Posts from — June 2010

To succeed in encouraging physical activity during the workday, you have to find out what workers need and want. They’re the people  whose behaviour you’re trying to influence, so it’s vital to understand their needs and gain their support.

The Staff Member Interest Survey

Ask workers questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation.

It’s important to know this information so that your physical activity initiative meets employees’ needs. Staff Members aren’t going to participate in something they are not interested in.

Ask staff members what they want, and then implement changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. for  instance, staff members may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they don’t want to shower at work.

Ask staff members what the organization could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. When there’s a common trend throughout your organization, a single change could affect a lot of people .

For  instance, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You may give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage may  be important as well.

When you’re launching a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.

Involving workers is key to increasing exercise participation rates. People  are more willing to participate in and support exercise programs when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own staff member interest survey –

• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).

• Let staff members know why you’re doing the survey.

• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which could be long and challenging to analyze, ask people  to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.

• Ask for comments and suggestions in one open-ended question at the end.

• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.

• If you are including a list of potential programs or environmental changes, be certain your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs –  Forming an Employee Committee

Although support from the top is critical to a successful initiative, support from other employees is also important.

Once you get the go-ahead from management, identify others who are interested in the project and form a committee to help determine the next steps.

Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of staff time management is willing to contribute, this committee might  be advisory or may plan and carry out the initiative.

The committee could include workers from human resources, occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a good idea to involve staff from other areas who have an interest in promoting exercise.

Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. for example, it’s important for the committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following –

• Reviewing your workplace environment

• Carrying out an employee interest survey.

• Developing a mission statement and goals and goals.

• Writing a physical activity or wellness policy declaring the corporation’s commitment to physical activity.

• Brainstorming program ideas.

• Promoting, communicating and advertising the initiative.

• Coordinating specific activities.

• Determining how the initiative will be assessed.

• Continually assessing  what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Before making plans to encourage physical activity during the workday, it’s important to find out what’s “doable” in your workplace.

You don’t want to raise employee expectations by offering something that’s impossible due to funding or space limits.

For example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a workout facility if there’s no room for it. be open, nevertheless, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Exercise Programs –  Finding out What’s Possible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for maps of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Excellent walking trails could  be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some questions to help you assess your workplace –

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space offer that make it easier to be physically active during the workday? for example, do you’ve stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a workout facility, factory walking lanes?

• What nearby facilities or opportunities could employees use to be more physically active during the workday? Are you close to sidewalks, walking trails, community centers, bike lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?

• What resources are available?

• can the initiative access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?

• What is the structure of your organization? for example, consider staff size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining management support is vital to the success of a physical activity initiative.

Whether the changes you’d like to make involve the work environment, overall policies or specific programs, successfully beginning your ideas depends on management support.

Support from management is vital for three reasons –

• You need their agreement to involve employees in a workplace initiative.

• When management pays attention to and supports an initiative, staff members also see the initiative as worthwhile.

• Management has the power to give work time and money to support the initiative.

It’s important to keep management involved throughout a exercise initiative, but at three points you’ll need support for –

• an overall concept, including a go-ahead to assess what employees want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.

• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.

• Reviewing the initiative to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the initiative.

Approaching Management

Before approaching management to gain initial support for promoting exercise during the workday, do your homework.

• Prepare a company case clearly outlining how the organization will benefit by promoting exercise during the workday.

• List the individual, social and corporate advantages of physical activity and the advantages of being active during the workday.

• Present some general ideas about what the program might include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions such as the following from management –

• How will this help our company?

• How can we motivate workers to participate?

• How much will it cost to run this program or make this change?

• How are we going to know a year from now if this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the range of activities they’d support. Often managers have ideas of their own they’d like to see acted on to improve the workplace.

Do not forget to include middle managers when gaining support for your initiative. They could be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate physical activity challenges.

In today’s corporation environment, the health of employees is often related to the health of the corporation. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, lowered illness and injuries, and increased productivity are just some of the benefits of having healthy employees.

Promoting health in your workplace does not have to be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any organization, big or small, can promote healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some suggestions –

Healthful Eating

• for breakfast meetings, in lieu of serving donuts, large muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100 percent fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.

• for lunch meetings, avoid serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.

