Top 5 Reasons to Come to Camp

or
Camp Attendance: The Single Best Predictor of Positive Results
or
Get Your Fat Butt to Camp

(Note: I only mention people by name to praise them. If I mention you by name in this post, then, by definintion, YOU ROCK!)

Someone said to me last week: "Nan is my nemesis." If you know Nan, you know she is as sweet a person as there is on God's Green Earth. She's certianly no one's "nemesis." And of course the person who made the comment went on to rave about Nan's continually awesome performances at camp, and how she looks amazing, and how this person wished they could be like Nan, and wanted to beat Nan in at least one workout someday. And on and on and on.

That person missed camp today.

Nan posted a PR (personal record) in our workout today.

In the year since we started our FitWit community in Decatur, Nan has missed a total of 29 camp days. Nine of those were when the temperature was in the 20's and we had no indoor option. Her attendance rate for the year is 82%.

Ask Maureen about her progress over four camps. 91% attendance.

Ask Andie about her progress. 93% attendance for the year.

Ask Michele. 86% attendance. Again, that's for the year.

Our average attendance rate per person for this camp is 67%. If I give us the benefit of the doubt and calculate it figure-skating style--remove the highest and lowest--we still hit 67%. For you statisticians out there, the mean number of days missed is over 5; the median is also over 5, and the mode is 3. Keep in mind this isn't sampling, this is the entire population.

Too much math, I know. But the bottom line is: we are averaging over a week missed of camp per person--and we have two weeks to go! I'm actually throwing punches in the air as I type this.

There is no secret to fitness. It takes effort. Work hard, eat well. That's it. It takes effort to get to camp. Camper of the Week is based first on attendance because it takes some life effort to get your butt to camp four days per week. You must make fitness a top priority. More posts are coming about the effort required to eat well--"it's just not sustainable" you say. Ask Maureen if it's sustainable--and if it's worth it. But I digress.

The purpose of this post is to encourage you to get to camp, and I want to focus on the positive. Since blogs are all about lists, here are the top 5 reasons you need to come to camp:

1. You owe it to the other campers. Believe it or not, at FitWit, your fitness is a team effort. It's the community that makes us so great. The entire world is out to sabotage your health, but at FitWit you are surrounded by people who share your fitness goals and want more than anything for you to succeed. They push you. They encourage you. They praise you. They show you what is possible. They show you that, yes, even you can do it! They also depend on you. They depend on you to support them. They depend on your encouragement. They depend your enthusiasm. They depend on you to be there when they are sucking wind on the last set of burpees. They need to see you giving your best effort every day so they can give theirs. You are not alone at FitWit. That's the freakin' point. FitWit is more than a commitment you make to yourself. It's a commitment you make to the other FitWitters. Don't let them down.
   
2. You owe it to yourself. Do you like your pant size? Do you like being out of breath when you climb a flight of stairs? Look at your parents. How is their health today? Will you be satisfied at their age to be in the same state of health? I'm not kidding when I say the world is out to destroy your health. You are the only person in the world who really wants you to be healthy just for you. If you don't make fitness a priority for yourself, no one else will do it for you. Your body is the only vessel you have to experience this beautiful planet. Experience it best by being fit. How much television did you watch last week? More than four hours? Did you get more value from those four hours of television than you get from four hours of FitWit? Make time for you!
   
3. Get results. Here is a summary of the results a typical FitWittter can expect from coming to camp the following number of days per week (and additional workouts per week):

• 0-1 days/week: soreness, increased probability for injury, no fitness ability gains, no impact on body composition.
• 2 days/week: minimal maintainennce of fitness ability; no impact to body composition.
• 3 days/week: some increase in fitness capability; minimal impact on body composition--some muscle building and some fat burning.
• 4 days/week: increased fitness ability; body composition impacted by moderate gains in muscle building and fat burning.
• 5 days/week: significant increases in fitness ability; maximum muscle building and fat burning achieved.
• 6-8 workouts/week: maximum increases in fitness ability; 2-3 workouts should be dedicated to sport specific activities/movements (running, tennis, yoga, biking, swimming, climbing, etc.).
• >8 workouts/week: danger zone; substantial risk of injury and overtraining; body composition impacted negatively through excessive muscle breakdown and "survival-mode" metabolism slowing.

4. Get your money's worth. This is simple. You pay for the entire camp up front. Every camp day you miss, you are paying more for each session. In this economy does it really make sense to knowingly get less value for your money?

5. It's the coolest.

In summary, everyone wins when you come to camp. Be like Nan, and Andie, and Maureen, and Michele, and everyone who makes their fitness and FitWit a priority.

We'll see you at camp tomorrow!