David Lloyd Clubs is opening a pop-up cafe that will take exercise as payment, as part of a campaign to encourage people to be more active during the working day.
The Run For Your Bun cafe will offer customers a free lunch in exchange for a micro workout, which lasts six minutes.
On behalf of David Lloyd Clubs, OnePoll surveyed 1,000 people in 12 British cities and found that the average office worker spends seven hours in every eight-hour working day sat down and sedentary. That means each year office workers could be spending approximately 1,578 hours (65.8 days) sat at a desk. The research found that almost a third of those with desk jobs (28 per cent) will eat lunch at their desks every working day.
The rise of food delivery apps has made it easier for workers to not move from their desks. Almost one in four (23 per cent) of office workers admitted they use food delivery apps for their lunch at work. Of these, 30 per cent will use delivery apps three to five times each working week.
At the pop-up cafe, in London's Covent Garden, customers will place an order for a lunch item before completing the six-minute micro workout under the guidance of the cafe’s personal trainers. They will then receive their complimentary lunch.
The ‘HIIT’ (high-intensity interval training) workout includes one minute each on a rowing machine, spin bike and treadmill, as well as 60-seconds of sit-ups, bodyweight squats and lunges, with 30-second rest periods between each exercise.
The lunch options include smashed avocado with cherry tomatoes, goats cheese, chilli and lime on toasted wholemeal bread and a grilled chicken breast burger with tomato, red onion and garlic mayonnaise, among other choices.
David Lloyd Clubs health and fitness expert, Elaine Denton, said: “We want to remind workers of the importance of being active at work and moving around more. This week workers can be more active by visiting Run For Your Bun and get a free lunch on us in return, but on an everyday basis people can be more active at work just by doing little things, often – whether that’s taking the stairs each day instead of the lift or leaving the office and walking to get their lunch.
“Ultimately our lifestyles are becoming increasingly sedentary and we want people to recognise that a nutritious, balanced diet and a healthy amount of exercise go hand-in-hand when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle.”
The Run For Your Bun cafe will be open from 12pm to 3pm from Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 January.
