Million Minute Mission is a community-wide fitness event designed to promote a physically active lifestyle for residents of Pierce County, Washington. Spearheaded by the MultiCare Center For Healthy Living, Million Minute Mission is part of Pierce County Gets Fit, a collaborative health initiative designed by MultiCare, the YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County, and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to improve the fitness and health of our community.

The goal of the Million Minute Mission is for children and adults to log in millions of minutes worth of physical activity over a four-month period.

Participate on your own, or invite friends, family members or co-workers to join you and make your Million Minute Mission commitment a team effort. Once you're registered, you can track your progress online. It's easy, it's fun, and best of all, it's a great way to see how those minutes of physical activity add up. Participants even receive weekly emails with upcoming event reminders.

The Million Minute Mission begins January 29 and will culminate at 5 pm, Saturday, June 9 after the Sound to Narrows. Tracking will begin January 29 and will end June 9. All minutes must be logged on the website by 5 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2007.

There are so many ways to add up the minutes. Find out how easy it is to get going and stay active. Need inspiration? Check out What counts as moderate physical activity and Ten Tips for a More Active Life.

Register and Track Activity On-line.

You don't have to run marathons or hit the gym six days a week be physically active. Moderate intensity physical activity - equivalent to brisk walking for 30 minutes per day on most days of the week - is enough to bring about real benefits in terms of promoting health and preventing illnesses.

For an adult, regular, moderate intensity physical activity means using up about an extra 150 calories per day, most days of the week. This equates to about 30 minutes of activity, such as a two-mile brisk walk, that should make you feel warm and mildly out of breath. During moderate intensity activity, you should still be able to talk without panting in between your words.

• Walking, wheeling, or bike riding instead of driving
• Walking up stairs instead of taking an elevator
• Getting off the bus a few stops early and walking the remaining distance
• Mowing the lawn with a push mower
• Raking leaves
• Gardening
• Pushing a stroller
• Cleaning the house
• Doing exercises while watching television (stationary bike; arm, shoulder, or other exercises with weights)
• Brisk walking or wheeling (around neighborhood, park, etc)
• Taking a brisk 10+ minute walk in the morning, at lunch, and after dinner
• Jogging
• Riding a bike
• Swimming or water aerobics
• Racket sports
• Golf (carry clubs)
• Traditional sports such as basketball, football, volleyball or hockey etc...
• Dancing
• Participating in an exercise program at work, home, school, or the gym
• Playing tag or hopscotch
• Jumping rope
• Skateboarding

The key to getting and staying active is finding an activity, or range of activities, that you enjoy. Not everyone sees exercise as fun, and doing something you find boring just because it's good for you is very difficult to sustain. But you can take steps to make it more enjoyable.

Try out new sports or activities until you find something you like. When you find an activity you like, try exercising with a friend, at a pace that still allows you to talk. Activities that you can do as a family or with friends may help with motivation.

There are many events and activities offered locally. For more information about what's going on in your area, and some great ideas on how to reach your Million Minute Mission goal, visit www.piercecountygetsfit.org or check out what's happening at the Tacoma-Pierce County YMCAs.

Being physically active not only helps maintain a healthy weight, studies show that regular physical activity can fortify your immune system, reduce the risk of disease, and prolong and improve the quality of your life.

Evidence shows the regular exercise can:

• Improve blood cholesterol levels, resting blood pressure, and body composition
• Enhance glucose tolerance
• Improve bone density
• Enhance the immune system
• Improve psychological function
• Maintain muscle mass
• Increase metabolism
• Reduce anxiety, and improve body image and mood
• Develop physical fitness
• Promote weight control through caloric expenditure. This benefit is of particular importance to children, who are experiencing the same epidemic of being overweight as adults.
• Protect against diseases such as
  • Coronary Artery Disease
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Mature Onset Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Bowel and Breast Cancers
  • Osteoporosis
  • Anxiety and Depression

There are so many ways to get and stay active, even if you're not working out at the gym four times a week. Here are some great tips to get you moving:

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
2. Remember that all movement counts. Housework might not be fun, but it's a great way to get moving.
3. Make social time an active time. When you meet a friend for coffee, take a brisk walk together before having your latte.
4. Walk at the mall. Shopping malls are open every day, are well lit, even surfaced, and you won't ever have to worry about getting wet or cold.
5. Need a break at the office? Take a walk around the block.
6. Park the car farther away from your destination.
7. Be active at home. Pull weeds, take on a home-improvement project, or play with your children.
8. Try a new activity, like yoga, Pilates, walking, or dancing.
9. Buddy up. Being active is much more fun with family and friends.
10. Make activity a priority. Be active 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.

Goal: At least 1,000 individuals in Pierce County will complete a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity, at least 5 days a week for the duration of the Mission. When the goal is achieved, the total number of minutes of moderate physical activity will exceed 1 million!

• “Every adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.”
• “Every child should accumulate 30-60 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.”

Dates: MultiCare’s Million Minute Mission will start January 29 and will culminate after the Sound to Narrows Event, June 9.

Registration: Register and log activity on-line through the multicare.org/mission or piercecountygetsfit.org websites. To be eligible for team prizes, each individual should organize or join a team of 2 or more participants and register their team on the website. All team names must be registered by March 31, 2007.

Prizes: All registered Million Minute Mission participants will receive a complementary week’s pass to any one of the Tacoma-Pierce County YMCAs. Participants who have completed their log sheets, met their assigned minutes goal and completed the pre and post-test surveys will be given public recognition and will be eligible for prize drawings.

Milestone prizes will be awarded to each individual who logs the 250,000th, 500,000th, 750,000th and 1,000,000 minute. You must have completed your pretest survey to collect your prize.

Evaluation: Individual participation and stages of change will be tracked. All will be self-reported behaviors.

• Participation: Each individual will complete a weekly activity log. All minutes must be logged on the website by 5 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
• Level of Activity / Stages of Change: Each participant will complete a 6 question pre and 3 question post - test survey.
• Activity Logging: Activity must be logged on the Million Minute Mission activity log. Individuals may log their minutes of physical activity on the website starting the day they register. All minutes must be logged on the website by 5 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2007.

Verification: No attempt will be made to verify the number of minutes logged. Each individual will be responsible for accurately reporting his or her activity.

Eligibility for the Individual Grand Prize Drawing(s): To be eligible for any prize drawing, participants must complete both pre and post-test surveys, and must personally meet and log their minimum assigned minutes of physical activity.

Eligibility for the Team Prize Drawing(s): To be eligible for any team prize drawing, a team must have all participants complete their individual goal and the pre and post-test.

Leading team contest: The team that is in the lead the most number of days of the challenge will receive a prize to be shared amongst the team.

Announcement of Winners: All Million Minute Mission participants who meet the goals for participation (including minutes of exercise and pre-post test survey completion) will be publically announced. Grand Prize Drawing winners’ names and pictures may be posted on the Million Minute Mission and/or Multicare web sites after July 1.

• American Cancer Society
• American Heart Association
• The Baker Foundation
• Charles and Helen Matthaei
• Columbia Bank
• DeFalco Family Foundation
• Frank Russell Company
• KeyBank
• Metro Parks Tacoma
• Milgard
• MultiCare Health Foundation
• Nordstrom
• The Pierce County Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Coalition
• REI Tacoma
• Sound To Narrows
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (Puget Sound Affiliate)
• Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
• Tex and Carole Whitney
• William Kilworth Foundation
• YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County