Health Promotion Strategies

To succeed in encouraging physical activity during the workday, you must find out what workers need and want. They’re the people  whose behaviour you are attempting to influence, so it’s crucial to understand their needs and gain their support.

The Staff Member Interest Survey

Ask staff members questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation.

It’s important to know this information so that your physical activity initiative meets employees’ needs. Staff Members are not going to participate in something they are not interested in.

Ask workers what they want, and then implement changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. for example, workers may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they don’t want to shower at work.

Ask employees what the organization could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common trend throughout your organization, a single change could affect a lot of people .

For example, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They might want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bicycle storage might  be important as well.

If you’re launching a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.

Involving staff members is key to increasing physical activity participation rates. People  are more willing to participate in and support physical activity programs when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own staff member interest survey –

• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).

• Let workers know why you are doing the survey.

• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which may be long and difficult to analyze, ask individuals  to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.

• Ask for comments and suggestions in one open-ended question at the end.

• Make it confidential and anonymous. Don’t request information that may identify a person.

• If you are including a list of potential programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Exercise Programs –  Forming an Worker Committee

Although support from the top is critical to a successful initiative, support from other workers is also important.

Once you get the go-ahead from management, identify others who are interested in the project and form a committee to help determine the next steps.

Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of staff time management is willing to contribute, this committee might  be advisory or may plan and carry out the initiative.

The committee could include workers from HR, occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a good idea to involve staff from other areas who have an interest in promoting exercise.

Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. for example, it’s important for the committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following –

• Investigating your workplace environment

• Carrying out an employee interest survey.

• Developing a mission statement and goals and goals.

• Writing a physical activity or wellness policy declaring the corporation’s commitment to physical activity.

• Brainstorming program ideas.

• Promoting, communicating and marketing the initiative.

• Coordinating specific activities.

• Deciding how the initiative will be assessed.

• Continually assessing  what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Before making plans to encourage exercise during the workday, it’s important to find out what’s “doable” in your workplace.

You don’t want to raise worker expectations by offering something that’s impossible due to funding or space limits.

For example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness facility if there’s no room for it. be open, nevertheless, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Exercise Programs –  Finding out What’s Possible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for maps of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails could  be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some questions to help you assess your workplace –

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space offer that make it easier to be physically active during the workday? for example, do you have stairs, bicycle racks, showers, space for a exercise facility, factory walking lanes?

• What nearby facilities or opportunities could workers use to be more physically active during the workday? Are you close to sidewalks, walking trails, community centers, bicycle lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?

• What resources are available?

• can the initiative access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?

• What’s the structure of your organization? for example, consider staff size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining management support is critical to the success of a physical activity initiative.

Whether the changes you’d like to make involve the work environment, overall policies or specific programs, successfully beginning your ideas depends on management support.

Support from management is critical for three reasons –

• You need their agreement to involve workers in a workplace initiative.

• When management compensates attention to and supports an initiative, workers also see the initiative as worthwhile.

• Management has the power to give work time and money to support the initiative.

It’s important to keep management involved throughout a exercise initiative, but at three points you will need support for –

• an overall concept, including a go-ahead to assess what workers want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.

• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.

• Analyzing the initiative to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the initiative.

Approaching Management

Before approaching management to gain initial support for promoting physical activity during the workday, do your homework.

• Prepare a company case obviously outlining how the organization will benefit by promoting exercise during the workday.

• List the individual, social and corporate advantages of exercise and the advantages of being active during the workday.

• Present some general ideas about what the program might include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions like the following from management –

• How’ll this help our company?

• How can we motivate employees to participate?

• How much will it cost to run this program or make this change?

• How are we going to know a year from now if this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the range of activities they’d support. Often managers have ideas of their own they’d like to see acted on to improve the workplace.

Don’t forget to include middle managers when gaining support for your initiative. They could be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate exercise challenges.

In today’s corporation environment, the health of employees is often related to the health of the corporation. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, decreased disease and injuries, and increased productivity are just some of the advantages of having healthy employees.

Promoting health in your workplace doesn’t have to be complicated, costly or time-consuming. Any organization, large or small, can promote healthful eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some suggestions –

Healthy Eating

• for breakfast meetings, in lieu of serving donuts, large muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100% fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.