• Reimburse employees for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).

• Arrange for the cafeteria or food providers to offer healthy food choices.

• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100% fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.

• Provide a means for people  to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Plan events and group activities to encourage workers to become active, like walking programs, contests and challenge events, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial events.

• Offer onsite health experts (e.g. fitness trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in worker assistance programs to help workers work towards exercise objectives.

• Provide a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthful choices easy –  bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes around the workplace, and health club facilities.

• Allow for flex time so that employees have more opportunities to participate in fitness programs as part of their working day.

• Reimburse employees for full or partial club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment buys.

• Give corporate gym memberships to reduce costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to –

• Organize lunch “n learn sessions to provide information and motivation for healthful consuming and active living.

• Invite demonstrators to provide cooking lessons or tips for making healthful foods.

• Post a rotating list in a common room of local restaurants that offer healthful food options on their menus.

• Distribute information to educate employees on portion sizes.

• Include exercise and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.

• Plan activities that promote healthful consuming and exercise. for example, begin a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities

Can a small business support corporate wellness? Absolutely! In truth, in some ways it’s easier to develop a healthful workplace in a small business than in a big company.

Limited resources, namely in small businesses, can prevent an employer from setting up a wellness program. Reasons can include –

• lack of budget resources;

• lack of staff;

• lack of senior-level support;

• little knowledge of the wellness theory and;

• concern about making wellness available to all workers.

According to the Wellness Councils of America, some small corporation owners might have the wrong idea of what’s involved in having a wellness program.

Some corporations aren’t sure a program would really work and others feel that trying to change personal lifestyle behaviours is intruding and “none of their business”.  

Perhaps they do not understand that it does not need to be expensive and that they do not need special staff. They might not realize that some staff would like to see some healthful changes and would help make things happen in their workplace.

It can be Done

A lot of small corporations have found ways to have a wellness program that works for them. They keep the cost and effort to a minimum and still have results that are positive for everybody.

In 2006, Graham Lowe wrote a report on the best places to work in Calgary. He said that healthy workplaces often have a “positive workplace culture”.  In a workplace with a positive culture, individuals  feel appreciated, valued, and trusted.

Dr. Lowe says it is easier for a small workplace to have a positive workplace culture than for a big workplace. A lot of employees prefer to work for a small business, he says, because it provides more opportunities to work closely with others and create a sense of community.

In his report, Dr. Lowe says the most successful businesses with fewer than 100 employees have –

• excellent worker benefits;

• policies that promote a balance between work and personal life;

• flexible schedules;

• competitive salaries;

• great leadership with an emphasis on teamwork;

• environmentally responsible business policies;

• procedures for seeking worker input; and

• a focus on placing employees’ personal well-being ahead of the personal gain of business leaders.

All or most of these elements are also components of a good wellness program.

Tips and Ideas

There are many ways to include wellness in a small corporation. You don’t necessarily need a wellness specialist or a fancy fitness club.

What you do need is support from management and a committee of a few committed individuals . Here are some ideas that your workplace can consider.

Communications and Promotion

• Send out a regular “wellness” newsletter in hard copy or online. Or send out a simple message like the weekly Healthy U Hot Tip.

• Use promotions that are already designed such as Healthy Workplace Week.

Active Living and Healthy Eating

•  Make sure to encourage staff to sign up for the Stairway to Health stair climbing competition.

• Get pedometers for workers and track their steps.

• Rent a nearby school or community fitness club and offer exercise classes.

• Hire a local fitness instructor to give classes or lead stretch breaks. Costs may be shared with workers.

• Install secure bike parking.

• Serve healthy alternatives at business meetings and lunches.

Policy and Organizational Programs

• Hire an ergonomics professional to assess workstations.

• Create policies to support work-life balance (for example, mandatory vacations, flextime, limits to work and e-mail on personal time).

• Give a wellness subsidy for a selection of health and leadership activities and courses.

• Offer financial incentives to be healthful.

• Offer wellness incentives as rewards and recognition for a job well done.

• Conduct an organizational health audit (NQI Healthful Workplace Week).

• Become a partner with the community (for example, daycare, health clubs, festivals, parks, restaurants).

• Spread the workload. Be sure to set up a wellness committee.

