Ease into Good Health

August 30, 2011
Written by: Julie Bosche, Filed in: Employee Health Programs

Life is hard enough … good health should be easy, right?

There aren’t any major benefits to be gained from phoning it in during your workouts, but it is possible to get your daily exercise and incorporate healthy habits without putting undue stress on yourself.

And that means different things to different people. Lucky for you, there are countless exercise options out there, all of them customizable for people with different needs and wants: home workouts for the gym-averse, low-impact workouts for those with knee problems, shortcuts for people with limited time …

The key is finding something sustainable, which, for new exercisers requires some exploration. They may need guidance in the beginning, before they have a handle on their abilities, endurance level, and exercise “personality.”

Failing to find the perfect fit at first can be discouraging, especially for someone who is trying exercise on for size for the first time and is having trouble committing.

The same goes for other aspects of a healthy lifestyle, such as good nutrition, good sleep, and good stress coping skills.

You can help steer your employees in the right direction (and prevent them from giving up their efforts out of frustration or indecisiveness) with some tips that will make good health easier on them.

Tips and tricks for squeezing a little so-called “stealth health” into a workday can help them hang on while they experiment with different techniques to find their perfect plan.

WebMD offers these pointers to improve health and fitness the easy way:

Do a squat every time you pick something up. Instead of bending over in the usual way, which stresses the lower back, bend your knees and squat. This forces you to use your leg muscles and will build strength.

Every time you stop at a traffic light (or the bus does), tighten your thighs and butt muscles and release as many times as you can. This will firm leg and buttock muscles, improve blood flow — and keep you mildly amused!

Whenever you’re standing on a line, lift one foot a half-inch off the ground. The extra stress on your opposite foot, ankle, calf and thigh, plus your buttocks, will help firm and tone muscles. Switch feet every few minutes.

Buy whole foods and use them in place of processed foods whenever possible.

Reject foods and drinks made with corn syrup, a calorie-dense, nutritionally empty sweetener that many believe is worse for the body than sugar.

Start each dinner with a mixed green salad. Not only will it help reduce your appetite for more caloric foods, but it also will automatically add veggies to your meal.