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Lauren Updyke, MS ACSM HFI Executive Director for Employee Experience, The Whole U Fitness Fitness Trainer and UWHR Chief Wellness Officer

Hi everyone, I’m Lauren, the Executive Director for Employee Experience and UWHR Chief Wellness Officer. I am also the weight training virtual instructor and moving break lead. My role is to lead our Employee Experience team encompassing The Whole U, UW Combined Fund Drive and WorkLife programs.

I have spent over 20 years of my career in Health and Wellness. I came to the USA from Canada on a track and field scholarship to University of Louisiana. I have my Masters in Exercise Physiology, am a Certified Personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine, and have coached over 10,000 individuals online from all over the world. I worked with the wellness program at Duke University and Hospital for 13 years as fitness and health education manager.

This is my tenth year at UW and I love being a Husky. When I’m not at work, I am either training for a marathon, doing lots of strength training, traveling with my family, or racing from one kid activity to the next.

UW raises over $12,000 for Facing Homelessness

I remember sitting around the table as we planned our next event in collaboration with The Combined Fund Drive. It was August, and we had just completed our summer stair challenge. Over a thousand faculty and staff participated. Because of that success, we decided to plan another one — but this time for a cause. [...]

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Take a Hike with Craig Romano

Just by talking with Craig Romano, the bestselling author who has written 10 hiking guides and co-written four others, you instantly want to go into the wild and take a hike. His passion for what he does shines through and leaves you ready to explore. Craig is an avid hiker, runner, paddler, and cyclist. He [...]

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Dear Moms & Dads: Don’t Underestimate Your Children

The room was filled with parents eager to hear what Dr. Jana Lone, director for the Center for Philosophy for Children, had to say about understanding their philosophical children. She started her presentation like this: Relax guys! Stop worrying and enjoy exploring with your children when they ask questions. Become co–philosophers and see your relationship [...]

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Stress Less This Holiday Season!

I love the holidays, but I do get anxious as I think about how quickly they’re approaching. While it might be “normal” to feel stressed from November until New Year’s, it can also be shockingly bad for you. Here’s why: Central Nervous System – When our central nervous system fails to go back to normal [...]

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Positive Parenting Seminars This Fall

Parenting: one of the hardest jobs, but also the most important. There are so many books we can reference and there is ample advice we can get from family and friends, but did you know we have experts right here at the University of Washington? The Whole U is proud to announce three seminars around [...]

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Week One – Let’s Celebrate Yoga!

In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services declared September National Yoga Month. The goal was to bring awareness to the amazing benefits of yoga, and that’s our goal all month! Welcome to week one of our celebration. Sign up here if you haven’t already! I was inspired after last year’s Yoga Month when [...]

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Starting the New School Year Stronger & More Fit!

Over 1,500 UW faculty and staff participated in this year’s Summer Fitness Challenge to move more and eat well. Through partnerships with our Fitness Discount Network, participants and their families were able to try out local gyms for FREE. Now we are going into the new school year feeling stronger and more energized. To celebrate, [...]

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Summer Fitness Challenge: Week Eight

It’s the final week of the Summer Fitness Challenge and nearly 1,600 UW faculty and staff have spent the past eight weeks moving more and eating well. So far we have learned where to start with an exercise program, how to gage intensity, the benefits of adding strength, how to progress properly, how to add [...]

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Summer Fitness Challenge: Week Seven

Exercise Tip of the Week – Increase Your Physical Activity Exercise and physical activity are not synonymous. Exercise is planned and purposeful, and scheduled bouts of it will improve your fitness and health significantly (I’ve been encouraging you to fit in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, whether it’s broken up in [...]

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Summer Fitness Challenge: Week Six

Welcome to week six of the Summer Fitness Challenge! This week’s topic is fitting in exercise while travelling. Vacationing is so much fun in the summer, but sometimes we find ourselves returning a little less fit. Exercise Tip of the Week – Fitness and Travel It can be very hard to keep up your normal [...]

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Summer Fitness Challenge: Week Five

Welcome to week five of the Summer Fitness Challenge. During the first four weeks you might have added in some intervals, an extra day of exercise, or maybe you added strength to your weekly routine. With all of this increased exercise, you might be feeling exhausted, worn out, or like you’re hitting a plateau. This [...]

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Summer Fitness Challenge: Week Four

Welcome to week four of the Summer Fitness Challenge. The first three weeks have been incredible, with over 1,000 faculty and staff participating in the UW Stair Challenge. We are proud to say that we reached our goal of 500K stairs in 24 hours! Tomorrow’s Whole U article will reveal the winner of the challenge and [...]

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