• for lunch meetings, avoid serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.

• Reimburse workers for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).

• Arrange for the cafeteria or food providers to offer healthful food choices.

• Arrange to have healthful options like bottled water, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.

• Give a means for people  to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Plan events and group activities to encourage staff members to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge events, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial events.

• Offer onsite health experts (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in staff member assistance programs to help workers work towards exercise objectives.

• Give a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthful choices easy –  bicycle racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes nearby the workplace, and health club facilities.

• Allow for flex time so that staff members have more opportunities to participate in fitness plans as part of their working day.

• Reimburse staff members for full or partial club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment buys.

• Give corporate gym memberships to reduce costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to –

• Organize lunch “n learn sessions to provide information and motivation for healthful eating and active living.

• Invite demonstrators to provide cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.

• Post a rotating list in a common room of local restaurants that offer healthy food options on their menus.

• Distribute information to educate workers on portion sizes.

• Include physical activity and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.

• Plan activities that promote healthful eating and exercise. for example, begin a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities

Can a small corporation support corporate wellness? Absolutely! In truth, in some ways it’s easier to develop a healthy workplace in a small corporation than in a big business.

Limited resources, particularly in small businesses, can prevent an corporation from setting up a wellness program. Reasons can include –

• lack of budget resources;

• lack of staff;

• lack of senior-level support;

• little knowledge of the wellness concept and;

• concern about making wellness available to all employees.

According to the Wellness Councils of America, some small corporation owners might have the wrong idea of what’s involved in having a wellness program.

Some businesss aren’t sure a program would really work and others feel that attempting to change personal lifestyle behaviours is intruding and “none of their business”.  

Perhaps they don’t understand that it does not need to be costly and that they don’t need special staff. They could not realize that some staff would like to see some healthful changes and would help make things happen in their workplace.

It can be Done

Many small companies have found ways to have a wellness program that works for them. They keep the cost and effort to a minimum and still have results that are positive for everyone.

In 2006, Graham Lowe wrote a report on the best places to work in Calgary. He said that healthy workplaces often have a “positive workplace culture”.  In a workplace with a positive culture, people  feel appreciated, valued, and trusted.

Dr. Lowe says it’s easier for a small workplace to have a positive workplace culture than for a big workplace. Many employees prefer to work for a small corporation, he says, because it provides more opportunities to work closely with others and develop a sense of community.

In his report, Dr. Lowe says the most successful businesses with fewer than 100 workers have –

• great staff member benefits;

• policies that promote a balance between work and personal life;

• flexible schedules;

• competitive salaries;

• great leadership with an emphasis on teamwork;

• environmentally responsible corporation policies;

• procedures for seeking staff member input; and

• a focus on placing employees’ personal wellness ahead of the personal gain of company leaders.

All or most of these elements are also components of a good wellness program.

Tips and Ideas

There are many ways to include wellness in a small company. You don’t necessarily need a wellness professional or a fancy fitness club.

What you do need is support from management and a committee of a few committed people . Here are some ideas that your workplace can consider.

Communications and Promotion

• Send out a regular “wellness” newsletter in hard copy or online. Or send out a simple message such as the weekly Healthful U Hot Tip.

• Use promotions that are already designed like Healthful Workplace Week.

Active Living and Healthy Eating

•  Make certain to encourage staff to sign up for the Stairway to Health stair climbing competition.

• Get pedometers for workers and track their steps.

• Rent a nearby school or community fitness center and offer exercise classes.

• Hire a local fitness instructor to give classes or lead stretch breaks. Costs can be shared with staff members.

• Install secure bike parking.

• Serve healthy alternatives at business meetings and lunches.

Policy and Organizational Programs

• Hire an ergonomics specialist to assess workstations.

• Create policies to support work-life balance (for example, mandatory vacations, flextime, limits to work and e-mail on personal time).

• Give a wellness subsidy for a selection of health and leadership activities and courses.

• Offer financial incentives to be healthful.

• Offer wellness incentives as rewards and recognition for a job well done.

• Conduct an organizational health audit (NQI Healthful Workplace Week).

• Become a partner with the community (for example, daycare, fitness clubs, festivals, parks, restaurants).

• Spread the workload. Be certain to set up a wellness committee.

