Category Archives: Fitness

How to fit physical activity into your workplace

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Workplace Challenge LondonThe Workplace Challenge is a fantastic initiative to promote sport, physical activity and health improvements in workplaces across the capital. I was delighted to be asked by the organisers London Sport to give some tips for fitting exercise into your working day for their newsletter. Read the full article below. 

Do you struggle to find the time or motivation to fit physical activity into your working day? Here are some simple steps to make it easier.

Find a fitness buddy
It’s a lot easier to motivate yourself if you’ve got someone else to encourage you. Ask around at work, involve your team and you’ll have a set of new fitness friends in no time.

Commit to it
Block out an hour in your diary over lunch at least twice a week. Share as a meeting request with your fitness buddy. Go for a pre-lunch fast-paced walk, jog or run.

Plan ahead
Bring in your lunch so you don’t need to waste time queuing for a sandwich!

Remember to have fun
Exercising over lunch with your colleagues is great for team building, plus it can help get rid of the stresses of the morning so you’re ready to face the afternoon ahead.

MCF Pilates class in their office Get active in your office
Why not organise a lunchtime/after-work Pilates or exercise class in your workplace? You don’t need much space – just move desks and chairs to the side, throw down your mats and away you go! We at Exercise in the City bring fun, energetic and effective exercise classes to you in the convenience of your own office. We come to you… so no excuses!

To find out more and book your first class today email me at julia@exerciseinthecity.com

Find out more about the Workplace Challenge here 

Workplace Health Week

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Workplace Health Week is set to increase employee activity, health and wellbeing in London

We’re excited as this week is the first ever Workplace Health Week. It’s a fantastic campaign organised by Workplace Challenge and London Sport to encourage employers and employees across the Capital to get involved and show their commitment to workplace health and wellbeing. Something we’re of course passionate about! Read on for more information about the campaign and how you can get involved.
Workplace Health Week

Workplace Health Week (18-22 May) is celebrating employee health and wellbeing and encouraging businesses across London to put more emphasis on workplace health by making a Workplace Challenge Pledge.

When 60% of our waking hours are spent at work, the importance of increasing opportunities to be active in the workplace is clear. Regular physical activity can help reduce the risk of many chronic conditions including: coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancer, obesity, mental health problems and musculoskeletal conditions.

How can individuals and employers get involved? 

Workplace Challenge Take the Workplace Health Pledge Both employees and employers can make a pledge via the Workplace Challenge website. With individuals making a personal commitment to increasing their levels of workplace activity and businesses taking action to improve the health and wellbeing off their staff by facilitating a more active working environment.

Share your pledge on Twitter and Facebook and help encourage others to do the same. Use the hash-tag #WorkHealth2015

Join the Workplace Challenge Midday Mile  At noon on Wednesday (20 May) step out your door and get walking. Hosted by London Sport anyone can take part – just start and finish outside your office! You can raise funds too for the British Heart Foundation who are supporting the event. Find out more

Staff at Girl Guiding UK enjoying an after work Pilates classOrganise a Pilates or fitness class at your office  An easy way to get active in your workplace. All you need is a free room or space, push desks the side and away you go. We come to you… so no excuses!   Find out more about fitness classes at your office and book your first session today.

Vote for Exercise in the City!
We at Exercise in the City have a vision of bringing fun, energetic and effective exercise classes to offices across the UK.  Until 5pm on Wednesday, you can vote for us to pitch our vision to Richard Branson!
Please vote today – let’s get the UK active!

Why should businesses sign up and commit to the Workplace challenge?

In addition to the clear health and fitness benefits for employees, businesses can reap the rewards of workplace activity initiatives. Research shows that workplace physical activity programmes can reduce absenteeism due to sickness, increase work attendance, reduce job stress and decrease use of the healthcare system.

I’m in – how can I get my employees more active?

Visit the Workplace Health Challenge website to register your pledge and find out more about how your business can support a healthy, active workforce. www.workplacechallenge.org.uk

Organise a Pilates or Fitness class in your office with us at Exercise in the City. Contact us to discuss class options and book in your first class today!
Email julia@exerciseinthecity.com

References
Business case – why workplace physical activity? http://www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/business-case—why-workplace-ph 

Walk to Work Week

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Get walking this week (and every week!) 

Walk to Work Week is a great campaign organised by National charity, Living Streets. The charity are urging employees across the UK to make walking part of their commute.

Walking for just half an hour each day can transform your fitness levels, reduce stress, and vastly improve your concentration levels for the day ahead. With stress being the biggest cause of work place absence, a walk to and from work or a lunchtime stroll can make all the difference to employee wellbeing.

Living Streets Chief Executive, Joe Irvin says: “Walking part of the way to work is a great way of incorporating exercise into your day.  Doing it on the way to work or even going for a walk during lunchtime can help to improve productivity and has proven benefits to mental and physical health.” 

It’s so easy to incorporate walking into your daily commute and even just getting off the tube a stop or two earlier and walking the rest of the way makes a different… So no excuses!

