Wellness Program Blog

Growing a Business Exercise Team From Nine-To-Five

People spend a lot of time at work, and work environments are full of stress. Downsizing, mergers, increasing production requirements and extended hours take their toll on employee health.

It can be gauged in growing absenteeism and increasing health costs. It is time to reverse the trend. Growing a company exercise group could be the perfect solution. Driving each other to start a physical activity program will reap big outcomes for the workers and the company.

Working Overtime

It is easy to find excuses to skip exercising. One of them is always ‘not enough time’. But 2 walks for 15 minutes each has the same health benefit as 1 walk for 30 minutes. This fact makes building company exercise group programs easy.

Most employers hire a fitness professional. The fitness professional can develop a plan the company can manage itself or let the fitness professional implement and monitor. Either way, there are lots of ways for workers to exercise during the day.

• Go on walks outside during breaks or lunch
• Frequent sponsored exercise classes at an in-house gym or a local gym before or after work
• Use the stairs instead of taking the elevators, calculating the number of stairs each week
• Do stretching exercises every hour to keep refreshed and alert

But it works even better when teamwork is added to the mix. A company is as great as its workers. Every company operates on the concept of great teamwork to fulfill its mission and offer great customer service. What better way to begin that process than by building a company exercise group?

The rapport that is created among workers exercising together will carry over into the workplace itself. It is a well-known fact that group movement promote cooperation and exercise gives the perfect common activity.

All humans need to exercise to maintain fitness. With a company fitness program, the company can convey its belief in team spirit, cooperative objectives and strategy development.

A local personal trainer can be hired to come worksite or the company can hire a internet-based trainer. Either way, tracking the progress of each employee’s fitness level as they take part in the exercise group projects will encourage participation.

Moonlighting

There are countless types of physical activity programs that can be provided to benefit a workplace.

• A mixture of aerobics exercises followed by strength movements
• Circuit training at the fitness center
• Tai Chi Ch’uan for relaxation and stress control
• Step classes
• Body sculpting
• A series of progressive exercise classes offering steady fitness change
• Specialty classes for people over 55 or for pregnant women

On this page you can locate a personal trainer who can show how building a company exercise group programs works.

A company will discover that once workers begin to feel fit, the fitness program will carry over into their own life. Now that is healthy moonlighting!

Program provided is consistent with scientific and medical care recommendations for weight loss, reflects a multi-disciplinary approach which offers four components: behavioral, exercise, nutrition, and maintenance, and is in accordance with the document Guidance For Treatment Of Adult Obesity. It includes:

• Screening to verify that the colleague has no medical or psychological conditions which would make weight loss inappropriate, and to identify the colleague’s level of health risk, classifying participants not only on excess body weight, but also on the basis of associated medical conditions and central heath risk.
• Referral for participants who are morbidly obese who would require medical care guidance for weight loss.
• Informed consent, explanation of potential physical and psychological risk from weight loss and regain, likely long-term success of program, full cost of the program, credentials of the employee.
• Identification of contributing factors to colleague’s weight status, serving as the basis for an individualized weight loss plan which includes the weight objective and plans for nutrition, exercise, and behavioral components.
• Weight objective of colleague is reasonable based on personal and family weight history not solely on height and weight charts; initial weight loss objective does not exceed loss of 10% of body weight, 1-2 pounds per week.
• Explanation of unsafe weight loss methods.
• Daily calorie level is adjusted to meet each colleague’s recommended rate of weight loss.
• Daily caloric intake is not less than 1,000 calories; if less, physician monitoring is required.
• Food plan designed so participants can find foods which meet 100% of all the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) except for calories. Nutritional supplementation can be used to achieve RDAs, however ought to not greatly exceed RDAs.
• Nutrition education encouraging permanent healthful eating habits based on The Food Guide Pyramid.
• Participant involved in meal planning and food selection.

