All work and no play? Tsk tsk tsk…
Oh, relax, we all do it. And it’s time for a change.
Henry Ford said: “Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice.”
The same could be true of exercise breaks. You have to spend a little time building muscles, coordination and oxygen to make your brain efficient again after sitting for any length of time. Spend time to make time.
Get started and you’ll find a ripple effect occurring among your peers. Everyone wants to be healthier at work but most people feel awkward or don’t know where to begin. Therefore a small role modeling effort can help shift the winds in your workplace.
Two weeks ago I started sitting on an exercise ball. The hardest part was blowing it up – not just because it took some physical umpf but because my co-workers were all “what are doing? Why are you doing that now? What got into you all of a sudden?”
That type of inquisition can be enough to quash gumption so here is where perseverance proves fundamental. The origin of the word contains the term “severe.” It means, thus, to strictly adhere to or persist in that which you’ve set in motion. In other words, don’t let the chickens get you down.
Seriously.
I replied, “I don’t know, now is the time. Want me to blow one up for you?” Next thing you know, I got a good air pump workout and there are balls at everyone’s desks, rolling down the hall and all about.
To boot, by the end of the first week I found myself doing leg lifts and other exercises while on the phone or researching. I was bouncing a lot and I found I needed, not just wanted, but needed, to get up frequently and stretch. It feels great. This week I started lying on the ball on my stomach while reading periodicals on the floor in front of me. The options are vast! If I’d let the inquisition stop me, look what I’d have lost.
To persist is to stand firm. In so doing we can quickly change norms, especially when most people just need a judgment-free nudge.
Now, not everyone is sitting on these balls all day long just yet, nor are we holding exercise classes every half hour.
Not just YET. But there is a well known term in health promotion that applies: “pre-contemplation.” We’re all thinking about it and sooner than later, action will have to prevail. One leap toward collective thinking made the dominoes begin to fall. A few more and watch out!
Today I learned we all have a bunch of break ideas in the back of our heads, contemplating equipment and videos collecting dust in the closet. Just mentioning it made us decide to create a video library. I believe blowing that dust off is only the beginning. Not only that, but we’re thinking about a spreadsheet to track physical changes as we do these videos. Eventually that video will pop out of its sleeve into the player and off we’ll go. Trust and believe!
Once one person jumps over the “I’m feeling silly or weird or awkward” hurdle and just goes for it, the future is ours. Free your mind, move your body, free your brain for better thinking! In short, excitement builds on itself. Be the one to persist past the fear. Be a rooster and marshal the chickens to the wonderful world of exercise breaks.
To get started, check out our Monday blogs. Almost every Monday post has an exercise you can do at work.
Cock a doodle dooooooo!!!
For more encouragement on taking back the lunch break, click this link to a fun website by The Energy Project.
Please share with us how you take exercise breaks. We’d love to see you on the PATH Ahead!