Health heroes battled inertia this May for the fourth annual Step-IT-Up! Challenge. A total of 83 teams were inspired to “hero up” for the Challenge and collectively log a total of 139,104,749 steps. The winning team, "Step in the Name of Fun," contributed the equivalent of more than 4.7 million steps to the total.
Step-IT-Up! Challenge rules encourage participants to use an activity tracker synced to their mybmcwellness.com account to achieve the most accurate step counts. However, participants who don’t use activity trackers can log their steps manually using an activity conversion chart that provides the estimated number of steps per minute of activity.
Don’t let the name fool you. Team Step in the Name of Fun started the Challenge with fun in mind but ultimately, their competitive spirit could not be contained. This winning team is an alliance of friends: Amanda D., Cristina R., David O., Katrina C., Latoya R., Leslie H., and Syme L. To clinch the win, they played to the strengths of each team member, fostered good team communication and applied a large dose of peer pressure. Some team members hit the gym two times a day while others focused diligently on moving more at work and recording their daily activities after work and on weekends.
The team’s turning point came when they saw that winning the Challenge was within reach and realized that they hadn’t been converting a lot of their daily activity. “We realized that we weren’t tracking daily activity like housework, shopping, walking the dog, playing Pokémon in the park,” says Latoya, the team captain who said bWell Challenges are helping her lose weight, stay motivated and improve her eating habits.
The team also kept each other accountable. “It’s tough for me to stay motivated so Latoya really kept me on task,” says Leslie H., adding, “After working at BMC for 10 years, I finally gave in to the peer pressure and now I work out every day at the onsite gym.” Leslie says staying active helps her manage her stress and work and at home, where she’s the mother of six children.
Other members of the team are active, avid fitness enthusiasts who made major contributions to the team’s weekly step count. “I already had great health habits but the Challenge provided good tips and it was a great opportunity to motivate others on our team,” says Christina R.
Amanda D. says her team mates made the Challenge easier because they were always encouraging her. “I participate in all the Challenges to focus on losing weight. It’s easy because my team mate, Syme, sits close to me and it’s like having my own personal trainer encouraging me to go to the gym every day,” she says. Amanda adds that one of the best things about participating in bWell challenges is momentum. “Once you start one good habit, you pick up other good habits, she says, adding, “Being around people that care about their health really rubs off on you and that also helps.”
For David O., having a one-year-old baby at home helped bump up his activity level. He also shops for the family and takes long walks around the aisles at Costco every week. “I relied on my Fitbit during the competition but I also paid attention to the time I spent completing all my chores and other activities at home, like washing the car and walking the dog, David says. He echoes his team mates, saying, “We’re all friends and are comfortable putting pressure on one another to move more and log all of our activity,” adding, “The team adopted a ‘you can’t run or hide attitude.’ ”
While Latoya took naturally to her role of team captain, Syme L. was happy inspiring other team members as a role model. “I like competition and winning. When you set your mind on a goal and achieve it, you feel like a super hero, she says. “I run, walk and walk up 100 floors a day on the Stairmaster at the YMCA.” She says she enjoyed motivating her team mates. “It’s hard. You can’t get lazy or you won’t reach your goal,” she adds.
Other Prize Winners
Congratulations to team inIT2winIT on achieving the highest average steps per member: Randeep P., Juliana K., Maria-Isabel G., Michael S., Imran Q., Randolph S., and Rebecca S.
The Step-IT-Up! Challenge also recognizes the efforts of four teams with weekly participation prizes. Congratulations to Steppin’ Into the Cloud, Austin Stragglers, Tampa Steppers and We Walk for Pizza. Each member of these teams took home a $50 Amazon gift card.
Steppin’ Into the Cloud: Janet M., Maria L., Christine-Marie G., Kay C., Yolanda S-S, Imelda O. and Felicia M.
Austin Stragglers: Michele S., Erik R., Darrell W., Craig S., Martin De C., James S., and Antonio V.
Tampa Steppers: Ralph T., Jessica C., Joshua G., Mary H., Olexandr K., Putri W., and Peng C.
We Walk for Pizza: Randell T., Vipul J., Hung V., Mabel C., and Vaibhav G.
Mission Superheroes Continues
The current bWell campaign, Mission Superheroes, continues until July 31. More than 148 health heroes are on track to reach the Going Supersonic level with 7,000 bWell points by the deadline and become eligible to win one of the 10 Great Escapes prizes. Keep on earning bWell points and good luck.
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