In celebration of the 2014 Winter Olympics kicking off in Sochi today, gather your colleagues for your very own Office Olympics! Dare to take on the five events below, or channel TV’s The Office and invent your own (Flonkerton, anyone?) And don’t forget to honor your winners with those coveted yogurt-lid medals!
1. Rhythmic Hula Hooping
This event isn’t for the shy. Competitors create choreographed hula hooping routines to music–the funnier the better! Have judges grade hoopers on categories of your choice: difficulty of moves, artistic flair, even costume design!
2. Track & Field
Outdoors: Set up 1-mile, 5k, and relay races with mini events along the routes, such as rubber band archery, the limbo or office chair spinning.
Indoors: Have a speed walking race between the two farthest parts of your building, short-track desk chair races, paper airplane javelin, and trash can shot-put.
3. Pentathlon
Clear the conference room for this speedy but tough series. Designate a timer and judge to see which competitor can complete 50 (or any predetermined number of) sit-ups, pull-ups, walking lunges, push-ups and jumps with a jumprope the fastest. No cheating on your form!
4. Basketball
Hit the court for an old-school basketball throw down and finally find out who in the office is the true Dream Team once and for all.
5. Table Tennis
Leave it all on the table with a singles/doubles competition of ping pong — or, as Arnold Schwarzenegger calls it in the recent Super Bowl ad, “Tiny Tennis.”
No matter what events you include in your Office Olympics, dress appropriately, hydrate, watch out for injuries (to yourself and office equipment!), and be a good sport. The torch is now in your hands, so have fun!
Body Mechanix, Inc. is a Charlotte, NC-based company specializing in injury prevention, workplace ergonomics and physical therapy. Led by certified ergonomics assessment specialists, BMI provides on-site ergonomics analyses, injury prevention programs, wellness programs, and other services to large and small companies across the US.