UNews - Kevin McFadzen

Changes don't have to end with Challenge

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:18:59 +0000

The 7th Annual Bee Heart Smart Challenge has concluded for the year and what a successful year we had!

A total of 18 teams (consisting of 165 people plus a number of individual participants) took part and the competition was fierce. Although I tried to get my name on the top-10 stepper list, other, more ambitious steppers quickly bumped me.

Thanks to all who joined in the fun. Watch the Notice Board and the Wellness website (www.uleth.ca/hum/wellness) for challenge winners.

Thank you to all our motivators – Mike Mahon, Nancy Walker, Kevin McFadzen – and although Maureen Mahon was not an official Busy Bee champion, she kept me motivated throughout the challenge. What excellent role models we have here at the
U of L.

Now that we have been physically active for six weeks, how do we maintain the
momentum we've established and keep the motivation up for the rest of the year?

Here are some tips:

Track your own physical activity

Use a calendar in your phone, or on your fridge, to keep track of the number of minutes each day that you are active. Include short bursts of physical activity – even 10 minutes at a time is beneficial – as well as activities such as stretching and yoga. At the end of the month count the total number of days you were active and calculate your percentage of active days.

Compare yourself from month to month and ask yourself, "Was it a good one?" Or could you increase your physical activity level?

Even 10 minutes is fine

Don't feel up to going to the gym, getting on the treadmill or going for a walk?
Try the 10-minute rule. Do an activity for only 10 minutes, and if after 10 minutes you still want to quit, do so. You might just surprise yourself and find you want to continue. Starting is often the hardest part.

Find a buddy

A friend, co-worker, family member or dog can act as a wonderful motivator. Get together to do something physical, even if it is only once per week. Chances are you will increase your activity level during the rest of the week to ensure you can keep up.

Remember to walk

We all have to walk somewhere every day. What we might not realize is that walking is easy on the body, and it burns calories and builds muscle – no fancy equipment required. People who track their progress and realize the benefits of walking are more likely to stay committed to their walking routine.

Challenge yourself

Enroll in a race, or try a different competitive or fun activity. Setting a competitive goal might be all the motivation you need to stay with your fitness plan.

In other Wellness news, Building Healthy Lifestyles will be offering a Festive Feasts Summer BBQ class on Friday, June 24 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. In the class, you will learn about how to make your own marinades, salads and spice mixes, all the while getting to sample some wonderful recipes. Call 403-388-6654 to register for this free workshop.

This story first appeared in the Legend. To view the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Heart Smart Challenge nears conclusion

trevor.kenney — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:43:22 +0000

The 7th Annual Bee Heart Smart Challenge is on again, beginning May 1, the program runs through June 13.

The idea is to walk, run, swim, cycle or just be active. Just over a week old, this year's challenge is already off to a great start. One of the twists this time around was the introduction of a Name Your Team contest. Following are some of the best names of the bunch: Anderson Walkers; Bookin' It; Bookmobiles!; Dust Bunny Wranglers; Gong Show; Health Science Heelers; I Can Do Bad All By Myself; KYA; Mahon Tracker; Registrollers; The Wonderous Wellness Walkers; Victorious Secret presents the Markin Chix in Risky Business; Walker's Walkers; WebGeeks.

The goal of the challenge is to promote an increase in activity and improve health through walking, running, swimming, cycling or other physical activity. Establishing a lifelong habit of physical activity doesn't just happen automatically. Making movement a part of everyday life is an intentional act. Let's make the conscious decision to be active everyday – but have fun while doing so!

How do you record your activity?

Walking/Running – Each step you take all day, every day counts. You can either record your distance or your steps. Prizes will be awarded for both.
Swimming – Each 50-metre lap you swim is counted.
Cycling – Cycling is measured either in time cycled or kilometres cycled. You can record one or the other. Again, prizes will be awarded for both.

Time spent performing another physical activity includes examples such as lifting weights, yoga, pilates or hiking, just to name a few.

You can enter your steps, laps, km or minutes weekly or daily on the Bee Heart Smart website (https://www.uleth.ca/hum/wellness/walking/).

If you haven't entered yet, you can enter or join a team at any time during the challenge. Enter as a team or an individual – the Bee Heart Smart site is open now on the Wellness website and Notice Board.

The Anderson Walkers (Katharine Winter, Cindy Matheson and Joyce Eves) are the Early Bird winners for this year (registrants who entered prior to April 21).

We also have some Busy Bee Champions to help keep us motivated. Look for entries from President Mike Mahon (the Mahon Trackers), Vice-President Finance Nancy Walker (Walkers' Walkers), and Kevin McFadzen (KYA) from Sport and Recreation Services (just try to beat his cycling minutes).

