When our members talk, we listen. Sometimes we get good old fashioned direct, face-to-face feedback about what’s working and what isn’t, and sometimes they tell us what’s working by their participation. Such was the case with a recent squat challenge we ran at one of our corporate sites. In fact, the simple challenge was so effective, we’ve proceeded to design more programming around the same concept.
Here’s a little of the history and data on the original corporate fitness center program:
The 30 Day Squat Challenge was designed to help our members get up from their desks and choose to be active during the long and busy work days in August. The challenge ran the duration of August and we established a set number of daily squats the participants needed to complete, with every third day being a rest day. The participants could do the squats where ever they wanted (though we love when they come to the fitness center to do them) and they had all day to complete them, but they had to log their efforts at the Wellness Center.
On the first day of the challenge, the expectation was for participants to complete 50 squats, and by the end of the challenge, successful participants completed 250 squats! We would never advocate performing 250 squats in a row (or even 50 in a row, for that matter), so allowing participants all day to complete the squats was a must.
I loved hearing the stories about when and where participants were squatting and who they were convincing to participate with them. A lot of members got their kids and spouses involved, making it a family affair. We had a bulletin board in the fitness center with squat variations and modifications for members to follow and we integrated the squats into our group fitness classes to keep the participants motivated. It was really fun seeing everyone squatting in the fitness center; it really turned out to be a group effort.
When we mapped out this program, we set three goals we hoped to achieve by running the Squat Challenge:
- We wanted to increase visits to the fitness center by three percent compared to August 2013. This is a tough month for us to draw our members in because many of the employees are sneaking in final summer vacation time before their kids head off to school.
- For those members who participated in the challenge, we wanted them to increase their total time spent being active through the day by 10 minutes each day. We know how important even short, 10 minute bouts of physical activity can be for an individual’s health and we wanted to see if this program provided a means of stimulating more movement in our employee population.
- Finally, we set a goal to achieve a 50% completion rate. We’re constantly trying to determine what’s most effective at helping our members stick with a program, and we hoped to learn a little more about how small exercise goals might influence success rates.
The Squat Challenge was very successful with 50% completion rate. We also met our fitness center visit goal (increased by three percent) for August, 2014, and half of the program participants reported that that increased their total active minutes per day by at least 10 minutes. On top of the great numbers we also fielded some positive feedback. One member said, “Loved this Challenge! [It] made my legs so much stronger, [I] love when you can honestly feel results in a short amount of time.” Another program participant said, “I started Roller Derby and if I hadn't done the squat challenge, I seriously would not have made it thru the 1st practice. So thank you Squat Challenge!”
Up next is an Ab Challenge. We can’t wait to see how the members do and what we can achieve for participation and completion goals.
If you’d like to learn more about NIFS best in class programming for corporate fitness centers, sign up for our best practice series.
There are endless exercises that can be performed with the pumpkin. Start by thinking of go-to exercises that you would incorporate into one of your group fitness classes (pushups, squats, lunges, etc.). Now, think about how a “weight” or pumpkin can be added. For example, hold the pumpkin at your chest while performing a squat, put one hand on the pumpkin for an added challenge during a set of pushups, or push the pumpkin overhead after performing a lunge. Structure your workout so every major muscle group is targeted by the end. Also, throw in some cardio bursts, such as running with the pumpkin, bear crawling while rolling the pumpkin along at your side, or performing mountain climbers with your hands grasping the pumpkin. Add some core exercises as well (planks with a pumpkin roll, Russian twists, sit-up with a press, single leg v-ups). Think about the amount of space that you have and plan accordingly.
So, now you’ve secured participants and planned the exercises; don’t forget about one of the most important parts – pumpkin preparation! In the past, we’ve purchased our pumpkins a few different ways. A visit to the local supermarket allowed us to hand-pick the pumpkins sizes, but you’ll need some muscle power and a large car. We’ve also gotten our pumpkins from a distributor – this proved to require less hassle as the pumpkins were delivered right to our door, but also resulted in less variety in sizes.
We all know that exercising is good for us. It keeps us full of energy, lowers our risk for disease and helps us look our best. For some people, these reasons alone are enough to keep them going and motivated to stay on track with their fitness goals. On the other hand, we all know somebody who struggles to stay motivated enough to adhere to, or even begin a fitness regimen. Maybe this person is a family member, a friend, a co-worker or even yourself! Whatever the case may be, I am here to offer five tips that can help even the most unmotivated individual get going. 
To my knowledge, I don’t think there’s ever been a survey taken regarding this issue but personally, this is one of the most frustrating things to hear as a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, fitness manager, fitness specialist…fitness ANYTHING! So let me be clear right from the beginning. 
At our client sites, we’ve been offering walking initiatives for years. After all, it’s kind of the original fitness opportunity at worksites, right? They’re super-simple, generally easy access for participants, and most people can participate. For better or worse, we’ve steered clear of linking the program with pedometers, but we do get a lot of really useful self-report data from participants for the program.
Let me start by saying I’m not here to dog personal training. There is absolutely a niche for that fee-based service, and there is clearly a clientele for it. It should definitely remain an option in fitness centers.
The holidays are in full swing and everyone is singing about jingling bells, and Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, Donner and Blizten, and Rudolph of course. Another reoccurring song or tradition that has become a part of our culture in various ways is the 12 Days of Christmas. We see it on TV with 12 Days of Giveaways, our staff did 12 Days of Fitness via 
