Text Size: Interested in starting a workplace fitness group?
Wondering how to help employees fit fitness into their daily routine? Here’s how Providence Health Plan’s certified strength and conditioning specialist Amjad Kinhnarath advises workers to incorporate fitness into the workday:
- If you don’t have an on-site workout facility, talk to other employees about whether they’ve discovered a walking route around campus or even inside.
- Get out and be active in places where other people are active too. This gives you an opportunity to meet people who are working out at the same time as you.
- Talk to coworkers about how they spend their breaks and lunches. Ask if they’d be interested in joining you for fitness walks.
- Oftentimes there are printed resources and guides available in your break room or other common areas that can help you develop your own fitness plan. Some businesses like Providence provide an on-site fitness specialist who can offer education and services free of charge to employees.
- Once you’ve formed a group, start a friendly competition to keep everyone motivated. Some possibilities include longest daily workout streak, most minutes walked in a month, or most steps in a week (measured with a pedometer). Keep it fun!
Having fun and getting fit
Getting started might seem like a hurdle, but staying motivated is often the real challenge. Here’s how a group of friends and coworkers from sales and membership accounting found what works for them.
The group started out as several smaller teams of women training together for a marathon by running the trails near Providence Health Plan’s Beaverton offices. “We wanted to get outside for fresh air and sunshine; no fancy equipment needed – just a pair of sneakers,” says Elizabeth Custor. They passed one another coming and going on their lunch-hour runs and cheered each other on. Before long, the camaraderie brought them together into one group.
Staying motivated
Although they try to get outside whenever they can, the group doesn’t let poor weather stop them. They work out with personal trainer Amjad Kinhnarath during the winter months, utilizing the company’s on-site facilities.
Even without the luxury of having a workout room down the hall, though, the women knew their best motivation to keep going was each other. “A little peer pressure to succeed has made us all excel,” Elizabeth says. “It's easy to make an excuse for one person, but a lot harder for two. If you know your buddy is waiting for you, you've got to go!”
The big payoff
All the hard work is really making a difference for the women, who report that working out helps them feel more energetic and less stressed during the workday.
“It has given us a break from our busy work environments and gets us out of our chairs and onto our feet,” says Elizabeth. “It’s a great stress reliever and a reminder to take care of ourselves physically and mentally.”