“It’s important to exercise and take care of yourself,” said Kaia, a Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner at UnityPoint Health – Trinity Muscatine Public Health.

Kaia is an active participant in OnPoint for Health to earn wellness points. She has participated in activities including reading about health topics; watching videos; playing Sudoku; doing squats, planks, and pushups; and many more.

“There’s always an exercise challenge going on … do your 150 minutes a week to earn 10 points,” Kaia said.

Knee Pain Halts Running

Kaia was accustomed to running daily to earn her points, but then she started experiencing knee pain.

“It was recommended that I walk instead of running all the time,” she said. “But walking didn’t get my heart rate up. Then I got an elliptical machine [that’s more gentle on the knees].”

Wellbeats Fitness Challenge

Wellbeats was introduced as an OnPoint for Health option in May 2021. Employees were given two ways to become acquainted with the platform.

“You could choose between a fitness challenge or a meditation challenge,” Kaia said. “I did the meditation challenge.”

That experience piqued Kaia’s interest and she began checking out other classes.

“Then it occurred to me: I can take this Wellbeats and put it on my elliptical [i.e., play classes on her tablet device] and do workouts that way.”

Favorite Running Classes

Kaia discovered her favorite set of classes by Olympian Carrie Tollefson, Wellbeats’ run lead and coach.

“Now I get on my elliptical at 5:30 a.m. four to five times a week. I like it because I have Carrie working out with me and giving me positive reinforcement and challenging me.”

Kaia enjoys choosing a workout the night before and saving it to her schedule.

“That tells me to get up at 5:30 and be accountable to myself,” she said.

Kaia likes them so much, in fact, that she often replays the same 20-minute class three times to get up to her hour-long daily workout goal.

Two of Kaia’s favorite Carrie classes are Sunrise Run and Basic Intervals.

“They’re a bit of a challenge, and they get my heart rate up. I do both of them a couple of times a week,” Kaia said. She admits that “I can get up on the elliptical and think ‘Ugh. Why am I doing this?’ And then all of a sudden I realize, ‘Hey, I know why I’m doing this: I feel better; I’m ready to start my day; I’ve done something for myself.’”

Favorites Saved in Library

“The other thing that’s nice about Wellbeats is that you can save your favorites,” Kaia said. “So I can just go to that tab and not have to sort through all the options.”

She has also saved some audio workouts with Wellbeats instructors Mark K. and Gea M. to her library.

Kaia had been very disappointed when she started having knee pain from running.

“I’m pro-exercise; I think it’s good mentally and physically for everybody. So when Wellbeats started, and I figured out I could do this with my elliptical and get a decent workout, I was just tickled to death,” she smiled.

Download Kaia’s Member Spotlight here.

About Wellbeats, a LifeSpeak company

Wellbeats, a LifeSpeak company is a leading provider of on-demand virtual fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes for use in workplaces of all sizes, health plans, on college or university campuses, multi-family housing, the U.S. military, and fitness and health clubs. Based in St. Louis Park, MN, Wellbeats makes fitness accessible, affordable, and approachable for everyone. More than 1,000 classes and 35+ programs are available to help members stay on track and meet their goals. To learn more, visit www.wellbeats.com or check out a sampling of the company’s fitness classes during a Facebook Live class, and follow Wellbeats on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.