The reason why most of us put on weight is a lack of will power and the convenience and easy access to Fast food. A friend of mine living in south Korea teaching English took a trip to North Korea to see what the conditions were like. The one thing that struck him as strange was the complete lack of advertising everywhere you went.

I wonder if the same thing was true in Sydney would people still be overweight and unhealthy?

If corporate fitness services were like Fast Food outlets in Sydney, would this help with the country’s obesity epidemic? Would this make people more active and create a country of healthy active people?

My suggestion is to immerse yourself in as many different training programs and fitness classes you can in your local area. This might include a running club, local gym, yoga studio, walking group and a cycling group.

This will increase your network of active friends and encourage you to exercise more and vary your training. The key to success with your training is make sure you enjoy it and constantly change it up so your muscles don’t get use to it!

With the rise in absenteeism, sick days and loss productivity, companies are implementing corporate health fairs in their business to minimise future employee health costs. Corporate health fairs are valuable to both employees and employers as they promote wellness across the business and provide a single location for multiple health services.

When is the best time to run a corporate health fair

There is no right or wrong time to run a corporate health fair, the optimum time is when people are already motivated to do something about their health. This traditionally falls after Christmas and New Year between February and March or coming into Spring and warmer months September or October.

Essential vendors for any health fair

When budget is an issue but you still want to offer the most for yours employees, the following services are must have -

• Physician
• Corporate Massage
• Nutritionist
• Chiropractor
• Exercise Therapist

Everyone wins

Most people put going to see health and fitness practitioners as they don’t have the time or can’t afford it. Corporate Health fairs bring all the practitioners under the same roof making it convenient and cost effective for employees.

Employers also win in that they are able to provide a service that all their employees can participate in and benefit from, creating good will in the workplace. The fair also provides employers information on high risk employees and allowing them to deal with it before the issue worsens.

Organising a corporate health fair at work

The key to organising a successful fair is to make sure you know your employees demographics. If you have a young an active workforce who exercise a lot, include personal trainers, chiropractors and dieticians who can help them optimise their diet, training and posture.

If your company has a lot of pregnant women or women of child bearing age, you should provide a vendor who specially talks about parental care. If there are a lot of smokers in the company, you may include a representative from the Lung Foundation Australia.

What gets recorded gets results

To measure your return on investment, at the end of the fair make sure you survey everyone to get their feedback. This will determine if you do it next year and whether you spend more money and if you include additional practitioners.

]]> http://cfcfitness.com.au/latestnews/corporate-health-fairs/feed/ 0 http://cfcfitness.com.au/latestnews/corporate-cost-flu/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=corporate-cost-flu http://cfcfitness.com.au/latestnews/corporate-cost-flu/#comments Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:33:57 +0000 Terry http://cfcfitness.com.au/?p=1133 Ahh-Choo! The True Cost of the Flu at work!!

This is an interesting infographic of the corporate cost of the flu and how your company can take simple precautions to avoid save.

Psychology researchers at the University of Sydney believe 50% of people in Australia will make a New Year’s Resolution in 2013. This provides a great opportunity to support employees in achieving their health and fitness goals through company wellness programs.

Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions

• Lose Weight
• Getting Organised
• Spend Less, Save More
• Enjoy Life to The Fullest
• Staying Fit and Healthy

With more than 55% of Australian adults considered overweight or obese, weight loss seems an obvious choice for a new year’s resolution. Most dieters don’t stop there, often including a strict exercise routine and abstinence from alcohol during this period. The problem with taking on multiple goals, is the body has a finite resource of will power and therefore the majority fail to achieve any of their goals.

Research out of the University of Scranton in America show that only 8% of people are successful in achieving their new year’s resolution. Age is also a factor with 39% of people in the twenties achieving their resolution each year compared to only 14% of people over 50.

A key to successfully achieving your resolutions is to write it down as people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t. Another great way to increasing the chance of success is to gain the support of others. This is demonstrated time and again with group fitness classes and team sports.

With the start of a new year and people looking to get active and lose the extra festive kilos, successful forward thinking companies are investing in wellness programs. There is never a better time to start a company wellness program that now, with most employees slowly returning to work and unmotivated. By aligning the wellness goals of your employees the company can also boost office morale and productivity and keep peoples positive momentum for the new year.

What are you waiting for, invest in your company’s best asset for a win win result..

Research has come out highlighting the strong links between group exercise and individual health improvements. The fact that people are working together to achieve a common goal within the class has contributed to lower dropout rates and better overall results.

The Top 5 group fitness programs with the heist take up include;

• Yoga
• Pilates
• Boot Camp
• Boxing
• Zumba

Three out of the top 5 (Pilates, Yoga, Zumba) group fitness classes do not require a minimum fitness level or assumed knowledge. With low barrier to entry and a reduced cost per person, makes group exercise a popular alternative to gym memberships and monthly massages.

Get some friends together and start shedding that extra tyre you gained over Christmas..

