March Mayhem results and winners

COLUMBUS, OH, UNITED STATES

04.22.2021

Story by Michelle Young 

Defense Finance and Accounting Service

For anyone who didn't take part in the third annual March Mayhem fitness competition, there's always next year. But for those who took the month to focus on fitness, the competition was intense.

"Another exciting round of competition took place during the March Mayhem 2021 challenge," according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) program manager Shayla Jones. "65 teams with close to 200 participants stepped up to the plate to increase their physical activity during a four-week period," Jones added.

Jones explained that in the first year, they had a handful of participants, but she's happy to have seen the growth over the last three years.

Ultimately, the goal of each team was to win their conference and the coveted title of March Mayhem National Champions. The premise of the challenge was to rack up points for staying active. This could be anything from a fitness routine to an afternoon of yard work. The more intensity involved, the more points you gained.



Goals:
Participants' program goals ranged from starting working out to increasing or changing workouts to challenging and motivating their teams and looking at nutrition as a component of the self-designed program.

Lora Clayborne, Free Throw Conference Champions, Team 5, said she is, "on my personal up with the good and down with the bad numbers campaign. I'm trying to decrease bad cholesterol, waist size, blood pressure, A1C, etc. while increasing the good cholesterol and muscle mass."

Other competitors like Mark Hinton of team Flab Fighters, who took home the title of National Champions, already had a consistent workout routine but wanted change.

"The challenge, for me, was an encouragement to add physical activities and functional fitness exercises that I don't normally include in my daily workouts to my normal routine," Hinton said.

"I started fitness walking every day during breaks and adding short plyometric or sprinting workouts during my launch break and after work. I found that adding short anaerobic exercises throughout the day gave me more energy and made me more alert," he added.

Terry Bertiaux, Buzzer Beater Conference Champion from team Cardio is Hardio, used the opportunity to build on his fitness plan -- which he started just before the pandemic last year.

"Fitness and a healthy diet has become a norm, and the challenge was a fantastic way to stay motivated and compete with my fellow DFAS employees," Bertiaux said.

Scott Lantz, Free Throw Conference Champions: Team 5, said he, "started the year wanting to get back into the shape I was in when I retired from the service. Additionally, we had planned a trip to the beach. Also, I like to be able to keep up with my kid's ages five and eight."

Kelsey Fogler, DFAS Health Promotion coordinator, served as the facilitator for the challenge and was responsible for sending out weekly conference rankings and monitoring the wellness portal during the challenge.

"March Mayhem year three in the books," Fogler said. "This challenge always brings me such joy. I love how competitive participants get with one another, and I love to see all the different types of exercise our DFAS employees are doing across all sites," she added.

There's no I in team:
"Employees should participate in the March Mayhem program not only for themselves but for the team component," Jones said. "The team element gives participants a built-in support group to encourage them as well as keep them accountable," she added.

Competitors like Brody Conner, the second member of the National Champions team, focused on the team piece of March Mayhem during his journey.

"Our competitive spirits have helped push us towards victory. I personally felt like I would let my friends down if I chose to lay in bed rather than going to the gym," Conner said.

Especially in the virtual environment of this year's competition, communication and check-ins played a vital role.

Paul Muller, the final member of the Flab Fighters, shared some great feedback that can apply to any group, fitness or not.

"The support of my team members helped me stay motivated throughout the challenge. I live a pretty active lifestyle, but prior to the challenge, I typically I didn't work out daily; their encouragement and comradery pushed me throughout the month and held me accountable," Muller said.

"Our team communicated quite frequently via a group chat to update and motivate each other. This had a positive influence on my performance throughout the challenge as it was a constant reminder to stay active," he added.

In addition to the coveted bragging rights, the winning team will receive a state-of-the-art food processor/blender as their prize.


The loot:
All participants received certificates of completion for their hard work. Conference Champions received personalized certificates and will also be receiving their state-of-the-art food processor/blender in the mail very soon.

The winning teams are already planning out uses for their trophies. Many said that they would use them for smoothies or protein shakes, but others are more creative.

Lynne Keith, Alley Oop Conference Champion from the team, The Ladies, is excited to try Guacamole and smoothies with her new blender. Laurie Otto, Awesome Assist Conference Champion, Team Jamaicanmecrazy, is looking forward to making peanut butter with honey from her farm/ beehives, cauliflower pizza crust and of course some brownies.

"I make smoothies every morning for my husband and I that consist of various fruits and protein powder," said Joyce Maleski, team Cario is Hardio. "It sounds like it's on its last leg, and my husband consistently says he's buying me a new blender. I am excited to try this new processor to make my smoothies. I'll also attempt to make several recipes for blended soups that I have seen on Pinterest."

Jones is excited about next year's competition. "I am looking forward to teams being able to get together for their workouts and encourage each other in person."

• Date Taken: 04.22.2021
• Date Posted: 12.28.2021 15:35
• Story ID: 412009
• Location: COLUMBUS, OH, US