Shining Light Fit For The Job Challenge

Wed 15th: As a whole staff we joined up three months ago. It cost $100 each and this company (http://www.shininglight.net.au/) sent someone to the school before we started, to measure and weigh us all. This would be used to rate us later on and to compare us with companies all over Australia. The company is based in Perth and our main contact with them was online or on the phone. They also provided us with a colourful folder containing a disk suggesting a daily exercise programme & diet-well more healthy recipes than a diet. There was also a programme planner, to be done under the supervision of an online tutor. Some did, some didn’t. There was also an exercise diary, some did and most didn’t. I didn’t do any of the above but I did take part in the Monday fitness programme organised in the school by Leisa, one of our teachers. It was good fun to do something together and it reminded me of the mid-eighties in Rathfeigh NS when we all trained together for the Mini-Marathon. There is nothing like a bit of bonding in adversity!
Everyone undertook the challenge with relish but in the beginning there was one potential banana skin: At recess each day a teacher brings in some cake or other treat. They are all great cooks and have about a hundred different versions of what my mother (God rest her soul) used to call ‘Chocolate Biscuit Cake’ which they cut up and call ‘slices’ (or in the vernacular ‘sloyyces’). This, I thought was going to be a problem as we all loved our little treats. No bother to them, they all made the effort to have healthy treats. That was a great idea until my week came and I had to ‘buy’ something healthy. Banana cake, date cake, dips… and I was struggling. Still I was only on ‘twoyce’ in the twelve weeks so I got through.
Anyway, they sent a local person to measure our arms, waist, hip and chest, as well as measuring weight, blood pressure, heart rate, push-ups, sit-ups and sit&reaches. I wasn’t able to do the sit-ups (should that be ‘sits-up’?) until about week eight but once I got the knack there was no stopping me. We were measured again after week six and we all had improved, so much so that we were rated seventh in Australia and third in Victoria.(I know, I was impressed too!) Our final measurements at the end were done last week and they improved also. The pressure was on especially coming up to the measurement week-nobody wanted to let the team down. I was measured at 1.10 p.m. and fasted all day, as well as taking off my watch and emptying my pockets! I then celebrated by eating a pie (poy). Pies are a traditional dish here and the local bakery (Koroit Bakery) does a huge selection, one nicer than the other. Healthy food they are not.
It will be interesting to find out what our final ranking is.