Get workers to commit to short bouts of exercise
Get workers to commit to short bouts of exercise
Getting employees to commit to hour-long workouts at the gym might be expecting the impossible in many cases. However, new research shows that short bouts of exercise also have significant benefits.1
Researchers studied 2,364 workers and found that "active commuters" — those who walk or ride a bike to work at least part of the way to work — performed better on a fitness test than those who drive or take public transportation.
"It would be great if more communities made it easier for people to work activity into their lives by, for instance, building more sidewalks and bike lanes, and for more workplaces to provide bike parking, showering, and changing facilities," says Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD, the study's author and a nutrition associate professor at University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill. Here are three low-cost ways to get employees moving for short periods during the day:
• Hold "walk and talks" instead of sit-down meetings.
"Instead of meeting at a table, grab your shoes and walk and talk instead of sitting and talking," suggests Gordon-Larsen. "This works less well with a large group. But for smaller groups, it's a great way to sneak in a bit of exercise."
• Make taking the stairs more appealing.
"Play music only in the stairways, not in the elevators, with a different decade every week — the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s," says Margie Matsui, BSN RN CRRN COHN-S FAAOHN, programs administrator for central health services at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, CA. For fall protection, make sure that the stairwell lighting is good and there are no spills or liquids, she warns.
• Catherine Rausch, MN, RN, senior occupational health nurse at Marathon Petroleum Company's St. Paul Park, MN, refinery, says that taking the stairs has become part of her company's culture. "If you are talking with someone and they use the stairs, then you will go along, too. Soon it becomes the way to get from 1 to 2," says Rausch. "We have posters at the top and bottom reminding people to use the handrails."
• Give employees bikes to use.
In the warmer weather, bikes are placed in strategically located racks around Marathon's large plant, labeled for each area and department. "Organized riding would not work, since breaks are generally very flexible and employees don't have set times. But some of the folks will ride around together at night, just to get some exercise," says Rausch.
If someone from the loading area needs to go to the administration building, they grab a bike from the rack and return it to another rack by that location. When they want to go back, they ride it back down.
Rausch encourages the activity by riding herself. "My bike is a red adult tricycle, so I have a big basket between the back wheels to carry my first aid bag and AED if I need them. The basket in the back is large and more stable than trying to have a big basket on the front."
Getting employees to commit to hour-long workouts at the gym might be expecting the impossible in many cases. However, new research shows that short bouts of exercise also have significant benefits.Subscribe Now for Access
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