About Time Magazine February 2016
Ten ways to improve your week in London
MCF Corporate Finance Pilates classes
MCF Corporate Finance are committed to the health and wellbeing of their employees and provide lunchtime Pilates classes for their staff at their London office.
Classes take place either in the reception area, one of the offices or whatever space is free on the day. As you can see from the photos no space is too small!
You really can do Pilates anywhere.
We love that everyone joins in… from Company Director to Interns. It’s so great for team building.
“We have lunchtime Pilates classes at our office. What a great way to vary the day and recharge for the afternoon.
Pilates takes away the stress that builds up in our shoulders sitting down so much at the computer. It sets us up for the week.”
Clare – MCF Corporate Finance
Let us help you keep your ‘Get Fit’ New Year’s resolution
We at Exercise in the City can make it easy for you to keep your ‘get fit’, ‘exercise every week’, ‘be more Active’ New Year’s resolutions for 2016.
Our fantastic team of fitness instructors will bring your choice of exercise class to you at your workplace… so no excuses!
All you need is a free room or space in your office, push any desks and chairs aside and away you go. Classes can be held during your lunch break, before or after work. It’s a convenient way to fit exercise into your working day.
Pilates, Yoga, HIIT, Circuits, Zumba, Boot camp, Abs Blast, lunch break 30-minute express classes and more…
We offer your choice of class and will adapt the session to suit your space.
We’re passionate about getting workplaces active and deliver fun classes for all levels. Whether you’re a complete beginner, or a fitness pro, we’re committed to helping you achieve your fitness and health goals.
Classes from just £5 per person. An easy and time efficient way for busy Londoners to exercise… So no excuses not to get, and stay, active in 2016.
To find out more and book a taster class for your workplace contact us today!
Cycle to Work scheme boosting London employees health & wellbeing
We’re passionate about creating healthy workplaces, and making it easier for busy Londoners to fit exercise into their working day. So we’re advocates of workplace health initiatives like the Cycle to Work scheme.
The Scheme is a tax-efficient, salary-sacrificed employee benefit that makes it cheaper for employees to take up cycling. It’s a great way for London commuters to ditch the tube, have an active and cheaper commute to work.
Results from a survey released this week by the Cycle to Work Alliance has highlighted the health and wellbeing benefits of the Scheme for both employees and their employers.
The survey revealed:
Over 85% of London employees noticed health benefits from participating in the scheme. They also reported improvements in their general fitness; weight loss and felt less stressed.
Employers are also benefiting too. Two thirds of London participants (66%) stated that cycling to work had improved their productivity at work.
Steve Edgell, Chair of the Cycle to Work Alliance and Managing Director of Cycle Solutions said: “This research also shows that by making physical activity an integral part of people’s lifestyles, the scheme is an effective mechanism for encouraging non and novice cyclists to cycle regularly, and achieving a step-change in behaviour.”
…So no excuses not to get on your bike and get active!!
Find out more about the Cycle to Work Initiative and the Cycle to Work Alliance www.cycletoworkalliance.org.uk
5 Top Tips for Staying Healthier in the Office this Christmas
Hands up if you find yourself reaching into the box of chocolates generously sent by your suppliers every time you walk past the photocopier?!
Team lunches, office Christmas parties… unless you have the willpower of a saint you may find it hard to say no to all the extra temptations on offer as we near Christmas. ‘Tis the season to be jolly after all, so why not treat yourself?!
Here are 5 simple tips to help you try and stay a little healthier this December (Without us being a complete scrooge… bah humbug!)
Drink plenty of water
If your alcohol intake has increased this month, stay hydrated. Your morning headache, after the night before, could be a sign of dehydration. Hunger is also a warning sign. So it may feel good to quash the hangover with a greasy breakfast on your way into work, but opt for a glass of water instead! The EFSA recommend* women drink 2L a day, men 2.5L. So keep a bottle of water by your desk and stay hydrated.
Remove temptation
If the lure of chocolate is more than you can take and you find yourself reaching for a Quality Street every half hour, ask a colleague to move (or even hide!) the tin. Out of sight, out of mind!
Go Veggie
You’ll be eating plenty of Turkey with all the trimmings over the holiday so maybe cut down a little over the next few weeks. Why not try the Vegetarian (or fish) option at your Christmas Lunch? In general the Veggie option will be lower in saturated fat, and just as tasty!
Beware of your morning caffeine boost
If you need an extra caffeine boost to get you through the afternoon opt for a ‘skinny’ or soy Latte. Even better, go for a Filter Coffee or Americano. A Tall Starbucks Latte with whole milk contains 4.8g of saturated fat compared with 0.2g with skimmed milk.** If you’re going for festive… beware that a Tall Eggnog Latte has 14.6g!
