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Let’s Get Moving! The 2016 Recreation Challenge

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Hello my fellow Bruin Fitness Pals!

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Photo via UCLA Recreation

Something very exciting is brewing at UCLA. I’ll give you a hint: it’ll give us all a shot at beating ’SC!

In celebration of Movement Week (10/24-10/28), all of the PAC 12 schools are getting into some healthy competition! During Movement Week, all twelve schools are promoting healthy living through exercise and movement. They hope to show students that all kinds of exercise or movement are fun and fantastic for our health!

Research has shown that excessive sedentary habits (like sitting at a desk, studying, and playing video games) can be detrimental to your health – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Take the time now to take care of yourself by giving yourself movement recuperations — celebrate movement in your life and at the same time make UCLA the best of the PAC-12 in this challenge!

So, what exactly is the PAC 12 challenge? During this week of October 24 – 28, the schools will be competing to see whose supporters can log the most minutes of activity. Any movement counts! Taking a stretch or movement break in class or at work? Log those minutes! Walking to class or work? Log those minutes! Taking a yoga class? Log those minutes! Attend /participate in one of the FREE offerings by student groups and REC center programs during this week? Log those minutes! Any movement counts!

Anyone that is a UCLA supporter is eligible to participate — all you have to do is sign up on the PAC-12 Challenge website and log your minutes of movement (however, there is a 120 minute per day cap). Need a reason to participate beside getting the chance to beat USC? The top 500 loggers for the week will receive a free PAC 12 Challenge t-shirt! Top loggers per day will be eligible to win a Fitbit or a yoga mat!

To help UCLA supporters log as many minutes as possible and beat USC, UCLA Recreation is offering a variety of opportunities from free Group Exercises classes to free classes at the Marina Aquatic Center to drop in FITWELL Games. In addition to these movement opportunities, there are a number of other fun opportunities happening this week, including Eat Well cooking demos at the Bruin Plaza Farmer’s Market, Martial Arts demos, and a Drum Circle (which helps with anxiety!).

In case you’re looking for even more resources to help get you moving, UCLA has loads of fun programs to get you moving, including the following:

  • UCLA Rec: They offer loads of fun classes to help get active from different types of arts, dance, sports, etc! (And they are only $25 for the whole quarter!)
  • Yoga: There are both classes in UCLA Rec but also FREE options! It is called Flexible Fridays: the classes are weekly and there are a couple times on each Friday to help accommodate your busy schedules!
  • Competitive Sports: If you are interested in something with a little more competition, these programs are great for you! We have Club, Intramural, and Unified teams! The Club teams are generally for the fun of competing with your fellow Bruins and other schools but they are largely student initiated. For something a bit more fierce, we have Intramural teams which are in a whole “league” of its own: because it consists of tournaments, leagues, meets, and special events! Last, but certainly not least, we have our Unified teams for anyone who wants to promote inclusion between those with and without disabilities, using sports to bond!
  • Adaptive Programs: UCLA Rec provides more great therapeutically-based programs for those with cognitive or physical disabilities to help widen their access to opportunities that will help them get active and promote wellness!

Now that you have all this information on ways to get active on campus, go sign up to participate in the PAC-12 challenge! Anyone can participate who is a UCLA supporter. Whether you’re a student, faculty or staff member, alumni, or fan of UCLA you’re welcome to join us and go for the championship! Have fun with getting active and I hope you all join this amazing competition to prove we’re the healthiest campus…and for the free stuff, fun programs, and to stay healthy!

Tiffany Hu is an undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics with a minor in Bioinformatics. She is a blogger for Move Well of the UCLA Healthy Campus Initiative. She is the co-Director of the Student Health Advocates, which focuses on educating students on various intersections of health. Tiffany is also the Special Projects and Alumni Coordinator of the UCLA Care Extender Internship, which helps students volunteer at all departments in the UCLA Medical Centers.