FORT LEE, Va.  –   The Army Wellness Center here has pulled off another successful Fit for Duty Challenge, with this year’s event drawing five enthusiastic teams comprised of active duty personnel, family members and DA Civilians.
The goal of the annual health and wellness event is to build morale through friendly competition while also educating the military community about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. That, in turn, enhances the readiness and resiliency of the Fort Lee population. On a personal level, the challenge is an enormous confidence builder as members of competitive teams take pride in the positive step of prioritizing their personal wellness.
 
Throughout the first quarter of the year, the Fit for Duty teams earned points by demonstrating various healthy behaviors such as attending AWC appointments, maintaining a daily caloric intake log, keeping a step count, documenting workouts and much more.

According to AWC organizers, this year’s teams achieved “wonderful success” in establishing and implementing healthy behaviors. The proof was in the numbers – a final assessment of 10 participating individuals revealed a total of 88 pounds of fat lost and 18 inches reduced from waistlines.

Achieving first-thru-third-place scores at the conclusion of the challenge were the B.A.E Team, The Renegades, and Fit & Fabulous. They received an assortment of “prizes” such as water bottles, portion plates, jump ropes and foam rollers to encourage and facilitate their continued pursuit of active and healthy lifestyle practices.

One of the most successful challenge participants – Wanda Butler, captain of the Fit & Fabulous team – shared her thoughts about the program and its AWC organizers.

“I felt the Fit for Duty Challenge was perfectly timed by starting right after the New Year when most people set a goal of improving their health,” Butler observed. “I want to thank my AWC health educator Danielle Spragley for her extreme professionalism and encouragement. Utilizing the AWC technology and expertise served as an additional motivator to reach my goals. For example, I learned how to differentiate between body weight and body fat percentage. I reached my goals by improving nutrition choices and increasing step count. I’m now up to 15,000 steps per day.”

The next AWC competitive event is the BodPod Challenge set for July 1 to Sept 30. There are two prospective winning categories – the participant with the greatest reduction of body fat percentage and the individual with greatest improvement in lean mass percentage. The Wellness Center staff will assist participants with Health Coaching appointments. For more information or to sign-up, call 804-734-9925.  

Following are the rosters for top three 2021 AWC Fit for Duty Challenge teams:

• 1^st Place, Team B.A.E (Beast at Exercising) – Tamara Warshany; Natasha Saunders; Loveleigh Jones; Princess Beaman; Christy AcevezRodriguez; Desiree Cobb and Gabriel Barnes.
• 2^nd Place, Team Renegades – Raven Brundidge; Cara Brann; L'Tanya Williams; Vincent Holland; Lynn Holland; Adrian Jenkins; Patrick Brundidge and Donna Holland.
• 3^rd Place, Team Fit & Fabulous – Wanda Butler; Stephanie Parker; Linda Harvey; Christine Murphy; LaKetia Jones; Patsy Piggott; Chelsea Blackwell; Juanita Lazenby; Heidi Lenning and Georgette Nelson.