The Employee Wellness Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock encourages all faculty and staff to join its upcoming fitness challenge, “Put Some Steps into Your Spring,” from Feb. 6 to March 19.

The goal of the six-week program is to get UA Little Rock employees up and moving while improving their daily lives through exercise.

“Based on the comments I have received from employees who have participated in previous challenges, the greatest benefit of the step challenge is that it provides motivation for many employees to increase their physical activity,” said Karl Lenser, coordinator of the Employee Wellness Program.  

The program format is based on the number of steps participants accumulate over the course of the program. Participants are encouraged to reach 150,000 steps by the end of the challenge, equating to 3,571 steps per day.

Steps can be acquired in a number of ways including walking, jogging, cycling, attending a group exercise class, as well as tackling daily activities such as walking the dog or running errands on campus.

Employees are free to use tracking devices, such as Fitbits or cellphones, to calculate their steps, or they can request a pedometer from the Office of Health Services. By 5 p.m. every Monday, participants are required to record their steps in a Google form provided by Lenser.

To get employees motivated, the first 100 people to register will receive a free T-shirt. To keep them on their toes, random prizes will also be awarded to participants who meet the minimum weekly requirement of 20,000 steps.

For more information, contact Lenser at kjlenser@ualr.edu, the Office of Health Services at 501.569.3188, or register here.