The ‘fit company’: why does it matter? Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing.” With the hypothesis that the company who trains together works better together—and has more fun together—in mind, Team Sanesco recently participated in the Fit Company Challenge 2017. Although the event took place in late April, the journey to team spirit and competition started several months before…and continues still!
Under our fearless team leader, Laura Esmond, we began a daily three-minute workout of the day, or WOD, with participating staff gathered in the Sanesco lobby. Organized and communicated via email by the team at the Fit Company Challenge, each WOD is geared to hone a different muscle group—and it’s amazing what an intense workout you can get in just three minutes! Over the course of several months the WODs also served to build a sense of camaraderie. Those not participating were treated daily to sounds of laughter and grunts of effort as Laura whipped team members into shape.
Competition, Fun and a Learning Experience
Pumped with success over our progress in the WODs, we headed over to the UNCA campus track on the big day. It was a festive atmosphere, with plenty of other company teams participating. Fit Company’s mission to help companies be their best by creating focused, energetic, happy, and cohesive teams was obviously a success. The beauty of the Fit Company Challenge is that while clearly each team hopes to place well in the final standings, they are not actively pitted against each other during the competition. Rather, each team goes through the three course fitness challenge together, with the aid of one Fit Company coach. Numbers and times are recorded, with the final results available at a later date.
While we didn’t take first place, we did learn a thing or two about team spirit: Relying on your coworkers builds trust, making teamwork easier and more effective. Teamwork, in turn, establishes strong relationships with coworkers. After months of training together, when you’re feeling like you can’t possibly hold that plank for another second, or run one more lap around the track, or you don’t know where to find the energy to finish that last obstacle on the course, hearing your team mates scream your name and offer words of encouragement really does make a difference.
