Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Here’s some good news: You do not have to meet your sales quota to be considered among the elite at your worksite wellness center. All you have to do is start breaking a sweat.

According to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers analyzed the American Time Use survey and concluded that only 1 in 20 Americans engages in vigorous exercise on any given day. That’s right, a paltry 5% of us are working hard enough to actually sweat when we work out.

Why is this important to employee health as well as corporate health?

The way to sustained weight loss is through a healthy diet and prolonged cardiovascular exercise (45 to 60 minutes) at least five days per week. If you want members of your workforce to reach healthier body weights, you have to (among other things) create an environment that supports and provides opportunities for your employees to work out hard enough to sweat. You need to build a corporate health culture that supports breaking a sweat in your worksite fitness center.

What if businesses publicly rewarded the sweaty elite alongside the sales leaders? After all, employees who can help you control healthcare costs do as much for the bottom line as those who meet their sales quotas.

Group exercise classes are known for their high-energy environments and uplifting tunes. However, employees can gain numerous other benefits, especially if your organization provides on-site group exercise classes. And because people spend more time at work than ever before, it only makes sense to offer worksite wellness programs and onsite group exercise as a benefit to employees.

Stress Reduction and Accountability Increases

One of the benefits of worksite group exercise classes is reduced daily stress. In a world where 12-plus hours of work are shoved into an eight-hour workday, any reduction in stress is a huge help. Not only is stress reduced, but accountability and success rates increase. Who wants to miss a worksite group exercise class when the instructor and your colleagues will know you skipped out?

Mood and Morale Improvement

Not only can worksite exercise programs positively contribute to employee’s weight-loss success, but group programming can improve the mood at the office when employees are pressed to perform and produce. A well-run worksite group exercise class will allow for the sociability that employees may not otherwise receive throughout the day. Classes can also build on an element of friendly competition where participants will work harder in a group than they would push themselves on their own.

Reduced Liability

Last but not least among the benefits of group exercise is an increase in participant safety and organizational liability. Classes that are taught by a certified instructor drastically decrease the likelihood of employee injury and minimize liability for the employer.

Your employer may not offer a corporate wellness program or a corporate fitness center now. But when they realize all of the benefits for their associates and the company, I’m sure they won’t be too far behind the fitness train.

WELCOA, Wellness Council of America, recently released an interview with Dr. Stephen Blair, one of the most renowned researchers in physical activity. The interview profiled the dangers of sitting too much. Although it touched on population health, the focus was on opportunities specific to employee wellness.

Move More, Sit Less

Throughout the interview, Dr. Blair points to the basic premise that moving more is better for your health. He outlines how today’s workforce sits way too much and then points to some fairly recent worksite wellness research, which shows that simple breaks in sitting (such as standing more often and moving a little bit throughout the day) can lead to positive change in important health markers like blood pressure and waist circumference. It's important to note that these short breaks in sitting didn't qualify for the classic 10-minute walk break; they were very minimal breaks in sitting.

How Company Wellness Programs Can Help

The good news is that this type of frequent break from sitting might be actionable by much of America's workforce. For those who are intimidated by the Surgeon General's recommendation to accumulate 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week, “sit less” sounds a little more doable. Even better, employers could start to order their employees' days to truly encourage this type of movement.

Making changes in sitting patterns during the day won't take off extra body weight, but it might be the catalyst to a little more movement, and then a little more movement...which leads to that 10-minute walk break.

What are you doing to encourage movement for a healthy workforce?

Most people use the terms "physical activity" and "exercise" interchangeably, even though there is a difference between the two. Physical activity is movement that causes the muscles to contract, while exercise is structured and helps to maintain or improve physical fitness.

So, is it okay to use these terms interchangeably, or should companies promoting employee health and fitness be sure to specify one over the other? (Ugh, the confusing terms of the fitness industry.)

Physical Activity Is Easy to Incorporate into Your Day

The biggest bonus to physical activity is that you can be physically active throughout the day by taking the stairs, raking leaves, or parking your car in the back of the parking lot. You can do all of these things at your own leisure when you don’t have time to schedule a workout. And, if you are being physically active to the point where your heart rate is elevated and you feel as though you are working hard, your overall health will benefit.

