Ready to Step up the Pace?

Are you enjoying your pedometer?? If so, check out the following website: http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/health/health20percentboost.html

There is information about a gradual step approach entitled the 20% boost program. There is a log that you can track your steps and calculate your increase. There is also other helpful information such as wearing the pedometer on your shoe when biking, ways to help the program be a success at work, etc. So, if you are excited about stepping it up, then check it out!!

Pace the States

Walking is one of the easiest forms or exercise and a great way to stay healthy and fit. Little or no special equipment is required and you don't need to carve a lot of time out of your day to enjoy it's benefits.

10,000 steps per day is currently recommended for a healthy individual. Americans average 5,000. Where do BPL employees stand, or step? Compliments of Hendricks Regional Health we all have a way to find out. Everyone should have a pedometer in their mailbox. With this measuring tool we can see if we are walking more or less than we think we are on a daily basis.

To make things a little more interesting than just counting our steps we'll use our numbers to Pace the States. Over the next 8 weeks we'll tour Texas, amble Alabama, meander Michigan and of course pace Pennsylvania. We'll start with Nevada and move randomly about the country. Just give your step count to me and I'll keep track of our group progress on the BPL Fit Club whiteboard. You can send me your steps via email, a note in my mail box, a shout-out as you walk by the Circulation Desk. No names are needed as this is a group effort and individual progress will not be tracked.

There are two informational flyers posted to the Intranet in the BPL Fit Club folder of the Documents section. One covers the use of a pedometer and the other is a step conversion chart for various activities. If you're out for a bike ride or raking leaves you can convert those activities to steps and help us move about the country.

Lastly, if your interested in stepping around Crown Hill Cemetery take a minute to mark which days would be good for you in the poll located in the right side bar of this blog.

Lastly, lastly, please let me know if you have any questions or comments about Pace the States.

Laurie

If you noticed something missing . . .

Our exercise/weight-loss meadow is gone but not forgotten. As the photo shows we had a pretty active spring and summer. Based on conversations I had over the months we were actually a bit more active and a few pounds lighter than our meadow indicates.

The BPL Fit Club whiteboard looks forlorn at the moment but coming soon to fill the void is Pace the States. In the meantime we’re planning an exploration of Crown Hill Cemetery for October. If you don’t know much about Crown Hill Cemetery click here for an outline of their history and why it’s a perfect place for a fall visit. Families are welcome to join us—but don’t miss out on the fun if they elect not to come along. In order to find a day that fits best into our busy schedules please mark which days would work for you on the poll in the right sidebar and we’ll plan accordingly.

May 13th Walk Around Town Itinerary

7:30am Morning Walk: A longer walk for the dedicated morning folks—2.05 miles.



Lunch Time Walk: Grab a buddy or two and take a stroll around the block—.91 miles.





5:10pm After Work Exploration: We’ll visit the old Lingeman Cemetery under the guidance of our own Lauren Tinsley—1.25 miles.

Women's Health Awareness Week

May 10th through the 16th is the 10th annual Women's Health Awareness Week. The BPL Fit Club will be doing our part by having a "Walk Around Town" on Wednesday, May 13th. Since it’s very difficult to schedule a time where we can all participate, we'll actually be having three short walks scheduled ranging from 1 mile to 2 miles in length. For the early birds we'll start at 7:30am and have a leisurely stroll before starting work. Grab a buddy or two at lunch and stretch your legs a bit after you finish eating. The last group will be leaving at 5:15pm. Maps of the various routes will be in the lounge by Tuesday evening.

Please keep in mind:

- You don’t have to be a member of the Fit Club to participate. There really isn’t a membership per se – just a healthy state of mind.

- You also don’t have to be a woman.

Fitness Tracking

As you may have noticed a visual representation of our fitness efforts has been set-up in the staff lounge. Getting into the "Spring" of things, those who are interested in weight loss can add a flower to the whiteboard landscape for each pound lost. The number of flowers currently available represents the combined weight loss goal submitted to the BPL Fit Club for April 15th through September 15th.

For those who are just looking for a little more exercise rather than weight loss we have visual representation for you too. For each exercise session you do: a walk in the park, a swim at the Nat, bowling with your buddies, moving computer desks from here to there, whatever you do that moves you, put a blade of grass on the hillside.

For your convenience a grass green marker has been put at the white board and a tape dispenser is hiding behind the telephone to help with the flowers.

Next Exercise Session

The next exercise get-together is scheduled for Friday, March 13th, right after closing. Unfortunately neither Robbi or I will be able to make it. That doesn't mean you have to miss it too. I'll leave the DVD on my desk if you'd like to go ahead and walk with Leslie Sansone.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The votes are in from our Blog poll. The BPL Fit Club will move on with:

1. Group support while working towards an overall 6 month weight loss goal.
2. Quasi-regular exercise get-togethers.

We’ll start March 15th with a group weight loss goal and track it through September 15th. Send the number of pounds you’d like to lose to Laurie (email, verbal, anonymous note in the mailbox) and a spiffy chart of some sort will be posted in the lounge so we can see visual representation of our pounds melting away.

Our quasi-regular exercise get-togethers were started last night. We did a quick one mile walk in the Junior Programming Room lead by Leslie Sansone. We’re going to bump it to two miles (a 30 minute program) on Friday, March 13th around 5:15ish. No special clothes are required except a comfortable pair of shoes.

If you have any thoughts on a particular night you’d like to have a session or a particular DVD you’d like to follow along to, please feel free to post your comments and suggestions here.

February 14th was not only Valentine’s Day but also the end of our BPL Fit Club team competition. We know that you have been anxiously awaiting the results. While not all the participants have weighed in (sorry for the pun but I couldn’t resist) with their results yet Team 2, comprised of Emily, Larry, Denise, Leslie S and Laurie, has such a commanding lead that we are declaring them the winners. Their weight loss for the 5 month period totaled 21 pounds. Way to go Team 2. A special “Hurrah!” goes to Larry who accounted for over half the team’s loss.

(Breaking News! Leslie S has sent an update on her weight loss and steals the "Hurrah!" from Larry for the largest gain. Since the two are team mates this doesn't change the overall standings. - 1:04pm)

Where do we go from here? There have been several thoughts on what the club should do from this point:

· Have another 6 month team competition.
· Just provide moral support for co-workers.
· Resurrect group exercise get-togethers.

The one constant is that nobody wanted to abandon the Fit Club altogether. So please take a minute and cast your votes in the sidebar poll.

In the meantime let’s try to get a little group exercise in. For those interested we’ll walk a mile with Leslie Sansone on Wednesday, March 4th at 5:15PM back in the Junior Program Room. You won’t need special clothes for this just a pair of sneakers.