How To Setup A Company Fitness Challenge

I work out at an office gym. It’s a small place which is shared by multiple office buildings around it. That means most of the people I work out with are high tech professionals taking time out of their day to get in a workout. Most people at this gym workout alone. It’s rare to see people working out together since most of the gym goers here lead pretty busy lives and it’s hard to coordinate with friends or coworkers. So I was a bit surprised to see a personal trainer at this gym leading a group of about 5 people through a pretty challenging workout. Even more surprising, an hour after this group started, another group of 5 showed up and took their places. Ever the curious one, I asked them what was going on.

A Company Challenge

They explained to me that this was a company sponsored event.  The company they worked for hired a personal trainer and was encouraging people to go to the gym with this trainer 3 to 4 times a week.  I thought this was a great idea and asked them who had come up with it and how they managed to convince the company to go with it.  Here’s what they said.

First, The Idea

The person who originally came up with this idea was an engineer.  He used to be an athlete in college but had done very little physical exercise since then.  Because he spent such long hours at work, he decided that the work day was the best time for him to work out.  However, he needed two things.  First, he wanted to make sure his boss was ok with him taking off an hour every day.  Second, he needed motivation.  He had tried working out on his own before but never stuck with it.  He decided that the best way to accomplish both goals would be some kind of company project.  Working out with other people would provide him with motivation and making it an official company project would make it easier to get permission.

Second, The Plan

In order to accomplish his goals, our engineer came up with a project plan.  He outlined what he wanted to do and then presented it to his boss.  His idea was simple.  The company would provide a sign up sheet where groups of employees would sign up together to work out.  These groups or teams would work out together 3 times a week.

He justified his idea in multiple ways.  First, it would be a good team building exercise.  Working out together builds strong bonds as people support each other.  That’s good for overall company productivity.  Second, this would help build cross departmental ties and communication.  The teams would consist of people from multiple departments and, as people do, they would keep talking about work even as they worked out.  So engineers would talk to sales, marketing would talk to support and IT would finally talk to something other than computers.  Finally, he showed his boss multiple studies about lower health care costs and higher productivity from people who worked out and were in good shape.

Step 3, Good Response

His boss was impressed.  The plan was well thought out and the benefits seemed clear.  He agreed to a short trial but he actually added one more thing, a personal trainer.  The company found a trainer who would come to the office gym and lead the employee groups through their workouts.  They thought this would make the workouts more structured and productive.

Step 4, Turnout

Out of a company of 100 people, 20 signed up.  That meant 4 groups of 5 each.  The program had an 80% turnout rate.  That means that, on average, 4 people would show up for each session.

Step 5, Costs

The company, which now has 150 people, currently has 30 people participating in the program.  The trainer costs $50 per hour.  There are 18 sessions a week for a total of $3600 a month.  Total annual costs for the company are $45,000, not including work time lost, which I will discuss in a second.

Step 6, Results

On average, the 30 participants have lost 8lbs.  They’ve also increased their muscle tone, lowered their blood pressure and their cholesterol plus they’ve decreased their body fat.  All in all, great progress for 6 months of work.  The company itself says that, while the program has not run long enough to really measure, they’ve already seen increased morale, better communication and higher productivity from the people participating in the program.  On a related note, the company says the people who participate in the program are taking less sick days than their coworkers.  Overall, the company believes they are getting more out of the program than they are putting in and they’re planning to keep the program going indefinitely.

Recommendations

Some tips for those looking to start programs like this at their own offices:

• Have a plan - Don’t just walk up to your boss and say “can you give me time off to go work out?”  Have an idea of what you’re trying to implement with enough details to make it seem real.
• Show the benefits - Tell your employers WHY they should do this, not just why you want it.  There has to be something in it for them.
• Show proof - Bring in articles discussing health care costs.  Show studies on productivity.  Whatever you have, use it to make your points real.
• Put it in terms they understand - Companies care about their bottom line, not your waistline.  So if you’re going to convince them, make sure you’re talking about things they care about.  How will this increase productivity?  How much will it cost?  What will we save? and so on.

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One guy with a good idea managed to get time off from work and a personal trainer.  He got his motivation and the company got a happier, healthier and more productive workforce.  Sounds like a win / win all around.

Living A More Active Life - Part 1, Start At The Office

On Monday I wrote that the two basic truths of fitness are eat in moderation and be more physically active.  I believe that wholeheartedly and it was the realization of these truths that helped me get to where I am today.  In the past, I’ve gone over my rules for eating, now I’d like to share with you some ideas for being more physically active.

Physical Activity and Exercise Are NOT the Same Thing

I’ve talked about this before, but physical activity is not a replacement for a workout.  A workout challenges you, physical activity just means you’re not sitting on your butt doing nothing.  So just because you’re going to be active, doesn’t mean you can stop working out.  That said, where do we start adding activity into our lives?

The Office

Why the office?  Easy.  Because it’s where a lot of us spend a lot of our time.  For example, I spend a good 10 hours a day in the office, 5 days a week.  That’s 50 hours, or about 45% of my waking time.  However, how am I going to add to a work day when I already have too much to do?  Well, there are a number of ways.

