teaspoons of sugar!

Do you see yourself in these numbers? Are you trying to lose weight? If so, think about this: If you were to ditch your sugar and calorie-laden drinks for water—and make absolutely no other changes to your diet or physical activity level—you could lose up to 26 pounds in a year.

Yup, that’s right, 26 pounds.

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

Fitness and orderly finances. Do they go together? Now try this one: poor health and chronic debt. I bet you can see that relationship more closely. Just as with our health, we need to be proactive about our money and keep our financial lives “in shape.”

Financial Problems Cause Stress

It’s no surprise that money, or lack of money, is one of the biggest causes of stress in the human life. Long-term stress can lead to a whole host of health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, loss of sleep, and depression. Just as you encourage your corporate wellness members to take action now and build healthy physical lifestyles, there are measures they can take to build the health of their finances.

Urge Corporate Wellness Clients to Focus on Their Workouts

This article reports that anywhere from 30% to 80% of employees in any given workforce are taking care of personal financial matters on company time. This means they are probably thinking about their financial dilemmas during their exercise time, too. Urge your corporate wellness members to stay focused on their workouts at the gym and block out distractions. This not only enhances the physical benefits of their workout, but also provides post-exercise mental stress relief.

Other Ways Corporate Wellness Can Help with Financial Worries

Encourage others to examine their resources and have gratitude for their finances, large or small. These positive feelings of contentment can be linked to better mental health.

Also, consider hosting an educational Lunch & Learn at your corporate fitness center, and invite a trustworthy financial consultant to speak. Giving people tips they can use on a daily basis to save money or showing someone how to set up a simple budget can alleviate stress and maybe sickness down the road.

Refer to this website for other “Small Steps to Health and Wealth.”

This blog was written by Jenna Pearson. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

Habits are hard to break. This is especially true when it comes to your health. It’s very easy to fall into routines of not exercising, late-night snacking, eating out, watching several hours of television, and so on. In addition to diet and exercise-related health rituals, other behaviors that can be detrimental to health and similarly very hard to break free of include smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, excessive caffeine consumption, and self-loathing (or having a negative self-image)…and we all know how hard those can be to overcome!

Steps to Behavior Modification

In order to achieve permanent success in behavior modification, one must realize that it takes time. In fact, psychologists have outlined five Stages of Change that are used to identify how ready an individual is to tackle his or her negative health behaviors. These stages include

• Precontemplation
• Contemplation
• Preparation
• Action
• Maintenance

Notice that the first three stages are all centered around getting ready and realizing the need for change, whereas the last two focus on actually changing the behavior and maintaining the change. This is a long-term process; success will not—and should not—happen overnight. Truth be told, change is something we all need time to warm up to.

Modifying Your Behavior with Goals

One of the most successful interventions in modifying behavior is goal setting. The entire process encourages gradual change. If proper procedures are used, goal setting can serve to increase energy, effort, and focus.

One of the main reasons goal setting works in behavior modification is that the process creates a never-ending chain of events. In setting goals, you identify obstacles, which help you secure commitment to your goals, which helps you develop an action plan, which—once started—offers feedback on goal attainment, which helps you evaluate goal attainment, which leads to reinforcement of goal attainment, which allows you to set new goals when you are ready!

This blog was written by Sarah Harriman. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

A quick glance around the fitness center and you’ll see dozens of people, each with a different goal drawing them in to exercise. What motivates these people to come in the door and keep them coming back day after day?

Motivation can be both extrinsic (“My wife made me come to the gym”) and intrinsic (“I want to go to the gym”). While both may be effective short term, someone in it for the long haul needs to tap into his or her inner self.

Motivation Ideas

If you feel like you’re lacking that inner drive, try these ideas:

• Healthy competition: Make bets with friends and family. Who can lose the most weight in a month? If you’re an athlete, find local events or races. Or, make bets with yourself. How many days in a row can you be physically active?
• Specific goals: Not seeing improvement can be a leading contributor to lack of motivation. Take a look at your goals and make sure they are specific and measurable. Instead of “I want to lose weight,” try “I will lose 10 pounds before December 1.” Or, modify “I want to be a faster runner” to “I will decrease my 5K time by 10 seconds before September 30.” With clear goals you’ll feel like you’re making progress and you’ll be less likely to be discouraged.
• A vision: Where do you see yourself as it relates to your goal? Keep track of how your actions contribute to that vision. Be honest and record your thoughts daily on a notepad or in a journal.
• Motivation loves company: Sharing your goal with a friend can help build your confidence and build on successes. Finding a buddy to partake in your goal not only adds a psychological boost, but ensures accountability. Or go high-tech with your goal by updating your Facebook status, posting a tweet, or blogging about your progress. With a post like “Heading out for a three-mile run!” or “Five pounds down, three to go!” you’ll likely be encouraged and may gain some followers. 

Set Fitness Goals

Intrinsic motivation is fueled by our human desire to be competent, to belong to a group, and to establish control. At the start of the NIFS Go Girl Triathlon Training Program, we encouraged our participants to write down their goals and actions to achieve their goals. Some of the more original responses included:

• Meet other ladies who enjoy triathlon!
• Beat my husband’s sprint triathlon time.
• Pass more people than pass me.

What’s your goal and how do you stay motivated?

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

With more and more studies indicating just how dangerous to health sitting at a desk can be, incorporating small bouts of physical activity throughout the workday is as important as ever.

For the employee, taking breaks stimulates both the mind and body, combats stress, and helps ward off the monotony that can permeate a workday. In turn, the company is rewarded with healthy workers who earn and save them money through increased productivity and reduced health care costs!

Take a look at some of the following suggestions for quick ways to add exercise in the office:

EASY:

• Walk at any opportunity. Take the stairs, visit a coworker, or go for a walk on a lunch break.
• Instead of a desk chair, try a stability ball! Your core and posture will thank you.
• Perform short bouts of stationary movement (jumping jacks, marches, jump-rope simulation, lunges, etc.).

EASIER:

• Stand at any opportunity. Pace while on a phone call. If your company provides workstations that allow employees to stand or even walk on a treadmill while working, take advantage!
• Think about how you can turn your office into your own mini-gym. Perform chair squats and desk presses (similar to a push-up, with hands on the edge of the desk), chair triceps dips, and shoulder and arm exercises (shoulder presses, bicep curls) with anything heavy.  

EASIEST:

• Without even having to move from the chair, stretch and take some deep breaths to relieve tension. Focus on all major muscle groups.
• Contract, hold, and relax different muscle groups, such as the abdominals and glutes.

Which of these exercises would mesh best with your schedule?