Small businesses might not have a lot of time, money, or human resources (HR) available for a wellness program. But they often have a gigantic advantage over large companies-a positive workplace culture.

That is a great foundation for a wellness program. When staff members are satisfied, enjoy their work environment, they’re more productive, and tend to be healthier.  With a little creativity and passion, small companies can develop successful wellness programs.

Get support from management, form a committee of two or more and discover the possibilities!

Corporate wellness is evolving.

Early efforts to develop healthful workplaces focused on safety at the worksite and injury avoidance for workers.

More lately, programs are designed to assist staff members to select healthier behaviours like being more physically active or quitting use of tobacco.

Campaigns to raise awareness, educational sessions to raise knowledge, opportunities to learn new skills, and changes to policies to make it easier for workers to make healthful choices are often included.

This approach is taken because the workplace is a good way to reach individuals , since most adult Americans spend a big part of their day at work.

While safety and lifestyle programs are two aspects that contribute to the health of workers, corporate wellness is more effective when a third factor is brought into the equation-the environment at work.

How the workplace affects health.

Increasingly, it’s recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on individuals ’s health. When individuals  are satisfied with their job, they are more productive and tend to be healthier. When staff members feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed.

Stress has a big impact on worker mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity.

Consultant Graham Lowe has identified five components of workplace culture that directly affect employees’ health and the health of the organization overall-credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and friendship.

The underlying idea is that businesses must genuinely care about the wellness of their employees.

Companies today who want to attract and keep good staff members have leaders who understand the connection between worker satisfaction and worker health and believe that corporate wellness is a corporation strategy.  

Their management practices include making reasonable demands on time and energy, involving employees in decision making, rewarding work well done, openly communicating, and providing support to balance work and home life.

Businesss know that employees are looking for jobs that pay well, have good benefits, are interesting, and include great health and safety programs. So in today’s competitive hiring market, it’s become more important than ever for companies to enhance job satisfaction and ensure that employees enjoy being on the job.

Corporate wellness benefits both businesss and staff members.

How does corporate wellness benefit the company?

A wellness program can help a business to –

• attract and keep employees;

• reduce the costs of disability, drugs, and absenteeism;

• reduce the effects of a stressful workplace;

• reduce health care costs or keep them contained; and

• improve morale by creating a happy, supportive environment.

How does corporate wellness benefit employees?

Workers of corporations that have a wellness program are likely to have –

• increased awareness and knowledge of ways to improve their health;

• a better (less stressful) workplace;

• increased protection from injury;

• improved health and well-being;

• higher morale and greater job satisfaction;

• increased productivity and effectiveness at work;

• decreased personal healthcare costs; and

• a more relaxed/flexible approach to health issues.

Both businesss and employees have a responsibility for creating a healthy workplace. Employees are expected to arrive at work in good health, and the business is expected to provide an environment that allows employees to maintain good health, enjoy their work, and contribute to the corporation’s success.

Corporate wellness is more than a “lunch and learn” program. It’s about developing a “individuals  first” approach to doing corporation.

It’s about taking care of staff members, establishing a positive work environment, and compensating attention to the factors that keep staff members healthy and happy at work.

A good wellness program has an impact on employees’ mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellness.

Ideally, you’ll create an overall plan for a wellness program before starting to plan specific wellness programs. for  instance, you can begin by getting the following elements in place –

• support from  senior level management

• a wellness committee or team

• information about the wellness needs and interests of employees

• a budget

• program objectives

• an investigation plan

Even if you have few financial and/or human resources (HR), you can still take a “micro” approach. for  instance, you could focus on only one specific issue or problem. Creativity, enthusiasm and planning can help you overcome limitations.

This article will give you some ideas for setting up wellness programs. Even the smallest steps can have an impact.

Whether you select to start with a single program or develop something larger, planning is essential. First think about the big picture and then look after the details.

Ask yourself these questions –

• Identify an action. What health-related program will fit the bill and best suit the workers and organization?

• Promote. How can you most effectively get the word out to employees? What are the opportunities for promotion? Consider everything, because employees have access to and pay attention to different kinds of messages.

In a typical workplace, workers get information from e-mail, newsletters, bulletins,  flyers, meeting announcements and fellow workers.

