Strong Arm of the Law—Fitness at Work
Socrates (if he actually existed, but I’m not going to open that Grecian urn of worms right now) once said, “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” If that quote stirs the urge to feel the burn, you’re in luck—there’s a tailor down on the 3rd floor of this building (a tailor of birthday suits, that is).
Back at our old location, if you wanted to add some exercise into your work day, you could either take a walk around the block (this, though, could prove counterproductive, given that the Girl Scout headquarters was on that route—10 minutes later you’re back at your desk in a cookie coma wondering what just happened) or ask to join in with the ballerinas dancing downstairs (again, ill-advised—the moms can be a cold bunch and they hardly ever had leotards in my size).
Here, though, you have 22,000 square feet of options. I asked Jake Snowden, who “took over the space that’s better known as the ‘Regions Gym’ four years ago,” a little about the need for those in sedentary office jobs to utilize such a space, and what this particular space has to offer. He noted how “sitting in a chair most of the day has been proven to contribute to not only weight gain but illnesses and disease,” but that just 30 minutes of “lifting weights properly…3-4 times per week…has been proven to combat a lot of the negative effects.”
He also noted that “positioning desks so that you can stand has become very popular, taking pressure off of the spine and creating higher, more efficient blood flow.” However, please understand that this does not mean standing on your desks, à la Dead Poets Society. Wilson is not responsible for the broken bones that might (and almost certainly would) result.
As a Wilson employee, your membership to Club Fit is already paid. That means the “free weights, machine weights, and full line of cardio equipment” are currently “100 feet below your desk,” just waiting to be used. So if you need a break from the bar dates or the spacebar, make a date with a barbell and break a sweat instead. Need I remind you that “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. And happy people don’t just shoot their husbands.”
Whether you want to (1) exercise by yourself, (2) walk around the track with group of coworkers, (3) contact Jake Snowden to ask about the “private personal training and female-only and co-ed Fit Bootcamps” he offers (usually “30 minutes, offered before work, during lunch, and after work”), or (4) if you just want to let the hot water wash over you in the locker room shower with one hand on the wall in dramatic movie fashion, the options are endless.
Should you choose option (3), you can contact Jake Snowden by visiting his website (https://jakesnowden.com/), by email ([email protected]), or just swinging by the 3rd floor (I guarantee you’ll bump into him immediately).