1. Stop emailing / calling and start walking - Got a question for a coworker?  Don’t call or email them, just walk over and talk to them.  I once calculated that I walk more than a mile a day just within the office.  Best part of all, this actually makes me more productive.  First of all, it stops me from shooting off useless emails and calls.  Second, I find that face to face conversations tend to resolve issues a lot quicker.
2. Use the stairs - Do you work in a multi floor office?  Yes?  Then stop using the elevator and start using the stairs.  Unless you work in some sky scraper, you’ll actually save time by not waiting for the elevator and you’ll get a decent workout in the process.
3. Take a walk meeting - Got a 1 on 1?  How about taking it outside and walking around the building?  I had a boss who used to do this and it was great.  Not only did it eliminate other distractions and let us have our meetings in peace, it also felt much better than sitting in some office reporting on goals and objectives.
4. Park further - Stop looking for that ideal parking spot and take the spot a bit further.  Your car will get dinged less and you’ll end up walking more.  Speaking of which…
5. Use a bike or walk for your commute - Most people write off this idea as taking too much time but it’s easier than you think.  Take a look at this old post where I compare my drive and bike commutes.  The bike commute ends up taking 10 minutes longer but I spend less money overall, I’m active and I get to spend 30 minutes on the train (working) rather than 30 minutes in traffic (being annoyed).
6. 5 minute stretch - Need a break?  How about instead of heading to the water cooler you stand up and do some stretches in your cube?  A series of 10 lunges, 10 squats, 10 arm raises and 10 toe touches done really slowly and with no weight are an amazing stretch routine.  You’ll feel better and be more productive afterwards.

Work More Efficiently

Note that none of these ideas take time away from the workday.  In fact, many of these ideas will make you more efficient overall.  That’s right, being more physically active doesn’t have to cost you time.  In many ways, it can save you time.

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Stop treating the office as a place to spend 9 hours sitting down.  You spend way too much time there to be sedentary.

The Healthy Workplace

A few weeks ago, I moved from the second floor of my office to the first. It was part of a bigger move by my whole department and it let me make a change to my workspace that I’ve been hoping to do for a while now.

I’ve always had minor issues with my lower back and sitting on an office chair all day working on a computer didn’t help. If you look at most people as they sit at their desk, their posture is horrible. They either slouch in their chairs or they bend over their desks. Either way, there’s a lot of unnecessary pressure on your lower back. Unfortunately, I was no exception. I tried several little tricks like sitting up straight or sitting on an exercise ball but I kept finding myself slouching back. So when the opportunity to reorganize my cubicle presented itself, I decided to make a major change.

Here’s the new workplace:

The Changes

As you can see, the desk itself is raised to be about 4 feet. This is more than a foot taller than a normal desk level. The point to all this is to allow me to stand while I work rather than sit down. I usually stand firmly on both feet not favoring either leg. My feet are spread about 18 inches from one another. This keeps me stable and prevents my legs from getting tired.

Standing this way forces me to stay in a posture that’s much better than sitting. There’s a slight benefit in terms of using the leg muscles as I work, but the real benefit is in my lower back. The improved posture is really helping me out and I’m feeling a lot better when I do exercises like deadlifts.

In case you’re curious, my legs do get tired after a while and I do take breaks sitting in a chair high enough to fit this desk. I’m guessing I spend about 75% of my time standing and the other 25% sitting in the chair.

Work Place Ergonomics

For many of us, the desk is where we spend a good portion of our day. So it makes sense to keep this area as healthy as possible. If your workplace is making you unhealthy, you are less likely to exercise, more likely to suffer injuries and more likely to be stressed out. You’re also less likely to be productive, so your employer has a vested interest in providing you with a healthy and safe workplace. As long as you don’t go overboard and ask for a personal masseuse in your cube, most companies will be happy to help you with basic changes to improve your cube or desk.

Some Things To Watch For

• Forearms - Try to position your desk and chair heights so your forearms are parallel to the desk as you work.
• Wrist Rest - Your wrists should be resting on something as you type. Otherwise, you’re exposing yourself to repetitive stress injuries.
• Posture - You don’t have to stand in order to have good posture. You just need to keep your back straight. Don’t hunch forward over your desk and don’t slouch back in your chair. Either one of these positions is bad. Ideally, your back should be flat against the back rest of the chair and straight.
• Stretch - Just like on long plane flights, you really shouldn’t spend too much time sitting down. Make sure to get up and stretch at least once per hour. Focus on your back and legs. A few slow lunges, squats and toe touches will do the trick.
• Shoes - If your job involves a lot of walking, make sure you’re wearing padded shoes. Feet are vulnerable to stress fractures and other ailments that are caused by too much walking.
• Water - Another thing people tend to forget while at work is water. Keep a water bottle by you and take a quick drink every 30 minutes or so. It will keep you hydrated and prevent you from snacking.
• Monitors - Bad monitors or bad settings on good monitors can cause eye aches and head aches. Make sure your monitor is set correctly and talk to your IT or computer support department if you’re unsure how to do it.
• Phone Handsets - If you’re on the phone a lot, make sure you pick up a hands free headset. Holding a handset up to your head either by hand or by pressing it up against your shoulders can cause strain.

Summary

Remember, both you and your employer have a vested interest in keeping you healthy and productive. So talk to your employer about some little things you both can do to make sure your workplace isn’t harming your health.