WORLAND – With the hectic schedule that most people have today, finding a time to exercise can, for some, be difficult if not next to impossible. The Worland Middle School staff began the workplace fitness challenge, a challenge to "walk" to the Bahamas. The walk is a way for the staff at the Worland Middle School to add some physical activity to their daily lives, improve their health and influence their students to better health.

"We did an all staff walk to the Bahamas, where we left Worland and our goal is to walk all the way to the Bahamas. It's about 4,900,000 steps to get to the Bahamas from Worland. We have five teams consisting of about 12 middle school staff members per team "walking" to the Bahamas," Worland Middle School physical education teacher Brittany Miller said. "So far we have two teams that have made it and three teams on track to get there this week," she added.

The staff counts their steps with many different devices. "Everyone has something that they are tracking their steps with, from a Fitbit to a pedometer to health apps on their phones. Each team member turns their weekly steps into their team leader," Miller said.

According to fitbit.com, "A Fitbit is a wristband that tracks steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, hourly activity and stationary time."

The staff members have a map to track their progress and prizes for reaching key cities. "We have a map so that everyone can see how far each team makes every single week and the students can see how far the teams are making it. We have prizes along the way, if you hit certain cities. Our first prize city was Scottsbluff, Neb. Every team got to Scottsbluff, so everyone got certificates, reminding us that we are improving our overall health from decreasing stress to decreasing blood pressure," Miller stated.

Walking is a great way to start getting fit. According to betterhealth.vic.gov, "Walking is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health. Just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. Walking is low impact, requires minimal equipment, can be done at any time of day and can be performed at your own pace. You can get out and walk without worrying about the risks associated with some more vigorous forms of exercise."

The fitness challenge became such a competition that staff members were walking as often as they could. "It has increased everybody walking at school. There are a lot of people walking through their lunch breaks and more visible walking before and after school. One teacher, Dean Barent, was able to walk over 40,000 steps in a day," Miller stated.

The Worland Middle School seventh-grade team was the first to walk the required 4,973,760 miles to reach the Bahamas. They will be receiving championship T-shirts to celebrate their achievement.