Get moving to win big this National Walking Month, with the free Business Healthy Challenge

Everyone loves a (free) challenge

May is Living Streets’ National Walking Month and the City of London Corporation’s Business Healthy, along with national walking charity Living Streets and online wellbeing engagement platform HiMOTIV, are launching the Business Healthy Challenge – a free activity challenge specifically for City workers, running from the 2^nd to the 21^st May.

Increased physical activity benefits employees and employers alike, both in the short- and long-term, boosting health and productivity and helping to lower sickness absence rates. Physical activity can also play a part in aiding mental wellbeing, contributing to self-esteem, managing stress and improving sleep.

City life is busy and hectic and the Business Healthy Challenge aims to reward workers who build in physical activity to their daily routines. All kinds of physical activity can be recorded, either automatically through wearable technology or a smartphone, or by logging it manually on the HiMOTIV platform. This includes walking, running, gym sessions, swimming, cycling, stair climbing and more. Users can track their activities with the following Apps:

• Endomondo
• Fitbit
• Jawbone
• MapMyFitness
• Misfit
• Moves
• Runkeeper
• Strava
• Technogym
• Withings
• Garmin
• TomTom
• Suunto
• Poloar
• Microsoft Band
• Apple Health
• Google Fit
• Samsung Health

Teams of a minimum of one and a maximum of five members aim to earn a total of 2,000 points across the 20 days and all teams hitting or exceeding this target will be entered into the grand prize draw to win big. For teams of five, for example, this breaks down to 400 points per person, equivalent to: walking 6,000 steps per day; running 9 miles per week; cycling 29 miles per week, for example.

Whether you’re a regular at the gym or a couch potato, the Business Healthy Challenge is for you.  City businesses of all shapes and sizes can register multiple teams and participants will receive free resources throughout the month to help them build up those points. The challenge is open to employees within all functions of an organisation.

It’s a fantastic and free way to encourage more physical activity within your organisation and to get some healthy competition going. For organisations applying for accreditation to the London Healthy Workplace Charter, taking part in the Business Healthy Challenge is a great way to demonstrate engagement, particularly at “Commitment” level.

Team registrations are live from the 3^rd to the 30^th April, with the challenge launching on the 2^nd May. To register your interest and to receive information about signing up a team/ teams within your organisation, please visit the Business Healthy Challenge webpage.

Please note that the Business Healthy Challenge is only open to organisations within the Square Mile.

HiMOTIV is a bespoke wellbeing software platform driving healthy behaviours in workplaces. Living Streets is the UK’s charity for everyday walking, aiming to create a walking nation, free from congested roads and pollution and reducing the risk of preventable illness and social isolation.