UNews - www.uleth.ca/hum/wellness/walking

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.

Lunching & learning

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:26:34 +0000

This month, I would like to highlight and recognize a group of individuals that works very hard here at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Susan Vanderaegen, Chris Groves, Joanne Gedrasik and Sharon Kanashiro are all caretakers from our Facilities department. They have faithfully attended most, if not all, of the Wellness Lunch and Learn sessions since 2009 (when I first started working here). Recently, they persuaded another caretaker, Ed Sandzewicz, to join them, saying, "Ed either comes along or he gets left behind!"

I have been very impressed with their dedication and interest in health and wellness issues and I wanted to highlight their reasons for attending the sessions and what they are getting out of them.

Reasons for attending

• "The Wellness Lunch and Learn sessions are interesting and informative. The opportunity to learn something new is appreciated. Sometimes the information or topic is something you know or knew at one time, but have forgotten, and the lunch and learn helps bring it into focus again."

They also added that, "It's also a nice break at the end of the work day," as the majority of our caretakers are up and working to keep our campus clean before the rest of us are even awake.

What they like

• The group indicated that it enjoys the speakers and the variety of topics and that the sessions open their eyes to new ideas.

Positive lifestyle changes

• Having attended a number of sessions, they have been able to make some positive changes in their own lives. They are also passing on their knowledge and good habits to their families. Another benefit is that because they are attending or participating at work, they can be supportive to each other when maintaining or improving healthy habits.

These individuals have demonstrated that they care about their health and well-being and are interested in doing what they can to improve or maintain a balanced lifestyle. I would like to say thanks to Ed, Sharon, Joanne, Chris and Susan – we on the Wellness Committee are glad the information is getting out to you and hope that we can continue to support your interest and quest for that healthy life that we all desire.

If you haven't been out to a Lunch and Learn session, chat for a few minutes with these regulars and you may be persuaded to attend one as well. The next Lunch and Learn is Wednesday, Apr. 13 at noon in Andy's Place (AH100). Digesting the Nutrition Label is the topic with campus dietitian Diane Britton presenting on how to decipher those mysterious food labels.

It's time to register for the 7th Annual Bee Heart Smart physical activity challenge. In 2010 we had 15 teams registered and 125 individual participants. Our goal for 2011 is to make it the biggest even to date. You don't have to be the fastest runner or walker, and you don't have to record the most steps to be a winner – participation alone may get you a prize!

The Challenge starts May 1 and runs through June 12 and you can enter as an individual or a team on the Bee Heart Smart website (www.uleth.ca/hum/wellness/walking/). Prizes this year will be awarded for early bird registration (before Apr. 15) and for best team name.

Suzanne McIntosh is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's wellness co-ordinator

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

UNews - www.uleth.ca/hum/wellness/walking

Heart Smart Challenge nears conclusion

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Bee Heart Smart Chellnge in full swing

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