Office Fitness | The Beginning of Something Great

Working in the tech industry is exciting. Every day is an adventure, but a lot of our work is done sitting down. Our brains are running daily marathons, but our bodies just hang out in some extremely comfortable chairs. It's time to make a healthier office environment. If you feel like your office needs some Richard Simmons inspiration, try out these fitness and health eating challenges. Let's do this!

Creating Healthy Choices 

Providing fresh fruit and healthier snacks are great alternatives to cookies and doughnuts. Sweet treats are loaded with sugar, as you know, and that sugar actually slows down brain function making it difficult to focus and work efficiently. Here are a few ideas to get the entire office involved, and excited about healthy eating:

Healthy Potluck Challenge
We love potlucks, and have done many different themed lunches that bring us together to break bread and have a good laugh. A healthy potluck challenge would give employees the chance to show off some new chef skills and create delectable delicacies that are also healthy. When you're loaded down with heavy starches (mashpotates, pastas, andything fried) it's hard to pump up that energy to get back to work.

Desserts Challenge
In our office, we have some of the most talented bakers around. They are so kind to bring in homemade cupcakes, brownies, and cookies. Although these treats are amazing, they aren't the most healthy sweets for us, so a good spin would be to make a healthy dessert challenge. In an office, it's always fun to have a light-hearted competition that showcases employee skills, and lets the entire office be taste testers. Whomever makes the tastiest desserts will win the title of Healthiest Office Baker.

Incorporating Fitness in Your Office

The best way to incorporate a fitness initiative in the office is to offer a variety of fitness options. Not everyone is going to want to join in and that's ok. Some people just like to take a stroll on their break and clear their minds. For others, an office workout is an awesome way to re-energize and refresh the mind. Sitting at a desk all day can create a brain-drain effect, and it also compresses the spine, causes soreness in your shoulders, and stiffness in your elbows from staying in one position for hours on end. Here are some great ways to get the kinks out, and sharpen your focus:

3 Minute Stretching
Every hour, or whatever time interval you want, step away from the computer and stretch out your shoulders, arms, and neck for 3 minutes. It's also a great break for your eyes. Staring at the computer screen for long periods of time puts a great strain on your eyes to where it can cause headaches, and your vision to blur.

3 Minute Yoga
This one is fun. You can pull up some yoga moves on your phone, or computer, and challenge your team members to hold the pose for however many seconds. Then, move on to another pose. It's something to get your team up, moving, and doing something together.

The Lunch Break Walk
After lunch, it's always a great idea to walk around outside for a few minutes. In downtown Rock Hill, SC, Fountain Park is the main travel destination for our lunch break walkers. It has the re-energizing effect that a lot of the SPAN team enjoy, and it is just beautiful.

Incorporating fitness and healthy eating into an office setting is a great way to get people together, and boost moral. By starting short 3 minute stretches, or challenge the office to a healthy dessert cook-off, are great ways to get people excited about a healthier lifestyle.