National Employee Health and Fitness Day (NEHFD) is a fun way to promote a healthy life style by encouraging employees to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity and is Wednesday, May 18. Here are some helpful hints for your organization to participate during the day.
CEO “Walk the Walk” – Invite all employees to join your fearless leader for a lunchtime fitness walk, either around campus or on a nearby path or trail.
Fitness Trail – Set up a fitness trail within your office or building. Post signs on elevators encouraging the use of stairs, designate stretching areas, water stations, etc. Don’t forget about including squats, lunges, and jumping jacks!
Wellness Route – Map out a 30 minute walk route for employees. Map one route inside (for inclement weather) and one outside, including the number of steps or miles to complete the route. These routes can be used after the event to encourage regular routine!
Aerobics at Work – Invite a Zumba or step aerobics instructor to lead a group onsite. Invite company leaders to attend!
Chair Aerobics – With a leader and music with a strong beat, do a routine that exercises participants’ arms and legs. Incorporate fun props or resistance bands. Drills could include torso twists, chair dips, lateral raises, etc. Research different chair aerobics online and consider how they can be tailored to your workplace.
Wii Olympics – Set up a few Wii Fit stations for “team competitions”. Wii Fit Plus includes over 60 fitness activities such as yoga, strength exercises, running, hula hooping, step aerobics, slalom skiing, snowboarding, balance activities, skateboarding, etc. Wii Sports offers tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, boxing, and exercises. Wii Sports Resort offers golf, swordplay, wakeboarding, archery, Frisbee, basketball, power cruising, cycling, table tennis, bowling, canoeing, and air sports. Individuals can compete on their breaks in various scheduled events to earn points for their team. Employees could “win” an imaginary trip to the locale to compete in those events. A “passport” could be issued on which they could record their scores to earn points.
FIT Feet [10,000 Steps] – Provide a pedometer and a calendar type logbook for employees to track their steps. Each time an employee has logged 10,000 steps their achievement is recognized through an announcement. Employees can earn “FIT Feet” foot cutouts that are posted around the building. Each department can have a different color foot to encourage friendly competition.
The Biggest Workout – Pick a day, gather local trainers to volunteer to lead exercises, put on some moving music and stage an outdoor workout session. Set a participation goal and celebrate a day of fitness.
Hold Walking Meetings – Meeting with a small group? Put on your tennis shoes and talk while you walk.
Stairs Challenge – Avoid elevators as much as you can – take the stairs! Calculate the number of times taking the stairs is equal to 30 minutes of exercise so participants can track progress toward their goal of 30 minutes.
Add Steps to Your Day – Block off the parking spaces closest to the door, or give awards for parking at the back of the lot.
Fitness Video Lending Library – Many people have unused fitness DVDs at home, create a collection and develop a lending library system where employees can “check out” exercise DVDs!
Fitness Bingo – Create bingo cards with exercises in each square, such as walking 10 minutes, stair climbing 5 minutes, squats for 3 minutes, jumping jacks for 5 minutes, etc. As employees complete the exercises they check off their bingo card to win!
Poker Walk – Employees earn one card for every 5 minutes they walk. The person with the best poker hand wins!
