Twice a day at the UCLA School of Public Health, faculty, students and staff participate in short workouts, performing moves like “Raise the Roof” and “The Grounder.”
These 10-minute-long exercises, called “Lift Offs,” are aimed at promoting health, reducing stress and lightening the moods of the participants.
Dr. Antronette K. Yancey, a professor at the Department of Health Services at the UCLA School of Public Health, started this program almost a year and a half ago and choreographs many of the routines.
An average workout can draw anywhere from two people to 50 if a professor brings in a class to participate, said Yancey.
Yancey tries to correct the notion that physical exercise is something done in spare time. By building exercise breaks into the system, she hopes to increase the likelihood of creating sustainable, behavioral change.
Yancey developed the concept of a “lift off” in 1999 at the Los Angeles County Health Department and implemented it at UCLA in 2002 while teaching a seminar on health and nutrition. She would have her students commit 10 minutes of each class to an exercise break.
The lift offs are of low to moderate intensity, and are made to be simple to learn. They also factor in the safety of the participant first, protecting areas such as the back, knees and neck. Even walking up the stairs can lead to more strains than her workouts, Yancey said.
Jammie Hopkins explains that the lift off begins with a few minutes of light activity to warm up.
Next, participants try the five to nine moves comprising a themed activity, beginning with lower body movements before moving on to the upper body. It ends with a cool-down, which includes a few breathing exercises.
Hopkins, a graduate student researcher with Yancey in the Department of Health Services, has helped choreograph some of the moves and occasionally leads a lift off.
He explains that the lift offs are mostly led by trained students and staff members. A CD or DVD is often played to match a theme chosen by the participants.
“(The lift off) wakes you up, loosens you up and ends the day on a good note,” Hopkins said.
Some moves reflect dances such as African and cumbia, a Latin American dance. For African dance, a participant can try a “Hallelujah,” where they place one foot behind the other and raise their arms up, as if in praise. In the “Harvest Offering,” the participant moves their arms forward before pulling it back.
Other themes incorporate maneuvers used in sports such as baseball. In the “Batter Up” move, participants shift their weight from front to back before moving their arms in a swing. In the “Wave,” the participant squats down, as if they were in the stands, before swinging their arms upward.
Yancey said that many of the participants have reported mood improvement, easier time climbing stairs, more energy, as well as weight and waist loss. Some have also received a wake-up call that they aren’t as in shape as they thought.
Student participants have reported feeling less stress before a test after participating in these programs.
Mona AuYoung, a graduate student researcher with Yancey in the Department of Health Services, has participated in choreographing some of the workouts.
“It’s very refreshing. In the office, you don’t really get the chance to move around. … (The lift offs provide) a nice time to interact with people, catch up what happened over the weekend and share music.”
Yancey hopes all students, faculty and staff, regardless of whether or not they work at Public Health, will come.
The workouts could improve students’ concentration, brain function and cognitive processing, she said.
John Ratey is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He recommends students spend an hour a day participating in activities such as brisk walking, jump rope and yoga.
Even pausing for a short period of time for exercise can be beneficial for a student’s learning processes and mental health, Ratey said.
He recommends variation in one’s activities and engaging in exercise with other people. This would make it feel more fun and less like a chore, he said.
“We are made to move; the more, the better.”