By Rebecca Jung
Reporter
Student organizations and departments proved who was fit and who wasn’t by qualifying as “Osofit” this semester. Seven departments and one student organization qualified as OsoFit. The OsoFit distinction was only open to student groups and departments.
One of the departments that qualified is the Hankamer School of Business Communications and Marketing Department. Brittany Parks, Interactive Specialist and Becca Broddaus, Publications Specialist, are the participants from this four-member department. Both Baylor alums, they now work for Baylor and are very pleased with being named an OsoFit Department.
“We’re going to hang the certificate in our office and everything, “ Parks said.
The program was attractive to them for many reasons.
“We go together to each class and hold each other accountable,” Parks said. They plan to participate again next year.
Other departments that qualified included fitness-related departments such as the Campus Recreation Department and The Department of Wellness as well as non-fitness-related departments, such as the Deans Office of Student Life Division, the Human Resources Department and the University Libraries Delivery Services Department.
The student group that qualified is a health-related organization, Future Healthcare Executives.
The goal of the incentive program is to find a way to challenge faculty and students to commit to be fit. What the department wanted to do was find a way for departments and organizations to come together and be more active, Van Davis, assistant director of fitness said. Studies have shown that some benefits to becoming fit are improvements academically, emotionally and mentally, Davis said. The OsoFit distinction is part of a campaign by the fitness department.
The challenge was to get 25 percent of members to join the program and hopefully, increase it each year in the future so that in a few years there will be 50 percent participation. The idea behind the challenge is to increase the physical activity of the Baylor community.
“If they belong, the tendency is that they will become much more active,” Davis said.
In order to qualify as “OsoFit”, organizations or departments must have contacted Davis and let her know that they wanted to participate.
“It’s a very easy process,” Davis said. She used a member list from each department and group to verify that 25 percent of the department or organization registered. The registration for the incentive program closed Oct 15.
“About 20 percent of U.S. adults are meeting both the aerobic and muscle strengthening components of the federal government’s physical activity recommendations,” according to a report published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal authored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults get at least two and a half hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, one hour and 15 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, in addition to weight and strengthening exercises two or more days a week. All of these activities should include all major muscle groups, the CDC website states.
The staff OsoFit Incentive program offers staff members access to all the Bear X Classes in addition to a specially offered circuit weight training program after work, Davis said.
The only stipulation is that they stay active at least twice a week.
The Bear X classes and this program are beneficial because they are organized classes, Rice said, and takes the confusion out of working out.
People don’t have to figure out how to focus on specific muscle groups because the class targets them, and the instructor is there to help.
