We have all heard about the benefits of exercise for improving our health. But with long work days and busy family lives and personal obligations, setting aside time every day to exercise 30-60 minutes can be challenging. What if you could find ways to get exercise where you work? It is likely that improved health and increased exercise actually make you more productive while you're at work, so you might have added incentive. What steps can you take that could improve your physical fitness, your health and wellness, and even increase your work productivity?

• Use the stairs instead of elevators. If you have to go up several floors in your building during the day, you might as well exercise while doing it.
• Park toward the back of the parking lot and walk into and out of work. Don't circle the lot for minutes looking for a spot close to the front door. Park at the back of the lot and walk to the entrance. That extra 100 yards adds up if done every day.
• Start a walking club or fitness class with your colleagues. Running, walking, yoga, aerobics, and other forms of exercise with others will improve collegiality among coworkers. Meeting to do it together will provide motivation by making it less likely that you will skip the exercise sessions.
• Replace your office chair with a stability ball. It is not exercise, per se, but you can improve your core strength by using a Swiss ball as your office desk chair.
• Wear running shoes to work. Wear your dress shoes only when necessary. Not only will the running shoes help with walking longer distances from the parking lot or during breaks at the office, but they will also serve as a reminder to use them if you see them throughout the day.
• Break up exercise into small periods during breaks. While 30-60 minutes of walking is ideal, several 10-15 minute sessions can be effective as well. Look for breaks in your schedule and use them to perform some of your fitness activities.
• Keep some dumbbells or resistance bands at your desk. Similar to walking, weights and other forms of resistance training require little space or preparation time. A few exercises in each small break can add up to a complete workout.
• Replace email and the phone as a means of communication. Rather than pushing emails back and forth to coworkers, get up and walk to their desks. Talk in person. You might be surprised that you actually accomplish more in less time, and you will burn a few calories each time too!

Do you have any other ideas to stay active at your job? Share them here!

One of the first things taught in marketing is that if you don't know who your customer is, you will never achieve ultimate success. Keep this axiom in mind. It is probably the most important thing to take into account in the conceptual stage of building your physical activity marketing program.

How do you choose which segment of the older adult population to target? In recent years, marketers and researchers have suggested all kinds of approaches to this question. But when it comes to physical activity and exercise, levels of physical function remain an important and effective way to segment older adults.

The five levels of function

In her 1995 landmark book, Physical Demensions of Aging, Waneen Spirduso, EdD, Mauzy Regents Professor of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas-Austin, details five distinct functional levels in the mature population:

1. Physically dependent - Individuals cannot do some or all Basic Activities of Daily Living, or BADL (i.e. self-feeding, dressing, using the toilet, transferring, and walking). These adults depend on others for food and other basic functions of living.

2. Physically frail - Individuals can perform BADL, but cannot execute some or all of the activities necessary to live independently. Generally, this inability is due to a debilitating disease or condition that physically challenges these adults on a daily basis.

3. Physically independent - Individuals live independently, usually without debilitating symptoms of major chronic diseases. However, these men and women have low health and fitness reserves.

4. Physically fit - Individuals exercise at least twice a week for their health, enjoyment and well-being. They also enjoy high health and fitness reserves.

5. Physically elite - Individuals train on an almost daily basis. In addition, these adults either compete in sports tournaments or work in physically demanding jobs.

Imagine the impact on your business if you had no defined target market, and you aimed simply to serve older adults, with little awareness of the range of abilities. Not to mention, of course, poor experiences your wellness center would offer many potential clients. The bottom line? Functional levels influence every aspect of marketing, and ultimately, it's success.

Different levels, different needs

In narrowing down which segment(s) to pursue, you will want to consider the most immediate fitness needs of older adults. Physically dependent adults need movement that helps maintain or improve physical function for basic self-care, such as strength training, range of motion, and balance and coordination. Physically frail adults need exercise that helps maintain or improve their ability to perform basic and instrumental activities. Physically dependent adults need to focus on exercise that will help them prevent illness, disability, or injury. Since this group is at high risk for greater dependency, a main goal is to educate them about the importance of "prevention of functional loss" and motivate them to increase their health and fitness reserves.

With physically fit older adults, the primary goal is to provide them with current health information and various opportunities to maintain their fitness. And physically elite older adults still need exercise that helps build reserve and maintain fitness, and conditions individuals to improve performance in competition or in strenuous work and/or recreational activities. With physically elite clients, the wellness professional's role is that of facilitator.

Information about each group will help you make an informed choice about which functional level(s) to target - before you invest in your marketing program. Once you know who your customers will be, you can plan all aspects of your marketing effort, keeping their needs in mind.

Think of it this way: If the key to success is targeting your market effectively, then knowing this group's needs and abilities lets you select the right key.

How might an average Boomer summarize his attitude towards starting a new physical activity program? I doubt you'd hear, "No pain, no gain," but probably something more like, "My mind says GO, but my body says NO." Much has been written about Boomers' need for physical activity, but what can we - as health, wellness, and fitness professionals - do to make sure this age group actually meets the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommendations?

In the Y, we've created a program called PressPlay, which is targeted specifically for Boomers and is based on the principles of 1) Autonomy, 2) Competence, 3) Relatedness, and 4) Connectedness. By incorporating these principles, we have found that Boomers have been able to work their way up to meeting the recommended levels of physical activity (2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate activity each week) while having fun in a safe, supportive environment. And the beauty of PressPlay is that it isn't specific to just a certain sport or activity. Here's what it is all about.

Autonomy: PressPlay reinforces to participants that they are in control of their lives and that the choices they make about their health are indeed their own. Participants are challenged, but not pushed, to make healthy choices about their physical activity levels, and over time, they feel empowered to make these healthy choices. "I am capable of making good choices about my health, physical activity, and well-being."

Competence: PressPlay focuses on developmentally appropriate skill instruction and practice so that participants are indeed competent at some aspect of their chosen activity. In some cases, participants learn sport- or exercise-specific skills, and in other instances they learn how to use technology to enhance their physical activity experiences. "I'm good at this."

Relatedness: PressPlay is facilitated to create strong feelings of affinity among the Boomers participating. When surrounded by other Boomers who share similar life experiences and are also entering the same stage in life (Empty Nest, or Retirement, etc.), PressPlay participants find new friends and want to be around the group of like people. "People around me are like me."

Connectedness: PressPlay facilitators and instructors spend time during every class connecting participants with each other and creating bonds of friendships. The relationships that are formed become a motivator for regular participation in the selected activity. "I like the people in the class, and they like me."

When people are in control of their decisions and actually see that they are getting good at something, and feel connected or bonded to people like them, their participation in the activity that brought them all together becomes a joyful habit. Instead of a workout, their physical activity becomes fun, playful, and joyous. And over time, they can meet the Physical Activity Guidelines recommendations for overall health and wellness.

PressPlay isn't for everyone, but in the Y, we've found that applying these principles when working with Boomers in particular, leads to regular and long-lasting participation in our classes.

What principles are guiding your physical activity programs for Boomers so they meet the Physical Activity Guidelines?

How might you incorporate autonomy, competence, relatedness or connectedness into your Boomer programs?