Community Centers Inc. is proud to have partnered with the UCLA School of Public Health, in an effort to help in the research of the WORKING project. The Lift Off! 10-Minute Physical Activity Break was designed to change socio-cultural norms to increase moderate regular physical activity participation. The Lift Off! approach addresses a key weakness of many prior organizational wellness efforts because it strives to engage the entire workforce.
Lift Off! 10-Minute Physical Activity Breaks are:
• integrated into participating organizations’ meetings and events lasting one hour or longer, particularly functions in which refreshments are served.
• implemented “on the clock” (during paid time) at a certain time of day in the building foyer, waiting room, reception area, break room or other communal space to engage all staff, including line staff who don’t often attend meetings.
• composed of a series of simple aerobic dance/calisthenics movements with catchy titles such as the Hulk and the Hallelujah set to culturally salient music.
• intentionally designed to be appropriate for unfit, sedentary, overweight adults in ordinary street clothing, and led by a member of the organization (a peer), ideally one who has been trained and certified to lead these breaks, but does not necessarily possess a formal exercise science background.
• an early “systemic” step toward increasing physical activity levels within the predominantly sedentary populations of most developed nations, to create demand for active living goods and services and the resulting political will for aggressive legislative policy change.
• of sufficient duration to “count” toward the CDC/ACSM recommendation of 30 min./day, though evidence suggests that accumulating bouts of even shorter duration confer similar health benefits to longer bouts of continuous activity (e.g., Miyashita M et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;83:24-29)
Lift Off! 10-Minute Physical Activity Breaks
A Service of the UCLA School of Public Health Center to Eliminate Health Disparities (CEHD)
Important Lift Off! Characteristics
• Designed to integrate physical activity into the workplace and other organizational settings, requiring minimal disruption of routine and capitalizing on supportive group dynamics and leadership support and modeling.
• Target audience includes adults of diverse racial/ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, who are predominantly middle-aged and older, overweight and/or sedentary.
• Activities include a series of basic exercises that can be easily performed by individuals of varied
