Anytime Fitness Honors the Participants of the First "Team" Transformation Challenge

On December 10, 2009 participants and staff of Anytime Fitness - Dixon gathered at Bud's in Dixon to celebrate the accomplishments of the first Transformation Challenge - Teams program.

The "Team Challenge" is a 6-week program that combines education, exercise, and proper nutrition; and labeled a "Team" program because the participants compete for prizes in self-appointed teams of three people.

Following the kick-off event held at the beginning of the Challenge, teams are given classes on strength training, cardio conditioning, and nutrition. As teams begin the Challenge, they're required to document their exercise in workout journals and input their nutrition into an online nutrition coaching tool, called Vitabot (also available outside the Challenge). The journal entries and records of meals become the foundation used to help each individual Challenge participant during the six weeks.

"The record keeping that the participants do is often the most direct link to a participant's success", says Brandy Hall, co-owner. She adds, "By using these tools, staff can give very specific guidance to each participant regarding the next things they can do to improve. Without these records, we're not able to help the participant in a way that's specific to them, which ends up slowing their progress a lot."

To further ensure success, teams are assigned a staff person to help guide them through the Challenge and answer questions along the way. The staff person monitors the teams' progress, much of which can be done behind the scenes using the available tools.

The winning team is determined by accumulating points scored for cumulative body fat lost during the 6-week Challenge for all team members, club attendance, and record-keeping thoroughness.

"Of the 12 teams competing, there were really 4 teams who could have won this thing", said Jim Hall, Co-owner. "As staff members, we have fun by trying to guess who's going to win, but you never really know until the final numbers are in. It's just great fun watching the progress that individuals make along the way. They're not only positively changing their own lives, but the lives of those around them."

Also celebrated during the awards event were special, one-of-a-kind mentions for those participants who made the Challenge program special in other ways. Among these were fun awards like the one given to Anjie Prather, titled the "Challenge Junkie Award". Anjie has participated in 4 of the 5 club Challenges with no sign of letting up.

Another fun award was given to Troy Hensley in honor of his undying dedication to the treadmill.

"Troy seems to favor the treadmill over all other pieces of equipment in the club. So much so that we're considering changing the name of that piece equipment to the "Troymill", Brandy Hall says with a laugh.

Adds Jim Hall, "Of course we love to see results, but all of our participants bring something special to the Challenge - and we embrace that. It's one of the things that makes the Challenge fun and dynamic."

In the end, participants who were fully engaged in the program come away with two main key points: First, there is no single silver bullet or magic pill to becoming fit, strong, and healthy. Next, however, if you do enough of the right things consistently, it only takes a short time to see significant results.

Congratulations to all participants!

RESULTS

Winning Team

Team members include Nanci LaRue, Ed LaRue, & Suzanne Wright (Dixon)

Top individual participants

Top Record Keeper:
Martha Lopez - Natomas

Highest Attendance:
Darice Johnson - Natomas, 31 days

Most body fat lost - Female
1. Sherry Bedoya - Dixon, 6.60% (most body fat lost among all participants)
2. Anjie Prather - Dixon, 5.10%
3. Jeanne Sayre - Natomas, 4.40%

Most body fat lost - Male
1. Ed LaRue - Dixon, 6.57%
2. Kraig Jacobs - Dixon, 6.44%
3. Jeremy Craig - Dixon, 5.64%