Major Award!

We've won a major award in the Fitness Challenge drawing! According to Judy Leitz, the SCOE representative in charge of the Fitness Challenge, we've won a Power Resistance cord and a cooling towel. I'm not sure how best to share the prize among us; I can see keeping the Power Resistance cord at school and using it for exercise on breaks / when we feel like it, but the cooling towel - ew. Maybe we should just have a drawing from among our members for sole ownership of the goods?

Here is a link for the Zumba exercises I mentioned a few posts back.

SCOE blood drive is this Tuesday. You need an appointment for this, but it's an easy 10 points. I didn't realize that bloodletting was still considered an effective way of improving one's health! ;) Call Chris at 238-1707 to make an appointment if you would like to donate.

It's a busy week for events! Some other calendar items of note:

2 points if we plan a healthy potluck to share with one another this week. :)

Wednesday the 24th - line dancing class from 12-1 at H Street, in the Elmdale room.

Friday the 26th - SCOE Fitness t-shirt (1 point), Zumba lesson (see link above - 1 point), and finally, for 2 points, do the following complete set of exercises 3 times:

• 25 sit-ups or crunches
• 25 push-ups
• 25 leg lunges

(In other words, 75 total of each exercise, broken into 3 sets.)

These exercises all have to be done on Friday the 26th, not spread out!

Finally, a quick article and a lot of good tips regarding heart-healthy habits can be found here.

Thanks to all for your hard work and make sure your point logs are in to me by the end of the day on Monday, February 22nd!

Jason

Excuses

Good morning, fitness warriors!

I recognize a few of these phrases all too well. So, what's the excuse that keeps you from being as fit and healthy as you should be?

Thank you for your patience with the lack of leadership last week; I especially appreciated Sonya and Dessa stepping up to pull together our healthy "salad potluck" at the last minute. I regret that I failed to upsell other opportunities, such as "Eat a Healthy Snack" day on the 11th. 

For this week:

Tuesday: Turn in your logs by noon, please and thank you. :)

Wednesday: Line dancing class from 12:00 - 1:00 in the Board Room at H Street - let me know!

Thursday: Exercise Challenge - walk a mile at lunch for an extra point.

Friday: Healthy Cooking demonstration - 12:00 - 1:00 PM in the Board Room at H Street, AND wear a SCOE Fitness T-Shirt for an extra point on this day.

Upcoming: Blood drive at H Street on the 23rd!

Here's an easy-to-digest article for you, if you're interested. Short version: make sure that anti-stress time and activity is built into your life! 

Thanks everyone! Make it a great week!

Cap'n Jason

These Aren't the Running Shoes You're Looking For

Happy Friday, fitness warriors!

Together now, in your best Forrest Gump voices:

"I may not be a smart man / woman, but I know that three days off are better than two."

(If you didn't read it aloud as "man slash woman", please go back to the beginning and try again.)

Silliness aside: enjoy your weekend, guys. Even heroes need a little time off. :)

As there is no school on Monday, please have your Week One point totals ready for me by 8:30 AM on Tuesday. With history as my guide, I would strongly suggest keeping up your score sheets as we trudge through the week. I have lots of trouble remembering and scoring my meals, in particular. "Dang it, was my dinner two days ago actually balanced, or just delicious?" I am a sort of anti-captain in this regard, demonstrating strong anti-leadership. Just...do as I don't.

Surveys are due in today, if you haven't already.

One for Tommy and anyone else who likes to run in our group: article here.

And more generally: www.runnersworld.com

Have a great weekend, guys, and I'll see you next week! 

J.

Happy Thursday!

Good morning, fitness warriors!

First: Many apologies - I feel like the last post (written in great haste) was worded very poorly. I want to be clear: while I have experienced a strong temptation to "pad" my points and fudge the truth on my weekly log, I've been good, and I know that you have too. I knew that there was some confusion on the scoring and only sought to clarify. I know that I'm a clod when it comes to the words I choose at times. :(

Second: the survey that you've been asking about can be found here. Record the survey points under "SCOE Fitness Event" at the bottom of the scoring page.

Third: Anyone want to go for a massage tomorrow? I know it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but hey! Free massage. :) Please let me know today and we can make arrangements for you to go over tomorrow if you'd like. 

Fourth: Here's your suggested reading for the day. Interesting to me, as I consume these supplements daily.

Keep up the great job! We're off to a good start. :)

Hello Stationary Bike...

Hello, fitness warriors! How are things going so far?

There have been a few questions that I wanted to field here in the hopes of getting everyone on the same page. 

First: I haven't seen any sign of the survey yet. I also did not receive the video that we were to watch today. I will follow up with the supreme high overlords of the Fitness Challenge this afternoon to see if they have any information.

Second: Beware double-dipping on points! For example, if you have an hour-long exercise class and during that class you do strength training and use an exercise machine, choose the activity that best suits what you were doing and assign points accordingly. Alternatively, break it down by the amount of time you spent doing each activity. Try to avoid counting things twice - don't give credit for Workout with Personal Trainer + Strength Training + Individual Workout. An exception would be the SCOE events like Monday, wherein you can claim credit for the miles walked as well as credit for participating in the event.

