An Exercise Game to Help Shed Unwanted Holiday Pounds is Now Available Nationally at Border's Bookstores.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Start the new year off on a healthy note--and shed those unwanted holiday pounds--with The Fitness Challenge(R), an eight-week exercise program packaged in the form of a fun and colorful game. The Fitness Challenge does what no pedometer, health club or piece of exercise equipment can--it gives people the much needed motivation to exercise.

The object of The Fitness Challenge is for two people of any age or fitness level to challenge each other to complete an eight-week exercise program. Players complete a contract, determine their fitness level, and identify awards they'd really like to win--think a day at the spa or dinner on him. The awards provide the motivation for completing the exercise program by creating a friendly competition between spouses, friends, co-workers or kids. A scoreboard that hangs in daily view lets players see how they're doing against their competition.

The first-of-its kind program, now available nationally at all Border's Bookstores, even caught the attention of Health Magazine, which suggested the game can help people stick with their resolutions to get fit because it offers compelling wagers and "unlike games that encourage you to sit on your butt for hours at a time, The Fitness Challenge inspires you to move."

Vicki Sorensen, a software sales professional, thought up The Fitness Challenge as a way for her and her fiance to get in shape for their wedding. "We all know that physical fitness is a necessity for keeping the pounds off and maintaining our overall health and well-being," she said. "But many of us don't have the internal drive to exercise that Lance Armstrong has. The Fitness Challenge provides that motivation."

Many experts agree that exercise is an important part of losing or avoiding unwanted weight. In fact, when the Food and Drug Administration unveiled its revised food pyramid, it added physical activity for the first time ever as a requirement to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, the National Weight Control Registry says that those who successfully lose weight report making substantial changes to both eating and exercise habits.

Sorensen has reaped the rewards of the program she designed. "I gained 60 pounds after having my two children," she said. "The Fitness Challenge kept me motivated to lose the weight. Today, I'm in the best shape of my life."

The Fitness Challenge is available nationally at all Border's Bookstores and online at amazon.com, drugstore.com, target.com, and walmart.com. One dollar from the sale of every game goes to The Fitness Challenge Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote health and wellness, medical research, and family and child welfare. To learn more about The Fitness Challenge, visit www.fitnesschallenge.com.