Fit together

The state Cooperative Extension wants you to walk across Virginia.

Teams of six may participate in FIT Extension, an eight-week team-based fitness program encouraging team members to aim for a combined physical fitness goal equivalent to 480 miles, or the length of the state.

"Obesity just keeps growing, especially in Virginia," said Shewana Hairston, family consumer science extension agent for Franklin County.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 percent of Virginians were obese in 2008.

"We wanted to do something to get people motivated to walk, especially as families," said Hairston.

FIT Extension was adapted from Walk Across Kansas, a popular Kansas Extension Office program, said Hairston. Last year, a few Virginia counties, including Franklin and Henry, participated in the pilot program. Deb Chapel with the Roanoke Extension Office said about 1,200 people participated. This year, the program is being offered statewide.

Susan Prillaman, Bedford County's family consumer science extension agent, said the program's goal is two-fold. The first goal is to get people moving.

For eight weeks, participants will track their physical activities. They can walk, run, participate in sports, even garden or clean the house. Anything that gets the heart pumping counts, said Hairston. As the program's theme says, "Go fast ... go slow ... just go!"

According to the program literature, at least 15 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity equals one mile walked.

"The second thing is to eat more fruits and vegetables," said Prillaman.

Fruits and vegetables make up approximately 40 percent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food pyramid. It breaks down to 1¹₂ to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables, depending on age and gender.

"It's a different serving size whether you cook your vegetables or eat them raw," said Hairston.

To help participants, the Cooperative Extension will provide weekly newsletters with information on serving sizes and physical activity ideas and recipes, said Hairston.

Each six-person team must choose a captain, whose job is to keep everyone motivated and to compile team members' activity and fruits and vegetables intake.

Teams can be comprised of friends, family, co-workers or any combination thereof. They can exercise individually or together.

"I actually participated in it last year. My office came in second place," said Hairston. "We started walking together during lunch. It was a way for us to bond and get our physical activity in, too."

Prillaman said the program is unique in that it allows teams to set up their own goals. The team captain inserts the data onto the FIT Extension Web site, where other teams can see how everyone is progressing.

"It's not a competition, I tell people, unless you want to make it a competition," said Prillaman.

Registration is $20 per team and teams must sign up by Monday. The program begins March 21 and runs through May 15. Bedford and Franklin counties are offering prizes to the top teams for added motivation.

For more information or to register, call Hairston at 483-5161 in Franklin County or Prillaman at 586-7675 for Bedford County; or visit www.fitextension.ext.vt.edu.