Why Corporate Employees Need Fitness Training?
All of us are aware of the significance of having a healthy lifestyle that is filled with daily exercises and healthy diet. These activities make our body and mind fit and active. Various studies and research show that one in three adults are only able to achieve the required amount of physical activity each week. Interestingly, it shows that 70%-80% of adults don’t meet the guidelines for both muscle-building and aerobic activities.
This is quite common for employees of today as they are tightly gripped in their busy work schedules. The majority of excuses being in the lines of “I don’t have time” and this is especially for skipping the aerobic classes or gym. Social commitments, family and work makes it tough for employees to incorporate exercise into their daily workout.
Finding time to exercise is indeed a tough task. Most companies even bring about a difference in assisting their employees by providing more time through exercise on the clock which can be done for thirty minutes in a day. So, is it successful? Well, it varies for each corporate organization and employees’ workout regime.
Now keep in mind that exercising in office is not an extraordinary idea. However, doing regular exercises can bring about a positive impact for both employers as well as employees.
Definition of Corporate Fitness
Unlike other company policies, if corporate fitness is incorporated, it becomes an important part of any workplace wellness program. This is especially for supporting healthy behaviour and promoting all kinds of physical activity in one’s workplace that helps in improving the entire health of workers.
A simple definition of corporate fitness would be a group or individual activity session that is done or led by qualified fitness trainers, and most importantly designed exclusively for group of colleagues and individuals. These sessions are tailor-made for the culture and needs of each of the businesses. Also, the sessions are bought in house as well as outdoors where the spaces of local parks or greenery is utilized.
Individuals (employees) should think of fitness as a lifestyle habit or change. It is one where an individual decides to have a fulfilled and happier life. Most importantly, the sessions are done on a weekly basis for keeping and assisting employees along their fitness journey and the path to have a healthier lifestyle.
Most corporate organizations are considering the health risk that is posed by huge amount of physical inactivity. This is often during the long working hours and at levels that are comparable to various risk factors. Here the risk factors are alcohol consumption and smoking. Inactivity not only causes neck, back and muscular strain issues. Here it is the major cause of long-term diseases like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and other kinds of cancer.
By building physically active teams, corporates can easily reduce various risk factors. In addition, it even means there are various health benefits for individuals and even there are financial benefits too. Nowadays, organizations are easily able to recognize the significance of physical well-being of workers. Even most of the new breed of employers encourage corporate fitness knowing very well that it will have a direct impact on the cost saving for the business too.
Who Benefits from Corporate Fitness?
Corporate fitness is suitable for all organizations and business of all sizes and shapes, especially the ones that prioritize the health and wellness of employees. It is incorporated as an integral part of doing business. At the initial stage, these programs were introduced as benefits and perks for employees. But now there are more and more involvement of partners and senior management within the organization.
Ways Employers Encourage Employees for Fitness Regime
There are multiple ways on how employers can encourage employees in doing various kinds of fitness sessions. Based on the budget, such exercising regime consist of onsite gym along with personal training sessions. It even includes the subsidized local gym membership and even the possibility of taking bikes to work kind of scheme which is getting more common in corporate organizations.
Now these initiatives seemingly encourage employees in improving their fitness, still they are not something that is simply desired. Such type of fitness regime or initiatives will engage to about 15% to 20% of employees who are into fitness. Most importantly, they won’t reach to employees who really want to improve their health through fitness.
But most of the corporate feel that there are various ways that such fitness training can reach out to employees who often don’t think of themselves as gym bunnies. Here, it is important for employees to go through regular check-ups in terms of health to find out if they are suffering from any kind of issues, as well as injuries along with desired outcomes. Based on these criteria, a suitable and good program can be created especially for such employees.
In addition, such kind of aspects will lead to better employee engagement and even make them motivated. Here, when colleagues train as a team or together, they will end up having a special bond which will even encourage and support one another in terms of non-competitive environment. Also, they will end up in fun and laughter. Plus, they will have a blast in enjoying quality time right at the fitness training session too.
It is important for highly qualified fitness training instructors to design tailor-made physical activities. In such the participants work on achieving common goals. It will indeed strengthen the collaboration they might have and bring in a sense of belonging while working up a good sweat. Hence by putting forward a fun element into exercising, most individuals will end up participating together.
Nowadays, with the presence of advanced technology in hand, it is easy to provide something that is very much simpler and still becomes a habit. Most importantly, it will encourage employees in taking small steps on achieving their fitness each day, just like and simple like taking the stairs rather than going for the lift. This is even while logging on to the activity tracker, thereby seeing some good amount of improvements.