• Deliver. Who’s the best individuals or group to put the program into action? Ask other corporations about approaches they have used. Decide on your budget before making a decision.

• Evaluate. What should you evaluate to determine success? Do you need hard data and/or testimonials from individual participants?

We recommend the following when planning your initiative –

• creating and communicating clear objectives

• targeting your audience

• deciding on the kind of program or campaign

The Elements of Wellness Programming

Programs to promote wellness in the workplace do not need to be restricted to a single area. You could think corporate wellness only involves promoting positive personal health, e.g., blood pressure (BP) clinics,  flyers on heart disease, “lunch and learn” workshops on eating habits and short-term exercise programs.

These activities are important, but corporate wellness should also be part of a corporation’s corporation strategy and go beyond traditional programming.

Taking a broader approach, the National Quality Institute recently identified three key elements of a healthy workplace –

• physical environment

• social environment and personal resources

• health practices

Specific Program Ideas

Physical Environment

Look after workers’ health and safety and establish regulations to support their health and safety. Consider providing the following –

• Safe bike storage and shower and/or change facilities for cyclists and other commuters.

• Fridges for staff members to keep snacks and meals fresh and/or healthy snacks in vending machines and cafeterias.

• Ergonomic assessments.

• Subsidies to help employees join local recreation centers.

• Classrooms/conference rooms available for booking activities like yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and aerobics.

• Safe and pleasant stairwells that invite employees to use them.

• Reviewing the potential for violence at work with plans to deal with such risks.

• Good lighting and sound and air quality.

Social Environment

Human relationships and communication, as well as ways of doing corporation, can affect an employee’s mental and physical health. Companies should consider the following –

• respectful workplace policies that provide safe worksites

• policies on flex time

• policies on working from home

• worker satisfaction surveys

• leadership coaching

• resiliency training

• employee assistance programs

To foster a positive social culture or climate, consider employees’ needs, which include –

• being respected

• a sense of belonging, purpose and mission

• freedom of expression

• protection from harassment and discrimination

What you’ve “always done” might not address current staff member needs. Ensuring that individuals  enjoy being at work is not an easy task, but making the right changes can have a enormous impact.

Health Practices

Offer programs and set policies that help employees remain healthful or improve their health while at work. Consider offering the following –

• “Lunch and learn sessions” on healthy habits such as sleeping better, consuming on the run, healthy snacks, using a pedometer, pole walking, work-life balance, time management, stress management, resiliency, parenting and reading nutrition labels.

• Stop use of tobacco clinics or subsidies to help employees quit.

• Health risk (assessment|appraisal}s, including fitness assessments.

• Programs to address the issues raised in the health risk (assessment|appraisal}s.

• Healthful snacks served at meetings and conferences.

Personal Corporate Wellness Tips

If there’s no wellness program at your worksite, do not let that stop you from keeping healthful. Perhaps your example will spark a movement toward a healthier workplace.

Here are several ideas to think about –

• be active at work. There are many ways to bring activity into your workday. Walk to work, even if it’s just one way. Hold walking meetings. Bike to work. Use the stairs. Walk to a workmate’s office instead of sending an e-mail.

• Eat well at work. Pack a healthful snack and meal. Place a bottle of water at your desk or workstation. Eat breakfast and eat regularly during the day. Take turns bringing a basket of fruit for colleagues’ snacks. Order healthful snacks for meetings.

• Maintain work-life balance. Make sure to work efficiently so you are able to leave on time. Conduct short, effective meetings. Leave your work at work and don’t take it home.

Minimize social chit-chat. Make certain to set up your office to enhance your work. Avoid clutter. Plan and prioritize to ensure that the most important things get done first.

There’s no limit to the number or variety of wellness programs. A key to success is planning well and ensuring that you can evaluate the results so that you can sustain momentum.

Speak to other wellness practitioners to find out what works well for them. Listen to your colleagues to determine their needs and interests. and don’t forget to promote, promote, promote.

A lot of organizations recognize the need for a extensive strategy to help their staff members be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable wellness programs are much more than a few “lunch and learn” programs.

Your wellness program ought to include a broad range of key elements, including –

• A clear agenda or statement of objectives.

• A plan characterized by passion.

• an effective leader who’s creative and organized.

