Shape-Up contestants find fun in scavenger hunt workout
Marianne Oppman does five laps around the running track to fulfill her team’s first challenge during the fitness scavenger hunt.
Pam George, YMCA group exercise coordinator, explains the rules and hands out clues to each team for the Shape-Up Challenge, Team Up Edition fitness scavenger hunt. Each clue led the teams to a different workout station at the Y.
Pam and Larry Kumor workout for five minutes on the rowing machines to complete one of the challenges.
Joyce and Darryle Thornton find a clue to their next fitness challenge.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standa
Larry and Pam Kumor find their next clue.
The next challenge for the Thornton’s, a combined total of 50 push-ups.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standa
Its a jump rope challenge for Lary and Pam Kumor.
Pam George, YMCA group exercise coordinator, awards stars to Pam and Larry Kumor for being the first team to complete all the fitness scavenger hunt challenges.
Steve and Shanon Leskinen partake in the spiderman crawl.
YMCA personal trainer Destiny Grimm records the results as YMCA group exercise coordinator Pam George weighs in Shanon Leskinen and the rest of the Shape-Up, Team Up Edition contestants.
With just two weeks left in the Shape-Up Challenge, Team Up Edition, the contestants were welcomed to their weekly group meeting with a facility-wide scavenger hunt.
Group Exercise coordinator Pam George designed the hunt to have the contestants searching for clues throughout Uniontown’s YMCA while also having to overcome physical obstacles.
“I wanted to give them something fun to do, and I designed the scavenger hunt in a way that they would have to search all throughout the facility, and maybe that would even introduce them to some places here they didn’t know existed,” George said.
Each team of two received a specific color to follow, as the clues were color-coded. A monitor was also assigned to each team as an overseer. There were seven clues in all, and each led to a physical challenge that the team had to complete before being allowed to search for the next clue.
One clue told the contestants to “go find the trees,” but they weren’t allowed outdoors. The clue really led to the trees by the reception desk where a pair of jump ropes and friendly cheers from the receptionists were waiting. Each partner had to complete 50 jumps before moving on.
Another clue told the contestants to go “Row, row, row your boat.” Some teams believed this would lead them to a task in the Y’s pool area, but the task was actually found in the gym area on the rowing machine. Each partner had to complete five minutes of rowing before moving on.
The other five tasks included: 80 squats, 40 push-ups, climbing 40 steps on the stairmaster machine, five laps around the indoor track and spiderman crawls, which involved lunges across the floor and back, in the racquetball room.
George said the tasks were designed to be completed per team. So the partners could, for example, divide up the 40 push-ups as needed until the task was completed.
As each team came across the finish line sweating but smiling, all agreed they got a great workout and had fun doing it.
“I wouldn’t mind doing it again. It was definitely challenging,” said Marianne Oppman. “I think my least favorite task was the spiderman crawl, and my favorite would have been the jump rope.”
Pam Kumor, who took first place with her partner Larry Kumor, said a few of the clues were a little tricky to figure out.
“We thought the ‘Row, row, row your boat’ clue would lead to the pool. We were lucky though to find the rowing machine when we did because the five minutes felt like a long time, and it started to get backed up,” she said.
Shanon Leskinen enjoyed all of the tasks, but if she had to pick one to be her least favorite it would be the rowing machine.
“You had to do five minutes no matter what, so it wasn’t like you could speed up to complete the task faster,” she said.
Overall, George said she was surprised at how quickly the teams managed to find each task and complete the challenge, which took about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, this week’s weigh-in revealed another week of success for the Shape-Up contestants, who continue to shed pounds each week.
The top two female contestants to lose weight this week were Joyce Thornton, losing 3¾ pounds, and Pam Kumor with a two-pound drop.
The top two male contestants to lose weight this week were Darryle Thornton, who dropped 5½ pounds, and Larry Kumor, who stepped off the scale with a 4½-pound drop.