Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

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

We all know of cases where an individual in seemingly perfect health has a sudden heart attack or cancer diagnosis. The unfortunate truth is that genetics can sometimes outweigh a person’s healthy efforts. This is not meant to discourage your corporate wellness participants, but to stress the importance of knowing their family health histories.

Ask Corporate Fitness Members to Fill Out a Health History Questionnaire

Before joining a corporate fitness center, all members should fill out a standard Health History Questionnaire (HHQ). In my opinion, “family history of heart disease” may be the risk factor on this form that individuals and health professionals overlook most often. Encourage your participants to examine their family health history, searching especially for diseases that may be rare―such as certain forms of cancer or any heart disease at an early age.

Have Employees Interview Family Members About Health Issues

This AARP article suggests conducting interviews of sorts among family members to see what health problems arose, at what stage of life, what factors could have contributed, and what treatment option was taken. I would add to this list finding out what symptoms were first experienced so that other family members can have a heightened awareness before a disease progresses.

Designate a month out of your corporate health and wellness programming for members to find out their health histories. Make a form, maybe even similar to a family tree, where participants can make notes on their relatives, starting with immediate family.

Encourage employees to discuss any alarming discoveries with their physicians. Just like the campaign for knowing your numbers, this information can be lifesaving.

This blog was written by Megan Jack. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

Some people believe that there is a benefit to working out on an empty stomach. This concept is derived from the idea that exercising first thing in the morning or in a “fasted state” will cause your body’s energy systems to burn more fat instead of carbohydrate stores. 

Why the Empty-Stomach Workout Doesn't Work

As a corporate fitness manager, I hear this theory on a weekly basis, and it is simply just an urban fitness myth. The main problem is that fat as a fuel source is not the same thing as burning fat off of your body. Fat burning has more to do with the total amount of calories burned than the type of energy your system uses.

Another key problem with this theory is that many times without adequate nutrition, you will not be able to exercise as long or as hard. As a result, you will burn fewer calories.

Benefits of Eating Before Exercise

According to an article by Paige Waehner on About.com, there are additional benefits to eating prior to a workout:

• “It boosts recovery and strength gains.”
• “You can sustain longer, more intense workouts.”
• “It helps you avoid feeling dizzy or nauseous from low blood sugar.”
• “It makes workouts more enjoyable” (because you’re not constantly hearing your stomach growl).

Some of my corporate fitness members feel too full or weighed down with a full meal prior to exercise. Some need a snack prior to strength training, but are fine completing a cardio workout on an empty stomach. What really matters is to find something that works for your body and for your schedule.

Most importantly, don’t go hungry simply because you think you’ll burn more fat. Focusing on your growling belly can cause your workout intensity or duration to suffer and that will in turn reduce your caloric burn.

How many times have you told yourself that if you were only allowed some flexibility at work, you could actually utilize the worksite fitness center, participate in a corporate wellness program, or be able to reduce your stress simply by walking outside? It has been found time and time again that worksites that allow flexible arrangements and promote healthier workplaces benefit in more ways than one.

The Ways Flexibility Improves Employee Health

Flexible working conditions not only have been found to reduce employee blood pressure and absences due to illness, but can increase job performance, productivity, and overall morale. Additionally, giving employees more control over their schedules has been shown to have positive effects on mental health, sleep duration, sleep quality, alertness at work, and heart rate.

Ask for Some Work Schedule Flexibility

If you are employed by a company that offers flexible schedules, take advantage of it! However, if you don’t have this option, speak with those in charge of scheduling and make a valiant attempt to work something out.

Who wouldn’t want to improve their mental and physical health? If a little flexibility can help you feel better and work more efficiently, it's a win-win proposition.

Looking for more ways to improve your health? Subscribe to our blog for regular updates on all things corporate fitness!

This blog was written by Kara Shipman. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

As a part of my profession and my lifestyle, I have personally chosen not to smoke, and I encourage others not to smoke. As a nonsmoker and fitness professional in a corporate fitness center, the word E-Cigarette was completely foreign to me until about a month ago.

Are E-Cigarettes a Smoking-Cessation Aid?

After reviewing some of the claims and benefits on numerous E-Cigarette websites, it is not a tobacco-cessation aid as I originally thought. The product is marketed as an alternative to the very dangerous nicotine–, tar–, and carbon monoxide–containing cigarette.

What Is an E-Cigarette?

The electronic cigarette is a battery-operated device that looks, feels, and tastes like a traditional cigarette. It mimics the mechanical motions that smokers get so used to doing. It even emits a smokeless vapor. According to E-Cigarettes Choice, the vapor is “a result from the heating up or atomizing of the liquid inside the cartridge.” The more challenging information to find is what exactly composes the liquid.

