Remember when you were a kid on the playground? You didn’t need a gym membership, a fitness tracker, or an elaborate workout plan to stay active. You ran, climbed, and played without thinking about it as exercise. Making fitness feel less like work and more like play could be the key to helping employees become more physically active. Discover creative, research-backed strategies to make fitness more approachable and fun for your team.
Game On for Better Health
Playfulness, connection, and physical activity are powerful antidotes to stress and anxiety. Applying game-playing elements—including contests and rewards— can increase motivation and engagement and improve well-being. A two-year study of a Canadian company found that gamifying wellness challenges led to “significant clinical improvements” in blood pressure, perceived stress, insomnia, and fatigue.
Corporate Playtime
Inject some fun and nostalgia into the workday with “active playground” days. Organize playful, non-competitive fitness activities like kickball, frisbee golf, hula hoop contests, or obstacle courses to bring back the joy of childhood play. These events can be a fun, cost-effective way to reduce stress, improve morale, and promote a healthier work environment.
Friendly Employee Fitness Challenges
Setting up employee fitness challenges can encourage employees to participate in healthy activities. Friendly competition can turn exercise into a game—whether it’s tracking steps, joining in a “climb the stairs” challenge, or competing in team-based step counts. Make it even more exciting by offering incentives like gift cards, wellness products, or extra time off.
Challenges typically last several weeks and can be one-time events or regular occurrences. Ideas include:
- Step Challenge – Employees compete to determine who can take the most steps in a week or month. To keep everyone engaged, offer small rewards for hitting daily step goals.
- Stair Climbing Challenge – Encourage employees to skip the elevator and take the stairs. Track how many flights of stairs each employee climbs in a set period, and reward top climbers with a prize.
- Fitness Bingo – Design a bingo card with various physical activities (e.g., do ten squats, walk 15 minutes, or try a new exercise class). Participants cross off activities as they finish them, aiming to get a full line or complete the entire card.
- Desk Exercise Challenge – During work breaks, encourage employees to perform desk-friendly exercises (like chair squats, calf raises, or seated leg lifts). Track participation and reward those who consistently make an effort.
- Activity Streak Challenge -Challenge employees to engage in any form of physical activity (walking, cycling, swimming, etc.) for a several consecutive days.
- Distance Challenge –Set a company-wide goal for walking, running, or cycling a certain distance collectively (e.g., “Walk from Coast to Coast” or “Cycle to the Moon”) and challenge everyone to contribute miles.
Team-based challenges where employees compete in different fitness tasks, such as a group walking distance or a cumulative time spent exercising, helps create a friendly, competitive spirit. This can spill over onto other aspects of work, resulting in improved teamwork and collaboration.
To simplify your challenges and tracking, use a fitness solution like Aaptiv that helps to easily manage workplace fitness challenges while allowing employees to track their activity and progress.
Implement Pet-friendly Office Days
What could be better than having Fido of Fluffy by your side during the workday? It’s no surprise that pets can improve mental health. They also provide an excellent excuse for short walks and breaks during the day.
Variety is the Spice of Fitness
Your employees have different interests, schedules, and fitness levels. Some employees may be exercise enthusiasts, hitting the gym daily, while others struggle to find the time or motivation to get started. To cater to these differences, HR teams should offer a variety of choices to make fitness and well-being accessible to everyone, no matter their ability levels or where and how they work. This approach can help engage more employees, regardless of their starting point.
Host “Try It” Events
Some employees may avoid fitness programs because they feel intimidated or unsure of where to start. Hosting a “try it” fitness event is a low-pressure opportunity to sample different types of exercise. Bring professionals to offer dance, self-defense, Pilates, or yoga workshops.
Organize Midday Fitness Sessions
Gathering employees for a 20-minute group walk or yoga and stretching session can be a fun way to boost energy at midday.
Encourage Participation in Local Charity Runs or Walks
Sponsor teams to participate in local charity runs, walks, or cycling events. Organize pre-event group training sessions to build excitement and camaraderie. Provide branded company gear for employees who join, which can serve as a marketing opportunity.
Recapturing that playful spirit is the key to making fitness more approachable for your team. By making fitness more fun, you can help your employees rediscover the joy of movement—just like playing on the playground as a kid. When fitness feels less like a chore and more like a chance to have fun, your team is more likely to embrace it, leading to a healthier, happier, and more engaged workforce.
Aaptiv: Your All-in-one Solution to Make Fitness Fun
Aaptiv supports your team’s wellness journey, no matter where they’re starting from. With access to over 20,000 national gyms and fitness boutiques, over 10,000 on-demand workouts, restorative well-being content, and an AI-powered fitness plan, Aaptiv helps make fitness fun for employees every step of the way.
Learn more about Aaptiv employee fitness and wellness benefits
