More Fun Activities to Explore

Round 14 (August 20 to September 2) continues to explore having fun. Some activities to sample include:


1. Taking time to smell the roses. Lifedev is a blog full of tips, tools and resources that can give you insights into ways you can improve your work and your life. Take better breaks is a collection of posts devoted to the art of recharging by taking a time out from your busy day.

Looking through my Delicious bookmarks (see the OCL Web Challenge) for more fun activities, I found some more fun things to do:

2. Six Word Memoirs from Smith Magazine. Can you sum up your life story in six words? That is the challenge on this web site. It was so successful that it was made into a book. Go ahead and try it, and share your memoir in the Comments.


3. Facebook is a great way to connect with old and new friends and family. A recent study said that checking social networking sites like this at work actually increases productivity! While the jury may still be out on that issue, it is still a fun way to reach out and socialize.


4. Guess-the-google is an addictive guessing game based on Google's image search. It turns the mental activity of searching into a fun, visual and engaging game where people can enjoy the challenge of being the fastest and most efficient at making that connection between search terms and their results


5. Freerice is a fun free vocabulary game. The website states: "For each answer you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. "

Time for Some fun!

Round 13, from August 6 to August 19th

The next four rounds focus on fun activities.


What's so healthy about fun?

In her book, "Quantum Wellness", Kathy Freston writes, "...I can't imagine being well without having any fun. Fun activities, whatever they might be for you, bring levity to your life. They loosen up your energy and bring in optimism. They remind you that life is meant to be joyful." she continues to say, "Sometimes when you are trying to work on your health, you forget that the most important thing is to love life."

Kathy Freston's challenge to us this round is:

"Plan a fun activity - it gives you something to look forward to and then a precious memory to look back fondly on."

Her suggestions for putting a little fun in your life every day include:

*Go out dancing

*"Lose yourself" in your hobby of choice

*Play with your kids or run on the beach with your dogs

*Drive in your car and blast your favorite songs. Make sure you sing along!

*Watch a funny movie. (Please share your favorites with a post in Comments!)


Here are some other suggestions for having fun:

Visit fun SFW (Safe For Work) web sites. I have a category on my bloglines called "For Fun". Whenever I need quick pick-me-up, I take a look at:

Cake Wrecks - "When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong"


Flickr feeds - Larry Meegan's photostream - look for the button that lets you subscribe - if you use bloglines, the photos will be sent to your account. Larry takes photographs of many major library events. It is always fun to find familiar faces and to see so many people enjoying the library.

Do you have a favorite fun website that you would like to share? Please add it in the Comments.

Moving Right Along

Round 12 - July 23 to August 5

Congratulations! You have made it to the last exercise round! So, if you have an exercise routine, but are wondering what else is out there, here are some suggestions for adding variety to your usual workout:

1. Want to try swimming, but don't know what to do? Brendan Hansen, Olympic gold medalist, captain of the 2008 Beijing Olympics U.S. Swim Team and Director of Training & Performance for PureSport, designed this moderate swim workout .

2. If you are wondering if your workouts are overlooking a certain aspect of fitness, like strength or flexibility, check out: Outside Magazine's Fitness Challenge .

3. Outside Magazine also has a helpful article on fitness for improving skeletal system health:
Exercise for strong bones .

4. Many everyday activities burn calories, so if you can't make it to the gym, plug in the vacuum!

5. Quick Tip - log your workout on a calendar.

6. And finally, Donna at Manchester designed the following 30 Day Fitness Challenge:

This 30 day exercise challenge is a solid commitment to yourself to take one step forward each day to improve your health. The goal? A healthier YOU by the end of the Challenge.

You Pick your type of exercise and mix it up with variety.

1. Commit to doing exercise for 30 Days
2. Build in rest days 1-3 days per week
3. Plan a variety of activities to always have options
4. Increase your time/reps each week
5. Post your result daily after exercise

Good luck, and remember to just keep on moving!

Round 11 - Keep Moving!

We are about halfway through the Health & Wellness Challenge! We started our journey on February 19. We only have ten more rounds to go.


So, this round's exercise activities will focus on how to overcome an exercise slump, or what to do if you are having trouble getting started.

If you wonder why you should bother with exercising at all, this article from SparkPeople highlights an often overlooked benefit of physical activity: better sleep habits.

Exercise on a Budget: Want to get in shape, but your budget won’t allow for a gym membership? This site offers a variety of low or no-cost options, such as renting exercise DVDs from the library or doing exercises that require no equipment.

Low Back Exercise Program: If you’re concerned about starting an exercise program due to lower back pain, take a look at this site, which provides a list of exercises that can help.

Have you ever decided to take up running again, actually done some running, and gotten up the next morning in horrible pain? You might want to ease into the whole running thing with the Couch-to-5K-Running-Plan, an easy to follow, step-by-step plan that will have you running 3 miles in two months.


Zen Habits is a blog chock full of advice on all kinds of aspects of life. The secret to this blog is that information almost always comes in the form of lists - small chunks of ideas that you can quickly skim and pick and choose from. Check out "Top 42 Exercise Hacks" and try one or two of the suggested activities.

Round Ten: V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

June 25 to July 8

No, we are not taking a vacation from the Wellness Challenge. We are going to take the Challenge with us on vacation!

You can still work on staying fit while you are having fun. The links below offer fitness ideas for all kinds of vacations. They also provide ideas on how to do basic exercises when you are away from home. While we’ve already focused on conscious eating and stress management, it is important to continue our health and wellness challenge even when we are enjoying ourselves on vacation.

Read at least one article and then think about how you can incorporate it into your summer vacation plans.


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=108
Easy Vacation Exercises


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=231
The Healthy Vacation Guide


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=109
Exercise for Different Vacations


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=839
Active Vacation Ideas

Stress Eating - You're Not Alone

Yahoo! News recently posted an article about stress eating:
Tough Times Mean Tighter Pants For Stress Eaters

I'm sure many of us can relate!

Round 9 - Exercise at Work

Do you want to exercise more, but don't seem to have the free time at home to do it? Try squeezing some exercise in at work.

The Office Diet blog has some helpful advice on "healthy living for busy people". A recent post focused specifically on Staying fit at your Desk.

Here are some more tips for getting active at work:

*Start a file at your branch with exercise, and nutrition, ideas.
*Form a walking buddies group at lunch. Interested in starting a walking program but not sure where to start? Take a look at this government publication: Walking: A Step in the Right Direction
*Have a monthly branch activity: share a healthy food such as healthy desserts, souper lunch or fun breakfast foods.
*Include the sharing of health and wellness tips in your monthly branch staff meetings.

Try exercises at work during your breaks. Find some good exercises at:
Fitness 9to 5 by Shirley Archer Get Fit While You Sit by Charlene Torkelson
Prevention.com Webmd.com/fitness-exercise inklingmagazine.com/articles/neat-and-trim/