As part of the city-wide Fitness Challenge at Community Development Recreation (CD-REC) on Bank Street, participants were invited to the first Challenge Event on February 17, 2007. About twenty people arrived at 10:00 a.m. to test their ability to perform at each of eight stations around the gym. The challenge included a hundred each of alternating knee lifts, knee extensions, and jumping jacks, and fifty each of toe raises, high step-overs, shadow boxing and standing row boat movements. The half-hour event ended with a run up and down three flights of stairs three times. After that work-out, everyone gathered back in the gym for the drawing of the winning raffle tickets and award of prizes. Everyone was a winner simply by participating, though. The Challenge offers low-impact aerobic classes at the Diabetes Association, Inc, Zumba classes, senior stretching, kick boxing and personal training, as well as nutrition classes throughout the week. Click here for photos of the press event announcing the Challenge. Click here for the Herald News article about the news conference. Click here for the photos of the weigh-in. Contact Bill Daponte at 508-672-5671 or CD-REC Program Director Grace Gerling, 508-679-0922, for more information.
 

(Top row, left) Participants in the Fitness Challenge get their instructions from Personal Trainer Amy Jones of  Where Is The Work-Out before proceeding to the eight stations where they will perform a different exercise. (Top row, center) Daryl Parrent works with hand weights as he does a series of deep knee bends. (Top row, right) Darlene Frazer, center, throws some punches along with her nephew Eric Boucher, right. (Middle row, left) Holly Bronhard, Christopher Briggs and his step-mother Amy Medeiros follow CD-REC program director Jamison Souza's instructions. (Middle row, center) Jennifer Souza leads the group with some boxing punches. (Middle row, right) Justin Dube does 100 jumping jacks. (Bottom row, left) Gail Boucher, left, of the Weight Warriors team runs up three flights of stairs, to be repeated three times before finishing the challenge. (Bottom row, center) Jamison Souza and CD-REC director Grace Gerling look on as Shawn Gering selects the winning Fitness Challenge raffle ticket while Tatiana Batista holds the bowl and Kaitlin Glavier looks on. (Bottom row, right) Pat Taylor holds one of the winning tickets for prizes that included gift certificates to the Brickhouse Cafe and the Gigabyte Grill as well as a basket of goodies that went to one of the Challenge participants.