Check out the Living Streets Walk to Work Week website for more information.
There’s lots of free resources, tips and you can log your steps and miles walked.
Why not get some healthy competition going in your office and set up a workplace challenge? A great way to  motivate your colleagues too.

www.walktoworkweek.org.uk

Please vote for Exercise in the City

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I’ve just entered Exercise in the City into a competition to win the chance to pitch to Richard Branson!

We need to get as many votes as possible by Tuesday (5th May) to get to the next stage. It just takes a few moments to vote and I would so appreciate your support.

Click here to vote now! 

If you’re on Twitter or Facebook – please do spread the word and share the link http://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/pitch-to-rich/start-up/exercise-in-the-city/

Thank you!

Pitch to rich - main image (800x450)

Work Your Proper Hours Day

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Work Your Proper Hours DayToday is Work Your Proper Hours Day…
I haven’t made this up! Launched by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) it’s an annual day to encourage you to reflect on your work-life balance and just work the hours you’re paid to do. 

According to the TUC over five million people at work in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers more than £31 billion of free work in 2014 alone. Londoners are over-working the most with an average of over 8 hours a week… that’s a whole extra day!

Working continuous long hours is bad for your health… it creates stress and of course sitting slumped at a desk for hours at a time is horrendous for your back. It causes bad posture which can lead to muscle imbalances and pain.

If you take proper breaks from your desk you’re going to be far more productive in the hours you’re working. So employers take note….better work-life balance means happy employees. So less staff turnover, less recruitment costs and a more productive workforce.

3 easy steps to exercise in your office!

A great way to make sure you take your full hour lunch break or finish work on time is to organise exercise classes in your office. Pilates is especially good for a lunch-time class. You’ll lengthen and stretch your muscles, focus on your posture, strengthen your core and re-energize your body for the afternoon ahead.

Find out more about organising classes at your London office with Exercise in the City.  

So on this Work Your Proper Hours Day make sure you leave your desk and take your full lunch break. Go for a walk and enjoy this rare day of London sun. And start your weekend on time… It’s Friday!!


References:
– www.worksmart.org.uk/news/2015/02/fair-pay-fortnight-work-your-proper-hours-day
– https://www.tuc.org.uk/economic-issues/labour-market/fair-pay-fortnight-2015/workplace-issues/workers-contribute-%C2%A332bn-uk

5 Top Tips for Sticking to your ‘Get Fit’ New Year’s Resolution

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New years resAre you sticking to your ‘do more exercise’ New Year’s Resolution?!  Three weeks into 2015 and perhaps your good intentions are starting to dwindle. After all, it’s freezing out there, heading straight home after work is far more tempting than exercising.

If you’re finding it difficult to motivate yourself to stick to your ‘get fit’ or ‘do more exercise’ resolution’s here are my 5 top tips (cheap & easy) to get you started. 

1.  Arrange an active date with your partner or friend
Catch up with mates after work and go for a ‘jog and a gossip’ or a pre-dinner exercise class together. It is of course much easier to motivate yourself if your partner or friend is there to spur you along. Plus if you’ve pre-arranged to meet up, then it’s much harder to cancel your mate… you can’t piss off a running machine!

The research backs this up too. A recent University College London (UCL) study found that people are more likely to make a positive health behaviour change if their partner did too. The researched looked at over 3,700 couples. 66% of individuals changed their behaviour successfully and increased their physical activity when their partner did as well. This compares to 25% who increased their activity whilst their partner remained unhealthy. So text your boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, best-mate right now and get a date in the diary this week!

2.  Choose an activity you enjoy
If you hate running or can’t bear going to the gym, don’t do it! Chances are if you start a new exercise class or activity that you don’t enjoy you’re not going to stick to it. There are so many fantastic fitness choices out there right now you’ll be sure to find something you like……or mix it up and try something different each week.

3.  Run for charity… challenge yourself and help change lives
You don’t have to run a marathon. Pick something that’s a challenge for you. If you’ve never run before then training for and running a 10k is a huge achievement.  Plus if you do it for charity you’ll have the double achievement of raising funds and making a difference. Most charities will help you with your fundraising and have tips for training too.

African children’s charity Lively Minds has places for the Vitality Run Hackney Half Marathon (10th May) or Run to the Beat (10k set to music, 13th Sept). So do something amazing… sign up for a run and support a small charity like Lively Minds. You’ll be making a huge difference to thousands of children as well as yourself.
Find out more www.livelyminds.org/run

4.  Be nice to yourself
If you do miss a week or two of exercise don’t punish yourself. We all have weeks where we feel less energetic or might be too busy. Try not to focus on the negative if you’re not achieving your goals as quickly as you would like. Think of what you have achieved… perhaps you can hold a plank for 10 seconds longer or can run that extra 1k further than you could 2 or 3 weeks ago… See, you’re amazing!

