RebelWell Offers BurnAlong Wellness Classes at Home

University of Mississippi faculty and staff are eligible for a complimentary membership in “BurnAlong,” an interactive community that helps users safely manage their health and wellness while staying connected to co-workers, colleagues, friends and family.

The university’s RebelWell and Division of Outreach and Continuing Education are taking care of the cost of memberships for a limited number of accounts. BurnAlong is a tremendous benefit to those who chose to take advantage of it, said Andrea Jekabsons, UM’s chief human resources officer.

“It has short programs, many of them 10-minute programs, including options for workday breaks, and there are also adaptive workouts for those with disabilities,” Jekabsons said. “There’s also classes for hardcore fitness folks, but also other classes on nutrition, financial wellness, and mindfulness and other topics.

“Our distance runners and dedicated walkers may be considering supplementing their fitness routine with yoga, meditation or restorative classes. It’s a really great resource for pursuing many interests.”

Users with an account on the platform can add up to four more users at no cost, which allows families and friends to participate virtually together. And though BurnAlong is not available through an app on TVs, it still can be broadcast over many TVs from a variety of devices.

The platform offers thousands of classes and more than 45 health and wellness categories from hundreds of instructors.

When visiting the webpage, users can scroll down and view the “The NewBurnAlong Experience” video before creating an account. Then click on “First Time User” to create an account using your olemiss.edu email. Review the details at https://rebelwell.olemiss.edu/challenges-events/.

BurnAlong Bingo, an introductory personal challenge, is open to Ole Miss employees until the end of January. It has been well received. Debbie Maddigan, an accountant in the Office of Financial Aid, said she’s completed two rows of Bingo in the challenge already.

“I am loving BurnAlong,” Maddigan said. “I will have the whole card completed by mid-January!” 

Katherine Stewart, program coordinator in the Department of Theatre and Film, has been taking advantage of BurnAlong.

“Unless I’m simply going for a walk outside, I prefer to exercise at home,” Stewart said. “BurnAlong is so convenient for that, and there’s a great variety of different types of workouts. Just like gym memberships, home workout programs can get pricey, so this is a terrific benefit.”

She’s enjoying BurnAlong and hopes to keep exploring the many types of activities available, including the “wellness habits,” which allow users to add to their profile and track. It’s also possible to work out virtually with friends.

Stewart said she likes the platform offers many ways to choose: by type, by duration, by specific fitness goals and other criteria. She said she’s finding the workouts also can be very effective. 

“I get bored easily with workouts, so being able to mix up a bunch of shorter ones keeps me engaged,” Stewart said. “The other day, I did a fun one that didn’t seem too challenging at the time, but I was sore the next day.”

By Michael Newsom