Ten minutes of back training may not sound like much – and that's exactly the point. If you think that effective WHP exercise requires at least an hour and a changing room, you underestimate how much can be achieved in short, consistent sessions. The Rücken-Fit-Express is designed for workforces who have no time – and yet still sit at their desks every day.
Why does your back need exactly this type of training?
Complaints often arise less from strain and more from one-sided posture. If you sit for eight hours, you unconsciously tense the same muscles and let others waste away. Short, targeted sessions – guided by a physiotherapist or video – interrupt exactly this pattern. After a few weeks of regular 10-minute sessions, many people notice a significant reduction in that afternoon backache.
How do you establish the Express as a daily ritual?
The secret lies in the trigger: a fixed time in the calendar – better as a recurring appointment than as a good intention. Teams who do the Rücken-Fit-Express together – for example at 9:30 a.m. right after the first meeting – are more likely to stick with it than individuals. The short break pays off twice: both concentration and your back benefit equally. You can find more measures and their classification in the Movement action area.
How do you put the measure in place?
- 1Put together 10 simple back exercises (stretching, strengthening, mobilisation) and add a short video guide or a poster for each.
- 2Set the rhythm: 3 sessions per week over 4 weeks, each session about 10 minutes.
- 3Prepare a simple tracking sheet where participants note the sessions they complete each week.
- 4Make the exercise collection and the video guides available in one central place and share the link with everyone.
- 5Explain the 4-week plan and that back problems are among the most common reasons for sick days (DAK health report 2025: musculoskeletal disorders in third place).
- 6Recommend fixed time slots (e.g. Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and ask everyone to start their first session in week 1.
- 7At the start of each week, remind everyone of the three planned sessions and link the exercise videos again.
- 8Vary the choice of exercises slightly over the weeks so that strengthening and stretching alternate and it does not get boring.
- 9Encourage participants to enter their sessions in the tracking sheet, and recognise those who keep going.
- 10Evaluate the tracking: how many sessions did each person complete on average?
- 11Ask in a short survey whether tension or back problems have improved.
- 12Find out whether there is interest in continuing, and if needed plan a permanent weekly back routine.
What do you need for it?
- Effort
- half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Setup
- 60 min
- ✓ Tackles one of the most common causes of sick days
- ✓ Short exercises
- ✓ Doable at the workplace
Tax and health insurance: what is possible
Employer health benefits can be tax-free under § 3 no. 34 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) up to €600 per employee per year — if they are provided in addition to the salary already owed and are either certified (§ 20 SGB V) or implemented within the company's health promotion process. Gym memberships and corporate fitness are not covered. For ZPP-certified courses (e.g. from Upfit), German statutory health insurers can reimburse all or part of the course fee to their insured members — then only the amount exceeding that reimbursement is tax-free. Projects within the company can be funded under § 20b SGB V, with no entitlement. Only your tax adviser can confirm the tax exemption.
How it works in EasyWHP
This Best Practice in EasyWHP: adopt it, adapt it, measure the effect
Once adopted, the measure is ready in EasyWHP — with instructions, an invitation and surveys before and after. You adapt what fits your company and see at the end what it achieved.
Screenshots with demo data, no real people.
Adopt it for your company
Register for free — and the measure is ready to go in your cockpit: invitation, feedback survey and appointment are already set up. First cycle, first numbers for the boss.
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Contributes to
Measure the impact with
Action field
Physical Activity →A fitting occasion
- Back Health Day
Related Best Practices
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