5.  Organise an exercise class in your office
Here’s one I can help with! Why not organise a Pilates or other fitness class in your office. It’s easy to arrange you just need a space or meeting room with the tables and chairs pushed to the side, some willing colleagues and just throw down your mats and away you go! Classes can be held before/after work or in a lunch break.

With classes from just £4 per person it’s affordable, we come to you and classes are held during the working day – so no excuses!

Find out more about booking an exercise class at your office.
Contact julia@exerciseinthecity.com to book your first session today

References
– JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers from University College London (UCL) http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2091401
– http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/press-release/2015-01-19-couples-more-likely-to-get-healthy-together

Clocks go back… darker earlier… harder to motivate yourself to exercise right?

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The clocks go back; it’s darker earlier, days get colder, you’re finding it harder to motivate yourself to leave the office at lunchtime & an increased desire to go straight home after work and not exercise… Sound familiar?! 

Clocks go back Yes it’s that time of year again… and we had such a fabulously long and warm summer, I fear the impending darkness will be sure to hit us Londoners hard! It will be at least 5-6 months before we can enjoy after-work jogs in the sun, lunchtimes spent sat wherever we can find a piece of green, waking up to the sun streaming in through the curtains…. Feeling depressed yet?!

So you know you’re going to find it hard to motivate yourself to keep active right? Not leaving the office for your usual lunch time walk – preferring to microwave some soup and browse the internet instead. And then rushing home from work to stay warm on the sofa and catch up on the latest box set is far more tempting than the gym or an exercise class after work.

Do not fear …. Exercise in the City is here to help!

We bring lunch-time or before/after-work Pilates classes (or any other fitness class of your choice) to you at your London office. It’s easy to organise, low-cost and a great way to keep active during your working day.

Did you know? Melatonin is a hormone that affects sleep. It’s produced by a small gland in your brain (pineal gland). When it’s dark, the pineal gland produces melatonin to make you feel sleepy. So in winter, when we’re exposed to less sunlight, some people produce higher amounts of melatonin. This results in symptoms such as sleepiness & low energy levels *

Physical activity is a great way to keep energised, stay motivated and can also help combat the effects of SAD (Seasonal affective disorder, also known as ‘winter depression’)…. And if we’re coming to office each week…. you’ve no excuses!

Contact Julia at julia@exerciseinthecity.com to find out more and book your first session today.

* NHS Choices website 

Stuck for Father’s Day Gift ideas?…

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….why not treat him to a Private Pilates session in the comfort of his own home? 

Or join in and organise a session for you and your Dad. A great way to spend some time together and get fit… bonus!

To order your Father’s Day Voucher contact me at julia@exerciseinthecity.com

Find out more about Pilates sessions at home 

Voucher must be used within 6 months
Areas covered: Central, North and North West London.

Christmas Gift Idea

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Kick start new year fitness resolutions for your partner, friend or family this Christmas. 

The Christmas Gift with a difference –
Treat your loved one to a Private Pilates session in the comfort of their own home. 

Or join in and organise a session for the two of you! A great way to spend some time together in the new year and get fit… bonus!

To order your Christmas Gift Pilates Voucher, please contact me at julia@exerciseinthecity.com

Click here to find out more about organising Pilates sessions at home and prices.

The small print:
Voucher must be used within 6 months
Areas covered: Central, North and North West London.

Pilates with a view

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Bringing Exercise in the City… to Exercise in the Country

Just spent a fabulous bank holiday weekend up in the Lake District, staying in a barn in the remote and beautiful Duddon valley with 20 friends far ….far ….. far…  away from the hustle and bustle of London.  

The fairly epic drive in bank holiday traffic to get there – including a 1 hour breathtaking (and quite adrenaline inducing!) off-road adventure – was well worth it.  We hiked on Saturday, Kayaked on Sunday… and in the evenings enjoyed a keg of the local brew & danced the night away with the volume turned up to 11. No neighbours for miles, so no complaints!

I treated my friends to afternoon Pilates…. so thought I’d share some photos of the breathtaking views they enjoyed whilst working their cores & stretching their tight legs after a days hiking.

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Tom Rumsey, owner of Live The Lakes and seasoned outdoor enthusiast, said of his Pilates session with me;

“It was awesome to have a big day out in the mountains taking in the stunning Lake District scenery, then come back to the cottage and have a fantastic outdoor Pilates session with Julia. It was great to sort out those tired muscles and help your body recover in readiness for another big day. Julia was a great instructor and great at explaining all the Pilates techniques to a newbie like me – she was especially good at helping me stretch out my particularly tight hamstrings. I felt really energised afterwards. I think the whole group had great fun and doing it outside with the view of the mountains in the background certainly made it a special experience – thanks Julia!”

Thanks so much again to Tom from Live The Lakes for organising such an awesome weekend. I would highly recommend contacting him if you’re planning your own ‘Escape the City’ Lake District Adventure. It’s just a 3 hour train journey from London if you don’t fancy driving it, and Tom can organise everything for you there.

Visit www.livethelakes.co.uk to find out more.

Thanks to James Robinson too for taking the great photos!!