By Jen Williams, Loan Assistant, Core Bank
In today’s world, there are all sorts of methods to try for getting into shape. Just turn on the television or log into your social media and you will immediately see, “LOSE WEIGHT GUARANTEED” ads flash across the screen. Or my favorite, “Just 10 minutes per day and you will look like this!” Give me a break! Let’s be realistic… working full time and taking care of a home, kids and spouses can eat up your time (not to mention energy) which makes going to the gym the last thing that I want to do.
Can’t I do something that’s fun?
Contrary to what people may read, bankers don’t just play golf. Most of us are sitting behind a desk all day which makes it difficult to stay active. So in an effort to get us moving, Core Bank came up with a solution. Create a team-building event that incorporates getting active while having some friendly competition. The idea is a Step Challenge which lasts for a month, ending August 16th and a goal of logging enough steps to start in San Diego, California and end in Portland, Maine.
Teams are created in groups of four and a name is determined by each team. Mine is “The Kansas City Quarterbacks”. GO CHIEFS! I’m sorry, it’s that time and I got excited. Back to the steps.
The challenge consists of monitoring your steps each day and also getting points for certain physical activity such as working out or mowing the lawn. Each week, there’s something a little different. In the first week, extra points were given based on water intake. In week two, if you clocked 10,000 steps in a day you got to add an additional 1,000 points to your total.
Strapping your step counter on your dog, eh?
Needless to say, the competition immediately took off. Every day you would see people up and walking throughout the building or outside, and every morning the question of “How many steps did you get yesterday?” could be heard. And of course the friendly trash talking of whose team is better and swearing that someone put their Garmin on the dog’s collar to get extra steps for that week.
What I’ve learned during this process is that even the little “steps” can make a difference. I take the stairs now whenever possible and make sure to get up and move at least a couple of times an hour. I haven’t mastered all the water intake, but my friendly coworkers are trying to get me into the habit. Now, as to how our team is comparing to the others? We may not be in first place, but it doesn’t matter. We’re making an effort and that’s what counts!