Start shaping up in January! by Jenny X. '13
I like.
Despite the constant intrusion of multivariable calculus, I think I’m in love with IAP. The recurring theme seems to be: Things get thrown your way…and you go with it, because there’s nothing to wake up for tomorrow! OK – not really true. But the sense of freedom and spontaneity, the “go with the flow, ride the wave of life” mentality is so fulfilling – I almost forget we’re in the dead center of winter. One of these lazy IAP days (NOT!), two of my suitemates Molly and Evie sent out a floor email about starting a team for getfit@mit, a 12-week fitness challenge for the entire MIT community. Presented by MIT Medical, the MIT Health Plans, and the Center for Health Promotion and Wellness, and sponsored by DAPER, getfit@mit encourages MIT to exercise regularly, dangling a grand prize and at least a free t-shirt at the end of the journey.
getfit@mit challenges teams of 5 to 8 people to log the most number of minutes exercised each week. Participants must enter their minutes every day, Monday through Sunday. There are weekly prizes for eligible teams and individuals drawn at random – “eligible” meaning they are meeting the steadily increasing weekly exercise goals suggested by the program (shown in the image below.)
In 2009, almost 2,300 people on 300 teams logged over 7,000,000 minutes of getting-fit-@-MIT. Those are some big numbers.
It’s easy to see why. Smack-dab in the middle of IAP – when everyone is trying to relax but feel relatively productive, nothing sounds more attractive than hopping on the “Wooo! Let’s get fit!” bandwagon. When Molly first sent out the email to the floor, a few people responded…and then tons more. What started out as plans for one team became three full teams of eight, divided by suites.
So what’s going to be my plan for this challenge? According to the official rules page of the program website, “Any physical activity done at a level that increases the heart rate and/or challenges the muscles will count as exercise”. Well, the possibilities seem endless now, don’t they. Most of my minutes will probably come from Taekwondo. If I go to Monday practices, that’s 150 minutes. If I go to Monday and Wednesday practices, that’s 300 – add the Friday practice, Saturday Office Hours (yes! There are office hours for Taekwondo), and an occasional treadmill date in there, well …Bring it on.
We start logging minutes on Monday, January 25th —– all the way until April 18th. By then, working out should be an established habit.
Cheers to a healthy & vivacious second semester!
“Any physical activity done at a level that increases the heart rate … will count as exercise”
This is subject to much interpretation! :D
@Matto
That made me lol.
I wish I have this determination to exercise.
Yay! I joined up with pika for getfit, though in December I made the goal to work out every day this year, so I’m a little ahead of the game. Hopefully I won’t burn out O.O
Good luck!
Sounds pretty cool. You sound like u’re over prepared for this event lol. It’s almost like cheating :O. Just kidding. It’s a very cool scene.
omg jenny, i was JUST about to blog this!
hehe, i bet i can exercise more than you cannn
Hey guys i had some kind of doubt regarding my sat subject test.I was not aware that there is only a break between 1st and 2nd subject test.I thought there is between 2nd and 3rd too so i left the auditorium after the second test hastily to go to toilet and supervisor did not notice me going out.After coming back after a minute she says that she is going to write a report on me to collegeboard and she did.I tried to object saying i never knew it was permitted but she did not give in.So maybe you know is there a big possibility that they may cancel my scores at collegeboard if supervisor didnt during the test?And i dont thing that going out to the toilet for a minute could lead to such strict measures.
Can you make a team of people who all do the same sport, and count the minutes you practice each day??
hey,girl.
Thanks for the support!
@ Hamsika – sorry! and oh yea??!? we’ll find out! haha
@ Derek – you can make a team with whoever you want….they just have to be MIT affiliated and older than 16; last year the grand prize winner was a team composed of dancers, who easily put in hours and hours of rehearsals each week.
@ Zeki – do it anyway! haha
@ Aldi – Yeah, I think the Collegeboard will be pretty strict about this if they read a report. Although you did not mean any harm, they can’t sacrifice the integrity of the test by making exceptions and such. If you’re sure the teacher sent in a report, it may be helpful to contact the Collegeboard directly to see how they’re treating it…Although I’m really not sure since this is a really unique situation. If you’re still a junior or below, you can still retake, right? That’s not the end of the world.
Good luck.
I really need this.However I mustn’t wait till I’m enrolled!:D Or a sudden heart attack is coming behind obesity…
Cool, thanks Jenny!
It is interesting review and MIT is gonna being so much famous for the IT student at worldwide. I also planning to apply for the next year at MIT and right now preparing for the TOEFL.
wow, i should get motivated like that…
your team is absolutely killing 51 and 33. :(