If you’ve looked at some of the wrists on the Blake School’s faculty recently, you may have noticed that they’re rocking some new bling. However, these bracelets are not just for looks. These “Fitbits” are part of a fitness challenge amongst adults in the Blake community.

Fitbits allow wearers to set a fitness goal and track their physical activity throughout the day to reach this goal. One can track their progress by either viewing the bracelet itself (which displays dots that light up as a person gets closer to their target), using the Fitbit app on an iPhone, or visiting the Fitbit website.

Blake faculty and staff can join in the fitness challenge, and if one reaches his/her goal, the school will provide the Fitbit for free. The baseline goal among Blake faculty is 8,000 steps, however many teachers are going above and beyond this number and setting their own personal goals.

Jeff Trinh comments, “I started out really strong, I was doing like 10,000 steps every day in the summer.” However, Trinh admits that though he used to be very good at keeping track of how he was doing, he has not checked his steps on the website recently. Unfortunately, he believes that as his days get busier, his progress to his Fitbit goal is waning. Trinh explains, “I think I’m just barely making my goal of 10,000.”

Christian Prouty, on the other hand, finds it pretty easy to stay active during the school day. He states, “8,000 steps a day isn’t that stiff of a goal. My goal is like 10,000, but I’m always over it.” It may help that Prouty has three young children to chase after. He further explains how he reaches such a high number: “I find that just by teaching and coaching I get to around 13,000 steps a day without extra exercise.”

Though Prouty is definitely a top competitor, it will be interesting to see who can fit the most steps into their day. It has been rumored that some teachers may be reaching an astounding 30,000 steps per day.