5 things to do today to improve workplace wellness…

5 things to do today to improve workplace wellness…

1 walking breaks/movement breaks encouraged every 90 minutes (keep from 2 hours of steady sedentary state). Walking 30+ minutes per day reduces mortality by 50%. 

2 Provide access to good water sources and promote daily water consumption. (Dehydration is a leading cause of poor performance). IDEAS for promotion: company issued employee water bottles, lemon/lime wedges. Tremendous benefits come when the body is properly and consistently hydrated. BONUS: when water consumption is optimized, food cravings go down and there’s less wasted calorie intake with liquid calories from things like soda. 

3 Break Room–promote healthy nutrition: Provide fresh fruits, veggies and a NSF certified Meal Replacement Protein Powder (they can scoop into coffee, with water, or other beverage).

4 Wellness promotion/Stress reduction: list of good self care practices and workplace support for them: 

Daily walk encouragement, hydration (1oz. Per lb. of bodyweight), protein, 7+hours sleep per night, access to natural light and fresh air, workplace exercise groups, 

5 Promote company wellness program-paid gym memberships to select gyms with focus on strength training. (Why Strength training–#1 reason, minute per minute most value for your body).

Wellness is fitness, fitness is proactive health…basic principles for optimal health. 

The epidemic of preventable disease is running rampant.

Sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, and lack of physical activity produce the breeding ground for preventable diseases like sarcopenia, diabetes, heart disease, and countless more health issues stemming from obesity and inactivity.

Furthermore,

Mental Health and physiology are linked. 

Now, more than any other time in US history, the average American’s health is under attack and it is up to the individual to be proactive with implementing a fitness program and wellness strategy. Well yes, fitness and health have always been up to the individual to a degree. But the society, culture, and environment have never been more set up for failure. Evidence? The upward trend of preventable diseases at their highest levels ever is evidence enough. But the damages go far deeper in terms of mental health, workplace performance, and then the impact upon the family structure as the children adopt the habits of the adults. 

What do we do?

Meet people where they are at approach.

Empower and inform:

Wellness is “anti-aging” protocol and the best anti-aging is found in promoting muscle building. 

-Prioritize Sleep

-Protein-centric diet

-Consistent resistance training

-Effective stress management

How do we promote wellness?

Provide the optimal processes in progressing into fitness. MOVEMENT IS MEDICINE, something is better than nothing. Even without changing eating habits, implementing a basic strength training program and regular walking can drastically improve health markers. 

Muscle mass is the gateway to the long, healthy life you want (muscle mass predicts lifespan).

PROMOTE WALKING AND A MOVEMENT PROGRAM

-Walking daily, preferably after meals and to break up extended sedentary periods.

-For Movement Program…have 0 cost and low entry level options and progress from there:

Bodyweight compound movement program from BEEfit=FREE VIDEO LINK AND EXPLANATION (with additional bonus video for a little more advanced variations)

Daily wall V (3 x 10), Daily Plank, daily glute bridge, daily squats (all bodyweight)

Suspension trainer and PVC movements:

Good Mornings, Cuban Press, Suspension trainer: squat, face pull, upper back row, lower back row.  

Simultaneously demonstrate the process at the highest levels–head of the household, management, etc. It is perhaps even better if this leader is a “Newbie” 

Struggle is a biological requirement for greatness. 

Fitness is the gateway into a higher self.

–So if you are feeling down…MOVE, movement is medicine. Training with purpose and direction will implement positive changes. How? Among other things, your body releases dopamine when you train hard. The intentional struggle with resistance training opens up the pathways to success, discipline, proactive health, and so much more…

Why does fitness matter?

In particular, Hypertrophy Strength Training (What is coached & set up to do at BEEfit)

Your answer for:

🦴Stronger bones 

💤Better sleep 

🔥Lower mortality rate/ longer play span. 

🤷‍♂️Less anxiety 

🎓Sharper cognition 

🏋️‍♀️ Peak performance potential 

🚑Lowest risk for injury!

📈Improved health and increased play-span!

…other benefits: 

Your brain loves exercise:

Norepinephrine is released, improving attention, perception and motivation. 

Brain derived neurotrophic factor {BDNF} is released, protecting and repairing neurons from injury. 

Hormones work with BDNF to grow connections between brain cells, regulate mood and provide mental clarity. 

The aforementioned hippocampus growth benefits from regular exercise. 

Dopamine is released, improving motivation, focus and learning. 

Blood flow to the brain increases, delivering more oxygen and nutrients and improving waste removal. 

Serotonin is released, enhancing mood. 

Endorphins and enkephalins are released, dulling pain sensation.  

Improved creativity, 

Why are we doing all this talking about walking?

Walking Benefits:

3 x week for 40 minutes has been shown to grow new neurons in our hippocampus and improve memory (Why is this so important? As we move through our 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, our hippocampus starts to shrink, leading to impaired memory and increased risk for dementia)

Where do I start?

Join the nicest gym you can afford and attend two days per week or more. Why the nicest gym? The environment you train in matters. If you are training around driven individuals, utilizing the proper principles, executing each rep with defined articulation, and operating on the best information–you will see progress and in turn be spurred on by intrinsic motivation as you habituate into a state of discipline. State of discipline? This is where the habit becomes nearly non-conscious and it takes a landslide to keep you from your discipline of fitness. It becomes a discipline when you have a stack of undeniable evidence to the benefits you incur from the consistency. Once you are disciplined, success is a process. 

Train these 6 components at minimum 1 x Week with progressive overload principles:

1.squat

2.Hip Hinge (deadlift, good morning, 45 degree back extension)

3.Lunge

4.Pull-horizontal and vertical

5.Push

6.Core* (abdominals and surrounding areas) *greatly benefits from daily work.

progressive overload principles:

Progressive increase in work capacity producing measurable and visible results (more reps/weight moved more effectively). When added to the neurological benefits of strength training, overtime these progressive strength results manifest as intrinsic motivation!

BEEfit is here to help with your fitness and guide you in the process. Whether we are implementing a wellness program for an organization or helping individuals with fitness optimization, we have the professionally designed programs and training space to help people, “BEE their best Version.”

Schedule a consultation for your organization (or get individual evaluation) today to find out about how BEEfit and a wellness program can improve member/worker happiness and retention while simultaneously reducing sick days and improving camaraderie!

ryanbeefit@gmail.com