Nuvance Health’s Get Fit Challenge returns from June 6 to July 18 while local contestants gear up to start logging fitness activities, compete for leader board status and enter prize raffles. For doing at least 30 minutes of exercise a few times per week, Get Fit participants in the Mid-Hudson Valley and Western Connecticut are entered to win an Apple Watch, sporting goods and workout apparel.
“During the six-week challenge, we want to help those in our communities feel motivated to achieve their physical fitness goals, because we know how important exercise is for overall health,” said Dr. Cornelius Ferreira, chair of primary care for Nuvance Health.
There is no cost to take the challenge and set up a profile at WeGetFit.org. Anyone 18 and older can enter. The website keeps track of workouts and automatically enters participants into prize raffles once 12, 18 and 25 workouts are entered. The more workouts completed in the six weeks, the better the prizes.
Participants can do any physical activity, at any location and any time between the challenge dates. “When you set a goal and you have a start and end date, you can really be successful in your fitness journey,” said Ferreira, a family medicine physician in Brookfield, CT, and avid runner.
During last year’s summer and fall challenges, more than 3,000 participants logged nearly 19,000 workouts — a record number since Get Fit launched in 2014 as the Walkway Fitness Challenge.
Jill Choma, a 58-year-old Sharon, Conn., resident, and co-owner of Gilded Moon Framing in Millerton, NY, was the last grand prize winner. She logged 29 times, working out in an unheated, unfinished barn, with her husband, Paul, by her side. The Millerton, NY, frame shop owner said her early morning Get Fit workout is her favorite part of the day.
Eileen Coladarci, a Danbury resident and justice of the peace, won second place. She walks every day with her dog, an 8-year-old mix.
