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St. Pete Issues Fitness Challenge to Everyone

Healthy St. Pete | Fitness Challenge | Wellness

A three-month city wellness initiative kicks off on New Year’s Day.

ST. PETERSBURG – Make 2017 your year to get off the couch and get healthy by joining St. Petersburg’s newest wellness initiative – the Healthy St. Pete Fitness Challenge.

Starting Sunday (Jan. 1) and running through March 31, residents are encouraged to participate in the 12-week Healthy St. Pete and St. Pete Parks and Recreation Department wellness initiative, designed to increase activity in the community while promoting healthy eating. The Fitness Challenge will conclude April 1 with a community Fit City Celebration and wellness fair in North Straub Park, 400 Bay Shore Drive NE.

Partnering with SmithBuilt Fitness, 5600 Central Ave., the free fitness challenge offers residents an opportunity to increase current activity levels by establishing a monthly fitness objective and series of goal-specific exercises for each fitness category, basic nutrition guidelines, and peer support from five city employees, or wellness champions, all available on the healthy St. Pete website.Wellness champions are five city employees who were chosen in December to share their fitness journey and motivational tips with the community

To sign up, participants are encouraged to go to HealthyStPeteFL.com and choose one of fitness five categories which best fits your lifestyle – time restricted, for those with little or no time for exercise; age-defying fitness, for ages 60 and older; weight loss warriors, for those wanting to shed extra pounds; fitness enthusiasts who work out regularly; and be fit mom, to help moms-to-be stay healthy during pregnancy and lose baby weight following birth.

After choosing a category, the next step is to make a pledge toward wellness. Participants who sign an online Healthy St. Pete Fitness Challenge commitment card, found on the website will receive weekly e-blasts containing fitness and nutrition tips from SmithBuilt Fitness; wellness, recreation, and exercise opportunities offered by Healthy St. Pete and St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation; updates from their category’s Wellness Champion; and be eligible for random prize drawings throughout the challenge. To fully benefit from the challenge, participants are encouraged to choose one fitness category but may include exercises from the other four categories as they progress through the challenge.

In addition to regular workouts, challenge participants are encouraged to use community resources on their road to wellness, including outdoor fitness zones, recreation center fitness classes, the North Shore Aquatics Center, the city’s Coast bike share program, area bike trails, and golf courses, as well as participating in normal leisure activities.

Throughout the challenge, participants are encouraged to follow their category’s wellness champion on the website and social media using #HealthyStPete. The Healthy St. Pete Fitness Challenge wellness champions are Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin – time restricted; Joe Zeoli – age defying fitness; Leslie Furlong and Louise Fowler – weight loss warrior; Jing Lou – fitness enthusiast; and Stephanie Dunseith – be fit mom.

Challenge participants, their families, friends, and the public are all invited to celebrate wellness with the Healthy St. Pete Fit City Celebration in North Straub Park on April 1, featuring a 5k, a 1 mile run/walk, and a health and wellness fair.

Photo courtesy of the city of St. Petersburg.

Healthy St. Pete | Fitness | Wellness | Health | Recreation | Things to Do | Events | TB Reporter

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