Barrington 'Fit Club' challenges local folks

Lisa Daft, Danielle DeLuca Thompson, Paul Vartanian and Archie Martin take home top prize

By Joan D. Warren
Posted 6/22/16

For six weeks, 40 adults between the ages of 30 and 60 participated in a Fit Club Challenge at Body Natural Fitness and the top team won $1,000.

Winning the contest was Team Bikini Bottoms, …

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Barrington 'Fit Club' challenges local folks

Lisa Daft, Danielle DeLuca Thompson, Paul Vartanian and Archie Martin take home top prize

Posted

For six weeks, 40 adults between the ages of 30 and 60 participated in a Fit Club Challenge at Body Natural Fitness and the top team won $1,000.

Winning the contest was Team Bikini Bottoms, consisting of Lisa Daft, Danielle DeLuca Thompson, Paul Vartanian and Archie Martin.

One motivating factor was the cash, but participants also embraced the chance to improve fitness levels and to challenge themselves.

Personal trainers Trish MacGillivray and Lori Vartanian organized the event and were impressed with the level of commitment and competitive nature of the 10 four-person teams.

“More than 95 percent of participants met the personal goal that they set for themselves," said Mrs. MacGillivray. "Goals were anything from weight loss, lower body fat percentage, being more consistent with their exercise schedule to doing five perfect chin-ups."

Each member paid $25 to enter; they were not required to be members of the fitness facility.

The winning team tallied the most points for all types of challenges such as, timed weighted wall sit, 10 perfect burpees with a pushup, timed jump rope, one leg Bosu balance and straight arm hang. Points were given for the number of group exercise classes attended, healthy snack recipes, healthy drink recipes and more.

“Our goal with the Fit Club Challenge was to get people excited about their exercise," said Mrs. MacGillivray. "Being part of a team helps people be more accountable. They work harder when they know someone is counting on them... and it is more fun! 

"We had weekly challenges for the participants that focused on nutrition, strength, and balance. We purposely did not make the goal of this contest just weight loss. We have found in the past that when people lose weight for a contest, they do it in an unhealthy way and they tend to gain it back. We were promoting a healthier lifestyle overall."

Lisa Daft, a member of the winning team, said her group was made up of strangers and quickly realized she did not want to let any of them down.

“I realized it is harder to give up when you have three other people relying on you while you perform challenges," she said. "I entered the contest for fun but I started to place in the challenges. I realized how strong I was and this motivated me to continue my fitness plan."

The end of the contest was a timed relay group challenge that included a giant tire flip, 1-mile run, jump rope, Bosu balance, sled push and more. The winning team had a score of 12 minutes, 25 seconds. The second place team finished at 13 minutes, 11 seconds.

“I loved that we got to compete with each other and see just how strong we all were," said Mrs. Daft. "My other favorite was Lori and Trish cheering us on during our individual challenges. They were there for each one of us and pushed us all past our comfort level. I thank them for taking the time to put this contest together and for their enthusiasm every step of the way."

Danielle De Luca Thompson, another winning team member, said the experience was rewarding.

“I did the contest to give myself more motivation to shake things up with my workout routine and I love a good competition!" she said. "I met a lot of really great people and had tons of fun and the camaraderie and the motivation that we all provided for each other. There were certainly a lot of laughs."

Archie Martins was one of the more enthusiastic participants in the contest and won many of the individual challenges.

“The reason I wanted to do this contest is that it was so different from most contests, usually they're all weight loss contests and this was a strength and conditioning as well as a personal weight loss goal," he said. "I lost more than 15 pounds and built more defined muscle. The best part of this was recognizing that everyone has so many different types of strengths and abilities. I did things I have never done before and loved it."

Mrs. MacGillvray, a great motivator in the gym and beyond, said she would like to do another contest in the future although nothing has been scheduled.

“You want people to come away from a contest like this with a feeling of accomplishment, knowledge, and motivation to continue this healthy lifestyle they have adopted. Many have commented on how much they pushed themselves mentally and physically while having fun and meeting new people. I would like to say that everyone has become a better version of themselves,” Mrs. MacGillivray said. 

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.