Small companies might not have a lot of time, money, or human resources (HR) available for a wellness program. But they often have a gigantic advantage over big companies-a positive workplace culture.

That is a great foundation for a wellness program. When staff members are satisfied, enjoy their work environment, they’re more productive, and tend to be healthier.  With a little creativity and passion, small companies can develop successful wellness programs.

Get support from management, form a committee of two or more and discover the possibilities!

Corporate wellness is evolving.

Early efforts to develop healthy workplaces focused on safety at the worksite and injury avoidance for employees.

More lately, programs are designed to assist workers to pick healthier behaviours like being more physically active or quitting use of tobacco.

Campaigns to increase awareness, educational sessions to increase knowledge, opportunities to learn new skills, and changes to policies to make it easier for employees to make healthy choices are often included.

This approach is taken because the workplace is a good way to reach individuals , since most adult American Citizens spend a large part of their day at work.

While safety and lifestyle programs are two aspects that contribute to the health of workers, corporate wellness is more effective when a third factor is brought into the equation-the environment at work.

How the workplace affects health.

Increasingly, it is recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people ’s health. When people  are satisfied with their job, they’re more productive and tend to be healthier. When staff members feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed.

Stress has a large impact on employee mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity.

Consultant Graham Lowe has identified five components of workplace culture that directly affect employees’ health and the health of the organization overall-credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and friendship.

The underlying idea is that corporations must genuinely care about the wellness of their workers.

Corporations today who want to attract and keep good employees have leaders who understand the connection between staff member satisfaction and staff member health and believe that corporate wellness is a company strategy.  

Their management practices include making reasonable demands on time and energy, involving staff members in decision making, rewarding work well done, openly communicating, and providing support to balance work and home life.

Businesss know that workers are looking for jobs that pay well, have good benefits, are fascinating, and include great health and safety programs. So in today’s competitive hiring market, it’s become more important than ever for businesses to enhance job satisfaction and ensure that workers enjoy being on the job.

Corporate wellness benefits both businesss and workers.

How does corporate wellness benefit the company?

A wellness program can help a corporation to –

• attract and keep employees;

• reduce the costs of disability, drugs, and absenteeism;

• reduce the effects of a stressful workplace;

• reduce health care costs or keep them contained; and

• improve morale by creating a happy, supportive environment.

How does corporate wellness benefit employees?

Staff Members of companies that have a wellness program are likely to have –

• increased awareness and knowledge of ways to improve their health;

• a better (less stressful) workplace;

• increased protection from injury;

• improved health and wellness;

• higher morale and greater job satisfaction;

• increased productivity and effectiveness at work;

• decreased personal healthcare costs; and

• a more relaxed/flexible approach to health issues.

Both businesss and workers have a responsibility for creating a healthy workplace. Employees are expected to arrive at work in good health, and the business is expected to provide an environment that allows workers to maintain good health, enjoy their work, and contribute to the corporation’s success.

Corporate wellness is more than a “lunch and learn” program. It’s about developing a “people  first” approach to doing corporation.

It’s about taking care of workers, establishing a positive work environment, and paying attention to the factors that keep workers healthful and happy at work.

A good wellness program has an impact on employees’ mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellness.

Ideally, you’ll develop an overall plan for a wellness program before beginning to plan specific wellness programs. for  instance, you can begin by getting the following elements in place –

• support from  senior management

• a wellness committee or team

• information about the wellness needs and interests of employees

• a budget

• program objectives

• an analysis plan

Even if you’ve few financial and/or human resources, you can still take a “micro” approach. for example, you might focus on only one specific issue or problem. Creativity, enthusiasm and planning can help you overcome limitations.

This article will give you some ideas for setting up wellness programs. Even the smallest steps can have an impact.

Whether you choose to begin with a single program or develop something larger, planning is essential. First think about the large picture and then look after the details.

Ask yourself these questions –

• Identify an action. What health-related program will fit the bill and best suit the staff members and organization?

• Promote. How can you most effectively get the word out to employees? What are the opportunities for promotion? Consider everything, because workers have access to and pay attention to different kinds of messages.

In a average workplace, workers get information from e-mail, newsletters, bulletins,  flyers, meeting announcements and fellow workers.

