Annual Highlights - IU Campus Recreational Sports

Enhancing Workplace Wellness
“Getting regular exercise…improves not only one’s workplace attitude
but their general attitude as well. At that point, it becomes an improved
quality of life. Everyone, I think, desires the best quality of life they can
achieve,” says Chris Kohler, Indiana University’s (IU) Laboratory Safety
Manager and Chemical Hygiene Officer.
4 Annual Report 07.08
Carolyn Wiethoff & Chris Kohler
Carolyn Wiethoff, a professor in Management and Entrepreneurship and
Director of Executive Education for Kelley Executive Partners at IU’s Kelley
School of Business agrees. “Our lives [as faculty and staff members] are
full of constant challenge and change,” says Wiethoff. “The only way to
keep perspective, keep thinking clearly, and keep up your energy to act
on those challenges is to keep yourself
healthy. Otherwise, working on a college
campus can be overwhelming.”
Wiethoff has been a member of Campus
Recreational Sports (RS) since joining
the faculty in 2001. Wiethoff says she
became a member to reduce stress and
stay healthy. She also enjoys the opportunities
RS provides to learn new ways
to exercise and develop skills in its Mind
Body programs. The variety of programs
that RS provides keeps Wiethoff on her
toes. “In any given week I can work
with my personal trainer on land or in
the water, do a variety of cardio and
weight training activities, take a class,
work [out] alone or with a friend, and
finish it all with great yoga stretching,”
says Wiethoff. “There’s no boredom, so
there’s no excuse!”
When it comes to workout routines at
RS, the words “boredom” and “excuse”
aren’t part of Kohler’s vocabulary, either.
Kohler joined RS in 2002, shortly after
being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes
and learned firsthand how he could
improve his quality of life with exercise.
Kohler realized that daily exercise,
along with a balanced diet played an
important part in managing his diabetes.
His routine began at the Student
Recreational Sports Center (SRSC) indoor
track where he jogged two laps a day.
Every day, Kohler came back for another
jog, gradually increasing his distances
until he reached a daily two–mile run.
Kohler decided he needed to mix it up a
little to keep it fun, so he signed up for
his first 5K. “That was my first outdoor
run. I came in second!” says Kohler. “I
even got a silly plastic trophy that I
dearly love.”
After the race, Kohler spent the next
nine months back on the SRSC track,
but the thought of that 5K race was
always in the back of his mind. “It was
inspirational,” says Kohler. “I started
training and did the YMCA 10K, the Jill
Behrman 5K Run, and others around
town…One of my friends talked me
into [running] the Indianapolis Mini
Marathon...I followed a training program
and it was a blast! I didn’t do too
badly, either.” Kohler went on to run the
Chicago Marathon, and has competed
in 13 long–distance relays across the
United States. And, although he admits
that a race like the Chicago Marathon
was a long, slow haul, Kohler’s passion
for running continues.
“I guess I’m hooked,” says Kohler.
“In 2005, I ran almost 1,000 miles. I
stopped keeping track after that.”
Kohler isn’t the only one who’s hooked
on the programs and services found at
RS. Wiethoff says she’s gained many
benefits from participating. “RS is what
you make it,” says Wiethoff. “Anything
you’re interested in trying that will make
you mentally and physically healthier,
they can provide.”
Wiethoff and Kohler both agree that the
good feeling they get after a workout
is one of the many reasons they keep
coming back to RS. “I love feeling good
when I wake up in the morning,” says
Wiethoff. “I like that I can do almost any
activity offered to me–even if it is new
or novel because I am basically in good
shape. I also like having the energy to
face every day with a smile.
Smiles and good feelings aside, the biggest
reason that keeps Kohler coming
back to RS is to keep his Type II Diabetes
under control. “It’s all been quite a trip.
Not to mention the diabetes has been
under control from day one,” says Kohler.
He says staying alive is what inspires
him to lead an active, healthy lifestyle.
“Recreational Sports saved my life!” says
Kohler. “At the very least, it improved it
immensely!”
In 2007, the average annual health benefit
cost per employee for a typical employer
is predicted to exceed $8,700 – about
6% higher than 2006. A growing body of
literature supports the long–term return
of $3–$8 for every $1 invested for a
comprehensive and well–designed health
promotion program.
—Keeping Healthy People Healthy: The Business Case, by Health Enhancement
Systems
A collaborative workplace wellness study in
2008 by Indiana University (IU) School of
Health, Physical Education and Recreation
(HPER) Applied Health Science faculty member
Susan Middlestadt, PhD and Chris Arvin, MS,
Director of Fitness and Wellness for Indiana
University Campus Recreational Sports points
to an apparent need for work-site wellness
programs.
The study involved 279 IU Residential Programs
and Services (RPS) staff members who
voluntarily completed an assessment of basic
health indicators. While the study showed that
many RPS staff members practice key health–
promoting behaviors, they also exceed health
risk norms for a number of chronic diseases that
affect their health, productivity and quality of
life.
The survey data also indicates a strong interest
in participating in a work-site wellness program.
RS continues to work on such a proposal for the
IU Bloomington campus through the Wellness
Task Force of the Campus Recreational Sports
Advisory Board.
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