HaysMed's Center for Health Improvement Launches
KICKSTART - A New FREE Healthy Lifestyle Program

HAYS, Kan. (December 2, 1011) HaysMed's Center for Health Improvement is launching a new healthy lifestyle program.  KickStart is a FREE, 10 week program designed to encourage people to adopt a healthy living lifestyle to achieve better overall fitness.  The program officially begins January 5 and ends March 15.  

"We want to focus on developing healthy lifestyle choices which ultimately lead to better fitness and health," said Stephanie Schaffer, Director of the Center for Health Improvement.  "It's not always about the amount of weight that you lose; it's about daily choices you make to improve your overall health."

This program differs with the program that has been offered the last five years in that no teams are required so people can sign up individually.  There are only two weigh-ins; one at the beginning and one at the end.  During the ten weeks participants will be able to attend free fitness classes in the CHI gymnasium and aquatic center.  There will be opportunities to participate in a group walking program, grocery tours, healthy cooking classes, and even a few activities for the entire family.  There will be special health presentations, a health risk assessment and online personal wellness journal.  Wellness coaches will be available online to answer questions.  The culmination will be the KickStart 5K, a FREE walk/run on Saturday, March 17.

Another change is that individuals earn points for attending group fitness classes and other KickStart activities that can be redeemed for prizes such as water bottles, tee shirts, personal training sessions, massage and CHI gift cards.

On January 5 all participants will weigh-in, be tested for their current fitness levels, activate their KickStart key tag and preview all the KickStart opportunities.  The Center will be offering the check-ins from 7 am to 7 pm and participants are asked to wear appropriate fitness attire for the fitness level testing.

"We are excited to offer this new program for people in the area."  said Schaffer.  "We really want to help  individuals ‘kickstart' their own fitness routine by offering a few tools to get them started like the group fitness classes, healthy cooking classes and many other wellness opportunities that are available in the community."

Registration for KickStart will begin December 1 and run until January 5, 2012.  To register go to www.thecenter.haysmed.com/kickstart.    The kickoff date for this year's event is Thursday, January 5 with the initial assessment.  

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