Running group uses a lunch hour for their wellness hour
The running group training on the hillsides around Uppsala Castle. When this photo was taken, the group had been augmented with two colleagues from SciLifeLab. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
A new year can often bring a feeling of new opportunities. You might have a sudden desire to start exercising for example. As an employee at the University, you have the right to devote one working hour per week to promoting your health.
This ‘wellness hour’ can be very important for recharging and recovery and general well-being, and you can use the hour for a variety of forms of training and activities.
One form of exercise that is easy to start and does not require any advanced equipment is running. A running group based at Segerstedthuset uses the wellness hour to run together every Thursday. The members work at the University Administration, including IT and communications. How far they run and where is decided on the spot and jointly by the participants on each occasion.
Erik Lambe. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
Switch your focus away from the working day
One of the runners in the group, Erik Lambe, who works as a service specialist at the University Administration, elaborates on what is the best thing about running.
"The best thing is that paradoxically you feel more alert and happier after a proper run. Everything feels easier, even the day’s challenges. Even though you burn energy and tax your muscles, you get far more back from running than just sitting still on a break.”
What’s the biggest difference between running in a group and running alone?
“When we train in a group at work, we run at the group’s pace. The whole group should be able to keep up, and the focus is not your final time or the distance. The important thing is to have a fun run together and switch your focus away from the working day for a while.”
What are your best tricks for getting out there and exercising even on a day with less motivation or energy?
“I try to remember that I’ll feel good after the run, no matter how long or intense it gets. The best training is the training you actually do, no matter how well it goes.”
‘There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing’ as the old saying goes, and it’s easy to get caught up in expensive exercise equipment and/or clothing as a bit of extra motivation to start training… but is there really no bad weather to run in?
“Cold temperatures combined with rain can be particularly difficult to train in. It’s important to remember that you don’t need expensive training equipment. The key thing is to make sure that your extremities are protected when it’s cold, but a pair of basic, inexpensive mittens can do that job just as well.”
Johan Ahlenius
About wellness promotion on the Staff Gateway
The term ‘wellness promotion’ can cover many different types of activities and forms of exercise.
You can also receive up to SEK 2,000 per calendar year as a subsidy to cover your costs for some wellness promotion activities.
Information about which activities are approved for getting the wellness subsidy, and by when you need to submit your receipts, can be found on the wellness promotion pages on the Staff Gateway.