Getting fit with BINGO
The Firstenburg Community Center's latest fitness program puts a new spin on bingo.
Instead of anxiously awaiting B-7 or N-33 to pop out of a hopper, players punch their own cards by exercising, eating right and educating themselves about healthy lifestyles.
The Fitness Bingo Challenge, which debuts next month, helps players make good on New Year's resolutions through games and competition.
A $25 fee includes a set of 12 modified bingo cards - one per week.
Each card follows the traditional bingo format: five rows, five columns and a free square in the middle. But instead of waiting for numbers to be called, players mark off boxes by doing the listed activities.
The activities range from the strenuous (run or walk 2 miles) to the sedentary (read a health article). Other boxes are filled with food-related goals, such as eating two fruits and three vegetables.
Players fill in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row, or they try to black out the entire card. Prize drawings will be held for those fill in one row, two rows or the whole card.
Terry Harper, fitness coordinator at the center, isn't sure what prizes will be offered. She envisions a gift certificate to a movie theater, a yoga mat or a fitness ball. The more squares filled in, the better the prizes.
Harper started a similar game for her co-workers when she was fitness director at Hewlett-Packard Co. from 2002 to 2004.
It's no coincidence that the program kicks off while New Year's resolutions are fresh.
"There are a lot of people out there who don't know how to get started, so hopefully this will be a tool," Harper said.
Registration ends Jan. 15, and the 12-week contest begins the following week. Players don't need to be Firstenburg members to participate, but a gym membership is helpful, Harper said.
For more information about the challenge, call 360-487-7018. To register, call 360-487-7001.
Harper hopes players stay motivated long after drinking eight glasses of water per day doesn't mean a "bingo."
"Everyone knows you're supposed to work out," she said. "But these programs hopefully help motivate people."
Written by Matt Wastradowski Columbian Staff Writer