Scheduled Exercise Makes Employee Health a Priority

I think the biggest question among corporate wellness promoters is, "Will a daily exercise routine benefit employees more in the long run compared to physical activity?" I have mixed emotions on this. By scheduling time to exercise, individuals are making their health a priority and have taken the step to improve their overall well being. But being physically active, beyond activities of daily living, can make a difference in an employee’s health as well.  

If companies want to see the benefit of incorporating corporate fitness into their organization, they can start by encouraging employees to take the stairs instead of the elevator. I can guarantee that once employees make this a habit, their productivity will increase, stress levels will decrease, and they will start asking for more ways to increase physical activity throughout their shift. Or they might even start asking for an onsite fitness center!

Some will argue that muscle confusion is no good for building muscle mass. But I have to admit, the P90X workouts are no joke! I would like to consider myself somewhat in shape, but when I did the videos I was extremely sore. After doing the biceps video, I couldn’t straighten my arms all the way for two days. I liked the videos so much, I’m going to put a copy in my corporate fitness center for employees to use on their lunch breaks.

Mix It Up in Corporate Fitness Programs

I feel that mixing up your workouts and adding variety will help increase strength, endurance, speed, and agility. You increase in all of those areas by keeping your muscles guessing and challenged. After years of always running and lifting the same weight and exercises, I finally discovered it is okay to not have a routine. This might seem difficult to those of you who hate change, but the results are worth it.

Now I change up all my workouts, especially in the classes I teach at the onsite corporate fitness facility. This helps the employees who won’t change their workouts on their own. As a result, our bodies can handle more basic daily movements (unloading the groceries, cleaning out the garage, and so on) and we are stronger for those not-so-graceful falls.

P90X Is Not for Beginners

In my opinion, P90X is not for beginners. Like I said, I work out on a regular basis and teach at a corporate facility, and for two days I couldn’t wash my hair because I couldn’t get my arms up that high. So, please take it slow and do only half the video at first if you are a true beginner or if it’s been years since you have worked out.

Why do women have a more difficult time losing weight than men? We all know that women are different from men in several ways, but it just doesn’t seem fair. It’s complicated, but it has to do with women’s physiology, brain chemistry, hormones, and other issues.

In corporate fitness management, I work with all types of people. I have to admit, the men I design programs for end up having more success stories than the women. Here are some reasons behind the difference:

• Women have 20 percent more fat and larger fat cells to help support the possibility of pregnancy. It’s not that pregnancy makes you fat, because I have seen some in-shape women around the corporate fitness center who have had children. But it can make it harder to lose weight.
• Most women tend to shy away from strength training. Strength training helps increase the amount of lean body mass you have, which in turn speeds up your metabolism. This helps you burn more calories overall.
• Women stress more than men, which causes them to not sleep as well. Sleep and nutrition go hand in hand; if you don’t sleep well, you tend to eat worse throughout the day. You will also feel more stressed because you didn’t sleep well. It's a vicious cycle that we need to stop! Most corporate wellness centers offer a stress resilience program that you should look into.

So, grab a coworker, neighbor, friend, or your spouse and start working a little harder on your physical fitness. Just because we are women doesn’t mean we can’t be healthy and in great shape!

TRX is billed as "the original bodyweight Suspension Training system consisting of 12 feet of nylon-webbed straps, handles, and various anchors that can be attached to any sturdy weight-bearing base." Here are some ideas for using it in your corporate fitness program.

1. TRX adds a new and fun way to take workouts to the next level. At my corporate fitness center, we just bought a TRX for our members, and it’s created quite a buzz both for members and my staff. In fact, the first time I ever used it I couldn’t walk very well the next day due to muscle soreness. I had worked my muscles in a new way and it was a great feeling (at least to me!).
2. TRX doesn’t take up much space. It can be placed around a secure post or pole, or you can purchase door anchors for the unit. You can put it up and take it down easily. You really only need enough space to complete the exercises. If you have available meeting room space or a storage closet, the TRX is a great way to convert that space into a worksite fitness center.
3. TRX is great for cardio and strength. For example, you can do a one-leg burpee followed by a pushup, and then go into a knee tuck for an abdominal exercise. These unique upper- and lower-body exercises will help keep your body from reaching a plateau.