• Deliver. Who’s the best person or group to put the program into action? Ask other businesses about approaches they have used. Decide on your budget before making a decision.

• Evaluate. What should you evaluate to determine success? Do you need hard data and/or testimonials from individual participants?

We recommend the following when planning your initiative –

• creating and communicating clear objectives

• targeting your audience

• determining on the kind of program or campaign

The Elements of Wellness Programming

Programs to promote wellness in the workplace don’t need to be restricted to a single area. You may think corporate wellness only involves promoting positive personal health, e.g., blood pressure (BP) clinics,  brochures on heart disease, “lunch and learn” workshops on eating habits and short-term exercise programs.

These activities are important, but corporate wellness should also be part of a corporation’s business strategy and go beyond traditional programming.

Taking a expanded approach, the National Quality Institute recently identified three key elements of a healthy workplace –

• physical environment

• social environment and personal resources

• health practices

Specific Program Ideas

Physical Environment

Look after workers’ health and safety and establish regulations to support their health and safety. Consider providing the following –

• Safe bike storage and shower and/or change facilities for cyclists and other commuters.

• Fridges for employees to keep snacks and meals fresh and/or healthy snacks in vending machines and cafeterias.

• Ergonomic assessments.

• Subsidies to help workers join local recreation centers.

• Classrooms/conference rooms available for booking activities such as yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and aerobics.

• Safe and pleasant stairwells that invite employees to use them.

• Evaluating the potential for violence at work with plans to deal with such risks.

• Good lighting and sound and air quality.

Social Environment

Human relationships and communication, in addition to ways of doing company, can affect an employee’s mental and physical health. Businesses ought to consider the following –

• respectful workplace policies that provide safe worksites

• policies on flex time

• policies on working from home

• staff member satisfaction surveys

• leadership coaching

• resiliency training

• worker assistance programs

To foster a positive social culture or climate, consider employees’ needs, which include –

• being respected

• a sense of belonging, purpose and mission

• freedom of expression

• protection from harassment and discrimination

What you have “always done” might not address current worker needs. Ensuring that people  enjoy being at work isn’t an easy task, but making the right changes can have a huge impact.

Health Practices

Offer programs and set policies that help workers remain healthful or improve their health while at work. Consider offering the following –

• “Lunch and learn sessions” on healthful habits such as sleeping better, consuming on the run, healthful snacks, using a pedometer, pole walking, work-life balance, time management, stress management, resiliency, parenting and reading nutrition labels.

• Stop use of tobacco clinics or subsidies to help staff members quit.

• Health risk (assessment|appraisal}s, including fitness assessments.

• Programs to address the issues raised in the health risk (assessment|appraisal}s.

• Healthy snacks served at meetings and conferences.

Personal Corporate Wellness Tips

When there’s no wellness program at your worksite, don’t let that stop you from keeping healthful. Perhaps your example will spark a movement toward a healthier workplace.

Here are a few ideas to think about –

• be active at work. There are many ways to bring activity into your workday. Walk to work, even if it’s just one way. Hold walking meetings. Bike to work. Use the stairs. Walk to a workmate’s office in lieu of sending an e-mail.

• Eat well at work. Pack a healthful snack and meal. Place a bottle of water at your desk or workstation. Eat breakfast and eat regularly during the day. Take turns bringing a basket of fruit for coworkers’ snacks. Order healthful snacks for meetings.

• Maintain work-life balance. Make sure to work efficiently so you are able to leave on time. Conduct short, effective meetings. Leave your work at work and do not take it home.

Minimize social chit-chat. Make certain to set up your office to enhance your work. Avoid clutter. Plan and prioritize to ensure that the most important things get done first.

There’s no limit to the number or variety of wellness programs. A key to success is planning well and ensuring that you can evaluate the results so that you can sustain momentum.

Speak to other wellness practitioners to find out what works well for them. Listen to your coworkers to determine their needs and interests. and do not forget to promote, promote, promote.

Many organizations recognize the need for a extensive strategy to help their staff members be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable wellness programs are much more than a few “lunch and learn” programs.

Your wellness program ought to include a wide range of key elements, including –

• A clear agenda or statement of objectives.

• A plan characterized by passion.

• an effective leader who’s creative and organized.

