The card for the Fresh Start Challenge can be picked up at Member Services. Photo by Mason Buysse.

ELLA HALL | STAFF REPORTER | erhall@butler.edu

To ring in the new year, Butler Recreation and Wellness (RecWell) introduced a fitness challenge extending through the end of January promoting student wellness. 

The challenge features a bingo-style card with 25 fitness-related activities and usage of the Health and Recreation Complex’s (HRC) amenities. The card is considered complete when 20 of the activities are fulfilled.

A mix of group fitness classes, independent workouts and recreational activities is featured, including Pilates classes, strength training sessions and pick-up basketball games. Participants must have each activity verified by a RecWell staff member. Each activity can only count once toward the challenge.

Olivia Coy, a graduate student in the Master of Business Administration program and a Pilates instructor at the HRC, highlighted trying new areas of fitness as her favorite part of the challenge. 

“I have a very regimented workout routine, so I kind of am in and out; I try to be very efficient with it,” Coy said. “It’s been good for me to try different machines that I’m not typically taking the time to try, or working out in different areas at the facility that I don’t typically use.”

Joanna Rajkumar, a junior health sciences major and another Pilates instructor at the HRC, emphasized the aspect of accountability that the wellness challenge brings to students trying to achieve their fitness goals.

“I think that one of the biggest struggles that people have with being active and trying to maintain a routine is the accountability portion,” Rajkumar said. “By having the timeline that the challenge brings and the squares that the instructors must initial really acts as a motivator. Especially with that incentive at the end, it really helps people stay accountable, and it only takes 21 days to build a habit.”

Students can pick up a card at the HRC Member Services front desk and start completing activities at any point during the challenge period, as long as each activity is verified.

Butler RecWell stated that “all those who complete and submit a challenge card will be entered into a drawing for [personal training and InBody] complimentary sessions.” 

The winner of the drawing will be notified by email on Feb. 2. Those who submit their cards to the HRC Member Services by Jan. 31 will also receive a challenge-exclusive T-shirt.