Attainable / Realistic
The primary wellness program goal is to lower the health risks of as many employees as possible. This goal is best
accomplished by creating attainable and realistic fitness challenges that reach out to all employees.
As noted before, it is important to consider your entire employee population when choosing a challenge mode. If a large
percent of your workers are fit, choosing a weight-loss program essentially disenfranchises them. If the mode focus is too
narrow such as a bike-riding distance challenge, not enough people will be able to participate. Also, consider those with
physical handicaps and allow for alternate methods of participation.
Setting realistic goals comes into play when establishing activity and checklist challenges. Make sure that the list of
examples covers activities with a broad range of interests and resources. Gardening is an excellent physical activity but
not for most apartment dwellers. The benefits of weight lifting are too numerous to list but it excludes those without access
to a health club. These are only a few examples of qualifying activities to be included in your list for an activity challenge.
Since a checklist challenge asks the employee to perform a specific activity, additional care must be taken when setting it up.
The activity should not be too easy or the employee will not receive any benefit and it should not be unreachable or
participation will wane. Therefore, you must strive to achieve a balance that sets a stretch goal for participants. While a
common goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day, 5 miles is not realistic for many people. Instead, try 6000 steps for roughly three
miles.