Health & Fitness: Work & Work Out

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Health & Fitness: Aspria in Brussels explains why they have opened a co-working space in a wellbeing club.

Co-working. From its free-spirited roots – table tennis and beer on tap to target a younger crowd of artistic freelancers and entrepreneurs – this is a trend that’s now embedded in the mainstream and growing fast, fuelled by the rise in remote and flexible working across businesses of all shapes and sizes.

The number of co-working spaces worldwide is expected to reach 25,968 by 2022 – an increase of 42% from 2019 and an average of 2,595 new spaces every year since 2015. Yet many of these spaces remain, well, a little frat house in feel. Spaces where more mature users might enjoy the convenience rather more than the community itself.

So, picture this. What if there were a co- working space filled with genuine like-minded people, offering all sorts of wonderful communal facilities, and where the cost of entry was zero? In fact, such a space already exists. It’s open now at Aspria Brussels Avenue Louise, and it’s complimentary to all members of that club. And the benefits of a co-working space being located within your wellbeing club? They are many…

1 – Out with stress: Workplace stress is a very real and growing problem, as data from the UK show: in 2018, for the first time, work-related stress, anxiety and depression accounted for over half of all working days lost to ill health. Yet, there’s a simple solution, and one that’s facilitated by remote working at Aspria: exercise, with its often scientifically proven ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Schedule a quick workout into each day and feel your stress levels fall.

2 – In with productivity: Worried you don’t have enough time in your day for a workout? Then you might like to consider the findings of studies such as this one by Swedish university Karolinska Institutet. Over the course of a year, researchers analysed a corporate wellness programme involving 472 workers. They found that, in spite of taking time out of their working hours to exercise, workers still achieved the same – or in some cases even higher – levels of productivity.

3 – Goodbye loneliness: Work from home day-in, day-out, and loneliness can set in. This is where co- working comes into its own: simply being around others can fulfil a very human need to feel connected. It works especially well when you’re surrounded by like-minded people, and at Aspria, our co-working areas are designed specifically and exclusively for our discerning membership. With vibrant workspaces alongside a fantastic programme of events, Aspria is the gateway to a stimulating and like-minded professional community.

4 – No more excuses: Work, family and social commitments can make it difficult to establish a regular workout routine, but if your gym is in the same place as your office, things become a lot simpler. It’s also easier to justify a short workout when it hasn’t been an upheaval to get there in the first place. A quick 10 or 15 minutes of weights and then back to your desk – that’s something most of us can manage on a more or less daily basis. You might even find a workout buddy among your co-workers – something that several studies have linked to increased exercise, effort and motivation. After all, there’s nothing like feeling accountable to another person to help you stick to your exercise promises.

5 – Strike a balance: It can be all too easy to lose our work-life balance. Bad enough if we’re office based, as work can still follow us home: just when we’re trying to relax, there it is, our mobile phone, flashing up those work emails. Yet, it’s worse still if we work from home as there isn’t even a physical cutoff. We don’t ever leave our office, even to sleep. Leaving the house and heading to Aspria each day is the perfect solution. Home can once again become a place to switch off – as long as we learn to switch off our phones!

6 – It’s all right here: Within a few steps, Aspria has everything you need for a well-fuelled, productive day of work: fitness and sport, but also spa and relaxation if you really need to decompress, plus a range of healthy meals, snacks and juices to give your brain the best possible fuel. And when it comes to our co-working facilities and services, it’s on us, complimentary for all members of Aspria Avenue Louise. It’s all part of our mission statement, helping our members Live Life Well by making working days happier, healthier and more productive.

To read more about co-working at Aspria Avenue Louise, please visit www.aspria.com

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