Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Let’s face it, daily life can be very busy and sometimes overwhelming to many of us. Trying to fit in exercise every day can seem like a chore and many times gets put at the bottom of the “to-do” list even though we all know it should be near the top. Just because you can’t fit in a trip to the gym or attend your favorite exercise class doesn’t mean that you can’t get exercise or at least some movement time throughout your day. Your body can even benefit from little bits of movement at a time if that is all you have time for, so there really should not be any excuses not to get some movement or exercise in your day.

Exercise at Lunch

Lunch breaks are a great time to fit in exercise. Bring your tennis shoes to work and take a walk. It can be around the building inside or outside, through a neighborhood nearby, or on a treadmill if that is available to you. Walk for as much time as your schedule allows. If you don’t have time for a shower afterward, just don’t push yourself quite as hard. Walking is great for your body!

Getting in Extra Steps During the Workday

You can fit in exercise in your office! Take the stairs between floors—skip that elevator! Park far away on purpose so you get a 5- or 10-minute walk in and out of your office. That could potentially add up to 20 minutes of movement or exercise depending on how fast you walk. Here are a few other tips for getting more exercise at work.

Move While You’re Waiting on the Kids

If you are a parent, chances are your kids are or will be involved in activities. So many times parents just drop their child off and sit in their cars to wait, or just leave to do something else. Your child is getting their exercise, why not get yours as well? You can take a walk, run, or ride your bike around the area they are practicing in so as to maximize your time. For those days when there are games, the kids usually need to be there early to warm up, so you can use that warmup time to move your body as well instead of sitting in your chair or car for that extra 30 to 60 minutes.

Work Out at the Park

If you frequently take your kids to parks, work out at the park while they play! Park benches are great for pushups, dips, lunges, squats, and step-ups. Monkey bars work well for pull-ups, and running up the steps and sliding down the slides is a little cardiovascular work—not to mention fun! Don’t forget, you can use your kids as little (or big) weights and resistance machines, too!

Plan Active Gatherings

Plan family and friend time as active gatherings. Take walks, go on bike rides, or go swimming (or sledding, ice skating, or skiing in winter) together. You can still talk while doing many of those activities. Join a gym with a friend so your social time also becomes your exercise time.

There is no rule that says all exercise has to be at a gym or that you have to set aside 30 to 60 minutes every single day to purposely do one set workout. You should find an activity that you enjoy doing and incorporate that into your daily life. Everyone has different goals and will have different needs for exercise, but with a few modifications in your daily routine you should be able to start moving more and sitting less throughout the day.

Interested in how you can add exercise to your wellness program?  Check out our whitepaper for tips to be successful.

Do you remember your childhood? I’m sure most of us can say we were pretty active as children and looking back we can see how important that was for our continued physical well-being. Without the distractions from electronics and television options, what else could we do but get up and move? We all know that kids should be active, but when kids want to go beyond traditional activities like riding bikes and playing tag, how can we safely challenge them? Check out the exercise descriptions below to get started with your kids. We've also provided a video at the end of the blog that you can use to start family workouts at home.

Planking: What better way to challenge your kids than by asking them how long they can hold a plank? Start with elbows and toes on the ground, keep your back straight, abs tight, and all in one straight line. Body should be parallel to the ground. Strengthen core, upper body, and even lower body by starting with a 30-second plank.

Squats: Squats are just like sitting down in a chair, so if your kids have nailed that, they can get the hang of a squat. With feet shoulder width apart, slowly bend the knees as if you are sitting down on a box or chair. Make sure the knees don’t extend past the toes when lowering down into the squat position. Aim for 15-20 reps to start. Add a hop at the end for a little extra challenge!

Pushups: This is another exercise to test overall body strength. Start from a straight-arm plank position and bending at the elbows, slowly lower the chest to the ground. Make sure the body lowers as one unit versus a form that looks like “the worm."  Aim for 15-20 repetitions. Drop your knees to the ground if a modification is needed. 

Lunges: All legs here! Take a step forward with one leg and slowly lower the back knee down towards the ground. Step forward back to beginning position and switch legs. Make sure the front knee doesn’t extend past your toe, and that the chest stays upright. Shoot for 20 lunges to start, but make sure your form doesn’t weaken as you increase the repetitions.

Burpees: The ultimate test! If you really want to challenge your kids and maybe expend some of that extra energy, ask them to do a few burpees. These will really get the heart racing. Start by squatting down, putting the hands on the ground and either hopping or walking the feet back to a high plank position. Add the optional pushup from here and then walk or hop the feet back up towards the hands, followed by a hop straight up in the air. That, my friends, is one burpee. Shoot for 5-10 burpees and see how they feel. Increase repetitions as strength and endurance improve. 

Repeat all for a challenge!