Deadline for applications has been extended!

Happy Monday!

We know that a lot of women are still putting together their teams, so we are giving you 4 more days to get your application in. The deadline has been pushed back to Thursday night, February 4.

Good luck ladies!

- Fiona

Grand Prize Announcement!

Hello Ladies,

I know that you’ve been busy getting your applications ready (don’t forget, they’re due at the end of the day on Monday, February 1st!) and now we have the grand prize announcment for you. 

The winning team across all 5 Healthworks locations will win a prize package valued at $2000! 

Each team member will receive:

• Hair cuts and styles from Brandon Keith Salon on Newbury Street

• A pair of shoes from The North Face (courtesy of SEAC)

• A $25 gift card to South End Althetic Company (the MVP will receive $50)

Keep those applications coming!  I’ll see you at Champions for our kickoff party on Monday, February 8 at 6pm! 

And don’t forget to follow our sponsors on Twitter!

South End Athletic Company

Champions  

Healthworks

- Fiona

Kickoff Party Announcement!

Save the date ladies!  Our Kickoff Party for Fiona’s Challenge II, will be at Champions in the Boston Marriott Copley Place.

Join us on Monday, February 8, from 6 – 8pm.  We’ll provide appetizers and fun!  Also, the chosen teams will be announced. 

See you there! 

In the meatime, follow Champions on Twitter.

- Fiona

Applications are rolling in!

Have you gotten yours in yet? Visit our website for all the details of Fiona’s Challenge and to apply. Don’t forget, the deadline is Monday, February 1st.

Good luck ladies!

- Fiona

It’s Back!! Fiona’s Challenge II

The Healthworks group bootcamp and fitness challenge is back!  Teams compete against each other for points, the greatest change in weight, and improved fitness ability.  We’ll officially begin taking applications starting on Monday. The deadline to apply is February 1st.

Last time we had the Challenge, we received feedback that some of you would like to be placed on teams.  We recommend leaving comments on posts here with the locations, days, and times that you can work out along with your contact information.  You may be able to find your next teammate by checking the blog frequently.

Last time we held the Challenge, the Women in Blue Police Officers of Brookline won a $1500 shopping spree to City Sports.  Stay tuned…prize details will be announced very soon!

The Winners of Fiona’s Challenge

Congratulations to The Women of Blue!  This team, comprised of police officers from Brookline, has won the grand prize – a $1500 shopping spree to City Sports! 

The Women in Blue lost a combined team total of 3.27% of their weight.  They also saw a 75% increase in their wall sit times and a 70% increase in their plank times. 

Congrats to the winning team.  A big thank you and congratulations also goes out to all of the competing teams.  Everyone worked really hard!  We are hoping that you were able to see (and more importantly, feel) changes in your overall health. 

See you for the next challenge – recruiting begins in January!!
- Fiona

Working hard while singing Disney songs!

The Recessionistas have a secret weapon while working out at Healthworks Back Bay – they sing Disney songs to keep them motivated!

From their trainer, Savannah, “Team Recessionistas have been bringing it to the table since the beginning, they all have high energy and are very motivated as a team. Though a few of their teammates have dropped out it did not bring them down. They are going strong and have continuously shown improvements in all areas of the competition. The team captain Lynn Graham has been a wonderful motivator and has really helped in keeping the team going. There one secret weapon in getting them through the challenging wall sits has been to sing Disney songs, which seems to work and makes everyone smile. It has been a wonderful experience working with them and wish them the best of luck coming to the end of the challenge.”

Good luck Recessionistas! 

Winners will be announced this Thursday!!!

UPDATE:  We are waiting on one final assessment, so teams will be announced on Friday!

An Inspiring Week 3 – overcoming challenges

The People’s Republic of Fit:   Even though this team faced the setback of losing a team member, their trainer Julie said, “they just continue to push harder!  With every class, I really challenge the girls in their workouts – think bodyweight drills, weights, plyos, cardio drills.  In the end they do it all and are awesome!  They really challenge themselves and push each other.”

Team captain Kerry faces her own challenges of getting out of bed early: “I am not an early riser.  When the alarm goes off for me to hit the gym before work, I have moments where I contemplate rolling over and sleeping for another hour.  Guilt is usually the driving force that gets me out of bed.  I think of the other women who have traveled further to be at Healthworks in the morning, but manage to get to the gym.  I arrive to Studio 2 still groggy, hungry and tired.  After I enter and see the happy faces of all my team members it is totally worth while.  We are there together pledging to value our bodies, feed our spirit and support each other.  I don’t know what gets them out of bed each morning, but whatever it is I am grateful.”

Team Lululicious:  Their “gentle giant” trainer Karl continues to push these ladies hard.  Jenna said they continue to have “awesome work outs!” She also says that she feels great!  She admitted to having a brownier – however of course it is all about balance – these women worked hard and she more than deserved it!!

Potential Energy:  Like the other teams, these ladies are facing their own challenges, including out of town travel, hectic schedules (especially Jen’s wedding this week!), soreness, injury, and sickness.  Their trainer Andrea has said that the ladies have greatly improved in form and stamina and, “Regardless of illness or inclement weather, these ladies are determined to learn as much as they can.”

