What to Pack For An Active Back to School!

August 29, 2014Leave a comment

Thanks to ParticipACTION, it’s know easy to know what to pack for an active and fun back to school experience.

There are lots of great ideas in this cute infographic, but I love the idea of a ball. So simple and cannot only lead to active play, but also social interactions. Great for students entering a new school or class. The use of two little words “wanna play?” can lead to new friendships and an active recess.

In order to make this back pack even better, I would suggest the addition of a reusable water bottle. As both a classroom and phys.ed. teacher I believe it is so much easier for students to stay connected to the learning when they have everything they need at their fingers tips, including hydration.

As we enter the final weekend of summer, I wish students, teachers, and parents an awesome start to school week one!

Longest Day of Play

June 20, 2014June 20, 2014Leave a comment

One of the many things I love about my work at Ophea is that we not only promote healthy, active living in schools and communities, we encourage our own staff to get out and play.

Today was our monthly full team staff meeting, a day where all 30+ staff meet to learn and share about upcoming projects and hot trends/topics. Today we did something different – as a staff – a group of adults – we played!

Bocce, Badminton, Croquet, Frisbee, and Horseshoes were all on the activity plan and everyone got moving to their choice of sport and had fun. We connected as a team, we got to know each other better, we got active together and we played.

This Saturday marks ParticipACTION’s Longest Day of Play event. June 21st is the Summer Solstice and the day with the longest period of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere – so why not celebrate it with play!

Use the extra daylight to go for a hike, play some Frisbee, get out for a walk or run, do something that is fun and playful for you, and enjoy the longest day and Longest Day of Play!

For more information on PartisipACTION’s Longest Day of play click here!

How did you play on Saturday June 21st? Share it in the comments!

Sneaking Fitness In the Workplace

April 8, 2014April 8, 20141 Comment

This week is ParticipACTION’s Sneak It In Week. A week where they encourage everyone to examine their work day and determine where and when they can sneak in some more physical activity, and do it!

Here are my favourite ways to get more active at the workplace.

1. Take the Stairs. This is an easy option depending on your physical activity level and workplace attire. We are on the 6th floor which I think is the perfect amount of stair climbing cardio. For those working in high towers (we live on the 48th floor), why not take the elevator part way and walk the rest!

2. Have Walking Meetings. For Sneak It In Week, my workplace does a pedometer challenge to encourage everyone to get up and move more. So this was my trick a couple years ago which helped me take the lead in number of steps and create a great habit. When there are just a few of us in a meeting, and it’s more of a conversation that needs to be had, we hit the streets and chat it up while on the move. A great way to get fresh air while getting down to business.

3. Start a Workplace Walking Club. What started off as a couple friends going for a noon hour walk at lunch has ballooned into a mob of ladies on the move. Bring some comfy shoes, stick to the main roads, and sneak it in at lunch time. Check out these easy tips from ParticipACTION to get your Walking Club started.

4. Take a Class. I am absolutely one of those people that if I don’t get away from my desk at lunch I will continue to work all day. So for the past 5 years, at least a couple times a week, I jaunt across the street and hit up the local GoodLife. I don’t have enough time to take a class, but getting on a machine or using weights for 30 minutes is a great way to break up the day and sneak in “me time”. My workplace also offers free noon hour yoga once a week in house, which is even better as people don’t need to go anywhere.

There are many fitness professionals looking to get into workplace wellness, we’ve even started offering after hour run clubs through Tribe, so definitely ask at your local studio if it’s something your workplace would benefit from – and really, which workplace wouldn’t!

How do you sneak in some extra physical activity during your work day? Share it in the comments!