Photo by Ali Bassir
Week seven of classes was week five of the BEE Fit Wellness Challenge, hosted and organized by ClubSCAD. That’s roughly 35 hours — or more — of physical exercise time, 35 intensely monitored nutrition log entries, one skinfold body fat measurement, five weigh-ins and non-stop serious mental discipline.
This week’s challenge, falling on Feb. 14 (that’s right; Valentine’s Day) at 8 a.m. was a definite test of that mental discipline.
It was a lovely 37 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and boy was it great to wake up before the sun. This Florida girl doesn’t respond well to cold; not in the middle of the day, and certainly not when the bed is so warm and comfortable and my heated blanket is cranked up on high and the inside thermostat reads 47 degrees.
But I sat up when my alarm went off anyway, pulled a blanket around me and comically shimmied into my clothing while doing everything possible to keep covered up. When I picked my teammate up from 61st Street (because even the SCAD busses aren’t making their rounds at this ungodly hour), the sun was up and we were both ready for the challenge.
And we weren’t the only ones.
ClubSCAD was filled with the neon colors of each group’s team shirts. It looked like everyone showed up.
My coach Ali has this fun habit of having us run outside around the square adjacent to the gym for a warm-up, but blessedly he had us do it inside instead. We ran laps around the gym, dodging machines and equipment, laughing and cutting one another off along the way. More than 30 of us spread out for jumping jacks and knee-highs.
This week’s challenge was a cardio blast, focusing on endurance and speed. There were five stations: elliptical, treadmill, a mixed station of rowing, stair stepping and biking, and two rest stations. Each team completed 10 minutes at each station, going as many miles or meters as possible within that 10-minute time span. The winner at the end would be the team with the most mileage overall.
In the end, everyone killed it. Teams Purple, Blue, Red, Orange and Green ran, rowed and biked nearly 99 miles collectively. My team, Team Orange, was responsible for more than 18 of those miles. We came in second place. Giving credit where credit is due, the winner of the challenge, Team Green, busted out an impressive nearly 20 miles total. (But don’t worry; Team Orange is coming for you in the next challenge.)
Current Overall Team Standings:
- TEAM Green
- TEAM Red
- TEAM Orange
- TEAM Blue
- TEAM Purple
With two more weeks left of BEE Fit, the competition is coming to an all-time high. Every day and every piece of food we consume and every workout we complete counts. This is where we push harder than ever. BEE Fit or bust.