My own temptation to double-dip, "pad" my points and generally stretch the truth always comes when I'm tallying up points for the team and I see how poorly I did relative to other team members. I don't want to be the guy to let the team down! Know that we are here to encourage one another and that there are no winners or losers when it comes to point totals - I just want you to try your best and challenge yourself. :)

Third: Note that some point categories are "daily" - meaning you can only earn the points once per day. An example would be drinking 32 ounces of water. You can only claim one point per day for that activity. All of the "diet" points are once per day, except "Balanced Meal" which is 1x per meal (for a maximum of three, I would assume). 

Keep the questions coming! If I don't know the answer, I'll try to find out for you as quickly as I can.

Here's your quick and easy health article for the day. I know how heavily I reply on your brains -- keep them healthy! :D

A little laugh that they shared with us at the team captains' meeting last week. :D Enjoy and keep having fun!

Cap'n Jason

Not So Sweet

Hi again, fitness warriors! I thought we were off to a good start today. Thanks to everyone for supporting the walk-around in the freezing-cold wind today. "Blow-around" would have perhaps been a more apt title.

Planking is fun, but hard. I blame Shantel for bringing this into my life.

So as you know, soda is the monkey on my back as we come into this year's challenge, as it was a year ago. I thought it fitting to include an article on the damage sugar does to other parts of your body, such as your face. (Explains a lot, doesn't it?) ;) You can find the article here.

Other tips: be sure to remember your daily multivitamin and fiber, fiber, fiber! Buy a giant tub of Metamucil and have at it!

-J.

Measurements

Good evening, fitness warriors -

A couple of quick tidbits. First, please make sure that you weigh yourself and take weigh measurements - tonight, if possible, or tomorrow morning at the latest. Write these numbers down and set them aside; we will measure again and record at the end of the four weeks. 

It seems worth mentioning that your weight is likely to fluctuate over the course of the challenge, and you may actually gain in the first couple of weeks as you increase water intake and start adding muscle. Try not to feel discouraged - we're aiming for better health and long-term results above all else.

Next: Please feel free to identify and read health and wellness articles that interest you; I will try to provide links as often as possible with a focus on mind / body health. My first suggestion can be found here.

Finally: Tommy had provided updated links for the RunDHH t-shirts over on Zazzle: here and here. I will update the original post as well. 

Good luck everyone! Remember the walkabout tomorrow and I hope to see you there!

Jason

To Serve Man

Pop quiz:

How many Fitness Challenge points will the T-Rex depicted above earn for catching and consuming the fleeing human?

Some points for discussion:

1) Do we classify this as "Run/Jog", or "Other Fitness Activity"?

2) Is the "Junk Food" penalty incurred?

3) Does the human contain less than 20 grams of saturated fat?

4) Does the human contain 25 grams of fiber or more?

5) Does the human contain less than 2300 mg of sodium?

Welcome back, team Run DHH!

I am actually feeling excited about the challenge this year. I personally have a number of bad health habits that I'd like to tackle, and I always find that it's much easier to make these changes with the support of a team. :) Just as I will look to you for support (and patience, doubtless, as I cut back on the caffeine), I hope to be able to offer you all some support, encouragement and inspiration, as well.

Please subscribe to this blog via email (if you haven't already) - on the main blog page, check the right hand column, near the top. This will be my primary means of communicating with the group. If you have any questions or requests of me, please either post comments here for the benefit of the group or try to grab me in person at work. You can also reach me via telephone / text at (209) 613-9977. My work email is jgillespie@stancoe.org.

If you think you would like to get together with other team members for workouts, running or other activities, let me know and I will try to get a "directory" together for the team.

The theme for this year's Fitness Challenge is "LIFE IS GOOD". I challenge you all to make life good for your teammates. This comes naturally to all of you, I think. Go out of your way to make it happen. We are strong together.

Some important links:

SCOE Fitness Challenge 2016 Home 

SCOE Fitness Challenge Point Record Form

(blank forms can be found in my classroom, below the Fitness Challenge poster)

SCOE Fitness Challenge Events Calendar

SCOE T-Shirt Orders

"RunDHH" T-Shirt Orders - link coming soon (?)

WEEK ONE

I welcome your ideas for a team activity for the first week - we can earn 2 points each for participating in a team-building, "Life is Good" activity during the first week!

Monday:

Walk-Around 10:00 - 11:45 AM. We will stagger this to provide coverage for interpreters who wish to participate. Kids from both classrooms are welcome to join us on this walk. Rain or shine!

Wednesday:

Working to get a copy of the Zumba video for on-site viewing. :)

Friday:

• Complete Fitness Challenge survey (mandatory)
 • Wear either a Fitness Challenge shirt, something red ("Heart Healthy"), or a college logo
        (mandatory)
• 11:30 - 2:00 - free chair massage at H Street. I will work with Cheryl on this; would like for everyone to have an opportunity to attend.

All score sheets due to me by 8:00 AM on Tuesday morning, February 9.

Good luck, everyone! I'm here if you have any questions or if I can support you in any way.

-Cap'n Jason