A gift of good health
On Wednesday 16th November, Sydney Adventist Hospital (fondly referred to as ‘the San’) and ELIA Wellness launched ELIA Fitness for all staff as part of Adventist HealthCare Limited’s (AHCL) commitment to whole-person health. In celebration of the launch, around 100 staff took a walk down memory lane by reliving our tradition of whole person health by undertaking group exercise on the front lawn.
Our staff are caring for our community, so we need to ensure we are caring for them. Accordingly, all our 2500 staff members were offered the gift of good health, in the form of a range wellness programs, including ELIA fitness.
ELIA Fitness provides a variety of workouts – Cardio, HIIT, Pilates, Boxing, Resistance and so much more. Workouts for all levels are easily accessed via desktop or the app, and can be held alone or in a group. Built-in fitness analytics encourage users to exercise at least six times a week and to track their progress.
To celebrate the launch of ELIA Fitness, AHCL held a group workout for all staff on the front lawn of Sydney Adventist Hospital. The workout was run by ELIA Fitness personal trainer & former professional footballer Todd Brodie as a taster of what is available within in the app. There was around 100 staff members gathered on the front lawn, with some even in fancy dress for the occasion.
Group workouts on the front lawn are not a new activity for the San, having wellness, embedded into the hospital’s ethos since it opened in 1903.
Groups of nurses in the 1920’s would gather on the front lawn each day for their physical culture calisthenics session. A lightwork out that would be performed prior to starting their workday. Check out the photo comparison of staff in the 1920’s vs 2022 (today’s session).
ELIA Wellness Executive Director Dr Geraldine Przybylko, who was part of the ELIA Fitness development team, says that the goal is to make it easy for people to exercise anywhere and anytime.
“ELIA Wellness aims to make fitness easy with our motto ‘fitness simplified’,” she said. “We know that exercise benefits people not just physically, but in terms of mental health, too. ELIA Fitness is a great way to support Adventist HealthCare staff to feel their best so that they can give their best care.”
Australian Government Health Guidelines suggest that adults aged 18 to 64 should be active most days, preferably each day. Each week, adults should aim for 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity, or a combination of both (1) – and at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days for those over 65. (2)
ELIA worked with former professional athlete and personal trainer Todd Brodie, and his team of athletes and personal trainers, to develop up to 150 ELIA Fitness workouts to suit all ages and different intensity levels. The ELIA Fitness “Movement and Mobility” workouts are perfect for those over 65 and for those looking to start their fitness journey with low-intensity exercise.
Australia’s newest health promotion charity, ELIA Wellness is the sister organisation to the Sydney Adventist Hospital. ELIA Wellness develops and promotes lifestyle-based resources to educate and empower individuals and communities to achieve whole-person health.
Their online and face-to-face products and services offer members access to a range of different educational programs and plans aimed at improving health outcomes for all, with better lifestyle choices.
ELIA’s whole-person philosophy in achieving optimal health, is based on the seven dimensions of wellness in the areas of emotional, physical, social, vocational, spiritual, intellectual and environmental.
“Human beings are designed to thrive and positive lifestyle choices can act as preventative medicine or improve wellness if ill,” said Dr Przybylko. “The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has identified that an alarming 55 per cent of adults did not participate in sufficient physical activity (3), yet we know that exercise is associated with significant health benefits.
“Whole-person health is the foundation of ELIA’s evidence-based lifestyle medicine programs, which complement conventional medicine to help the community achieve health, healing and hope.”
ELIA Fitness is available online at www.eliawellness.com or by downloading the ELIA Wellness app (iOS or Android).
(3) https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/insufficient-physical-activity
