May is Global Employee Health and Fitness Month—an international event created to celebrate and promote healthy living for employers and employees. There are many ways you can keep active and add movement to your workday, and MSU offers a variety of resources to add excitement to your workday. Read more about incorporating activity into your professional life and enhancing your health and agility. 

General Tips

MSU University Health and Wellbeing’s Move More @ Work campaign shares resources, information, and tips for adding movement to your workday, including:

• Bring/wear a comfortable pair of shoes that allow for movement during breaks throughout the day.
• Schedule physical activity throughout the day like you would a meeting, and make it a part of your routine.
• Stay hydrated and eat a healthy lunch to keep your body fueled.
• Invest in a walking desk! Walking/treadmill desks offer many benefits, including improved physical health, increased productivity, reduced back pain, lower blood pressure, and increased energy levels. 
• March in place at your desk, or stand up every other time you send an email or make a phone call. 

Campus Resources

• Register for Desk Decompress every Thursday from May 29 to August 14. This virtual 15-minute class will stretch and strengthen your wrists, neck, spine, and shoulders, all from the comfort of your own desk!
• Move in the Garden is held most Wednesdays from July 9 to September 17 at 12:15. Free outdoor wellness program held under the Ginkgo Tree in Beal Garden that combines stretching, bodyweight strengthening, flow movements, and relaxation. Rain location: MSU Main Library
• University Health and Wellbeing’s SPARTANfit team is offering 50% off their Fitness Assessment and InBody Body Composition Analysis through June 27 for faculty, staff, & their partners. The Fitness Assessment is designed to assess your current fitness level through a combination of resting and exercising evaluations. This assessment gives you valuable insights and advice to create a personalized fitness and wellness plan to achieve your health objectives!
• Try out a group fitness class! MSU Recreational Sports and Fitness offers a variety of group fitness classes with membership pricing for MSU employees.
• Biking: One of the easiest ways to add exercise to your daily routine is to attach it to an activity or habit you perform already, such as your commute to work. MSU Bikes provides support with commuter resources to help you bike to work with confidence, including a 1-on-1 Bike Commuter Assistance service, which helps you find the safest, lowest-stress route to and from campus to your neighborhood. MSU Bikes also rents bikes to departments for staff to use during the work day through their Department Fleet Services. Bikes are a great way to get around campus for meetings, lunches, errands, or a nice break! Save the hassle of traffic, offer a healthy alternative for your staff breaks/on-campus transportation, and avoid problems finding car parking by adding a bike to your department’s transportation fleet. 
• Take a walk around campus! Check out the Campus Meditation Map to learn more about over 25 different landmarks across MSU’s campus. You can also follow the MSU Self-Guided Walking Tour to explore areas of campus you have yet to see while on a break.

Learning Opportunities

• Ergonomic Best Practices for Workplace Comfort and Safety: No matter your role at MSU, all employees benefit from a functional and comfortable workplace setup. This virtual session explores the basics of ergonomics, injury prevention, standing desk use, and stretches and exercises to help reduce the risk of work-related pain and discomfort. 
• Finding Time: Time Management Strategies for Busy Professionals: It is easy for to-do lists to seem never-ending, and even easier for tasks to pile up if you have a busy schedule. While we can’t borrow or bottle time, this class will discuss strategies for time management, efficiently allocate minutes, and relieve pressure and stress throughout the process. 

Sources:

“Be More Active during Your Work Day.” Www.Heart.Org, 16 Jan. 2024, www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/getting-active/how-to-be-more-active-at-work. 

Opening image provided by Freepik.