Let us help you keep your ‘Get Fit’ New Year’s resolution

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Exercise in the City

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! 3 steps stacked.jpg

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!

5 Top Tips for Staying Healthier in the Office this Christmas

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Exercise in the City

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

NHS calls to employers to take responsibility for workplace health

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Exercise in the City

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

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Exercise in the City

busines_healthy_logo 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

It’s National Fitness Day!!

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Exercise in the City

Naturally one of our favourite days of the year…
it’s National Fitness Day today!

Why we’re getting involved? National Fitness Day is about raising awareness of the benefits of being active and kick-starting people to start regular exercise so we have a healthier, happier nation overall! We’re passionate about getting busy Londoners active and improving the health and wellbeing of workplaces. We do this by making it easy for employees to get active by bringing fitness classes to you at your office …. so no excuses!

Today we’ll be teaching classes for staff at… graze, Transport for London (TFL), The British Council, Girlguiding, Genesis Investment …and lots more taster classes planned through September.

So why not get active with your colleagues and book a taster session this September? It’s a great opportunity to try out a new fitness class or motivate yourself and your staff to get away from your desk and get active! Our team of fantastic instructors teach Pilates, Yoga, Circuits, HITT plus more.

Get in touch today to find out more and book your taster session today.
Email info@exerciseinthecity.com

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What is National Fitness Day? National Fitness Day takes place on Wednesday 9th September and is organised by ukactive, the UK’s leading not-for-profit health body for the physical activity sector. The day aims to encourage everyone in the UK to try a new fitness activity, get moving, or see what new classes they might enjoy. Find out more about National Fitness Day

Would you like to win a free class at your office?!

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Exercise in the City

Enter our National Fitness Day competition to be in with a chance to WIN a free fitness class at your London office.

It’s National Fitness Day on Wednesday 9th September and we at Exercise in the City are supporting the day helping to get London office workers active offering you the chance to win a fitness class at your London office.

One of our fantastic instructors will come along to your office on National Fitness Day to teach one of our classes. All you need is a free meeting room or space in your office and some willing colleagues.

To enter simply email us at info@exerciseinthecity.com with ‘National Fitness Day’ in the subject. Include your name, phone number and the name/address of your company where you would like the class to take place if you win. There are ten classes up for grabs… so enter now to be in with a chance to win!

You can double your chances of winning by Following us on Twitter and Tweeting‘@EITCLondon I’d love a fitness class at my London office for @NationalFitnessDayhttp://www.exerciseinthecity.com #nationalfitnessday’

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What is National Fitness Day? National Fitness Day is organised by ukactive, the UK’s leading not-for-profit health body for the physical activity sector. The day aims to encourage everyone in the UK to try a new fitness activity, get moving, or see what new classes they might enjoy. Find out more about National Fitness Day

More about the prize One of our fabulous instructors will come to your office on National Fitness Day – Wednesday 9th September – to deliver a free 45 minute fitness class. Winners will be contacted by Wednesday 2nd September and we’ll arrange a mutually suitable time on the day to come to you.

Competition closes 6pm on Friday 28th August.
Read the full terms and conditions of the prize here

Contact julia@exerciseinthecity.com to find out more about booking classes at your office.

Workplace Health Week

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Exercise in the City

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 (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?

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

Organise 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

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Exercise in the City

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

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Exercise in the City

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!

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

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Exercise in the City

Are 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}

Exercise in the City

Corporate Pilates, Yoga & fitness classes at your London office

Tag Archives: Employee wellness