Happy Monday, Fitness Warriors -

I hope you had a restful day today.

Please remember that your logs for the first week are due to me by 3 PM tomorrow (Tuesday). Either Kevin and I will then do the maths and makes sure that the info gets to Judy Leitz, our High Overlord of Employee Fitness, by 5 PM. It helps us a lot if we don't have to chase you down, and on foot, I doubt I could catch most of you anyway.

It's a busy week and I'm sorry to say that some of the events for the week transpired today, on our day off. So, starting with tomorrow:

2/14: Healthy Potluck or walk two miles with your team: 3 points. I will be walking / light jogging after school at 3 PM if anyone would like to join me. :) I am going to ask Judy if we can move the Healthy Potluck later in the week - say, Thursday. What say you, teammates?

2/14: CVT Health Screening from 10-3 at JFK. 5 points; contact your benefit specialist to make an appointment. I will work with my classroom staff to accommodate participation if possible.

2/15: CVT Health Screening, 9-2, at H Street. Same deal as the entry for 2/14, above.

2/16: Walk a mile at lunch! With weather, this could be a exercise room / NordicTrak style day; let's play it by ear.

2/17: Wear a SCOE Fitness Challenge T-Shirt - 1 point

Looking around for an article to link, I came across this. Our work is inherently stressful and it's difficult to build in time for decompression. Think hard about how you can make changes; I know I will.

See you tomorrow!

Cap'n Jason

Totally Unfair

Fitness warriors -

A couple of quick updates (thanks, Tommy, for the info):

Team t-shirts can be ordered here; SCOE Fitness Challenge shirts can be ordered here.

A great resource for your daily article (my favorite fitness activity!) can be found at Runner's World, here.

Did anyone remember / manage to hit the site walkaround today? If not, I am willing to authorize an alternative walkaround day this Wednesday from 10:00 - noon. If there is any blowback from the Fitness Challenge overlords for this change, I will take full responsibility for whatever happens to Kevin when I blame him.

Oh, and runners - no messing with the timeline, k?

-Cap'n Jason

Life is Good!

Greetings, Fitness Warriors! Welcome to the 2017 SCOE Fitness Challenge!

Kevin and I will be your team captains this year. As an agile man in tights once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." Or maybe it was his uncle that said that. In any case, we aim to inspire and encourage you as we move forward, making your participation as rewarding as possible.

After extensive negotiations with the SCOE Fitness Challenge Leadership team, Kevin and I have conceded that it's not in the best interests of our team to reward our weekly high-scorers with donuts and cigarettes. Apparently we've been "defeating the purpose" of the activity and "causing more harm than good". We didn't even tell them about the bacon - they seemed pretty upset and I started to worry that maybe that hadn't been the best idea, either.

Anyway!

All joking aside, we really like the theme for this year's Fitness Challenge: "Life is Good". Embedded in this challenge is another challenge: "Make it good for others". Like nesting dolls, these challenges! Still...what a great idea to build a team around. We know that an attitude of gratitude can act as the foundation upon which a happy, healthy life can be built. In a world where so many have so little, we have so much to be grateful for. I know that I count each of you among the many blessings that make my life good. Thank you all for being part of our team! Let's make it awesome. :)

Weekly exercise logs are due to Kevin or me by Monday at 3:00 PM every week (or 3:00 on Tuesday if Monday is a holiday). You all know the drill. The form can be downloaded here; alternatively we will endeavor to keep hard copies available for team members in DHH2.

The list of eligible activities and point values can be found here.

The calendar of SCOE-sanctioned activities can be found here.

For this week, there are a few highlights to be aware of:

Monday, February 6th: Staff Walk-Around, 10:00 AM, 2 extra points plus points for miles walked.

Wednesday, February 8th: Change Management boot camp, 10-12 (register) or 2-4 (register). I will excuse individuals to attend on a first-come, first-serve basis as possible. 10 points!!

Friday, February 10th: Wear a Fitness Challenge t-shirt to work. 1 extra point.

February 7th-11th: Walk 10,000 steps in a single day, as measured on a pedometer. One time only, 1 extra point.

That's it for now - check back soon for more information, or post with any questions or concerns that you may have!

Regards,

Cap'n Jason

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. :)