According to Idewe, the organization dedicated to safety and health at work, 75% of employees do not exercise enough. Do you also have a sedentary job? The average Belgian sits ten hours a day! What about you?
A sedentary lifestyle jeopardizes our muscles and health in general and that’s a fact. It can cause obesity, depression and in extreme cases even heart failure. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should exercise for half an hour at least three days a week or opt for a moderate workout five days a week.
Do you meet these guidelines? You don’t? Then read on to discover our exercise tips, for both on and off the job. Because moving more does not necessarily have to be difficult or time-consuming.
Tiny workout breaks
We embrace the so-called ‘tiny workout breaks’. Block out short time periods each day by standing up and moving: stretch for 5 minutes, do some black exercises, or simply stand up and walk around… It may sound silly, but it’s definitely good for your health!
Do you want to try out a tiny exercise break? Start here for free!
Working out together
Do your colleagues sit at their desks for hours on end, just like you do? Then this is the perfect opportunity to get started together. Summer is just around the corner, and you all want to feel great, so nothing can stop you! Keep each other motivated by going for a walk in the afternoon, organizing bike trips after work, or simply doing some yoga to relax after a stressful meeting: it’s much more fun together than alone!
Starting your day the healthy way
Are you low on energy in the morning? Did you know a workout will make you feel wonderfully energetic? If you have flexible hours, you can exercise before heading to work and refuel the natural way… It’s much healthier than drinking three cups of coffee. Now let’s face it: is there anyone out there who would not like to kick off the day with an extra boost and feel proud of himself?
Use daily actions to your benefit
Make a list of the things you do every day: Do you regularly take a walk to the water dispenser? Or the printer? Or do you always park right in front of the office, so you can plop down at your desk after 10 steps? Use this tiny moments and actions to easily increase the number on your pedometer: park your car a little further and enjoy a morning walk right away, or move the printer and water dispenser a little further away from you. All these little things help to move around more often every day.
Targets
Do you prefer not to start in the first place because you’re afraid you will give up eventually? You’re not the only one! Here’s how to keep going!
Realistic targets
Often we want to kick off at top speed in no time, which makes us set unrealistic targets. If you have been living a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle, it is best to work towards your target in small steps. Choose one target at a time, like “10,000 steps a day” instead of “10,000 steps a day and no fast food and no coffee”. You can reach all of these targets, but it’s best to maintain a long-term view.
Communicate your targets
Make sure those around you – colleagues, friends, family – are familiar with your targets. This way they won’t put a cake under your nose when you try to consume less sugar and they will try to motivate you.
Move To Happiness is perfectly aware of how work-life impacts our physical, mental and social health – and vice versa. That’s why we also provide many programs on our health platform for each of these elements.
Do you need to move at work? Then definitely watch the sneak peek of our tine workout breaks!
Is your company interested in offering Move To Happiness to staff members?