• A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

• A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Planning Your Wellness Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your wellness program is seen as part of a broad commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all workers. Yes, creating a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required. as the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You could start by conducting a recent survey of worker needs and interests. When you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan thus. When you don’t, the staff members won’t support the program.

Collecting information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for  instance, you could be surprised by your business or corporation’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable objectives to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

The leader of your wellness program should be able to wear many hats. the leader’s duties include –

• Developing a vision of the wellness program after receiving input from all interested workers.

• Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the organization (to senior managers and fellow staff members alike).

• Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a wellness program.

• Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

• Developing and maintaining leadership skills like giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You might want to stick to short-term objectives at the starting so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful wellness program.

Good leaders involve as many people  as possible in the program. for  instance, you will want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of workers to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will –

• Make certain to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the business.

• Create ambassadors who will help you implement the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always rememberhow you’ll monitor progress and evaluate the success of your wellness program. Evaluation allows you to –

• Identify areas of excellence.

• Identify factors that affect participation in your programs.

• Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

• Better understand issues that need attention.

• Learn from mistakes and change the program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your program, you can measure such things as –

• Staff Member absences.

• Employee turnover rates.

• the cost of your worker assistance program.

• the cost of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

• the cost of your drug plan.

• Accident rates and safety records.

• Employees’ participation in wellness programs (and whether they are staying in the programs).

• Changes in employees’ health habits.

• Level of employees’ awareness of healthy lifestyle issues.

• Results of your environmental wellness audit.

• Other noticeable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to staff members (including senior level managers) and fosters excitement about the wellness program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for example, you may recognize people  who have helped set up the program or offer tangible rewards for achieving goals.

Everybody needs to know whether staff members are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a wellness program has financial benefits is often an important factor in maintaining strong support from the top.

When you pay attention to the key elements of your wellness program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you will lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.

How does physical activity fit into a full-time employee’s busy schedule? Often, it doesn’t.

One possible solution to this challenge is to make exercise a part of the work day. Clearly, being active at work is beneficial for employees.

But companys also benefit from having fit, energetic and healthy staff members who are more productive.

The challenges

Your job takes up a lot of your time. In addition to the hours you spend actually working, there is the time required to get to and from work and take lunch and rest breaks during the work day.

In the end, there are a limited number of hours left over for the rest of your life. This work life imbalance is specifically true for Alberta, where statistics show that we work exceptionally hard.

Many jobs today are sedentary, and many American Citizens drive to work. the pressures of work may also cause us to eat lunch at our desks and skip breaks.

Then, after work or on the weekends we juggle household chores, family responsibilities and social engagements.

Wellness Programs –  Get began on a workplace fitness program

Management plays a key role in creating a culture that promotes health. the leaders at your workplace influence the various policies and the informal or formal practices, and these policies and practices affect your attitude towards healthful active living.

Begin by talking to your boss about the benefits of a healthful active workplace. the best way to ensure the success of a workplace fitness program is to have the management on side and cheering you on.

Ask your boss to consider taking these actions –

• Send a memo or message about the importance of health and healthful living that encourages staff to take an active break each day.

• Give for flexible work hours that help staff to be more physically active. for example, they may need to take a longer lunch break to attend an exercise class, making up the time by coming to work early or staying late.

• Make available a meeting room or other suitable office space for noon-hour yoga or exercise classes, and hire a teacher to lead them, or use videos.

When your boss agrees to support a workplace fitness program, do not forget to say thanks.

You don’t need an on-site fitness club

Only very big corporations can afford on-site fitness facilities such as exercise equipment or squash courts. Still, most companys can take other cheap steps to support workers who wish to become more active.

For example –

• Arrange for discounted fees for workers at a fitness center, recreation centeror YMCA facility.

• Install showers and a place to hang a towel. (Be certain the showers are cleaned regularly and that women who use them will feel secure.)

• Install bicycle racks or a locked enclosure that is safe, conveniently located and well lighted.

• Hold walking meetings and set up lunch-hour walking groups

• Make employees aware of safe and pleasant walking routes near the workplace, as well as nearby facilities that offer exercise plans (such as walking, swimming, running, yoga, stretching).

• Hire a licensed instructor to teach staff about health, fitness and how to become more active.