What's in an E-Cigarette?

None of the sites selling the electronic cigarette fails to mention the thousands of additives and chemicals from cigarettes that they don’t contain. But hardly any of them actually mentions what they do contain. Of the products that do list the ingredients, with a few variations in between, the liquid seems to be composed of nicotine, water, and propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is commonly found in antifreeze, hand sanitizers, cosmetics, and certain medications.  

So is this better than smoking a traditional cigarette? According to TobaccoHarmReduction.org, the answer is yes. Because the product is fairly new, there are few studies on the short- or long-term effects of its use. This organization is basing its answer on the proven fact that real cigarette smoking is so harmful, and “almost anything is certain to be safer.” The overall cost and detrimental health effects so far seem to be less. The key words here are so far.

Benefits of Tobacco Cessation Outweigh Benefits of E-Cigarettes

Some of the main points manufacturers use to sell the product include “no more standing outside in the cold; no more lost productivity, cigarette butts, secondhand smoke, or smoker’s breath.” Oddly enough, these along with others are the same benefits you would experience if you just quit smoking completely.

I see picking up electronic cigarettes as trading one addiction for the other. And with so few studies, why take the risk? Why not just avoid the risk of detrimental effects, save the money, and quit altogether? As we all know, smoking is an addiction, and it’s not easy to quit. Don’t feel like you have to do it alone. If you need help quitting, visit Smoke Free to find what works best for you.

This blog was written by Sean Holbrook. 

What comes to mind when you think of somebody standing on Nintendo Wii's balance board challenging themselves in an interactive video game? I imagine the first thing you thought of wasn't an individual in their 70s or 80s; but the Wii's popularity continues to grow among the senior community.

Wii Is a Great Solution for Senior Fitness Programs

The Nintendo Wii provides senior wellness programs and retirement fitness centers a low-cost, commercially available interactive gaming system that gives immediate visual feedback in balance training and provides a fun and engaging way to increase physical activity for seniors.

Nintendo Wii's balance board for the Wii Fit game enables a user to test his or her center of balance with a visual display onscreen that shows what percentage of their body weight they carry over each foot. Those with an uneven center of balance will unnaturally compensate for their imbalance, which can cause their posture to become misaligned, increasing the level of stress on their bodies.

The game allows users to learn about their balance and provides them with tips for improving an uneven center of balance with several different training modes, including yoga, strength training, balance games, and aerobics.

Wii's Use Expanding in Senior Community Wellness Programs

Many senior community wellness programs are starting to incorporate the Nintendo Wii as a way to increase physical activity among residents. At the American College of Sports Medicine's 2010 world conference on Exercise is Medicine, Dr. Elizabeth Orsega-Smith discussed her recent study that compared the level of calorie expenditure for various Wii Sports games during 30-minute training sessions for Wii bowling, tennis, and baseball.

Dr. Orsega-Smith's results showed a calorie expenditure of 46 to 102 kcal, depending on the game. This may not be enough activity to combat chronic diseases associated with physical inactivity. But when combined with a regular exercise program, it can improve daily activity levels.

The physical benefits of using Nintendo's Wii have already been noticed by many senior wellness programs. Research from the scientific community continues to support what many seniors have already begun to discover.

How have you used Nintendo Wii to improve your senior fitness program's physical activity?

Check out NIFS 5 tips for how you can evaluate the quality of your resident wellness program, click below to grab our quickread.

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

I’m sure most people would love it if all they had to do to lose weight was not eat two hours before bed. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s that easy. There are other things that go along with not eating large amounts of carbohydrates before bed.

Working at an onsite corporate fitness center, I do a lot of nutrition consultations. Most people struggle with eating healthy. I have a lot of people tell me they eat healthy while at work, but at night is when it all goes downhill.

It is best to eat larger, higher-carbohydrate meals in the morning. This gives your body energy throughout the day; plus, your body will have time to burn off those carbs. But what’s most important is that you are not taking in more calories than you’re burning.

It really doesn’t matter what time of the day you’re eating, as long as you are staying active and not eating more than the recommended amount of daily calories for your body.

It’s also not good for your body to go all day without eating and then eat one large meal at night. This could cause your body to go into starvation mode. That could end up slowing down your metabolism, which is not what you want!

So eat your carbs in the morning, stay active, count calories, and don't starve yourself.

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

Do your corporate wellness clients know how many calories they are eating when they go out for lunch? A new law from the FDA will start requiring restaurants to post calorie listings and provide more detailed nutritional information upon request.

New Law Makes Calorie Information Easier to Find

While you can already find many restaurants’ caloric content online through a simple search, making this information more visible inside restaurants or on menus is a reasonable thing to ask. You don’t go into a restaurant and order a meal without knowing the price, so why blindly order an item that might exceed your entire calorie budget for the day?

