17 Ways to a Faster Recovery

When you exercise, it's vital that you recover well, and that means recovering quickly and thoroughly.

In the June edition of Men's Running Magazine we've listed the top 17 ways to ensure a speedy recovery so whether you prefer sports massage, an ice bath, yoga, foam rolling, Pilates, vegetables or stretching, read all the strategies that will help you recover most effectively and, in turn, get the most out of every training session.

You can click on the pages below to read the full article.

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Taking Wellness to the Next Level

Last week we shared some simple lifestyle changes that recent participants in our wellbeing programmes have made, along with the immediate benefits they experienced.  You can remind yourself of these at:

Wellness changes working already in 2014

More wellness changes paying dividends in 2014

Today I thought I'd put the spotlight on the impact that a wellness programme can have on an individual.  It's easy to get caught up in how to make wellness as far reaching as possible and we agree that it's important to inspire as many people as you can, but it's also great to be reminded that what we're teaching has a deep and lasting effect on those we work with.  It's very satisfying to know that as well as reinvigorating those who may not have held wellness as a high priority for a while, it's great to be able to help those who are already in good shape take things to the next level.  Just like this chap:

I was already an active, fairly healthy person, however, the programme has opened my eyes to different types of activities and the benefits they bring...  

I have also become aware of the impact of food and drink and how this affects my energy levels throughout the day...

I'm now enjoying the benefits of stretching properly and including elements from a selection of activities such as yoga and Pilates as well as understanding the need to include a variety of techniques and approaches in my running training schedule.

Get in touch with us today if you'd like to design a wellness programme that takes the health and performance of your staff to the next level.

www.the-tonic.com

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Inspiring Wellness Success Story 12

Simple, regular healthy lifestyle changes lead to energy, enthusiasm and results.

Next up in our series of success stories from our programmes, a fantastic example of how simple changes to regular habits can make a world of difference to how you feel every day.

Here’s the latest case study:

• The date of the wellness programme you attended   September 2011

• The lifestyle changes you made during programme   Began eating breakfast and taking sport in the morning and almost every day

• The lifestyle changes you made following programme    Today I have a more diversified and complete breakfast than before the program; during the working days I get up 35 minutes earlier and do my exercise almost every morning; on the weekends I attend a Pilates class; most weekends I practice Golf as well. As a consequence of all this I go to bed approx. 1 hour earlier than before (during working days).

• The secrets of your success with wellness       Including Pilates it in my daily routine: today I consider my morning Pilates at the same level as shaving or taking a shower, obligatory things that happen every day. Also having chosen a very professional Pilates gymnasium for the weekends offering a high level of training that gives me enthusiasm to keep on practicing during the week. Better breakfast makes me feel better during the morning, no doubts.

• What advice that you received made the greatest impact on you?      Changes are always possible, just need to do it with common sense and go for it, adapting your sport programs to your physical capabilities.

• The biggest benefits of making your lifestyle changes?    More energy for the day; feel better with my body (less pains here and there).

• When wellness is working for you, what are the key elements that make the difference?      Early going to bed, a good breakfast, daily exercise, quality of the exercise (adapted to yourself and your aims).

Read the previous instalment of our inspiring wellness success stories here

Order your copy of “Successful Corporate Wellbeing Programmes: How to create a dynamic, energised and engaged workforce and boost business results” from our website today.

Image from Flickr: cl_03

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Simple Steps To Successful & Profitable Health & Wellbeing at Work

Looking to get great results with health and wellbeing at your office and raise the performance levels?

Setting up effective health and wellbeing initiatives is a lot easier than you might imagine. There are three key questions you need to consider.
i) What are the primary wellbeing goals for the business?
It’s likely that you’ll be implementing a wellbeing programme to boost staff morale, reduce absenteeism, reduce staff turnover, increase productivity or increase staff satisfaction. Be very clear about your top priority and keep this in mind throughout your planning and implementation.

ii) How will you measure success?
You’ll be able to accurately calculate the impact of your wellbeing programme if you establish the key performance indicators in advance. Even if this is simply the number of positive comments you hear about the programme, you have to know what you’re looking for from the outset.

iii) Who is your target audience for the program? 

Are you aiming to involve specific groups, particular individuals or are you looking to get the whole company involved? When you know who you are appealing to you’ll be able to plan your initiatives more quickly and then promote them more easily for maximum involvement.

2. What a great wellbeing program looks like
Wellbeing programmes usually fall into three broad categories:

• Wellbeing modules that feature as part of training, development and leadership programmes. This includes modules covering personal performance, nutrition, energy levels, stress management, relaxation, work-life balance, sleep and fitness. Modules can be included as part of existing training programmes or can be designed as free standing wellbeing training programme delivered as a single half day session or as a weekly program.

• Group or individual initiatives that are run on-site as part of an Employee benefits package. These initiatives include group fitness sessions, yoga classes, Pilates sessions, running club, fresh fruit deliveries, healthy cooking and individual lifestyle or nutrition coaching programs.

• Health Fairs on your premises. These events raise awareness of healthy living initiatives and can include health screenings, fitness measurements, competitions, cookery challenges and taster sessions for a variety of group or individual initiatives. Chances are that your wellbeing programme will be made up of a combination of the above elements with a flexible approach to rolling out each element so that you can put your time, effort and budget into the areas where it will have most impact and organically grow into the most effective wellbeing programme for your organisation over time.

3. It all sounds great but don’t these programmes cost a lot of money?
Not as much as you might think. If you plan your wellbeing programme correctly, every initiative will be carefully targeted and you’ll be certain that you’re getting maximum value for money from every pound you spend. It’s a good idea at this point to begin viewing expenditure on wellbeing as an investment rather than a cost. It’s only a cost if you don’t know how the money you spend will benefit your organisation in the long run but, like all successful business ventures, if you know your wellbeing programme is generating more value to the business than the cost of running it, you’ll know that every pound invested leads to a tangible return on investment. And that return on investment can be quite considerable. Research has shown that carefully targeted programmes can generate an ROI of up to £84.90 for every £1.00 spent on wellbeing.

4. Who pays for the services – the business or the employee? 

It’s up to you whether you’d like to ask staff for a contribution to the programs you’re implementing but in our experience the impact is much greater if the business covers the cost, as it would for any other form of training, education or employee benefit. This sends the message that your organisation values the health and mindset of its people and wants to help develop this aspect of their lives as much as it would any other area of their professional and personal development.


To read the FULL report on how to set up a successful and profitable wellness program, visit www.the-tonic.com for your download.

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