Biggest Winner competition helps contestants get healthy, fit
Members of the Wellness Center Team are, from left, Tanya Kassler, Daesha Gogarty, Emily Mahoney, trainer Kristy Boyle, Matt Prescott, Brian Higgins and Bryan Braunlich.
Members of Washington Hospital Team 2 are, from left, Erika Kosek, Dawn Kirschner, Amy Kushner, trainer Emily Lugg, Rachel Jones, Kathi Jennings and Peg Taylor.
Members of Washington Hospital Team 1 are, from left, Amy Fischer, Cheryl Hilty, Jamie Golden, trainer Butch Marasco, Sherri Kleinhans and Pam Wilson. Not pictured is Kalen Frazee.
Members of the Observer-Reporter Over 40 Team are, from left, Lucy Corwin, Tom Northrop, Vickey Macerelli, Bridget Vilenica, Liz Rogers, Carole DeAngelo and trainer Jackson Momplaisir.
Members of the Observer-Reporter Under 40 Team are, from left, Elise Duranko, Arlea Hoffman, Jasmine Blussick, trainer Joe Cavarretta, Francesca Sacco, Katie Roupe and Grace Northrop.
Members of the The Meadows Casino Team are Doug Blobner, Kevin Brogan, Camille Kobrys, Ari Sobel, Sean Sullivan, David Wiegmann and trainer Butch Marasco.
Members of the Washington Auto Mall Team are Danny Burt, Sarah Johnson, Ryan Komorowski, Amy Nelson, Dana Phillips, Nicole Zidek and trainer Kenny Rosenbauer.
It’s on.
The Washington Health System’s Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center Biggest Winner competition kicked off on Jan. 4, and the seven teams participating in the contest are feeling achy quads and sore biceps from boot-camp-style workouts led by the gym’s personal trainers.
But you won’t hear any complaints.
“Because I work in the health profession, I am aware that I should be exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle. This made me realize that I do want to be more healthy, but I have some work to do. I’m excited about doing this,” Pam Wilson, a registered nurse at Washington Hospital and a member of the hospital’s Team 2, said after the team completed its first workout with coach Thomas “Butch” Marasco. “I’m glad to be doing this with great team members who are supportive and enthusiastic.”
According to Louise Schultz, corporate wellness manager for the Wellness Center, regular exercise and proper nutrition – which the Biggest Winner competition promotes – can help reduce body fat and protect against chronic diseases.
Working out and eating right contribute to weight and blood pressure management, mood improvement and sleep quality.
Marasco said he plans to push the team throughout the competition, and wants to help every individual meet his or her short-term goal.
He encouraged his team members as they wrapped up their first session, saying, “You all did very well today. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t do something. It takes time, don’t worry.”
Marasco added, “And no desserts when you leave here. No cookies. The holidays are over. Throw those cookies away.”
The 42 participants in the Biggest Winner have their own reasons for wanting to lose weight, and their fitness levels vary.
Kevin Brogan, director of marketing at The Meadows Casino and the father of five children who range in age from 8 months to 9 years old, said he wants to lead a healthier lifestyle to increase his energy and reduce stress.
“With the demands of work, raising a family, supporting youth sports and trying to keep up with projects around the house, it is relatively easy to find a number of reasons why I don’t have time to exercise regularly or monitor what I’m eating,” said Brogan, who plans to register for the Bike MS: Escape to the Lake, a 150-mile cycling event dedicated to raising money and support for those living with Multiple Sclerosis, which his mother has.
“This program with the Wellness Center, the O-R and other local teams will force me to stop finding excuses and start finding the time to commit to a healthier lifestyle.”
Sarah Johnson, a member of the Washington Auto Mall team, said she wants to get healthy to enjoy grandchildren that she might someday have.
The Auto Mall’s Danny Burt said he is motivated to lose weight to “help me feel better about myself” and to “help with the previous knee injuries that I have had.”
The Biggest Winner is a take-off on the television reality series “The Biggest Loser.”
The monthlong competition pits seven companies against each other for the Biggest Winner title. Teams are exercising three times a week, and each team has a certified personal trainer assigned to it.
The Biggest Winner team will be determined by the greatest decrease in combined total body weight percentage of each member during the program. Members of the winning team will earn a one-month pass to the Wellness Center and guest passes for co-workers.
The overall winner will be determined using the same criteria, and will receive a grand prize of a one-year membership to the Wellness Center.
Katie Roupe, an O-R photographer and a member of the newspaper’s Under 40 Team, said she has struggled with her weight since her early teens.
“I lost a lot of weight when I was around 24 and ran 5Ks. The weight slowly crept back on amidst several moves, job changes and a break-up,” said Roupe, who hopes to lose 25 pounds.
Now 28, Roupe recently got married and is looking to return to Olympic weightlifting, which she gave up in order to spend time with her husband, who works an overnight shift.
“I’ll be turning 29 in February, and in a few years I would love to have children and a family. I know that at my current weight, it would not be a healthy pregnancy for me or the baby, and I want to be healthy and ready when my husband and I decide it’s time,” she said.
Schultz said camaraderie among teammates is one of the benefits of the program, and the participants agree.
“As I get older, I realize how difficult it is to maintain my weight,” said David Wiegmann, CFO and director of accounting at The Meadows Casino. “The team competition is a great way to work with friends to achieve a common goal of losing weight and getting back into a workout routine.”