Everyone, even the most devoted fitness fanatics, faces barriers to exercising. Such activities require time, forethought, and sufficient willpower. So what inspires consistency? Despite common obstacles—such as a lack of time, resources, motivation, and energy—individuals find that wellness challenges offer support to overcome barriers. The most effective corporate fitness programs create meaningful fitness challenges that increase employee engagement and improve employee fitness.
Below, we discuss common barriers to fitness and how organizations can help their employees overcome these barriers with wellness challenges:
Time
Most people struggle to add anything to their schedules. They may lack a consecutive hour a day to contribute to fitness, yet they probably have a few minutes at several points throughout their day. Physical activity need not occur all at once to count.
Speak with your employees about altering their daily schedules to incorporate physical activity. They can take the stairs, park their cars further from the office, or take a circuitous walking route to destinations. You can also do squats or lunges between everyday tasks around the house. In the office, encourage your employees to take short movement breaks, perhaps 10-15 minutes each. These bursts of activity break up sedentary behavior and improve their heart rates.
Wellness challenges can encourage employees to track a cumulative amount of active minutes throughout a day rather than completing a fitness class all at once. Additionally, step challenges provide an attainable goal for daily fitness by tracking the distance covered during a specified period.
Resources
Individuals who lack access to a gym, exercise equipment, or fitness instruction may struggle to engage in personalized fitness. Although some fitness options require no such resources, those materials promote variety and challenges.
If possible, provide your employees with gym memberships or fitness class punch cards to promote access to fitness resources. Alternatively, you could offer a percentage off for personal training sessions at a local gym. In your workplace, consider designating an office space for fitness. Furnish it with kettlebells, bands, and yoga mats so employees can stretch or do simple exercises on their breaks.
Motivation
Everyone relies on motivation to exercise. No matter what that entails—a sense of obligation, inspiration, reward, or social engagement—each of us is more likely to exercise if we have a suitable motivator.
The most effective wellness challenges leverage motivators, such as group camaraderie or competition, to encourage employees’ participation. Intrinsic motivators, in particular, make completing an activity its reward for participation. Community service and donating are common forms of intrinsic motivation. Your workplace wellness committee can poll employees to find out which causes they wish to support.
Energy
The absence of regular exercise can contribute to low energy levels. Yet how can you inspire employees to follow a fitness routine when they often feel tired? Break the cycle by incentivizing them to exercise at the time of day when they feel most energized. To further this goal, offer flexible work hours. Allowing employees to shift their schedule an hour earlier or later can help them accommodate their optimal fitness schedule.
As employees develop regular fitness habits, their energy and moods will improve. Such energy levels promote greater workplace productivity and healthier employees.
Givhero: Supporting Corporate Fitness Programs
Givhero provides organizations with a digital platform that supports engaging corporate fitness programs. Reduce your onboarding time and administrative burden with our automated service. Moreover, keep employees updated with in-app alerts and track their stats. Givhero partners with over 2 million nonprofit organizations, so your organization can choose which to support for achieving wellness objectives. Contact us today at (240) 801-5927 to learn how you can promote fitness in your organization.
