Fit to Print Team Updates

Sam

Shape Up Cape has done what no plague of bad shots or complaints from my wife about our overgrown lawn could do: It has put me off golf.

Given a choice between earning a measly five points for playing golf for four hours or racking up 10 points for 20 minutes on the elliptical glider, I've been gliding much more often than golfing. I do it for the good of the team and to spare myself the humiliation of a 35-point week.

Shape Up Cape is sinister. It discourages me from doing something I love in the fresh air and rewards me for enduring a few minutes of huffing in a fetid gym.

A fellow competitor has suggested I record a round of golf as four hours of walking, which is worth the maximum 20 points. "Is it apple pie or is it dessert?" he asks.

Spencer

The Memorial Day weekend disrupted my schedule, but now I seem to be back on track, getting close to the 70 points a week the team needs.

As someone who often takes a long time to get to sleep and then frequently wakes up once or twice a night, I can tell you that regular exercise (more regular than I had been getting, anyway) has done wonders for my sleeping patterns.

Tip No. 2 for avoiding treadmill boredom: Close your eyes. And hang onto something, or else you'll be about as successful as George Jetson walking Astro. Then listen. I mean really listen. To the whine of the tread under you, the thunk-thunk of the jogger next to you, the music that's piped in, whatever. I've done this for as long as three minutes, and it never seems that long.

Heidi

Great Shape Up Cape week -- at least, compared to my usual performance.

Still, it ain't easy. Not nearly as easy for me as, say, young teammate Gabe Hartwig. His update is in the column right next to this one.

In the spirit of camaraderie, I asked him if he'd like to go for a brisk walk after work one night last week. He said sure. I was trotting along -- heart pounding, thighs chaffing, knees aching -- when I heard a rustling noise.

Gabe was eating a snack-size package of Oreo cookies. On the walk. "Oreo?" he offered, noticing my incredulous stare.

Later, I discovered that his little brother is voting for him at least three times a week at www.semissourian.com/fittoprint, causing him to take the lead in the poll of who is most likely to end Shape Up Cape with the highest number of points.

Fit people should have some kind of handicap for this contest. For instance, Gabe should have to carry a 50-pound sack of dog food on his back.

Gabe

So if you've been following the drama that is Shape Up Cape, you have heard of my alleged Oreo-eating incident. OK -- it's true. I plead guilty. But at least I offered to share my cookies.

According to my handy list of pre-approved Shape Up Cape activities, eating while walking is not prohibited. I actually should receive bonus points for doing so; it takes a considerable amount of skill. I mean, there's all that lifting. And chewing. Whew.

Seriously, though. It's virtually impossible to maintain long-term healthy eating habits around here. There is food everywhere at all times. Even as I write this, two giant plastic tubs of pretzels are staring at me from across the newsroom. And a few days ago, a pie and some Krispy Kreme doughnuts made appearances in here. It should be noted, however, that their appearances were brief.

Newsroom folk share one sure-fire weakness: food.

Laura

My Shape Up Cape points keep dropping though it seems like I'm exercising just as much. I've had a few zero-point days in the last two weeks. Life is busy in the summertime, and it's more difficult to make the time for exercise, particularly when you have only certain activities to choose from. I've found that if I don't exercise in the morning it's not likely to happen later. And sometimes it's hard to get out of bed in the morning, which is likely why I haven't made it to the pool to swim laps from 5 to 7 a.m.

I have good intentions, but some of my activities just don't count, like rowing a canoe on the Jack's Fork River. I exerted more effort trying to keep my canoe afloat last weekend than I did walking four miles downtown with my pastor on Tuesday.