Caliper Workout Challenges: Strengthening Bodies and Relationships

If you build it, they will come.

No, I’m not talking about the Field of Dreams. I’m talking about Caliper’s Workout Challenges group.

In September 2014, five Caliper employees decided that they would get together at the same time each workday to complete a brief exercise, which would give them an opportunity to get up and get moving.

Each day they complete one “Workout Challenge,” ranging from wall push-ups to planks and even paperweight challenges. They keep track of everyone’s stats to see their progress and improvement.

Julie Polanski, an Account Adviser at Caliper and one of the group’s founding members, has said that the Workout Challenges have done a lot to strengthen relationships among co-workers. Many of the participants work in different parts of the building, and the Workout Challenges give them an opportunity to get to know one another.

“We’re not just drones at a desk,” Julie stated. “We want to make sure we’re the best we can be mentally, emotionally, and physically… while having fun.”

Since the group began meeting, the number of participants has doubled, with approximately 10 employees joining in each day.  With more people come more ideas about what types of exercises to complete. Sometimes they lift heavy work binders. Sometimes they line up in the hallway to do wall sits. They have even crowded into the stairwell to complete calf raises.

“It’s fun to try new things,” Julie noted, “and we’re promoting exercise as well as team building.”

As tends to happen in sports –and in business – the Workout Challenge participants have developed a healthy sense of competition, driving them to perform better individually and as a group. And that attitude carries over into their work as well. In completing challenges together, these Caliper employees are not only building their bodies, but also their sense of teamwork.

As Julie put it, “Work hard; play hard!”