Healthy Body includes physical activity, nutrition and general health information.
Healthy body
Physical activity is classified by the World Health Organisation as all types of incidental and planned movement including activity that occurs during work, recreation, exercise and sport.
UOW's Wellbeing Team promote and support a Healthy Body with our partners UniActive.
UniActive
Located on Wollongong Campus & Innovation Campus, UniActive facilities boasts:
- Two air-conditioned gyms featuring Precor Cardio equipment and Life Fitness Hammer Strength equipment (Wollongong Campus and Innovation Campus)
- 50m heated outdoor swimming pool - Recently upgraded.
- Basketball, Badminton, Squash and Tennis Courts
- Extensive sporting facilities and ovals
- Sports Hub: a multi-purpose indoor sport stadium including a High Performance Training Area and Boxing Gym
- Over 50 Group Exercise Classes a week
- Health and Fitness Programs and Events
- Personal Training
- Fitness programs for schools and corporate groups
- Swim School catering for children ages 3yrs+ and adults
- Phytness Healthcare provides onsite physiotherapy, remedial massage, exercise physiology and sports medicine services to help you achieve your health and fitness goals.
UOW staff and the Illawarra community are all welcome to use our facilities too.
See what UniActive has to offer.
Stretch@work
Although you may be hesitant to stretch at work, keep in mind all the benefits of adding stretching to your day-to-day routine.
Stretching improves your flexibility - our posture at work, sitting for hours a day, wreaks havoc on the natural curvature of our spine. If your back feels tight and uncomfortable completing a few stretches every day will help relieve the tension and ultimately increase your flexibility.
Stretching leaves you feeling refreshed - taking time for a break between or during activities can improve your work flow and productivity. Stepping away from your desk and stretching, like all types of exercise, acts as a powerful form of stress relief. Gentle stretching exercises, relax tense muscles associated with stress and has the same endorphin boosting effects as other forms of exercise, improving your mood and the way you feel in general.
Stretching also promotes increased circulation - increasing blood flow and supply of nutrients around the body has positive flow on effects for your health, promoting cell growth and repair and proper organ function. Your skin also benefits from an increase in blood circulation, fighting infection and improving your overall well being.
To help you out, Wellbeing have designed a Deskercise Routine stretch poster with stretches you can complete quickly and easily in order to reap the benefits of physical activity at work. So make it routine and don't feel awkward, be the trend setter and get stretching!
Nutrition
Your lifestyle can have a major impact on your health and wellbeing. Here are some handy nutritional links and resources to help you on your way.
Make healthy normal
We are living in an environment where being unhealthy has become normal. Over half of adults and more than one in five children in NSW are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes later in life.
The good news? It's never too late to make a change for yourself or your family. Small changes to your lifestyle can make a big difference. We need to change normal. We need to make healthy normal.
General health
General Health covers an extremely broad spectrum of health related topics under the Healthy Body banner.
The WHS Units Wellbeing Team aims to provide awareness and support for UOW staff on health and wellbeing, however if you do not find information relevant to your concern, please contact the WHS Unit on 4221 3931 to discuss or if there is a medical concern we advise you to please contact your general practitioner or relevant medical provider.