WELL-BEING TOOLKIT: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Whether you’re an avid exerciser or just getting started, these activities can help you add more physical activity to your day. Regular physical activity leads to improved sleep, increased energy, greater concentration, and reduced risk of injury.
How to Choose Physical Activity
Movement Activities Are you looking to infuse mental health and well-being into the day-to-day culture of your department? Use the suggested activities and instructions below to encourage conversations and practice skills for movement. These activities can be led by your department’s Wellness Ambassador or anyone who is interested in facilitating an activity for your department. If you have questions, liveWELL is here to help.
Mindful Moments (5 minutes) Mindful moments are quick activities that are 5 minutes or less and are perfect for when you only have a few minutes as a team to connect on a well-being topic. You can incorporate these into the start of a team meeting or huddle. • •
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As a team, watch the World Health Organization’s video, Every Move Counts. o Discuss what types of activities were seen in the video that can be used to increase movement. Invite participants to share an exercise resource or their favorite way to move. o Recreation Membership Incentive Program o ACE Fitness Exercise Library o Bike Iowa City o Wellmark Blue 365 Fitness Deals At the beginning of a regular staff meeting, take a moment to stretch your arms and legs.
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, oie-ui@uiowa.edu.
Contact liveWELL at 319-353-2973 or livewell@uiowa.edu or visit our website at hr.uiowa.edu/employee-well-being/livewell.
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Skill Boosters (15 minutes) Skill Boosters are a step above mindful moments and usually last about 10-15 minutes. These activities provide opportunities for participants to practice enhancing skills for the well-being topic. • •
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Participate in Office Break Yoga before or during meetings. o Encourage individuals to participate in a shorter version, Yoga at Your Desk, during breaks. Walking meetings: Instead of sitting in an office or boardroom, encourage coworkers to participate in walking meetings. Walking during conversation is not only a great way to stretch your legs but can also improve creative thinking. Look at your calendar: At the beginning of a regularly scheduled meeting, have individuals pull out their calendar and identify all possible opportunities to get up and move around. Examples could include: o Walking over a lunch break o Filling up a water bottle o Walking to a coworker instead of sending an email
Conversation Starters (20-30 minutes) Conversation starters are for when you have more time carved out to engage with the topic such as 20-30 minutes. Include this topic as a main agenda item in one of your upcoming team meetings, huddles, or staff retreats. These activities are designed to help foster discussion and connection on the well-being topic. •
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Group Discussion: Lead a discussion by prompting employees with the following question, “What type of physical activity challenge would you like to complete as a department?” Give individuals 5 minutes to write down or think of their answer before bringing the conversation back to the larger group. Decide the following: o What is your goal of the challenge? o How will you track the challenge? o Will it be a team or individual competition? o Is there a reward at the end of the challenge? Read how one University of Iowa department created a step challenge to increase movement throughout the day. Do you want to purchase resistance bands for your department through the liveWELL store or invite Recreational Services lead a Fit to Go exercise class? See if your idea qualifies for Wellness Grant funds!
Department Challenges (2-4 weeks) Do you want to do more with the well-being topic? Consider implementing a department wide challenge that lasts anywhere from 2-4 weeks on the well-being topic. liveWELL has several challenge programs that you can implement with your department anytime throughout the year that are complete with communications and materials. •
Implement a physical activity challenge (Fit in Four)
RESOURCES View several resources and articles on physical activity at University of Iowa’s Physical Activity Resource Guide. The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, oie-ui@uiowa.edu.
Contact liveWELL at 319-353-2973 or livewell@uiowa.edu or visit our website at hr.uiowa.edu/employee-well-being/livewell.
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