Erasmus plus - Stretching and Strengthening at Work interact

Stretching and Strengthening at Work

Improve muscular strength during working hours Muscular strength is closely related to health and performance at workplace. The higher levels of strength are usually accompanied by less absenteeism, improved job satisfaction and higher productivity at work, while keeping employees free from muscular stiffness and stress. Therefore, building and maintaining optimal muscular fitness should be among the most important targets of any workplace-directed physical activity programs ( Figure 18 ). Specifically, muscular strength and endurance are health-related fitness components that may improve or maintain the following (ACSM , 2017):  Bone mass, which is related to osteoporosis,  Glucose tolerance, which is pertinent in both the prediabetic and diabetic state,  Musculotendinous integrity, which is related to a lower risk of injury (including low back pain),  The ability to carry out the activities of daily living  Better quality of life and self-efficacy among other indicators of mental health, and  The fat-free mass and resting metabolic rate, which are related to better weight management.

Figure 18 | Building strength for health, productivity and satisfaction at work

Any program focused to built muscular fitness at workplace should be undemanding in terms of time, space and exercise requisites, yet enabling appropriate frequency, intensity and duration to stimulate favorable processes in our body. Recommendations supported by leading public health authorities advice that muscle-strengthening activities should be done on 2 or more days a week, involving major muscle groups.

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