Also new to the challenge this year are weekly contests. They are as follows.

Week 2 (May 8-14) – Take the Stairs!
Week 3 (May 15-21) – Walk in the Great Outdoors, with presentations and walks led by the Helen Schuler Nature Centre
Week 4 (May 22-28) – Nutrition for Physical Activity
Week 5 (May 29 to June 4) – Fitness Funnies Contest
Week 6 (June 5-13) – Walk in to Work Out, Park and Walk

The U of L Bookstore, Sport and Recreation Services and AUPE donate prizes for the Bee Heart Smart Challenge. Thanks also to the U of L Wellness Committee.

Quick Facts about physical activity:

• A 30-minute walk burns about 150 calories. If you walked every day for six months, you'd burn off five pounds.

• Physical activity causes the body to use up glucose, thereby helping to keep blood sugar levels in a normal range. This explains why regular exercise is so critical, not only in preventing diabetes, but also in enhancing the health of people already living with the disorder.

• Regular physical activity helps control weight, reduces body fat, improves the body's response to insulin and strengthens the heart, making it one of the best things you can do to support your health.

• With so much time being spent on the job, practicing healthy habits in the workplace has become just as vital to overall health and well-being as living well at home. In order to keep moving on the job, get up to walk and stretch every 20 minutes. Physical activity stimulates blood flow, relaxes muscles and reduces stress.

I hope to see you keeping your heart healthy this year…and having fun while doing so!

Suzanne McIntosh is the Wellness co-ordinator for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Bee Heart Smart Chellnge in full swing

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:30:47 +0000

The 7th Annual Bee Heart Smart Challenge is on again, beginning May 1, the program runs through June 13.

How do you record your activity?

Time spent performing another physical activity includes examples such as lifting weights, yoga, pilates or hiking, just to name a few.

You can enter your steps, laps, km or minutes weekly or daily on the Bee Heart Smart website (https://www.uleth.ca/hum/wellness/walking/).

Also new to the challenge this year are weekly contests. They are as follows.

The U of L Bookstore, Sport and Recreation Services and AUPE donate prizes for the Bee Heart Smart Challenge. Thanks also to the U of L Wellness Committee.

Quick Facts about physical activity:

• A 30-minute walk burns about 150 calories. If you walked every day for six months, you'd burn off five pounds.

I hope to see you keeping your heart healthy this year…and having fun while doing so!

Suzanne McIntosh is the Wellness co-ordinator for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Locker project to give cyclists alternatives

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:35:51 +0000

If you happen to see more bicycles on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus this spring, it might not be solely related to better weather conditions. Rather, it could be the more favourable conditions created for riders, thanks to a collaborative initiative between Sport and Recreation Services and Parking and Security Services.

A total of 30 new bike lockers, a shared purchase by the two campus units, will arrive on campus at the end of April, giving campus commuters more options should they choose to go green and leave their cars at home.

Would you rather leave your bike in exposed racks or take advantage of enclosed bike lockers? More choices will be available this spring with the addition of 30 new lockers to campus.

"Parking Services was introduced to bike lockers in 2009 and had the opportunity to meet with company representatives in the spring of 2010," says Dick Lutwick, parking manager. "At that time we decided to place five lockers on campus on a trial basis."

Located outside the 1st Choice Savings Centre, the five lockers served as a pilot project that was quickly accepted by the campus community.

"The original plan called for the manufacturer to leave them there for two months just to see what kind of response we'd get and that two months has stretched into a year," says Kevin McFadzen.
"We found five people who were interested in using them and after that I established a list of others who were wondering how they could get into a locker and whether we had plans to get more on campus."

McFadzen is an avid cyclist and had been introduced to the locker concept while attending the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria. He had an interest in bringing them to the U of L and found like-minded attitudes in Parking Services.

"We view this investment as supporting green initiatives," says Lutwick of the joint $30,000 purchase. "It supports the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's commitment to environmental sustainability. By promoting the use of alternative transportation, we can accommodate a larger campus population without increasing our parking infrastructure."

But why are the lockers needed when there are ample bike racks at various campus locations?

"I've got bikes I don't ride to school because they're too expensive and I don't want them damaged, sitting in the elements all day or simply getting stolen," says McFadzen.

With the success of five lockers on campus, a survey went out to the U of L community about its appetite for more. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

"I was actually surprised from our survey last year," says McFadzen. "I'd always talked to people about them but I realized I was probably talking to a biased group, those who already ride bikes."

The lockers can fit an entire bike and is complete with hooks to hang gear such as helmets and wet clothes. They will be made available on a rental basis, much like gym lockers inside the 1st Choice Savings Centre.