Get away from your desk and get active
Brace the cold and use your lunch break to go for a brisk walk or jog.
We’re offering some great festive themed fitness classes too… so why not get us into your workplace and organise a Pilates, Yoga or other Fitness Class for you and your colleagues? Find out more about our classes.
References
*Starbucks Beverage Nutritional Values: www.starbucks.co.uk/menu/nutrition
**European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Dietary Reference Values for Water: www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1459
Festive Fitness Fun for your office
Looking to do something different for your office Christmas activities? Why not organise a fitness class in your workplace? Great for team building, burn off a few extra calories and engergise your body in preparation for your office Christmas party (or recovery after!)
Our Festive Fun Fitness Classes
Pre-Party Pilates
Strengthen and stretch your body to limber up for your office Christmas party dance moves! A series of mat-based exercises to help improve strength, flexibility, posture and help ease back pain after a day spent sat at your desk.
‘The Morning After’ Yoga class
The perfect cure for post Christmas party hangovers. Organise a restorative Yoga session for your team. Detox, wake-up and energise your body the morning after your office Christmas party.
Countdown to Christmas Conditioning
Full body workout high intensity classes to kick start your ‘get fit’ new years resolutions. 
Circuits or Boot Camp style class which will be adapted to suit your office space.
Desk to Dance and Get the Party Started with Zumba
A calorie-burning dance fitness party in your office! Shimmy, shake and get the Christmas party dance moves started early. Great for team-building fun with colleagues.
How it works
We’ll come to your workplace to teach the class. All you need is a room or space in your office. Push any chairs and desks to the side.
All of our fantastic Fitness instructors are highly qualified and insured.
Prices start from just £5 per person.
Email info@exerciseinthecity.com to find out more and
book today
Clocks go back… darker earlier… harder to motivate yourself to do any exercise right?
NHS calls to employers to take responsibility for workplace health
The NHS are looking to employers to take responsibility for their employees health. Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive, has suggested the possibility of offering incentives to businesses who offer health and wellbeing programmes for their staff.
At yesterday’s Institute of Directors Annual Conference NHS England Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, spoke about some of the challenges facing the NHS and set out a five year plan of solutions.
We’re so fortunate to have a tax-funded National Health Service, rather than employer based health insurance, as in the USA for example. On the role of employers in workplace health Simon said: “we don’t saddle business with the costs of health care. But one by-product (of this) is that we tend to neglect workplace health.”
“The NHS will therefore now work with the Institute of Directors, and other employers and staff organisations to explore whether there is a case for suggesting to Government consideration of fiscal incentives – perhaps an employers’ national insurance rebate – for those small employers who provide their employees with credentialed health and wellbeing programmes proven to cut long term costs to the NHS.”
We at Exercise in the City are passionate about getting workplaces active and have seen first hand how offering fitness classes for staff in the office can improve staff’s health. Pilates classes are proven to help with back pain and muscle tightness – the results from sitting at a desk all day. And offering more active classes, like Circuits and Boot Camp, help to improve staff’s general fitness levels. So we’re delighted to see that the NHS are looking to work with employers on more workplace health initiatives.
Offering fitness classes for your staff can be just a small investment – with the proven benefits far outweighing the costs. Classes can be held before/after-work or in a lunch-break. You just need a free meeting room or space in your office.
Find out more about organising classes in your workplace.
If you would like to book a taster fitness class for your staff contact us at info@exerciseinthecity.com to find out more.
Did you know? The NHS spends over £40 billion a year on treating working age adults, much of which could be prevented. That’s on top of the estimated £32 billion cost of sickness absence caused by 130 million days off work.
References:
– NHS England Press Release Simon Stevens speech at the Institute of Directors Annual Convention
– ‘How exercising at work really could pay off‘ Daily Mail Article
– Institute of Directors Annual Conference 2015
Business Healthy
Business Healthy is a City of London led initiative to bring together businesses in The City to ignite a positive change in the health & wellbeing of their workforce.
We were asked to write an article for their website with health and wellbeing strategy tips for senior management. Read the full article here
Here’s what happened on National Fitness Day!
What a great day we had for National Fitness Day this week
We were on a mission to get London office workers active… and that we did!
We taught workplace Pilates and Yoga classes at office across London including; The British Council, Girlguiding, graze and Transport for London (TfL). We helped get people away from their desks for their lunch break, or at the end of the day.
Check out some of the great photos from the day.
What is National Fitness Day?
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