The protein, fat, carbohydrate, and fluid content of the food plan meet safety recommendations:

Protein    Between 0.8 and 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of objective body weight, but no more than 100 grams of protein a day.
Fat    10 – 30% calories as fat.
Carbohydrate    At least 100 grams per day.
Fluid    At least one liter of water daily.

• Exercise component ought to be a valuable portion of the program and be both didactic and experiential.
• Participant is appropriately screened for exercise using a evaluation questionnaire such as the Par-Q Readiness Assessment (see forms). Instruction on recognizing untoward responses to exercise.
• Members work towards 30-60 minutes of exercise 5-7 days per week.
• No appetite suppressant drugs.
• Maintenance plan provided for continued support.
• Weight control programs ought to be conducted by a registered dietitian or by degreed health professionals with training in nutrition with consultation by a registered dietitian.
• Trained lay leaders may support  if supervised by nutrition professional.

Note: There’s an interactive version of Guidance for the Treatment of Adult Obesity at e-Guidance for the Treatment of Adult Obesity.

A program is required to offer appropriate interpretation of blood lipid evaluation results, including a caution that a single measurement neither excludes nor establishes a diagnosis of their blood cholesterol.

Follow national standard procedures:

Total Cholesterol
Desirable cholesterol    < 200 mg/dl
Borderline cholesterol    200 – 239 mg/dl
High cholesterol    > 240 mg/dl

HDL
Desirable HDL     > 35 mg/dl
Low HDL     < 35 mg/dl

Refer blood lipid evaluation participants to medical care as follows:

Total Cholesterol
< 200 mg/dl     Recheck blood lipid in five years, if history of coronary heart disease or if two or more CHD risk factors are detected refers to risk reduction program or health professionals, as appropriate.
200 – 239 mg/dl     If history of CHD or if two or more other risk factors are detected, refer to medical care or risk reduction service within two months; if no stated history of CVD or less than two other risk factors, reassess blood lipid status within 1-2 years.
> 240mg/dl     Refer to medical care within two months.

HDL
> 35 mg/dl    If fewer than 2 risk factors and borderline total cholesterol, refer to risk reduction service, as appropriate. Reassess HDL in 1-2 years.

Provide the following:
• The relationship of blood lipids, elevated Blood Pressure (BP), and other risk factors.
o Risk factors include: elevated Blood Pressure (BP) 140/90 or higher or on hypertension medication; current tobacco use; family history of premature CHD; diabetes mellitus; age – male > 45 years, female > 55 years or premature menopause without estrogen replacement therapy.
o Negative risk factor: high HDL 60 mg/dl or greater (subtract one risk factor).
o Risk factors such as family history, smoking, high fat or other unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise lead to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• Definitions and causes of elevated blood lipids and HDL, desirable levels, the meaning and limitations of a single measurement, the cause of variability, and the need for multiple measurements prior to diagnosis.
• Wide range of treatment options, including diet (e.g., effect of controlling fat intake less than 30% of total calories from fat, less 10% saturated fats), less than 300 mg. of cholesterol per day, well-balanced diet, weight maintenance or reduction, exercise, and medication.
• Importance of following prescribed treatment and professional advice.

Health risk evaluation programs ought to be carried out on a one-on-one basis by trained medical care professionals. Health risk measures ought to include the following:

