Weber State Wellness Program

As part of my new job at Weber State, I get to take part in their employee wellness program. It's useful, because the university pays its employees money to take part in activities that promote "wellness." This includes, annual checkups, visits to the dentist, maintaining a fitness log, reading health-related books and participating in events such as 5ks, marathons, triathlons, etc. It's pretty awesome.

Weber State's Swenson Gym

That being said, they also offer an annual fitness screening through their Health and Human Performance department. I underwent that yesterday to get a thorough analysis of where I stand healthwise. It included blood work, body fat measurements in a high-tech pressurized "Bod Pod" and various strength and conditioning tests using performance gadgets like the stuff you see in Under Armour commercials and Olympic training laboratories.

I'm still awaiting the results of my fitness evaluation, but my blood tests came back immediately. The results were encouraging. Measurements of my triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, glucose, lipoproteins were all taken. I fell in the "optimal" range for every category, which shocked me. When I went to the doctor two years ago (almost to the day), I weighed in at 215 pounds and was told I had dangerously high cholesterol for a man in his mid 20s. I now weigh about 175 pounds (a loss of 40 pounds so far), but I still have more to lose and my eating habits are still fairly unhealthy, which is why I was a bit stunned to see I don't have any issues as far as cholesterol and blood sugar go.

When I get the fitness and body fat results, I'll be able to better gauge particular areas I need to work on. In the meantime, I'll continue working on increased cardio with light weight training. I went to the gym only twice last week, both at WSU's on-campus Swenson Gym because it is free to faculty and students. The jury is still out on whether I will go there more often or stick with Planet Fitness.

Tonight, though, Planet Fitness it is...