The Make a Move six week team challenge ended on May 19. This month we want to acknowledge all the employees who participated. The Make a Move challenge was somewhat different than past challenges as teams tracked minutes of activity that could include flexibility and strength training as well as steps. Twelve teams competed and by the end of the challenge, they had averaged more than 13,000 steps per day, far ahead of the recommended 10,000 steps. The winning 12 member team was the DSI Step Warriors. They pulled way ahead averaging 19,725 steps per day! So amazing! Now, you may think that this was a group of young, highly trained marathon runners or fitness fanatics. The truth is the team was made up of average employees who recognize the benefits of exercise and were up for a challenge. How did they do this? Well, we asked them to tell us about themselves and their experience with the challenge. Below are responses from a few members of the team.
Diane LaCasse:
Diane has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in her knees, spine, ankles, shoulders, hands, etc. Seven years ago, she had her left hip replaced and her right hip was replaced last year. She is acutely aware of the need to move. Despite the osteoarthritis, Diane has been walking a lot for years, using her FitBit to track her distance with a goal of 12,000 steps per day. For the Make a Move Challenge, she upped her daily steps to help support her team.
Zoua Lee:
Zoua joined the challenge because she thought it would be fun to be on a team and compete against other teams. She enjoyed walking with teammates and getting to know her co-workers more. Now that the challenge is over, she plans to continue walking.
Herlinda Kamas:
Herlinda knows that walking will help with her diabetes. Her co-workers urged her to join the in this challenge because she walks all day in her job anyway, and it would be a way to get motivated to get in even more steps. Her teammates encouraged her every day. Herlinda says that being part of a team is like having cheerleaders! Now that the challenge is over, she plans to continue walking and tracking her steps.
Annette Wald:
As part of the Omada Program in which Annette has been participating, she was already walking regularly before the challenge. She was motivated to join the challenge to be part of a team. As they walked together, they would talk about their daily steps and activities and where they could do better. She plans to continue walking to help reach her weight loss goal.
For winning the Make a Move Challenge, the participants received our new long-sleeve Healthy Saint Paul t-shirts.
Healthy Saint Paul will continue to offer challenges in the future. We hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to challenge yourself with the support of teammates and have fun at the same time.