• Blood Pressure (BP) measurements – at least two Blood Pressure (BP) measurements taken during the evaluation episode, using a mercury sphygmomanometers or regularly calibrated aneroids.
• Blood Pressure (BP) treatment status – evaluate whether the colleague is under a doctor’s care, on any medication, on a prescribed diet, or any other sort of treatment for hypertension.
• Blood cholesterol measurement – total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol taken either using a properly tested and maintained table top blood analyzer offering immediate feedback to the client, or sending blood to a laboratory offering feedback using a method that is as effective as immediate feedback.
• Cholesterol treatment status – evaluate whether the client is under a doctor’s care, on any medication, on a prescribed diet, or any other sort of treatment for elevated blood lipids.
• Obesity – utilize an accepted method for estimating obesity. By way of example assess participants height and weight and use the 1959 Metropolitan Life Height/Weight charts or use Body Mass Index.
o Identify people 20% or more above their ideal weight.
• Smoking status – assess whether the colleague currently smokes cigarettes, whether the client has quit or never smoked, and the number of cigarettes smoked/day.
• Exercise habits – evaluation questions may be limited to frequency and duration exercise. Do participants exercise in a moderately vigorous fashion at least three times per week for 30 minutes or more.
• Diabetes – whether the client has diabetes, and whether or not it is currently under control. A blood glucose may be also done via finger stick and desk top analyzer. Several manufactures make available cassettes which include blood lipid and glucose measurements.
• Cerebrovascular disease or occlusive PVD – evaluate if the client has had a stroke or other kind of blood vessel disease.
• Family history of cardiovascular disease – evaluate whether any of the participants’ parents or siblings had a heart attack or sudden death due to heart disease before age 55.
• Coronary heart disease – evaluate if the client has had a heart attack or other sort of coronary heart disease.
• Stress – colleague’s assessment of stress in work and/or personal life. A series of well-tested and validated questions assessing levels of stress are available from the Worker Health Program.
• Participant release form (see forms) – A release form is required in which the colleague authorizes the program to draw blood for testing to send information to the colleague’s medical care provider if medical care risks are identified, and to get information from the provider about diagnosis and prescribed treatment.
• Participant interest survey – if an assessment of interest has not been collected previously, the evaluation exercise must assess levels of interest in programs such as: weight management, smoking cessation, fitness or exercise, stress management, nutrition, self-care, blood lipid control.
• Health education messages – the screener must review with the colleague his/her identified health risks and what they mean to the colleague’s central health, and give the colleague a written record of the Blood Pressure (BP), total cholesterol, and any other physiological measures taken.
• Referral of participants for treatment – participants with elevated risks must be referred to appropriate sources of diagnosis and possible treatment following nationally or locally recognized standard procedures for such referral.

Demographic information ought to include location of the evaluation, workplace, client’s name, address, social security number, home and work phone number, sex, race, date of birth, relevant work information (e.g., hourly or salaried), department number, and work shift.

Hollywood Stars or American Celebrities

This is another fun exercise focusing on healthy weight loss or maintenance.

• Members choose a secret code name (the name of a Hollywood star or other celebrity).
• Members weigh in with a “trusted” confident in private – at which time a healthy weight objective is set for the course of the contest.
• Display a chart with everyone’s secret name assigning each a beginning weight of zero.
• Members weigh themselves weekly and turn in the weight with their code name on the paper.
• Weight is reported in relation to an initial weight of zero. By way of example +4 would mean a weight gain of four pounds; while –2 would indicate a weight loss of two pounds.
• Future weigh-ins ought to be in relation to the starting weight, not the previous week’s weight.
• The chart is kept up to date and put up publicly by the Company Wellness  Committee.
• Display a “weight management hint of the week” nearby the tracking chart.
• Provide “take one” handouts on weight management education or motivational tips by the chart.
• Celebrate employee progress at the end of the exercise.

Wellness Book/Journal Club and/or Book Exchange

Similar to any other book discussion group, the readings and focus of this group is health. With a broad “health” definition, countless subjects could be appropriate including communication, self-improvement, relationships, money management, environment, ecology, recreation, cooking, etc. Let the group choose the topics and books. Another suggested idea is to establish a book swap area where readers can trade the book(s) for those that others have left for trade.

Pre-Work Stretching Group

A couple of minutes of gentle stretching is an effective way to safely begin the workday. A certified fitness instructor may be asked in to instruct proper stretching techniques. Following that, most often an internal group is able to meet and run itself. Provide periodic refresher sessions with the trainer or instructor to change up the routine and help keep participants motivated.

