Besta Challenge is the only corporate multi-sport event in Bulgaria and is held for the third consecutive year.
It involves Besta Med employees from all departments to compete in a variety of sporting (and not only sporting) disciplines during 3 days: running, swimming, push-ups, darts, table tennis, PlayStation, pairs cooking cold soup made of yogurt and cucumbers (tarator), volleyball, etc.
This year we decided to look beyond the statistics of medals and achievements in the different disciplines and ask colleagues about their impressions and emotions during the multi-sport event in Sandanski at the end of June.
We introduce Kristian Kenov – General Ranking winner. He has been working with us since September 2020 in the Product Portfolio Department / Production Planning Unit.
What were your strongest disciplines?
At the competition itself I did best with swimming, but if the people from swimming circles who know me understand what times I achieved, they will certainly make fun of me… 😀
The competition in the swimming events at Besta Med is not that fierce yet, but I hope it will become so, as the benefits of swimming are immense and would be beneficial for all colleagues.
Which one made it difficult for you?
Throwing a medicine ball proved surprisingly difficult. There you have to combine strength endurance with precise accuracy, and I naturally lack the latter 🙂
What times did you finish with and did you improve your own performance compared to last year?
For some disciplines I achieved results I never expected, but it was all thanks to the amazing atmosphere, adrenaline and sporting spite which I think I will never escape from….
They torture me a lot sometimes….. 🙂
Did you exercise during the year between the two editions of Besta Challenge?
This year, I decided not to purposely prepare for the Challenge, but rely on my regular workouts in order to have more thrill in the competitions.
My workouts, if they can be called that, have low intensity, covering overall load, maintaining minimal conditioning, keeping me away from a very stagnant lifestyle.
I often like to go with the kids to the mountains or take them kayaking on the waters of a beautiful lake, which is still some kind of physical activity.
When did you find time to prepare?
My only opportunities are when I put the kids to sleep, late at night after 10pm, which is not beneficial at all and I don’t recommend it.
Sometimes I train on my lunch break too, even though it’s only 30-40min of activity. So I get 3, very rarely 4 times of such workouts a week.
One of the important rules for good long term conditioning is low intensity but high frequency training. Minimum 3-4 times per week.
I make sure to stick to this lifestyle.
Were you actively exercising before you started working at Besta Med?
Yes. Before I started working at BestaMed, I was quite active in sports and was committed to to it to a great extent.
When I started at BestaMed I was 80kg, but because the area around the office is full of delicious food, and the good company of colleagues opens the appetite, in just 1 year I got to 93 kg and finally look like a real man – a Balkan man… with a belly…
😀
Now I’m 84 kg again because I got rid of a bad long time habit of mine, eating late at night before bed.
What would you say to your colleagues who are yet to get into this challenge, how to become like you?
Sport, exercise and an active lifestyle is the only thing that can guarantee us an extent of health, mental resilience and physical fitness, and these are properties that directly influence our quality of life.
Sitting is the most damaging possible option of immobility, which then entails a heap of troubles that none of us think about until they happen, but then it’s always too late…
For this reason, the idea of Besta Med to stimulate an active lifestyle life, to get people moving, exercising and challenging themselves is unique, as it will contribute to their overall development.
In this way we set a personal example to the younger generations and create together an environment filled with much more positive emotions, confidence, self-esteem and undying energy!
And energy is life. The more of it you have, the more alive you are!
As I said above, it’s not important to do high-intensity workouts that overwhelm us, to follow any kind of diet, etc….
The secret to athletic longevity lies in the frequency of workouts, in the regular movement, in the variety of activities and all this, if we keep it at a normal level, we can enjoy good health and tonus.
And if my colleagues from Besta Med implement this regime, within 3-4 months before the next Besta Challenge, they will produce really good results.
What did your friends say when you came home with the medals from Sandanski?
I haven’t shared with many people as I don’t have social media accounts, however one of them told me:
“Hey, you’re not getting old! 🙂 And even family life can’t ruin you!”
🙂
A lot of us, with the appearance of women and children – have to some extent wiped out the traces of sports 🙂 I emphasize, to SOME extent. But not quite! 😉