IU promotes employee fitness

The School of Public Health is ready to help IU employees who hope to get fit in the new year. From now until May 9, access to the Wildermuth Intramural Center’s indoor track will be free to any IU faculty and staff.  

The free track time will be provided through the School of Public Health and the Healthy Change Fund. It is provided in conjunction with IU’s Step Into 2014 walking program.

The annual fitness program encourages University employees to regularly exercise by providing free pedometers and sending motivational emails.

Employees also have the option to participate in the “Read, Move, Snap and Win” contest.

To win, participants read facts and tips posted on Healthy IU’s Facebook page and website, move around the track or around the city, and take pictures of their exercise
sessions.

The theme of the pictures differs each week.

Week one focuses on taking group pictures with “walking buddies.”

Week two encourages winter walking by asking for participants to model their warm winter gear.

The third week promotes family time by requesting family walking pictures, and on the fourth week participants are asked to send in time management tips for fitting fitness into busy schedules.  

Once they have posted these pictures to Facebook, walkers become eligible to win prizes like athletics tickets, gym passes and Fitbit activity monitors.

To begin the walking program, faculty and staff can register and activate their ID cards at the Wildermuth member service station.  

They will then be granted free access to the track from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for the duration of the program.

For extra encouragement, student wellness interns from the IU Department of

Kinesiology will also be available from noon to 1 p.m. each weekday.

The interns will be able to answer any questions from participants or join them on their walks around the track.

— Annie Garau