Any size and kind of workplace can support employees who wish to be physically active. It’s highly desirable to get management on side.

Even when your boss is not supportive, you can still find ways to get moving more. Be certain to set up activities for groups and individuals, and encourage your peers to join in.

We all know that physical activity is an important part of health and wellness. But sometimes it’s hard to find time for physical activity.

Lack of time is the number one barrier that people  say avoids them from participating in physical activity on a regular basis.

The good news is that even short sessions of exercise help your health. Research has shown that 10-minute sessions that add up to between 30 and 60 minutes a day can produce meaningful health benefits.

Also, there are numerous ways busy individuals  can use to be more active. These strategies include –

• multi-tasking

• being active at work

• being active with loved ones

• scheduling activity into daily life

Different strategies work for different people . Being familiar with the different strategies is key to adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Read on to take a look at strategies you can attempt. With enough commitment, some of them are sure to work for you.

Strategy #1 –  Multi-tasking

The first strategy you can try is multi-tasking. This means doing things you already do, but in a more physically active way.

This way you get done what you need to get done and you get exercise at the same time.

For example, you’re already travelling to work and other places. Instead of taking the car or the bus every time, attempt using active methods of transportation like bicycling, skating, walking and skateboarding.

When you cannot use active transportation for a whole trip, attempt to be active for at least part of the trip. When you’re riding the bus, for example, get off a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way.

Active transportation benefits your body by increasing your activity level, and it also benefits your neighbourhood and the environment by lowering the number of cars on the road.

You can also get physical activity while doing housework and chores.

When you’re working around home, try to be creative and look for the active choice. for  instance, if you’re cleaning the crack between the fridge and the counter, why not move the fridge so you can clean the area better and build your strength at the same time?

For outdoor work, opt for the old-fashioned way of doing things, as they are usually more active. for example, use a snow shovel rather than a snow blower.

Strategy #2 –  be Active at Work

Many American Citizens spend eight hours a day or more working at a sedentary job. Here are a few simple ways to keep your body moving during the workday.

The exercise will revitalize you and help you be more productive.

When you are working at your desk, try sitting on a stability ball or disk for part of your day (30 minutes to an hour). This gives your back and abdominals a workout.

Take active breaks at least once a day. During your coffee break, attempt doing some yoga, stretching or taking a quick walk.

You may find that walking up and down the stairs several times does a better job of rejuvenating you than the java jolt.

Speaking of the stairs, take them in lieu of the elevator whenever you can. the stairs in your building are an opportunity to get your heart pumping.

Organize walking meetings at work. Getting outside and having meetings in a less formal setting is a great way to be active, makes the workday more fun and encourages creative ideas for work projects.

Strategy #3 –  be Active With Your Loved Ones

Do physical activity with your family, friends, neighbours and pets. With this strategy, you and your loved ones are doing some great multi-tasking together –  enjoying quality time with each other and getting some physical activity that you all need to be healthful.

Go for walks, swims or bicycle rides together. Play Frisbee, soccer and other games and sports together. When you take your children to the park, play with them instead of just watching them play.

A lot of community facilities offer courses that keep you and your children active at the same time. Research these courses and take one or two.

You can even be active when you’re watching your children do activities without you. for  instance, when your child plays hockey, take the opportunity to walk up and down the stairs in the stands a few times.

If you feel self-conscious about doing it alone, why not gather a group of parents to do it together?

Strategy #4 –  Schedule Physical Activity into Your Day

Schedule your exercise directly into your daytimer. Make sure to set a specific time and place for exercising. Make your exercise appointments a priority, just as important as any other appointment you put in your daytimer.

To help you stay committed to your exercise appointments, you may want to make appointments that involve other individuals  -  like by meeting with a personal trainer, taking an exercise class or jogging with a friend.

If you’re not sure how many appointments to make or what you should be doing during your appointments, attempt consulting with a fitness trainer. A fitness trainer can help you develop a physical activity plan and schedule.

The bottom line –  figure out what works best for you. Experiment with the strategies. Find inspiration by talking to other people  about how they keep active and what strategies they use.

Be creative and patient while you figure out what strategies work best for you. and be aware that your “best strategy” may change from time to time.

With enough effort, you will discover what works for you. Then, run with it!