Extending Calorie Count Transparency to Corporate Cafeterias

Let’s take this one step further for worksite health promotion. Many corporations have an onsite cafeteria whose management most likely has access to the nutritional content of their offerings.

At my site, we have partnered with our cafeteria vendor to advertise the calorie breakdown of its staple items as well as daily specials. This information is displayed visually in the cafeteria via posters and brochures and is also available online. Further, our cafeteria vendor has a “sticker system” where color-coded stickers mark the items that are low-fat, low-calorie, and low-carb.

Keep in mind as you set out to partner with a cafeteria vendor or a restaurant that they are businesses and therefore must make a profit .While their managers may be open to introducing healthier selections, they will keep their top-selling items, whether they have 200 calories or 1,200.

Here is where you can suggest to your corporate wellness clients the concept of moderation on their lunch break. Indulging every now and then is okay, but staying informed is the key to sustainable health.

This blog was written by Bethany Garrity. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

There's been some hubbub lately about whether employers can find their employees' monetary sweet spots when it comes to losing weight. Various articles such as this one tell of efforts to use money as a corporate reward to motivate overweight employees to shed pounds.

But let's face it: If losing weight were really that simple, most people would successfully lose (and keep off) weight without having to be paid to do so. The truth is that weight loss is incredibly complex and most people make the mistake of trying to manage their weight without engaging in regular exercise. The science proves that effective long-term strategies for weight management include dietary balance as well as regular exercise.

If you want your employees to have a healthy body weight, you have to help them focus on exercise. Throwing money at them won't fix it, but revamping workplace policies, establishing a health culture directed by your leadership, and creating opportunities for exercise at work will get them moving in the right direction. NIFS offers a variety of exciting programs that can help.

The benefits of a healthy workforce go far beyond the ability to control healthcare costs and improve absenteeism. Employees who feel better are simply able to do their jobs better.

This blog was written by Bethany Garrity. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

All too often, those of us working in corporate fitness find ourselves catering to the 15 percent of employees who would work out anyway—whether or not we, the stellar management staff, were onsite to assist and train them. That often leads me to ponder how we might creatively capture the attention of the other 85 percent.

Gimmicks and Creative Employee Health Promotions

I think the answer to that question depends significantly on the demographic and the corporate culture in which we’re working. But by and large, it seems that gimmicks (sadly) go a long way, as does making fitness fun. Those who might dabble in offerings at their worksite fitness center (a.k.a. fence sitters) could be nudged into regular participation with a desirable prize (a.k.a. money) or if we fitness professionals (a.k.a. magicians) could convince them it was fun.

I can say with confidence that NIFS staff member continue to generate unique, creative, and inviting opportunities for their audiences all over the country. Their enthusiasm for reaching that 85 percent never seems to wane. They are the experts!

Why Is It So Hard to Motivate Employees to Be Healthy?

I am left to wonder, though, what is it about human beings that makes changing behavior (particularly health behavior) so hard? We’re capable of being tricked into choosing better health, but we seldom do it without a nudge (intrinsic or extrinsic).

If you’re working to improve employee health (in a corporate fitness center, or from the human resources office), what works for your audience?

The numerous benefits of strength training for the musculoskeletal system are well documented, but could it provide additional benefits? Besides leading to increased strength and muscle endurance, better balance, and improved health of the muscles and connective tissue, what effect could it have on cognitive function, if any? Researchers in Canada recently set out to determine just that.

Strength Training Sharpens the Mind 

While we all could use a little more brain power, it is crucial for older adults to maintain a high level of cognitive functioning to keep their independence. Regular strength training can help them do this from a physical standpoint, but maintaining their cognitive abilities is equally important. Interestingly enough, a loss in cognitive abilities is a risk factor for falls.

Fortunately, though, the “Brain Power Study” found that progressive resistance training improved executive cognitive functioning (which is needed to maintain independent living) in women ages 65 to 75. And even one year later, the benefits were still notable. This makes for just one more reason for grandma and grandpa to hit the weights!

Take Advantage of Senior Wellness Programs

Many retirement communities now have a fitness center available, complete with onsite fitness center management specializing in senior fitness classes, senior wellness programs, and senior fitness management. Balance classes, strength classes, and aqua aerobics classes are just a few of the many ways to get in regular physical activity during the golden years.

It might be a little intimidating at first, but encourage the loved ones in your life who are getting older to begin a regular fitness routine that works for them. It will not only help maintain their physical health, but evidence is emerging that it can do just as much for their cognitive health.

What are some of the other ways you or your loved ones have found to keep moving, even as time goes on?