You’re an avid exerciser, hitting the gym five days a week. You think, “I’m doing great with my active lifestyle.” Well, think again! According to recent research highlighted in an article by Men’s Health, it may not be that simple. “The more hours a day you sit, the greater your likelihood of dying an earlier death regardless of how much you exercise or how lean you are,” says the article.

For example, a “standing” worker (salesclerk) burns about 1,500 calories at work, whereas a person with a desk job might expend only 1,000 calories. Although 500 calories may not seem like that much of a difference, extending that over weeks or years may go a long way in explaining why people gain 16 pounds within 8 months after beginning sedentary office work. Check out the study behind the startling numbers.

Even worse, it’s not just weight gain we’re talking about. Sedentary lifestyles can also impact heart health; lead to muscle stiffness; contribute to poor balance and mobility; and result in lower back, neck, and hip pain.

Corporate wellness programs can help reverse these effects. Implementing regular stretch breaks, office walking programs, trained and certified staff to educate employees, and small-step incentive programs will help encourage employees to move their sitting-versus-standing spectrum in the right direction and improve the company bottom line.

What are you doing to get your employees out of their seats?

Richard Simmons is on to something (he has been for years). Not only are his outfits shocking enough to make people watch him work out, but he has also grasped the value of camaraderie and support when it comes to exercise. Case in point: His website offers a “Clubhouse” where members can become a part of an “interactive health and fitness family.” Along with recipes and daily motivation comes the support of others who are trying to get healthy and stay positive.

Use Camaraderie in Your Corporate Fitness Program

Online motivation and support is a great tool, but getting support from people we can’t see doesn’t work for all of us. Worksite wellness programs and corporate fitness centers can offer the same benefit just by having an available facility for members.

All It Takes Is a Few DVDs and a Place to Work Out

Before you see big dollar signs flash before your eyes, consider the value of a few good DVDs and the group fitness groupies in your workforce.

From my experience as a corporate fitness professional, videos are a great way to get through your workouts while forming relationships at the same time. I hardly ever see anyone going into our aerobics room to do a video on their own. Instead, it’s always a herd of people following the one holding the video of the day.

By the time I see them, they have already communicated through e-mail chains, getting a count of who will be there and who won’t. After all, exercise is more fun when there is someone there to endure the challenge with you, and its much easier to bounce back from a couple of days off when there is someone in the group that can relate and pick you back up!

What can you do to build a DVD-driven group exercise program at your worksite?

Your employees will soon be considering their New Year’s resolutions. And there’s a good chance that, shortly after they make those resolutions, they’ll break them. The failure rate for resolutions—75% or higher, according to a Wall Street Journal report—is startling.

Don’t miss this chance to maximize the New Year as an avenue toward a healthy workforce. Consider the following tips to create easy healthful opportunities for your employees:

1. Create ways for your employees to exercise. Bring group exercise onsite. Make a worksite fitness center out of unused meeting-room space. Establish a walking program or partner with a local commercial fitness center for reduced-rate memberships.
2. Get creative with signage at work. Fran Melmed of Free Range Communications offers an intriguing blog on ways to maximize signage at work to help employees make better choices. My favorite idea is to post notes on vending machines indicating how many minutes on a treadmill will be required to burn off the choice candy bar that costs more than $1.
3. Encourage healthy food choices. Speaking of food, a study just came out indicating that when people use cash to pay for food, they tend to make healthier choices. Apparently those in the study were less likely to make impulse buys on unhealthy foods when they were paying cash for their groceries. Perhaps worksite cafeterias should initiate a cash-only payment policy.

How will your worksite leverage New Year’s resolutions to create a healthier workforce?