Creating Challenges to Encouraging Participation In Various Corporate Fitness Programs
Now there are various approaches one can use and these consist of various aspects like collective weight loss challenges, that are supported with nutritional advice. It is even followed with good amount of exercise routines along with activity tracking and progress. Keep in mind that it is good to have a healthy dose of competition. Such things will encourage more kinds of activities. Just think about it . You could sign up for charity fundraising activities or marathon runs, which are bound to encourage individuals to act and begin their fitness journey.
The entire focus of a fitness training is to motivate employees, which is nothing but taking the first tough step as well as changing their behaviour. Now people who take part in such kind of activities will simply continue to be active even after the event. Plus, they will be able to utilize the given resources right at the workplace.
Why Is It Important for Companies To Get Into Corporate Wellness Programs?
The following are some of the basic reasons on the necessity of employers to make their employees work –
1) Social Connections
Here it is all about giving opportunities to colleagues especially in order to connect with the outside word of formal work environment. It will help in creating a healthy personal as well as professional relationship. Here by providing employees with a gym or simply a space to move, the company is showing the proof that they really want their workers to connect socially and thrive beyond the workspace. In addition, working out with their colleagues will even help them to be accountable for the workouts. Frankly, they will be less likely to skip if there is an individual waiting for them right at the office gym.
2) A Good Stress Relief
Here it is not such a big secret that stress can easily create havoc on our human body. Most importantly, stressed out employees will have huge amount of trouble in focusing, and thinking in a clear concise manner. Of course, they will even end up making irrational decisions too. There are various reports that clearly show that exercising can make a huge improvement in terms of mental health by giving huge amount of clarity in handling all kinds of stress.
In addition, exercise will reduce cortisol levels (which is called as the stress hormone of the body) and sweating will release endorphins. This will easily assist the mind in getting relaxed. Rather than going for the office sweets, employees now have the good opportunity of burning some good amount of calories.
3) Heart Related Health
It is interesting to note that CVD (Cardiovascular Diseases) are the major causes of death for both women and men in the US alone. Currently in the United States, CVD is the costliest disease where the price tag of $555 billion in about 2016-2017. In addition, various strategies which address major risk factors of CVD like high cholesterol and high blood pressure will easily reduce the burden of CVD for employers.
Most importantly, doing regular exercises will help in promoting heart health. This is possible by reducing the bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and increasing the good cholesterol levels (HDL). Also, exercising will assist in strengthening the heart, thereby allowing it to work in a longer and harder way. Furthermore, the new blood vessels will form the regular physical activity, and this will reduce the blood pressure.
4) More Energy
Now energy levels are one of the major indicators of engagement and well-being. A survey conducted on about 10,000 individuals found out that about 11% to 13% reported of having a good amount of energy yesterday. Most importantly, one of the major ways of battling fatigue is to workout. By doing regular exercises, employees can improve their blood circulation and strengthen the heart muscles. This will indeed provide an instant rush of energy.
5) Managing Weight
A significant issue among workplace is the obesity. It is estimated that direct healthcare alone in the United States will cost about $460.8 billion and this is majority due to obesity as per the study conducted in 2016. This is along with the $1.20 trillion in losing productivity. Exercise is very much common and useful for weight loss and weight management benefit. This when paired with a healthy diet and exercise will easily boost the weight loss and toning the body. People who exercise on a regular basis will end up having the less chance of suffering from obesity.
6) Improving Productivity
A basic study and research conducted by some of the medical and research centres all over the world found out that the benefits of exercising is not simply or all about physical. There are multiple evidences to show that it will boost the mental abilities like –
- Quicker learning
- Enhancing creativity
- Sharpening the memory
- Improving concentration
- Even there are various
research suggesting that doing exercise while or during working hours will end up pumping the work performance. Studies indeed show that workers who visited the gym during working hours end up being a lot more productive. They will be able to manage time in a better manner and get a good amount of satisfaction in work.
7) Preventing Diseases
It is common for most of you to hear the saying that exercise is the best medicine. This is very much true. Being inactive will end up building a toll on your body. Plus, exercise has a great amount of effect on avoiding all kinds of numerous chronic diseases. Being mobile will allow the muscles to become stronger and it will keep the hormone balances and reduces the inflammation of the body.
Basically, an active lifestyle will lower the chances of getting heart diseases, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, and chronic pains. It will lower the chances of getting cancer. With an active lifestyle you can make your life a bit longer and more enjoyable.
Customized Corporate Solutions Provided by Ezfit
There are no doubt that healthy and active employees are the basic as well as direct outcome of the entire performance of an organization. For making sure the success of your firm, your company needs to contribute a small amount to the basic welfare of its employees.
Ezfit has huge number of corporate wellness programs that is very much inclusive to corporate clients with the best wellness solutions available. These consist of nutritional advice from the best dieticians. yoga and movement classes from experts and even marathon training. By accessing such programs, you will keep the body and mind of your employees active as well as healthy. So, go ahead and contact us to know more.