"Some people would like to have a daily rental but that would get into substantial costs, having to have electronics out there to monitor that use," says McFadzen. "Plus, if someone rides in with an expensive bike expecting to have a locker and finds they are all taken, then what option does that leave them?"

Neither Lutwick nor McFadzen expect the entire campus to suddenly adopt bicycles as their preferred mode of transport because of this initiative but they see it as taking away obstacles for those inclined to go green.

"I'm hoping that it gets less cars coming to campus," says McFadzen. "We have 30 lockers, so in reality, probably 20 people who are already riding their bikes to campus will take advantage of these lockers. But if it adds another 10 bikes to campus and encourages 10 people to leave their cars at home, that's something. It's a start and hopefully it will catch on."

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Taking a little off the top

trevor.kenney — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:18:21 +0000

The annual Headshave for Cancer event takes place Wednesday, Mar. 30 in the UHall Atrium. Kelly Roberts, sound technician for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre, is shaving his head in support of the Canadian Cancer Society in conjunction with HeadShave Canada and the
U of L's Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Omicron-Xi Chapter.

Here, Roberts is getting a little help from David Green, a cancer survivor and the Faculty of Fine Arts shop head carpenter. While Roberts might have the most to lose, he's just one of a number of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ staff, students and faculty lopping it all off for the cause.

Pick up a pledge form from any of the participants to donate. Kevin McFadzen and Jeff Hilliard (Sport and Recreation Services) will join Roberts on Mar. 30, while Wayne Lippa (chemistry and biochemistry), Ardis Anderson (philosophy), Greg Patenaude (chemistry and biochemistry) and Peter Dibble (chemistry and biochemistry) all supported the Flying Doctors of Canada by having their locks lopped off on Mar. 11.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Bicycle locker survey

trevor.kenney — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:27:01 +0000

Sport & Recreation Services is looking for feedback on a proposed bicycle locker program, creating a survey for members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community.

The purpose of this survey is to collect information to measure the demand for bicycle lockers on campus. This information will then be used to help Sport & Recreation Services make informed decisions about whether there is a demand for lockers, where the best location(s) on campus would be and the number of lockers required. It will also be used to help shape the technology infrastructure within the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the near future.

This survey will take less than five minutes to complete and no personally identifying information will be collected.

This survey is open to everyone in the U of L community and outside.

Any questions or concerns about this survey can be directed to Kevin McFadzen via e-mail at mcfakd@uleth.ca or by phone at 403-329-2706.

The bicycle locker survey is available by clicking this link.

Bee Heart Smart Challenge continues success

trevor.kenney — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:24:40 +0000

The Bee Heart Smart Challenge – Walk, Run, Swim or Cycle 2009, from May 1 to June 13, was an initiative for staff and faculty sponsored by the U of L Wellness Committee and Sport and Recreation Services. The program started in 2005 as a walking challenge and has evolved to become the "Bee Heart Smart" contest that includes running, swimming and cycling.

The goal is to promote active living, which means making physical activity a part of everyday life through walking, taking the stairs, gardening, playing with your kids or dogs at the park, swimming or cycling, just to name a few activities.

There is a strong connection between the health and well-being of people and their work environments and the more active employees are, the healthier the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. And of course we want people to have fun while being active!

Wellness Week kicked off the contest this year and as of June 1, 176 participants and 17 teams were registered. This is the highest number of participants since the Wellness Committee began keeping records.

Activity is recorded (either daily or weekly) by:

• Counting steps while walking or running (using a pedometer is the best way to do this)

• Counting laps while swimming (each 50m lap is counted as one)

• Tracking minutes spent cycling

Weekly winners are drawn from registrants who have logged progress during the week. Weekly draw winners to date include: Nicole Spence, Carl Budny, Ruth Hummel, Sheri Lacey, John Poulsen, Joan Zimmer, Nicole Wilson, Linda Gray, Susan Hill, Edward Malinsky, Rumi Graham and Kevin McFadzen.

During the third week of the contest, individuals who entered the most steps, laps or cycle time were awarded prizes as well. Cindy Venhuis, Dwayne Armstrong and JulieAnne Kent were winners.

The Fast Trackers won the draw for Early Bird Team Registration.

The contest wrap-up and prize announcements occur the week of June 15. Get out there and get active and next year look for "purposeful activity" time instead of just cycle time.

Thanks to the following areas for prize donations or discounts: AUPE, U of L Bookstore, Sport and Recreation Services, U of L Athletics and Southern AB Centre for Successful Aging.

UNews - Kevin McFadzen

Changes don't have to end with Challenge

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