• A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

• A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Planning Your Wellness Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your wellness program is seen as part of a wide commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all employees. Yes, creating a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required. as the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You might begin by conducting a recent survey of staff member needs and interests. When you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan as a result. When you don’t, the employees will not support the program.

Collecting information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for example, you might be surprised by your company or corporation’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable goals to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

The leader of your wellness program must be able to wear many hats. the leader’s duties include –

• Developing a vision of the wellness program after receiving input from all interested workers.

• Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the organization (to upper-level managers and fellow workers alike).

• Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a wellness program.

• Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

• Developing and maintaining leadership skills like giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You might want to stick to short-term goals at the beginning so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful wellness program.

Good leaders involve as many people  as possible in the program. for example, you’ll want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of employees to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will –

• Be sure to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the company.

• Develop ambassadors who’ll help you implement the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always keep in mindhow you’ll monitor progress and evaluate the success of your wellness program. Investigation authorizes you to –

• Identify areas of excellence.

• Identify factors that affect participation in your programs.

• Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

• Better understand issues that need attention.

• Learn from mistakes and change the program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your program, you can measure such things as –

• Staff Member absences.

• Staff Member turnover rates.

• the cost of your staff member assistance program.

• the cost of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

• the cost of your drug plan.

• Accident rates and safety records.

• Employees’ participation in wellness programs (and whether they are staying in the programs).

• Changes in employees’ health habits.

• Level of employees’ awareness of healthy lifestyle issues.

• Results of your environmental wellness audit.

• Other noticeable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to workers (including senior level managers) and fosters excitement about the wellness program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for  instance, you might recognize people  who have helped set up the program or offer tangible rewards for achieving goals.

Everybody needs to know whether employees are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a wellness program has financial benefits is often an important factor in maintaining strong support from the top.

If you pay attention to the key elements of your wellness program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you will lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.

How does physical activity fit into a full-time employee’s busy schedule? Often, it doesn’t.

One possible solution to this challenge is to make exercise a part of the work day. Clearly, being active at work is beneficial for workers.

But employers also benefit from having fit, energetic and healthful employees who are more productive.

The challenges

Your job takes up a lot of your time. In addition to the hours you spend actually working, there’s the time required to get to and from work and take lunch and rest breaks during the work day.

In the end, there are a limited number of hours left over for the rest of your life. This work life imbalance is in particular true for Alberta, where statistics show that we work exceptionally hard.

A lot of jobs today are sedentary, and many American Citizens drive to work. the pressures of work might also cause us to eat lunch at our desks and skip breaks.

Then, after work or on the weekends we juggle household chores, family responsibilities and social engagements.

Wellness Programs –  Get began on a workplace fitness program

Management plays a key role in creating a culture that promotes health. the leaders at your workplace influence the various policies and the informal or formal practices, and these policies and practices affect your attitude towards healthful active living.

Begin by talking to your boss about the benefits of a healthful active workplace. the best way to ensure the success of a workplace fitness program is to have the management on side and cheering you on.

Ask your boss to consider taking these actions –

• Send a memo or message about the importance of health and healthy living that encourages staff to take an active break each day.

• Provide for flexible work hours that help staff to be more physically active. for  instance, they might need to take a longer lunch break to attend an exercise class, making up the time by coming to work early or staying late.

• Make available a meeting room or other suitable office space for noon-hour yoga or exercise classes, and hire a teacher to lead them, or use videos.

If your boss agrees to support a workplace fitness program, do not forget to say thanks.

You don’t need an onsite fitness club

Only very big corporations can afford on-site fitness facilities like exercise equipment or squash courts. Still, most employers can take other affordable steps to support employees who wish to become more active.

For  instance –

• Arrange for discounted fees for employees at a health club, recreation centeror YMCA facility.

• Install showers and a place to hang a towel. (Make sure the showers are cleaned regularly and that women who use them will feel secure.)

• Install bike racks or a locked enclosure that is safe, conveniently located and well lighted.

• Hold walking meetings and set up lunch-hour walking groups

• Make workers aware of safe and pleasant walking routes near the workplace, in addition to nearby facilities that offer fitness programs (such as walking, swimming, running, yoga, stretching).

• Hire a licensed instructor to teach staff about health, fitness and how to become more active.

