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Exercise messenger

Give a young person or a group of young people the responsibility of acting as inspirers for physical activity and strengthening the community.
Time

Continuous / according to agreed period

Difficulty

Easy

Equipment

Depends on the tasks created, often no special equipment is needed

Participants

1–30 (1–4 exercise buddies at a time)

How?

How to do it

  1. Choose a young person or a small group to take on the role of movement messenger in the youth center. The role can be rotated so that more people get the opportunity to try it.

  2. Encourage the messengers to plan low-threshold movement breaks, such as short stretching or movement exercises, small games, or other activating tasks that can be done easily and casually in everyday life.

  3. Help with ideas and implementation if necessary, but give the young people room for creativity: they can decide for themselves when and how to carry out the activities, as long as they are voluntary and fun.

  4. Make it clear who is acting as the movement messenger. For example, a small presentation wall or name tag can make the role recognizable.

  5. Collect feedback and reflections on the activity. How did the role feel? Were others inspired to participate? What can be tried next time?

Why?

Having a responsibility to promote physical activity strengthens the feeling of participation and empowerment. When young people get to inspire others to be physically active, their self-confidence, social skills, and group spirit increase. Short joint exercise breaks bring joy and energy to everyday life and lower the threshold for participation.