Journey to Fitness is Off to a Fast Start
rolled out the concept for the Fittest Execs Challenge, I knew it was a project that could take alot out of me. And has: About 13 pounds, so far.
That weight loss, and the reductions already being posted by others on the magazine’s five-member team, is proof positive that the concept behind the Fittest Execs Challenge and the Fittest Companies Challenge can help make a difference in an organization’s overall level of fitness. We believe a healthier work force will contribute to a healthier bottom line as well as productivity. (And speaking of improved bottom lines, I can al-ready fit into slacks that I’ve not negotiated in many months.)
There’s a long way to go until the competition ends Jan. 15, but our fivesome is committed to losing more than a combined 100 pounds. Be warned, though: We’re gunning for the title of “Most Improved” in team biometrics.
I’m pleased to report that we’ve got lots of competition for the first Fittest Execs Challenge and Fittest Companies Challenge. Roughly 150 business leaders on 30 teams, plus several individual competitors, have enrolled thus far, exceeding our expectations. But there’s still a chance for your organization to get on board, too, both with a team and as a sponsor.
Our other project partners have stepped up in spectacular fashion to make this a no-excuses event for those who have been putting off the commitment to fitness for too long. Initial support from presenting sponsor Metro Med has attracted several project partners vital to the success of this initiative including BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas City and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City. Also playing vital sponsorship roles are the Center for Health and Human Performance at the Jewish Community Center, and Holmes Murphy & Associates.
We’re proud to be associated with organizations committed to raising the level of health and fitness at area companies. They share the vision that this project can serve as an important component of an organization’s wellness program. And that can have a dramatic impact on corporate insurance premiums. It’s a region-wide effort to address Kansas City’s reputation as being among America’s fattest cities, and a mission towards fitness and good health in the business community.
We’re just as pleased to see that the teams on board are taking the competition with equal measures of sincerity and good spirit. The law firm of Stinson Morrison Hecker, for instance, has set up its own in-house gender competition, with a five-member team of men going head-to-head with a women’s team. Several organizations have fielded teams to compete for “Most Fit” or “Most Improved” honors. As with Ingram’s CEOpen Executive Golf tournament, it seems the competitive factor is helping build momentum for this event.
I know that, as a business leader, I have to set an example for my team, just as you do with yours. The benefits we’ve derived from this exercise, I’m happy to report, don’t require nearly the kind of attention your day job demands: Just a few minor lifestyle changes, such as diet and paying closer attention to what we eat and when, getting in a cardio workout for even 10 or 20 minutes each day, and spending some quality time in the gym a few times a week can make all the difference. It already has for me.
We encourage you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to do the same for yourselves, and your organization. The benefits—detailed pre-competition and follow-up health assessments, free access to workout facilities (through Jan. 15 at the Jewish Community Center; through Dec. 31 at any area YMCA), on-line support and more—make it easier than ever to create your own corporate fitness culture. The benefits run companywide for those with five-member Fittest Execs teams. The YMCA has agreed to issue two-week trial memberships to all employees, encouraging them to get fit, too, and will conduct a simple he-alth assessment so their organization may be qualified to compete in the affiliated Fittest Companies Challenge.
A bonus: We’re doing this over the holidays. As Cinde Gamache, chief of nursing at St. Joseph Medical Center, told Ingram’s, “January is when we think about getting back on the fitness bandwagon. To do it at this time of the year, actually, is a neat challenge, eating better” throughout the holidays.
We’ll drink to that! Or we would, if drinks hadn’t been mitigated from our diets. There’s still time to field your team(s) in the inaugural Fittest Execs Challenge and Fittest Companies Chal-lenge. We’re appealing to the executive community to drive this mission as it will be your “buy-in” that determines whether your organization will be getting physically and fiscally fit, or sitting this one out.
Get in the Game! Call 816.842.9994 or email JSweeney@IngramsOnLine.com. See you at the gym! 
Joe Sweeney
Editor-In-Chief & Publisher
Sweeney@IngramsOnLine.com