Let’s move! Exercise with your colleagues at work
Want to get fit at work with your team, department or faculty? In its Let’s Move campaign, the University Sports Centre is making exercise at work easy. Staff from the Faculty of Science got the ball rolling before the summer in a successful pilot with yoga, boot camp, boxing and self-defence classes.
The idea for the pilot came from a vitality survey completed by around 300 staff earlier this year. Of the total respondents, only 6.7 per cent chose ‘during working hours’ as their favourite time to exercise and yet 55 per cent were interested in exercising at work. The USC thought the possible explanation might be that going to a sports facility during working hours takes too much time and effort. The solution: bring the exercise to the workplace!
That is how Let’s Move came to be launched in June with a pilot at the Faculty of Science. Over a month, staff could take free sports classes at work led by USC instructors. On Tuesdays, the programme consisted of refreshing ‘no sweat guaranteed’ lunch workouts such as yoga, Pilates and self-defence. On Thursdays, staff could do more intensive sports such as boot camp, beach volleyball and boxing.
The evaluations showed that the sessions were greatly appreciated, with an impressive average score of nine. And staff reported returning to work energised after a lunch workout. This shows how important relaxation and exercise are for our physical and mental health.
Something for you and your colleagues?
Would you like to take part in exercise classes during work with your team, department or faculty? Contact Lonneke Derriks, Sports Manager at the University Sports Centre, at l.m.derriks@usc.leidenuniv.nl. The USC will work with you to create a programme for a small fee.
