12-4-09: Duke: Shape Up Duke

Durham, NC -- Bob Annechiarico tries to walk every day. This winter, he’ll have extra motivation.

This month, Annechiarico, a regular with the Run/Walk Club through LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, intends to sign up for Shape Up Duke, a new 12-week competition. During Shape Up Duke, faculty and staff form teams to see who walks the most steps, loses the most weight and exercises the most minutes.

By exercising as part of a Run/Walk Club team, Annechiarico stays motivated to walk the Al Buehler Trail at least twice a week. He’ll apply the same concept of teamwork in January when Shape Up Duke, also sponsored by LIVE FOR LIFE, kicks off.

“There are days you say ‘I don’t want to do this,’ but the group is going, so you want to support each other,” said Annechiarico, director of Cancer Center Information Systems. “We reinforce each other to do it.”

Registration for Shape Up Duke begins Dec. 14 at ShapeUpDuke.com. To take part, faculty and staff are invited to form teams of five to 11 co-workers or find colleagues for a team through a forum on the website.

After registering, each participant receives a package with a digital pedometer, exercise and results logbook and a Shape Up Duke wristband in Duke blue. Participants also receive a pass for up to five free visits to selected local fitness facilities.

“We’re excited to kick-off Shape Up Duke and give employees a new way to focus on their health, which is a priority at Duke,” said Julie Joyner, manager for LIVE FOR LIFE. “We can’t wait to see how much fun people have working together to reach their goals.”

Once Shape Up Duke starts Jan. 4, teams compete in three categories: weight loss, exercise minutes and pedometer steps. Each team can participate in one, two or all categories.

Over the 12 weeks, participants exercise alone or with teams, monitoring progress by logging results on the Shape Up Duke website. All results must be reported on a regular basis through the website or by calling (877) 614-7160. At the end of the program, winning teams from each category receive Shape Up Duke T-shirts.

To encourage competition, teams can select “rivals” for competition and track team results on the Shape Up Duke website. Duke Raleigh Hospital has already challenged Durham Regional Hospital.

“I think that people can be fairly competitive and this will help them not only to do well for themselves, but Duke too,” said Doug Vinsel, CEO of Duke Raleigh Hospital. “If you have people working with you toward a goal, there’s healthy peer pressure that can help you achieve anything.”

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2009/12/shape_up_duke.html