Every year, many ambitious (and guilt-ridden) people make ultimately ill-fated fitness New Year’s resolutions. They say they will hit the gym five times a week, actually find out more about the food they are eating and make healthier choices to finally reach their goals. Then reality checks in, and unfortunately, only about 44 percent of people are still on track with their New Year’s fitness resolutions after six months, according to author John Norcross in his book, “Changing for Good.”
Well, not this year. For the first time the Coors Fitness Center initiated the Dare to Compare 25 Day Fitness Challenge, open to DU students and members of the community. This program is free to anyone who wants to participate. Between Jan. 6 and 14 (although the date could be extended due to student interest), anyone can go to the Coors Fitness Center and receive a fitness assessment targeting different health indicators such as weight, body mass index and body fat percentage.

Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, participants are encouraged come in again and compare their post-challenge results. The male and female with the highest weight-loss percent will receive a $200 Ritchie Center gift certificate, good for use toward personal training sessions, boot camps or several other programs offered at the fitness center, according to Associate Director of Marketing Ruth Brown. Other incentives will be held throughout the month for smaller prizes.

Brown, the mastermind behind Dare to Compare, said she wanted the challenge to be only through the month of January because people can do anything for 25 days.

“The 25-day challenge is a great opportunity for people to begin, or continue, a workout program and positively impact their health in just 25 days,” said Brown.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in the challenge and utilize the many classes the Coors Fitness Center offers, no matter what their personal fitness goal is. A few of the seminars and training tools available throughout the month of January are a 20-minute circuit-training workout on Jan. 17 and 21, a 25-minute Spinning 101 workout on Jan. 23 and 31, and “The Truth About Metabolism” on Jan. 20.

Brown wanted to give members a short-term, manageable starting point that will help new and existing members keep their New Year’s resolutions throughout the year. She hopes this program will be enough to get students and members of Coors excited about the offerings they have and to encourage prolonged, sustainable exercise habits.

“I feel that a program like this is excellent for the initial pursuit of New Year’s fitness goals because of the amount of support and motivation. However, I feel that intrinsic motivation is necessary to keep momentum after the program is over,” said Collin Hearrell, a sophomore music performance major from Lakewood.

With students’ schedules and hectic lives, Brown says she knows that it is too easy to “fizzle out” a few weeks or months into a fitness program; but with the manageable steps associated with Dare to Compare, even people with the busiest lives can commit to living a healthy lifestyle.

“We’re excited for students to take advantage of our new fitness assessment tool, see their comparative measures and determine how we can best help them achieve the results they want to see,” said Brown.
Brown plans to hold other Dare to Compare sessions throughout the year, and the Ritchie Center is always open for fitness assessments.

For more information or workout advice, students can come into the fitness center and talk to Fitness Coordinator Aaron Clark (303-871-4523) or Director of Programming Carin Orr (303-871-7689), or visit the Dare to Compare Information Blog.