Fort Lee, Va.  –   The Army Wellness Center is calling active duty military, family members, retirees and DOD employees to join the Fit for Duty Challenge that starts Jan. 3.

Teams can consist of 5-10 members, all 18 years of age or older. This friendly competitive challenge is meant to promote readiness and resiliency throughout the Fort Lee community.  

“Our main goal is to influence healthy behavior at the beginning of the New Year,” Park elaborated. “We want people to commit to completing the challenge because it generally takes 90 days for someone to establish a fitness routine and make it a lifestyle habit. We want people to work as a team because research has proven it to be a more effective motivator to keep going; to overcome the challenges together.”

Fit for Duty teams will strive for points to receive prizes. Park pointed out how these “external incentives” are meant to parlay into internal ones – individuals realizing they’ve got a good thing going that’s benefitting their health and sticking with it.

“When people start seeing their data numbers improving, the body fat percentage and blood pressure going down, they’re likely to continue what they have learned during this challenge.”

Once entered into the competition, the team point of contact will be fully briefed on the scoring rules and requirements for winning.

The competition goes until March 22. The winner will receive prizes, a trophy and certificates of recognition for each member.

To sign-up a Fit for Duty team, contact Danielle Spragley at danielle.d.spragley.ctr@mail.mil.