The MSU Moves Me Challenge, a new program to establish engagement in movement and fitness activities while bringing together the campus as a community, began Monday and continues through March 4.

About 136 teams made up of a mix of students and faculty have registered for the program so far. Registration continues into Sunday night.

Recreational Sports and Fitness Services Director Rick McNeil said he hopes the program helps participants work fitness and movement into their daily schedules in a natural way.

“We hope it creates a sense of habits, and they get into a routine,” McNeil said. “It will become part of their everyday healthy lifestyle.”

Participants in the challenge track the physical activities they complete each day and how many minutes they do them on the challenge’s website.

MSU Health Promotion Services Integration Coordinator Nancy Allen said the program is not a competition, but the team that shows the highest percentage of improvement from their baseline week until the last week of the challenge will be invited to a special dinner where they will receive an assortment of prizes and have their names engraved on a trophy that will be displayed in one of the fitness facilities on campus.

Some students are participating in the challenge as part of their participation requirement for a kinesiology class, including one led by McNeil.

Loveland is on a team named Buff Stuff with about 15 of his classmates, and he said the challenge will not be very difficult for him.

“This is something that is useful for those who don’t set aside time for working out or don’t have the motivation to do so,” Loveland said. “In my case, it is something that is more of an experience … to visualize what I’ve done.”

Although not all students need an extra push to work out, McNeil said most of his students can implement similar fitness programs when they are in professional positions that promote fitness.

Nutritionist for Health4U Peggy Crum is team captain of “What the HEALTH!” and said she is not just hoping to improve her own fitness, but she also hopes to inspire her team during the challenge.

She said she already walks a few times a week with a friend, but she now hopes to make it to some cycling classes at the IM Sports facilities as well.

“As a team captain, I hope to discover what messages might be motivating to send to my team members,” Crum said.

Crum and Loveland said their teammates plan to exercise individually, but will touch base as a group from time to time on their progress.

Kinesiology graduate student Ryan Patterson, who also is on a team for his kinesiology class, said he will not be exercising with the rest of his team and plans to work out for the challenge at IM Sports-West.

“We talked about getting together, but everyone has such different schedules,” Patterson said.
“We all have a passion for exercise and health fitness promotion.”