Urbandale Health and Wellness Group Puts 12-Week Challenge to Residents

A new health and wellness group is leaving its mark on Urbandale.

uFit, a group launched in the spring of 2012, is starting the year off right, with a challenge for Urbandale residents.

Urbandale's Fittest is a 12-week program where selected residents focus on healthy eating, active lifestyle choices and a positive outlook.

Kim and Heath Hinkhouse, of Urbandale, launched the uFit Program - which is affiliated with the Urbandale Community Action Network - after participating in a 5K at Valerius, where their daughters, Taylor, 9, and Kate, 7, attend school.

"It was something we were both pretty passionate about in terms of needs," Kim Hinkhouse said. "It was sparked by us and the kids and wanting to create an organization or foundation for people that shared the same passion and could tap into it and become involved with."

The goal of uFit is to provide Urbandale residents with education and resources to take an active step to improving their lives.

The uFit committee meets once a month to discuss initiatives and event in which the program can reach residents while focusing on the three pillars: eating active lifestyle and positive outlook.

The group is for anyone, no matter their age, size or athletic ability.

"We have various demographics in the committee - young, middle-aged and older - we're talking through as your body ages how to care for it. We have a good sampling of different people," Hinkhouse said.

Urbandale's Fittest is the groups first big initiative, Hinkhouse said.

The 12-week challenge is slated to start in mid- to late February.

"We partnered with Hy-Vee, so they will be supplying the nutrition component," Hinkhouse said. "The participants will sit down for a full health screening and a 10-week program will be laid out of what they should eat and weekly classes to attend for nutrition."

Aspen Athletics has also donated three-month memberships to each of the participants.

"They will lay out a workout for each of them, then re-assess midway through to see if anything needs to change, and finally another overall health screening," Hinkhouse said.

At the end of the 12 weeks Urbandale's Fittest will be named - and receive a prize. The grand prize hasn't been fully determined yet.

Anyone can apply to participate in Urbandale's Fittest. The only requirement is you have to be an Urbandale resident.

Hinkhouse has hopes the challenge can take place annually or even twice a year in the future.

For now, she and the group are just looking to help the community.

"Just awareness - that's the reason uFit exists - for the awareness of health and wellness," she said. "We're looking for this to directly help and involve but also to inspire and make people aware they can do this too."

If you are interested in participating in Urbandale's Fittest or getting involved with uFit, contact Kim Hinkhouse at kimhinkhouse@yahoo.com. Visit uFit on Facebook.