To take part in the Fitember 30 days of Fitness please go to Fitember

Thinking of offering Yoga Classes at your work? CFC Fitness is offering Free Yoga Classes to all Sydney based companies in April. There is No catch, simply organise 8- 12 employees and we will provide the mats and instructor for a Free 45min Yoga class.

Yoga Benefits include:

• Core strength
• Reduces chronic injuries
• Increase metabolism
• Increases flexibility
• Sharpens concentration

This light, low impact exercise will be conducted during lunch without even the need for a shower. For information on how your company can start yoga today, click on the Request Info tab below and send us your details and write “Free Yoga” in the Your Message section.

One - Improves office morale. A survey conducted by Medibank Private (2005) found that in relation to Australian workers healthy employees are nearly three times more productive than employees with poor health. Although company productivity and creativity are difficult to measure, improved employee morale and productivity can largely impact the success of a business. Most companies today spend small fortunes on one-off events (office drinks, paint ball, rock climbing) which provide a short-term boost in office morale. The problem with these events is that the gains are lost within weeks of the event and end up being a costly exercise for the company where they don’t see a return on their investment.

Two - Increases employee engagement and activity levels. With more and more data coming out about the importance of regular exercise and increases in sedentary jobs, it makes sense to promote physical activities to all staff. A great example in the market today is bite4life, who provide companies with 8 week online health and fitness challenges, that encourage employees to walk 10 000 steps a day and lose weight through health eating.

Three - Increased productivity and quality of work. A study by Jim McKenna from the University of Bristol showed that after exercising, their work performance was consistently higher, as shown by better time management and improved mental sharpness. This is also highlighted with quality of work, with employees attributing an increase in work quality to an increased in energy levels after exercising.

Four - Reduce workplace injury and associated costs. Healthy employees on average have fewer risk factors for disease and illness to their unhealthy counterparts. This also reduces the risk of injury thus costing their employer less in medical bills and time off work. Corporate fitness training programs are an excellent way to create and maintain a healthy workplace that encounters fewer injuries and medical costs, reducing company profits.

Five - Improves your mental health. Alarming statistics about mental health in Australia today include; on average, every full-time employee with untreated depression costs an organisation $9,665 per year and 50 per cent of Australians will experience a mental health problem at some time in their lives. Black Dog Institute, Australia’s leading body in depression and bipolar disorder promotes regular exercise to reduce the chances of both diseases as well as help mange them. The institute promote ‘Exercise Your Mood’ as part of the Mental Health Week (9-15 October 2012) as they see the crucial link between exercise and improved mental health in the workplace.

The above 5 reasons for starting a corporate fitness training program at your work are the tip of the iceberg. The benefits are endless and can also lead to being seen as a preferred employer by future employees weighing up companies to work for.

Larger muscles consider lengthier to show tiredness than smaller sized muscles. Use handheld dumbbells first, then barbells and then machines last.

Box squats are a fantastic approach to develop your quads. By carrying out box squats, you are going to get explosive power for typical squats. The only added item you need will be the box which you would must place behind you while carrying out your squats. The important to a box squat is merely performing the squat like typical, but pausing and holding when reaching the box.

Operating out whilst experiencing your favored t.v. display can take your thoughts off the physical exercise and increase the number of calories you burn in a day. As an example, walk briskly in spot each and every time a industrial comes on. Elevate small weights once you are viewing Television on the sofa. You are able to usually squeeze physical exercise in someplace.

There’s a way to exercise and watch television! Whenever a industrial comes on, perform some quick workouts. By doing this you are able to watch your favored shows and work toward turning into a lot more match.

It’s usually a great concept to utilize the cleansing spray and paper towels supplied from the fitness center to clean every bit of equipment prior to you start your physical exercise. There might be germs from other individuals around the equipment. You’re hitting the fitness center to improve your well being, to not wind up sick in bed.

In the event you are operating out using a padded bench then be certain to check the top quality in the padding just before you start. You are able to do that by pressing on the cushion to assess its ability to assistance you. When the wooden is easily palpable beneath the padding, choose an alternate machine. A machine that will not provide correct padding is bound to be extremely unpleasant during your workout session.

In the event you do sit-ups wrong, you will pay for it within the form of back pain. Place a towel roll at your decrease back and use a Swiss ball to achieve similar results. Bracing your ft below something just like a chair can place strain on your back and ought to be averted.

1 fantastic workout to develop fitness is operating. Running assists your mind perform far better as well as burning calories and improving your coronary heart and lunch wellness. Aerobic workout keeps mind tissue wholesome by sending the mind oxygen enriched with blood. Some research even display the advantages towards the mind from operating can be as effective for depression as therapy drugs.

These tips will assist you receive began within a new health and fitness routine. Concentrate on such as physical activity in your daily routine rather than viewing workout as a weekly aim. Altering your life-style and operating in the direction of a much better corporel will provide you with much more energy and assist you live a longer, happier life.