Watch: Startup shows improving employee health doesn’t have to costs much

Every hour, on the hour, an alarm rings on Robin Salter’s computer. He gets up and starts to do squats. Around him, others do jumping jacks or push-ups. Such a routine is common in gyms, but not in an office park.

Salter, the Chief Marketing Officer for North Carolina-based Kwipped, calls the workouts “Ripped at Kwipped.” It began as way for him to get the blood flowing at work.

“I know that sitting at a desk all day is not particular healthy,” says Salter. “So, I’ve made it a habit to get up from my desk several times a day and either do some stretching, push-ups, sit-ups or air squats.”

At first, Salter’s colleagues thought (as we all might) he was a little crazy.

Then, a colleague asked to join in. The colleague loved to surf but had a hard time jumping on the board thanks to extra weight in his belly.

With two on board, the rest of the small open-air office followed suit. In a video Salter posted on Vimeo, you can even see the office dog Obie getting in on the fun.

Each workout lasts about a minute, so they are only doing about 10 minutes of exercise each day.

At its core, “Ripped at Kwipped” is similar to other mid-day workouts at offices around the world. Salter says this “deskercise” is a simple way to provide an employee fitness programme when the organisation is still quite small.

“As a startup, we can’t afford to offer a great traditional benefits package,” says Salter. “So we do make a conscious effort to create an appealing company culture that is perfectly aligned with supporting a high quality of life.”

Kwipped, which is in the coastal city of Wilmington, rents out equipment to businesses (everything from dental patient chairs to light construction equipment). With eight part-time employees and two part-time employees, they’re making an effort to provide a good quality of life to the employees.

They even take that mentality outside the office with impromptu “board meetings.” That’s when the surfers in the office grab their boards to head out into the Atlantic Ocean.

The company’s CEO loves to say, “Work hard, play a little harder.”

That’s a lesson other startups can use, without breaking the bank.