The Healthy Programmer

Building a Better Team

Whether you start a running group, dodgeball team, or some other kind of health-minded activity, you’ll need to ensure that your coworkers faithfully participate. As it turns out, your own excitement is the best motivator.

Psychology has shown us that the enthusiasm level of teammates and leaders directly impacts the enjoyment level of people who participate in fitness-related activities. In one experiment done by researchers at Northern Arizona University and Wake Forest University, ninety male and female adults were asked to attend an aerobics class. All of the classes were led by a graduate student who was told to act either excited or disinterested. In addition, a trained group of planted students participated in ...