The 13th annual Blue & You Fitness Challenge this year will be a nationwide, internet-only, free event using virtual competition and virtual medals to inspire actual exercise efforts.
The internet component is familiar from recent years of the challenge, which sprang to life in 2004 as the Arkansas Fitness Challenge, a walk-off between the state Health Department and the insurance giant Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Then-Health Department director Dr. Fay Boozman bet Sharon Allen, the insurance company president, that his employees would walk more hours than hers could. Blue Cross won.
In following years, the challenge expanded to include any employer, with rallies kicking it off and winning teams attending awards ceremonies involving little speeches, plaques and prizes. But over the years, physical trappings fell away until only a news conference remained.
This year, the whole thing is online.
Between March 1 and May 31, individual and team participants will log their bouts of exercise through a website (via computer or smartphone), earning points as they do.
The focus is on cardiovascular workouts, with each 15 minutes of "moderate" activities like boxing, dancing, hiking, mowing, softball, doubles tennis, walking and water skiing worth a half-point and "vigorous" activities like basketball, bicycling (at least 10 mph), football, jogging, mountain climbing, racquetball, soccer and step aerobics worth one point for every 15 minutes.
Participants can log up to three points per day, for a maximum possible final score of 276 points.
As motivation tools, team standings will show up on an online leaderboard, and participants' accounts will display "virtual medals" at 30 points (bronze), 60 points (silver), 120 points (gold) and 184 points (platinum).
The competition is endorsed by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the Arkansas Department of Health, the Arkansas Department of Human Services and Healthy Active Arkansas.
Teams will compete only against teams of similar size.
Anyone age 13 or older can participate, as an individual or within a group.
• Individuals register by joining the "Me, Myself and I Workout group" using the group code "workout" by Feb. 28.
• For teams, first, you think up a team name. Then the team leader, who is at least 18 years old, must register the group under that name on the website by Feb. 14, obtaining a group code to distribute to the other members. Each of them must sign in using the code by Feb. 28.
According to a news release, in 2016, 5,707 individuals and 117 groups participated in the challenge across 33 states. Groups ranged in size from two to 928 participants.
Of the 664 participants who answered an exit questionnaire after the three months, 86.4 percent said they had reached their goals and 98.3 percent said they intended to participate again. More than half of respondents said their goal had been to increase the amount of exercise they were doing; beginning to exercise was the goal of 17 percent of respondents.
Weight loss was a goal for 29.1 percent of respondents, 89 of whom lost an average of 15 pounds apiece. Five reported significant drops in cholesterol; 16 reported lower blood pressure; and five said their blood sugar levels were lower.
More information is at BlueandYouFitnessChallenge-ark.com.
ActiveStyle on 01/23/2017