Considerations for workplace stretching:
• See that you work with your Upper Management Team for stretching endorsement.
• Stretches ought to be taught by a knowledgeable and qualified person.
• Even though pre-work stretches are performed on an employee’s personal time, the question of company liability will probably arise, particularly if someone reports an associated muscular injury. Check with your employer’s legal counsel and/or contact your company workers’ compensation provider to assist in design of an employee release of liability waiver.

Worksite Chair Massage

Bring in a certified massage therapist to offer chair massage at the employees’ expense. These massages are performed totally clothed with the recipient seated in a chair. The therapist brings in a special chair that totally supports the head and shoulders while an upper body massage is given. Sessions are usually fifteen minutes, with a mean cost between $12.00 – $15.00 for each session. Post a sign up sheet with appointments at intervals recommended by the therapist. Be sure the therapist is certified. It will be essential to offer a private space. A group of “regulars” may evolve which could establish a regular massage schedule. Obtain an agreement with management so workers can trade massage time for coffee or personal break time.  Note: management may want the therapist to supply proof of liability insurance.

Art at Work

Art can be a great way to nurture employees’ creative side and allow them to manage stress at the same time. Bring in various art and craft supplies once a month and allow the creative juices flow. If participants are willing, have a temporary “art show” later on. Or, feature employee creativity during certain months or times of the year. Urge workers to display their art in their personal workspaces.

Healthy Email-a-Week

Set up an email list of coworkers who wish to receive an inspirational, humorous or educational health quote, thought, tip or idea once a week by email. Ask members of the Company Wellness  Committee to collect ideas initially, and then ask the members of the email list to contribute ideas and information as time goes on. Follow all company rules concerning work time and email protocols.

Hobby Show or Demonstrations

Hobbies are great stress management tools. Urge workers to display their talents by sponsoring a “hobby fair” or demonstration. Send around a sign up sheet. See who would be able to bring in samples of their hobby, and maybe even do a live demonstration. Fairs or demonstrations can be scheduled as a group exercise or brown bag that allows interested workers to interact. Or, hobby sharing can be done in groupings by topic over a scheduled period of time, allowing for a brief presentation and/or demonstration on the part of the hobbyist.

An accident or injury will not “sell” the program and may end up costing the company. This section will assist you in taking the necessary steps to avoid an accident or injury.

Points to Consider

Hiring Certified Professionals

Hire professionally certified instructors to lead fitness classes (whether on or offsite) or to run workplace lunch and learn sessions.  It’s also prudent to ask the instructor for references.

When you hire instructors, make sure that your insurance protects both the instructor and your company.

Risk Management

Whether we like it or not, liability is a problem these days.

Risk management plans need not be complicated or expensive. By way of example, part of the plan may require that workers complete fitness appraisals and sign statements accepting the possible risks involved in physical exercise. It pays to be prepared. Safety and emergency policies and procedures decrease the risk of loss both to individuals and to your company.

Ask workers to sign a waiver when participating in both worksite and offsite activities. For liability reasons, workers must be aware of the risks involved in participating in the exercise and know that they are waiving their right to sue.

The employee ought to not be asked to sign the waiver just before the exercise. The waiver may be invalid if workers state that they didn’t totally know the risks.

Other Safety Tips

Here’s a list of some other safety tips to keep in mind when organizing physical exercise.

Look at the environment where workers are active:

• Sidewalks ought to be clear of ice and snow, away from falling debris or snow, and have clearly marked curbs and safe crosswalks.
• Stairwells ought to be well-lit and in great condition and have handrails and safety features, so that workers are not locked out of floors.
• Fitness facilities ought to have proper flooring, great ventilation, and access to water and an emergency phone.

Provide medical evaluation for workers participating in activities:

• PAR-Q
• PAR-MEDX for Pregnancy

Below are some other valuable safety factors:

• First-aid kit and automated external defibrillator on site.
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place and practised.
• Commercial grade fitness equipment (not donated, “hand me down” equipment).
• Documented equipment inspection and maintenance schedule.
• Orientation of equipment and programs done by certified professional with a physical exercise background.