The battle of the bulge has gone corporate.
Though some workers may try to hide that bulge and avoid the corporate fitness center, that’s not the norm. Many employees are taking advantage of their company’s fitness centers and discovering that working out at work is convenient, relieves stress, provides a mental escape from work and improves job performance.
“It clearly improves work productivity and moderates the level of stress,” said Joseph Barr, a Deerfield sports psychologist who is on staff at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. “And for a lot of people, it’s a social endeavor and one of the things that helps maintain a fitness habit.”
But the corporate dynamics at work in corporate fitness centers can be awkward, Barr said, particularly for some workers.
“I had a client who was ill at ease [with working out at work]. She worked at a big corporation, and as long as she didn’t cross paths with anyone she knew, she was OK,” Barr said. “But she had a little weight problem and eventually stopped going to the club.”
Experts agree, however, that this is not the norm. In fact, most cancellations for memberships to corporate fitness centers are few and usually the result of relocation, termination of employment or overwork by employees who can’t find time to get to the club.
“We live in a work culture where people are working through their lunch,” Barr said. “Getting away from work endeavors is a really good idea.”
And it shouldn’t matter what you look like or who else is working out at work beside you.
“I don’t care who’s there,” said Cortez Dixon, associate director of employee services and facilities at Extensions Fitness Center at Kraft Foods in Northfield and a daily workplace exerciser. “I know what I need to do and I do it. The convenience of fitness is a big plus for me.”
Keeping fitness centers close and easy to use will cultivate an exercise habit.
“Each block out of the way, the chances of working out diminish,” said Eric Nelson, manager of fitness programs at Northern Trust Fitness Center, 801 S. Canal St., which serves about 500 Northern Trust Co. bank employees. “Having a site in the facility increases their chances of being able to work out,” either before work, during lunch or after work. “If a department head is a member, that can help. The people who advocate exercise even 30 minutes a day will help increase output the rest of the day, and it will pay dividends with happier and healthier employees.”
Some workers, however, may worry about what is appropriate conversation at the corporate health club. Is it OK to do a little bit of business while on the treadmill?
“In some instances, light conversation on the treadmill is OK since socializing [with bosses or co-workers] helps build relationships,” Barr said. “A lot of business is done on the golf course so why not at the fitness center? It may or may not work based on the norms and culture of the business, but it would be inappropriate for a junior executive to ask a senior executive for a raise on the treadmill.”
“I do hear shop talk here,” said Nelson, of Northern Trust Fitness Center, “but I’ve never heard any heated discussions–they keep it professional.
“Most people come down here [to the fitness center] as a mental escape to get out of the work environment and take a mental break before they go back to work, and they’re more productive afterward,” Nelson said.
In order to make it a productive physical and mental escape, corporate fitness centers offer a wide selection of exercise machines, weights and cardiovascular equipment such as stair machines and treadmills. At sometimes less than half the price of competitive health clubs, workplace fitness facilities also offer classes in everything from yoga to kickboxing. But Nelson, who is an ACSM certified health fitness instructor for Advocate Fitness, isn’t there to sell memberships.
“We try to keep people coming in, help keep health-care costs down and increase employees’ productivity,” Nelson said.
Rich Smott, manager of fitness programs for International Truck and Engine Corp., 10400 W. North Ave., Melrose Park, said most of his 520 members who work in manual labor or production see the fitness center as a perk of working at the site, particularly because they pay only $8 a month.
“It’s all about convenience, and you get away from the upstairs assembly line,” Smott said. “I’ve never had it where they were uncomfortable working out next to a boss or co-worker. It’s a friendly environment and they’re there to relieve stress. They’re good about leaving work behind.”
Tips for working out at work
Here are some tips from the experts about working out at company-owned fitness centers.
1. Don’t worry about co-workers who are working out beside you. Do what you need to do and enjoy it.
2. What to wear? Make it comfortable and conservative, and remember, you’re still in the workplace.
3. If you’re a little self-conscious about the way you look in your workout wear, consider working out during off-peak hours such as late morning or midafternoon, when fitness centers are less crowded.
4. Consider working out before or after work and you’ll avoid traffic driving to and from work while relieving stress.
5. Working through lunch? Make that trip to your corporate fitness center a priority. You need that stimulating mental and physical escape in order to be more productive at work.
6. If you do have a lunch hour, try to shoe-horn in a workout. This will force you to pack a healthy lunch rather than visiting a restaurant for a high-calorie meal.
7. If you run into a co-worker with whom you’ve had problems, keep the conversation light, never heated and never confrontational.
8. Use your workout as a social endeavor. Find a co-worker or co-workers to work out with regularly. They’ll help you maintain your fitness habit.
9. If there’s a corporate fitness center in your office building, join it. The convenience of a nearby fitness facility will make it easier for you to work out at work.
— E.S.
