Employees ‘get together’ in a virtual fitness challenge, turning a wellness program into a community

Racery recently helped Fitness & Wellness Professional Services successfully launch a number of fitness-focused communities for its clients. In each case, the community grew from a Racery-hosted online challenge that was tracked on a virtual route.

“The community Racery creates is infectious,” says Jay Groves, the Executive Director of Population Health Management at Fitness & Wellness Professional Services. “It takes engagement in employee wellness programs to a whole new level! It’s an inspiring way to get your employees moving towards better health.”

Racery Virtual Race Communities - Menasha Team AwardFitness and Wellness runs health centers at eleven hospitals in the North East, serving 55,000 individuals, as well as programs for individual corporate clients.

One client, Menasha Corporation, is a New Jersey retail packaging manufacturing company. Menasha used Racery to host a 464-mile virtual challenge from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon, pitting teams of administrative and factory workers against each other.

Instead of employing a simple traditional step-counting challenge, Menasha used Racery’s virtual world to create a more tangible and social experience.

The online challenge sparked real-world exercise and camaraderie. “It was very encouraging to see the employees get together to take lunch walks around the facility each day and hear employees talking in the break room about their exercises that week,” says Deanna Frederick, a General Manager for Menasha’s Western Campus.

Racery also integrated with each employee’s fitness preferences, creating a level-playing field. Staffers completed their preferred activities, which included running and walking, cycling, yoga, swimming, aqua therapy, Zumba and basketball. Depending on exertion level, these activities were then converted to miles of progress on the digital route from LA to the Grand Canyon.

In addition to logging their own activities, each day employees viewed a stream of other colleagues’ activities, which contributed to positive peer-driven momentum.  

CentraState, a not-for-profit health organization, is another Fitness and Wellness client that used Racery. CentraState offered members of Health Republic Insurance of New Jersey an online walking challenge, which was part of a holistic home-based exercise and health coaching program.

The online platform gave participants a way to interact with health coaches beyond their regularly scheduled in-person meetings. The coaches used Racery to monitor participant activity and provide additional motivation through “likes” and comments on daily activities.

The shared challenge also helped participants get support from peers who were focused on the same weight-loss and fitness goals.

Read ten reasons a Racery community virtual fitness challenge is simpler and more effective than anything your company could build. Then get in touch with Racery’s virtual race gurus to talk about virtual race for your company, organization or community. Or take ten minutes to build your own custom virtual race route right now and share it with your group!