Says team captain Maggie, “Week three! Regular exercise and eating healthy are no longer far-off goals, but are becoming habit. Now that we’ve got a few bootcamp and burn sessions under our belts, we’re able to push ourselves beyond what we previously thought possible. Lessons from our sessions inform our individual workouts, especially with running – now we’re utilizing interval training on the treadmill and running outdoors. We are also more confident with our changing and aging bodies; stretching, core-strengthening, and muscle-building all protect us from those pesky recurring injuries. Our fitness regimen is hard, but also creative. One team member leads us in a mini yoga/stretching/cooldown session after each bootcamp! The hard work is starting to pay off – we look good, feel better (except for some nasty colds!), and have much more energy to meet the challenges of our busy lives.”

Brookline Commission for Women:  From Trainer Patti, “Week 3 was great, except for the fact that two of my bootcamp participants were sick.  I have been seeing great improvement on their form in some exercises, and the ladies are learning how to push themselves with heavier weights and more challenging exercises.  Its hard to believe that we are already up to the 4^th week, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the improvements made at the end of the challenge!!!”

This is yet another team that is battling illness.  However, these ladies are seeing the positive results of their efforts. Says team captain Sue, “Sandy lost 2 pounds and can tell she has gained great upper body strength when she practices hot yoga. Debbie can get through a whole workout with 15 pound weights without a rest. I increased my Body Pump weight by 2.5 pound increment.  We are continuing to love getting in shape together. Our commitment to the challenge and to each other — and Patti’s encouragement of course — helps us power through!”

Motivated Muses (Back Bay):  From Trainer Alyssa, “The Motivated Muses of Back Bay stepped up their game. I was a little concerned about their energy level when several of the members were not able to be at the last bootcamp, but the remaining members brought out their secret weapon… Their own mixed cd to get them pumped up for the workout. They pushed themselves to the limit this week as we did a harder workout than ever before. I’m so proud of them!”

Says team captain Ilana, “Pushups are getting easier, clothes are fitting better, and we are not so tired all the time. As Maria said, “everyone hits a plateau or flat line” and we have all hit ours at different times.  We are all trying to push ourselves through these hard moments and get to new heights.  I injured my toes and had to miss our boot camp but from what I heard, with a great mix CD from Kara, the ladies worked really hard!  Many of the girls tried Gravity this week and raved about its hard weight workout.  In addition, kudos to the BURN instructor, Lauren!  A few of the girls took her class, were shocked by sprints at an incline of 15, but said it was an incredible workout.  Another shout out goes to Dari who has been pushing herself through her frustration with her knees and kicking butt! ”

One more week to go… who will win the $1500 shopping spree to City Sports!?

- Fiona

A look back at Lululicious

From team captain, Marie, “I have always been a girl that ran on the treadmill at 6.0 watching repeats of shows on VH1. I also, barely ever went to the gym with someone else. I would go at my own and at my own pace, barely ever seeing results, just maintaining what I already had. Until one day, Liz Cutts had sent in a video, to the Healthworks for Woman Bootcamp Challenge. The seven of us from lululemon, came up with a team name “lululicious” We were all so excited!!
 
“A week later, we met with Kelly, from Healthworks, who gave us a tour of the BEAUTIFUL gym. Then we met with our trainer, Karl!!!  My first thoughts were “OMG!! He’s huge!!! He looks just like the “Rock” We all got nervous. Karl weighed us and took our assessments! It was nice to do this as group. Karl ended up being a gentle giant, until he trained us!! Karl turned into a Sargent!! A fun Sargent though, but what was I expecting, after all this is a ‘Bootcamp Challenge’ He had us doing drills of sprinting, push ups, squats, the list goes on!!! All the while, I was with my friends, laughing and having a great time! This intense session lasted about an hour, but you know what, that hour was so much more effective than any other hour I have ever spent in the gym. I felt tired, happy, and weirdly rejuvinated!

Team Lululicious works out at Healthworks Chestnut Hill

“The next day, I was tender! The “lululicious” team felt closer than ever, not only did we have more to talk about to eachother, but we were connecting on something deeper! Our health! I am now in week 3 of the challenge and I feel stronger, happier, and more efficient with my workouts!”

One more week to go in the Challenge!
- Fiona

Keep it up Lunges!

“Lunges not Lemondrops did a GREAT job this week! A late night with a U2 concert didn’t stop any members from showing up at our early morning workout! Work commitments and some minor injuries have made things a little more difficult, but I am very proud of how these women are taking everything in stride and pushing through it toward their goals! Keep it up Lunges!” – Trainer Alyssa K.

Taking everything in stride, pushing it through to their goals!

Some milestones for the team:  Karen is at her pre-second baby weight and Andrea lost two pounds!

Here’s what team captain Alison says, “Above the feel-good of a great workout in the morning, I now see my friends and my cousin a lot more than before the Challenge.  I love it!     Having done the same classes for a couple of weeks now, I’m getting into the rhythm and recognizing the moves so it’s less intimidating and it’s getting easier.   The HW trainers are great at giving feedback on form and advice for stretches.”

You’re almost there Lunges!
- Fiona