Everyone can do it

"This fitness challenge is not just for competitive athletes," emphasizes MIT Medical health educator Deirdre Neylon. "It's a great way for beginners, or those who don't exercise regularly, to get started. Any activity done above a normal pace will count towards the daily total. Walking briskly for fifteen minutes scores the same as running for fifteen minutes."

Exercising during the winter can be a particular challenge, and Neylon encourages teams to think creatively. "There are many activities that can be done indoors with little or no equipment," she notes. "Stair-climbing and walking the MIT tunnels are great indoor activities that can be done on one's lunch hour." Neylon also recalled some of the more creative activities teams came up with during the 2003 Tour de MIT. "For example, the team from MIT Medical's X-ray Service—they called themselves 'The Skeleton Crew'—did a round-robin of activities one afternoon. They rotated between jumping rope, doing the hula hoop, crab-walking up and down a hallway, and walking up and down the stairs in the E25 atrium."

But don't think wintertime means staying indoors, Fishbein adds. "Walking outside during the winter is great. New England is beautiful, and it's prettiest when there's snow on the ground. If the sun is shining, who cares if it's a bit cold? With rare exception, you can always dress for the cold. And unless the weather is bad enough for boots, mostly I just wear my sneakers. I actually find my walks are more of an aerobic workout in the winter, particularly if I have to move around in the slush and snow."

Everyone's a winner

At the end of March, the team with the highest average number of minutes exercised over the course of the challenge will win the overall competition, but everyone who participates has a chance to win. Weekly team prizes will recognize accomplishments such as consistency and improvement. And at different stages of the challenge, every participant who has maintained the 30-minute-a-day, five-day-a-week pace through that point will have their names entered into special prize drawings.

But, says Fishbein, it really isn't about winning. "I can't wait for getfit@mit to start," she says enthusiastically, "and it's not because I expect to be on the winning team. Honestly, I can't even remember how my team ended up in the final 'Tour de MIT' rankings. Though I know we never won anything," she laughs. "But as far as I'm concerned, winning matters not in the least. The fitness challenge got me moving. It got me into the habit of exercising regularly, and that's a good habit to have!"

For more information about get fit@mit, visit http://getfit.mit.edu.

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