Lack of time is a leading excuse for not exercising, but you can overcome this hurdle by scheduling exercise into a daily routine.
"It can be as easy as standing up and walking out the door for a 10-minute walking break," said Liz Grabosky, fitness program manager at LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee wellness program.
Health experts recommend that individuals perform at least 30 minutes of daily exercise that noticeably increases the heart rate to maintain or improve health.
Is it tough to imagine how to fit fitness into a day? Working@Duke offers10 ways to work in a workout on or near campus.
Take a walk
Ruby Sinreich, new media strategist for the Franklin Humanities Institute, walks a roundtrip one-mile between the bus stop near the Duke Chapel and her office on Erwin Road each day.
"I get time to listen to music or news, and I get some exercise along the way," she said. "It's an upward spiral: the better I feel, the more active I want to be."
Duke's 45 miles of sidewalk offer employees ample opportunity to walk. A brisk 15-minute walk can burn 80 to 100 calories, depending on speed and an individual's weight.
"Walking is a great workout, especially if you push yourself to a brisk walk after the first few minutes," said Victor Ornelas, LIVE FOR LIFE fitness specialist.
Employees also have easy access to nearby trails, including the 2.8-mile Al Buehler trail around the Duke University golf course, the 1.7-mile gravel path around the East Campus perimeter and 5 miles of trails in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.
Stretch it out
LIVE FOR LIFE offers a convenient way to exercise without leaving your desk through "Take Ten: Energize Your Work Day." This self-paced program describes exercises employees can perform at their desks or workstations including wall push-ups and chair squats. Studies show that brief periods of physical activity during a workday help reduce stress and tension.
Learn more at hr.duke.edu/taketen.
Swim laps
John Fay, an instructor in the Nicholas School of the Environment, stays in shape by swimming 20 laps three days a week in Duke's Wilson Recreation Center on West Campus. To keep his rhythm during the 45-minute workout, he often listens to music on an underwater iPod.
"I try to push myself a bit, but I do need to maintain energy for the rest of the day," he said.
He also pushes himself to get to the pool early enough to snag a lane. "I really value the opportunity to swim during the day, but it is often quite crowded," he said. "It would be great if the gym could reserve lanes for faculty and staff."
The pools at Duke's Wilson and Brodie Recreation Centers are open to center members. LIVE FOR LIFE offers individual memberships through the Duke Fitness Club for $15.83 per month.
Pedal to work
Dr. Barbara Sheline bought her home in the Duke Forest neighborhood partly so she could pedal to her family medicine clinic on Erwin Road. The 3.4-mile bike ride is along rolling roads and "hilly enough to give me a workout, but not so much that
I get too hot and sweaty," she said.
Employees who register as bicycle commuters at Duke and forego a parking permit receive 24 daily parking permits each year for days they must drive to work. Visit parking.duke.edu for more information.
Hit the gym
Get paid to exercise
Earn LIVE FOR LIFE dollars while you exercise. It's as easy as 1-2-3.
1. EARN dollars by participating in LIVE FOR LIFE classes, events or self-paced programs.
2. CLAIM dollars by tracking exercise online or through logs provided by LIVE FOR LIFE.
3. SPEND dollars on merchandise at the LIVE FOR LIFE store in the lower level of Duke South (Red Zone), or donate dollars to help young patients at Duke Hospital.
Learn more at hr.duke.edu/eohs/livelife/lfl_dollars.html
As a mother and Duke's assistant police chief, Gloria Graham's schedule is packed and somewhat unpredictable, but she manages daily sessions on treadmills and weight machines at Wilson Recreation Center.
Wilson is one of 20 gyms in the Triangle available at a discount membership to employees through LIVE FOR LIFE's Duke Fitness Club program.
On days when Graham doesn't drop her daughter at childcare, she fits in an hour workout soon after the gym opens at 5:30 a.m. On other days, she tries to get to the gym at lunch.
"My goal is to take care of myself by working out five times a week, and I do that by squeezing it in whenever I can," she said.
For discount gyms, visit hr.duke.edu/fitness.
Buddy up
Friends make exercise fun.
That's why Keisha Martin, a patient account associate in Transplant Collections at the Patient Revenue Management Organization, organized her co-workers to take advantage of their two, 15-minute breaks.
She and four to six colleagues gather in the back of their office and pump iron with hand weights or pump up their heart rates with grapevines, jumping jacks and other aerobic moves.
"We just sort of make up moves each day," Martin said. "But we make sure we stay on top of each other to stay motivated."
Climb stairs
Celeste Hodges, a web developer for the computer science department,
climbs 50 steps five times each day in the Levine Science Research Center.
"It's not terribly exciting, but getting six or seven minutes of exercise on the stairs is something I can do every day regardless of weather conditions," she said.
At seven to 10 calories burned per minute, climbing stairs burns nearly twice the number of calories as strolling on level ground.
Earn LIVE FOR LIFE dollars by enrolling in the LIVE FOR LIFE Stairwell Challenge at hr.duke.edu/stairwell.
Catch a class
Maurice Todd Jr. jogs through chest deep water each Monday afternoon during an aqua aerobics class offered at Duke's Brodie Recreation Center.
Aqua aerobics is one of several free group exercise classes offered to Brodie and Wilson recreation center members.
"I saw a poster saying this was not your granny's workout, and they are right," said Todd, an equipment distribution technician for Clinical Engineering, who attends the class after his shift ends. "Afterwards, I can really feel my muscles."
Check the class calendar at duke.edu/web/intramural/fitness or call (919) 668-4389 for group fitness or (919) 613-7537 for aqua aerobics.
Move with LIVE FOR LIFE
Ever wanted to box?
Employees like Mia Martinez get group exercise through LIVE FOR LIFE, which offered boxing lessons among its classes in January. Martinez paid $48 for eight weeks of boxing lessons.
"My kids think it's funny that mom is learning to box, but they always ask me to show them what I'm learning," said Martinez, who provides desktop IT support for Duke Health Technology Solutions. The lunchtime class fits well into her schedule, "although I still have to wear my pager during class, just in case someone needs me," she said.
LIVE FOR LIFE classes vary through the year but generally include aerobics, yoga and Zumba (a form of dance). Visit hr.duke.edu/eohs/livelife/classes.html for more information.
Get creative
When University Development moved to the West Village office complex in downtown Durham, Vera Luck saw an opportunity.
Since last summer, the program coordinator and yoga instructor has led free, twice-weekly 45-minute yoga classes in donated space in a nearby building for her co-workers.
"I figured this was a no-excuses, totally accessible way for people to try yoga," she said, "and for me to have some fun and get some extra yoga in myself."