OWLympeaction: Chain Reaction Triggered by OWLympics

OWLympeaction: Chain Reaction Triggered by OWLympics By: Corina Ionita  Chain reaction: A series of events, each caused by the previous one.  When OWLympics started, I was the first one to jump on board. I loved the idea of our research group not only excelling in research but being a healthy and happy group while doing so. Within a day, I had figured out the name of our research group - AAZtechs, and with my advisor Behnaam’s blessing, we were on our way to becoming the dominant OWLympics group. No doubt big leaderboard successes are fun, but perhaps it is the small unseen successes which have the lasting effect. And more often than, these success stories are serendipitous.  I have shared office with Samantha Summerson, also Behnaam’s student, for now 3+ years. I knew Sam exercises regularly but had no idea what kind of exercises she does. When we all started to log our activities publicly on OWLympics, we began to learn not only the kind of diverse activities but also who does what. When Sam posted points via a weight training session, I got curious and asked what kind of exercises she does for weights. I had always been in two minds about weights, perhaps because I had the impression that weight training leads to bulky hulk-like muscles and I have no interest in that. Sam shared her weight sessions and explained that the objective of low-weight high-rep sessions is to develop strength and firmness, and not to add bulk. It was an a-ha moment. Not only I tried it myself and loved it, I immediately shared it with Rajoshi Biswas.  In the light of above events, I am left with no option but to define OWLympeaction: A series of healthy habits inducing events, each caused by the previous one, serendipitously triggered by OWLympics.