Congratulations to the 2008 getfit@mit winners!

2008 grand prize winners: Got Fit?

Congratulations to the 2008 getfit@mit grand prize winners: Got Fit?

The team of eight, from MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Mass., was chosen at random from the 109 teams that remained eligible for the award by meeting weekly exercise goals for at least 10 of the 12 weeks during the challenge.

The Got Fit? team, comprised of a mixture of veteran getfitters and first-time participants, did a variety of activities to meet the weekly goals. Team members rode spinning bikes, lifted weights, cross-country skied, snow-shoed, jogged, and boxed. As a group, they “power-walked” at lunch time. “The walks got me out and moving, even when it was cold,” says co-captain Julie Mullen. “And I found that a walk in the middle of the day makes for a much better afternoon.”

Every team member reports achieving personal goals through their participation in getfit@mit this year. Four-year getfit veteran Katherine Sinclair and first-time participant Alan DeCew lost weight-20 and 30 pounds respectively. Other team members say their participation kept them moving during a time of year when it’s easier to stay indoors and hibernate. And for Mullen, a Morris dancer, it was all about getting into shape for a busy summer performance season. “I have significantly more stamina than in past years, and I feel less likely to injure myself,” she says. more…

Onward and Upward winners

For the second year, two individual getfit participants were awarded “Onward and Upward” prizes at the end of the challenge. Our lucky winners for 2008 were Nate Charles of the Sloan Rangers and Hans Hinteregger of The Rhinos. Each received an iPod nano. To be eligible for this special prize drawing, participants did not need to meet weekly exercise goals, but they had to record minutes during every week of the challenge and demonstrate a steady and consistent increase in exercise minutes from week to week. Our two winners were chosen at random from all those who met these criteria.

Both Hinteregger and Charles were participating in getfit@mit for the third year. Hinteregger (pictured at left) is a retiree from MIT’s Haystack Observatory, where he was part of a small technique development group. His exercise activities this year included walking, swimming, yoga, and cycling. In fact, he rode his bicycle from his home in Newton to campus to pick up his new iPod (which, he says, his grandchildren will help him learn to use). Since he no longer sees his fellow Rhinos every day, Hinteregger exercises on his own, though, he says, “not by choice.” But when it comes to staying motivated, he says, “Logging my exercise minutes—and now my diet, too—really helps.”

Nate Charles (pictured at left), a Windows system administrator at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, has high praise for his teammates, who both encouraged him to exercise and led by example. “Ray [Faith] was really good about tracking me down at lunch and asking me to walk,” Charles notes. “I would tend to work through lunch otherwise. After a while, just knowing he’d be around later to ask was enough to get me moving.”

As far as staying motivated, Charles believes working out with others is the easiest way to keep going. “Having a goal to strive for, like a certain number of minutes, is also helpful,” he adds. “And the more integrated the exercise is with your usual activities, the easier it will be.”

During the challenge, Charles’s primary form of exercise was walking, but now that he’s in better shape, he’s thinking about taking up jogging. Charles says he grew up in a time and place where “joggers were a little strange,” so it may take him a little while to overcome his self consciousness and break out of a fast walk but, he says, “it’s worth it for health.”

About getfit@mit

getfit@mit is a three-month, team-oriented fitness challenge for the entire MIT community. Last year, almost 2,300 people on more than 300 teams participated in getfit@mit. Together they logged over seven million minutes of staying active and healthy!

getfit@mit is presented by MIT Medical, the MIT Health Plans, and MIT Medical’s Center for Health Promotion and Wellness, with major sponsorship from MIT’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER). getfit@mit also receives generous support from other MIT and community organizations.