Any size and kind of workplace can support workers who wish to be physically active. It’s highly desirable to get management on side.

Even if your boss is not supportive, you can still find ways to get moving more. Make certain to set up activities for groups and person, and encourage your peers to join in.

We all know that exercise is an important part of health and well-being. But sometimes it’s hard to find time for exercise.

Lack of time is the number one barrier that people  say prevents them from participating in physical activity on a regular basis.

The good news is that even short sessions of physical activity help your health. Research has shown that 10-minute sessions that add up to between 30 and 60 minutes a day can produce meaningful health benefits.

Additionally, there are numerous ways busy people  can use to be more active. These strategies include –

• multi-tasking

• being active at work

• being active with loved ones

• scheduling activity into daily life

Different strategies work for different people . Being familiar with the different strategies is key to adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Read on to review strategies you can try. With enough commitment, some of them are sure to work for you.

Strategy #1 –  Multi-tasking

The first strategy you can try is multi-tasking. This means doing things you already do, but in a more physically active way.

This way you get done what you need to get done and you get exercise at the same time.

For example, you’re already travelling to work and other places. Instead of taking the automobile or the bus every time, try using active methods of transportation like biking, roller skating, walking and skateboarding.

If you cannot use active transportation for a whole trip, attempt to be active for at least part of the trip. If you are riding the bus, for example, get off several blocks early and walk the rest of the way.

Active transportation benefits your body by increasing your activity level, and it also benefits your neighbourhood and the environment by decling the number of cars on the road.

You can also get exercise while doing housework and chores.

When you’re working around home, attempt to be creative and look for the active choice. for example, if you’re cleaning the crack between the fridge and the counter, why not move the fridge so you are able to clean the area better and build your strength at the same time?

For outdoor work, opt for the old-fashioned way of doing things, as they’re typically more active. for  instance, use a snow shovel rather than a snow blower.

Strategy #2 –  be Active at Work

Many American Citizens spend eight hours a day or more working at a sedentary job. Here are a few simple ways to keep your body moving during the workday.

The physical activity will revitalize you and help you be more productive.

When you’re working at your desk, try sitting on a stability ball or disk for part of your day (30 minutes to an hour). This gives your back and abs a workout.

Take active breaks at least once a day. During your coffee break, try doing some yoga, stretching or taking a quick walk.

You might find that walking up and down the stairs several times does a better job of rejuvenating you than the java jolt.

Speaking of the stairs, take them in lieu of the elevator whenever you can. the stairs in your building are an opportunity to get your heart pumping.

Organize walking meetings at work. Getting outside and having meetings in a less formal establishing is a excellent way to be active, makes the workday more fun and encourages creative ideas for work projects.

Strategy #3 –  be Active With Your Loved Ones

Do physical activity with your family, friends, neighbours and pets. With this strategy, you and your loved ones are doing some great multi-tasking together –  enjoying quality time with each other and getting some physical activity that you all need to be healthful.

Go for walks, swims or bicycle rides together. Play Frisbee, soccer and other games and sports together. When you take your children to the park, play with them instead of just watching them play.

A lot of community facilities offer courses that keep you and your children active at the same time. Research these courses and take one or two.

You can even be active when you are watching your kids do activities without you. for example, when your child plays hockey, take the opportunity to walk up and down the stairs in the stands several times.

If you feel self-conscious about doing it alone, why not gather a group of parents to do it together?

Strategy #4 –  Schedule Physical Activity into Your Day

Schedule your exercise directly into your daytimer. Make sure to set a specific time and place for exercising. Make your exercise appointments a priority, just as important as any other appointment you put in your daytimer.

To help you stay committed to your physical activity appointments, you may want to make appointments that involve other people  -  such as by meeting with a fitness trainer, taking an exercise class or jogging with a friend.

If you are not sure how many appointments to make or what you should be doing during your appointments, attempt consulting with a fitness trainer. A fitness trainer can help you develop a physical activity plan and schedule.

The bottom line –  figure out what works best for you. Experiment with the strategies. Find inspiration by talking to other people  about how they keep active and what strategies they use.

Be creative and patient while you figure out what strategies work best for you. and be aware that your “best strategy” may change from time to time.

With enough effort, you will discover what works for you. Then, run with it!