Aspire Power Club is a special programme within Aspire that helps Aspirians live healthier lives and have fun together. We asked Kasia Szemro about its origins and impact on Aspire employees.
Where did the idea come from?
One day, a few colleagues came up with the idea of collective football training sessions. We provided a budget and hired a hall. Soon others followed with other disciplines. This is how the idea of Aspire Power Club, back then, Goyello Power Club, was born.
According to a study carried out by the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia, even briefly exercising for 20 minutes daily facilitates information processing and memory function.
Since then, we’ve spent thousands of hours doing sports. To stay fit, we’ve consulted coaches, dietitians and physiotherapists. We’ve eaten tons of fruits on Fruity Mondays and drank litres of water from our own Aspire filtered-water spring.
Who was the originator of this idea?
Some 5 years ago, there were a lot of leisure activities going on at our company. Some of them were initiated by our colleagues, others by the marketing and communications team. As most of them had a common goal: living a healthier life, I thought it would be good to establish a special program with its own vision, name and budget.
How long did it take to create the programme?
Since the moment that the decision to establish the Club was taken, we initiated a lot of collective activities, like BikeLike, an internal biking competition or RunTime, a running competition or an overall physical activity competition, Time2Move. We have also participated in a number of external sports events. To be well prepared, special training was organized with professional coaches.
What was the aim of the Aspire Power Club?
To help people live healthier lives.
Power stands for physical power, but also for mental power. Once your body is healthy (due to physical activity and healthy food), your mind is sharper and in general you have a greater chance to feel happier.
What value does it serve, and what purpose?
To be fit, to feel great, to have fun together. And as a result to perform better at work and in life.
How has Aspire Power Club influenced the lives of employees?
It might be the best to ask them.
However, I know of some colleagues who started to take more exercise thanks to Aspire Power Club or who got inspired to eat more healthy.
Are they involved in the development of Aspire Power Club?
Some of them are experts in certain fields, for example, Mateusz, who is a very active biker and often helps us to organize initiatives in this discipline. There are also internal ambassadors on running, swimming and even triathlon.
We do our best to engage colleagues not only in taking part in the activities, but also to share their ideas on what to do and how to do it.