Team activities are a great way to help build connections amongst colleagues, offering a valuable change from their usual workplace interactions. We probably all know by now that exercise is great for us too, both physically and mentally, with numerous benefits on employee wellbeing and performance.
There are many fun fitness challenges for work that you could choose to offer across your organisation. As our workplaces are, of course, diverse, it may be worth considering offering a variety of challenges, or perhaps surveying staff to understand their preferences.
Here are a few ideas that you might like to consider, to help boost morale, and bring the benefits of fitness to your workplace.
Are you an employer? Hussle now offer flexible, discounted access to our fitness venues as an employee benefit. Learn more.
10 work fitness challenge ideas to support your employees in staying fit and healthy
1. A lunchtime walking group
While we may be slowly moving out of the winter months, the evenings still aren’t especially long. Our lunch break can be the best chance to get outside in the fresh air, and catch some valuable sunshine to boost Vitamin D levels – which can help regulate our mood and reduce symptoms of depression.
A lunchtime walking group can be very easy to set up. Recruit some volunteers who are keen to be regular participants, and make your company aware of when and where the group will meet. It can be quite informal, allowing staff to join spontaneously on a given day, or block the time out in their diary if they’d like to join more regularly. To add a challenge to the concept, you could incentivise participation with a prize for the most frequent attendees!
2. Enter a charity event
Charity events represent a fantastic opportunity to participate in an organised challenge, and raise money for a worthwhile cause while doing so. We all like to help others where we can, so the additional fundraising element can be a great way to help motivate colleagues to take part in the activity.
The most common events tend to be walking or running related, but there is a wide variety on offer. A sponsored walk might be the most inclusive option for your workplace, while a running event can be a great choice for employees who are looking to embark on a new fitness challenge. You can set individual or company-wide fundraising goals, and some organisations decide to match or contribute a proportion of what their employees raise, to the overall target.
3. Set a virtual fitness challenge
The recent pandemic sent many of our fitness ventures to the virtual world, with popular instructors such as Joe Wicks providing that much needed motivation to stay active during lockdown.
With many organisations now adopting flexible, hybrid and remote working practices, a virtual fitness challenge could be the ideal way to engage your staff. Think a monthly step count goal, a certain number of repetitions of push ups, squats, star jumps etc., or perhaps a distance goal for walking, running, cycling and other sports. This could be something that your company initiates itself, or many charities organise virtual challenges, too!
4. A stair climbing challenge
This one’s ideal for companies working in larger office buildings. (But perhaps not the huge skyscrapers!) If your employees regularly take the lift, set them a challenge of using the stairs instead, over a given period of time. The challenge could remain uncomplicated, or you could add in a noteworthy reference point – how long would it take employees across your company to climb the equivalent height of Everest, for example?
5. Team sports
Find a local 5-aside football competition, or perhaps enter a work team into a local netball league. There’s so many options. If your company is large enough, you could even set up multiple teams across different departments. Perhaps survey staff to get a sense of which sports they’d be interested in playing, and prioritising activities based on interest levels. As well as regular teams, you could organise one-off activities such as a staff rounders match.
6. A water drinking challenge
While not directly fitness related, hydration is key to our overall wellbeing, and especially important if we’re keeping active. Good hydration is associated with better focus and cognitive function, helping employees to be more productive at work. Set your employees the challenge of drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water per day. You might need to stock up on those water cooler bottles, mind!
7. A cycle to work challenge
Cycling to the office isn’t just a good workout for your employees, it’s great for the planet, too! If your office is in a busy area, cycling could even be a more efficient, less stressful way of reaching the office. By skipping the queues through morning traffic, staff can arrive at work relaxed and energized, rather than tense and frustrated after a slow commute.
Many workplaces now offer the government-backed Cycle to Work scheme to their employees, which allows for a bike and accompanying accessories to be purchased from an individual’s salary, before tax, enabling cost savings as high as 40%.
8. Organise a sports day
Remember the classic sports day activities back at school? The egg and spoon race, sack race and relay races? Why not bring the nostalgia back, by organising a sports day for your employees as a social event?
Perhaps recruit volunteers to be team leaders, and create some healthy competition between different departments. This could be an ideal summer social idea, perhaps combined with a BBQ or picnic to make for an enjoyable break from the usual routine.
9. A healthy recipe ‘cook off’ challenge
Think ‘great British bake off’ but with health-conscious recipes. Perhaps make this fitness-relevant by encouraging protein packed meals for the strength trainers, carb-heavy pasta dishes for the runners, or energising smoothies to help start the day!
Of course, with any competition, there needs to be a winner, so make sure you find some good prizes for the most popular dishes. This could also be a fundraising activity, by assigning a small charity donation for those looking to taste some food.
10. Gym challenges
Does your company currently offer any employee fitness benefits? More and more organisations are making the decision to partner with Hussle to offer flexible, discounted access to our extensive network of gyms, pools, spas and fitness apps as an employee benefit.
For those employers that do provide their staff with access to the gym, have you thought about setting them a challenge? There are so many possibilities. The fastest 1km on a bike? Most number of squats? Heaviest bench press? Most gym sessions in a month?
Get in touch today, if you’d like to explore Hussle’s corporate gym packages further.
