Anything Goes August Step Challenge and Scavenger Hunt

[Baltoscott]

Jaunty July is coming to an end and it is time to start a new step challenge.  @Jotex suggested calling this one Anything Goes August as in the great Cole Porter song. 

Anything Goes?  Like July it’s hot in the Northern hemisphere, but this month we also begin to lament the end of summer and rush to cram in vacations and finish summer projects we should have started in June.  With all that it is easy to forget to take care of yourself so now is your chance to write down your step and a few other goals for the month.  Then you can report in every few days to keep yourself honest.  And in the spirit of Anything Goes, maybe add a few taps to your basic step goals.

General monthly instructions are below, but this month I’m adding a picture scavenger hunt:  

Take your phone or other camera on your walks look for, snap, and post three pics or more of the following: 1 - some sort of Danger or Warning sign or image like “falling rocks” or “slippery when wet,” the odder the better; 2 - a posted map of something like a downtown walking map, or a park trail map; and 3 a movie or theatre marquee.  Just post here as you find them and add a line or internet link about what you are posting.   (Thanks @Ennay for the pic)     

inspiration :                                                    

   
How It Works:

The primary purpose of these monthly challenges is to keep track of your daily step goals for the month; though many of us track other things as well, like body weight exercises, sleep, trips to the gym, logging food, etc. This is not a competition to see who can do the most of whatever, instead it is a challenge to measure your consistency. So whether you do 1k, 5k, 10k or even 40k steps a day, this is measuring how many days out of the monthly total you can hit your goal.

Some might have a constant goal of 10k steps every single day and others might have a variable goal throughout the week, (and some might even plan days off!) for example.
Monday -> Friday = 10k steps a day
Sat & Sun = “6k steps a day,” or “not tracking”

Regardless of how you structure your daily goals, the only thing that matters for the monthly challenge is whether or not you reach what you set out to do.

Suggested Posting Format.       
1) Post either your constant or variable step goal.
2) Keep track of the # of daily goals achieved out of the monthly minimum and or monthly total

Although you certainly don’t have to post daily, you’ll likely stay closer to what you set out to do by updating the thread several times/week

Injury Notice
If you injure yourself during the month and need to scale back due to the injury, then all you have to do is adjust your goal for that period. If you normally do 10k steps a day but pull a hamstring and decide to do minimal walking (2k steps a day), then all you have to do is change your goal.

[Baltoscott]

@SunsetRunner — Good hunting on the third pic; and you even had a day left over!

[WendyB]

Aug 30

Steps: Goal right now is 10000 27/31
Boxing 31 days: 29/31
Bike 2 times 31 days: 29/31
Weights 14 days: 13/31
Lose 3 Pounds 3/3
250 Steps per hour 28/31
Post Scavenger hunt photos 3/3

@Jotex  Me and my DH always say what we want for BD's and Christmas. Actually we update our Amazon lists and buy from there. Its to hard to guess any more what either of us wants. We both pretty much have everything

[Jotex]

---

@WendyB wrote:

Aug 30

@Jotex  Me and my DH always say what we want for BD's and Christmas. Actually we update our Amazon lists and buy from there. Its to hard to guess any more what either of us wants. We both pretty much have everything

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Lol 😂 We have the same ‘system’ over here, Wendy. And also have pretty much all we need, for which we can be thankful. 

Anything Goes — August 30

15 x 10,000 steps —12/15 days

10 x 15,000 steps — 6/10 days 

2 x 20,000 steps — 4/2 days

15 x Strength training — 7/15 days 

3 Scavenger Hunt Photos — 3/3

I see that I have missed meeting quite a bit on my goals this month. I’m interested in calculating my average daily step goal for the month, though. Maybe on that score my record won’t look so tatty. 😕

[Baltoscott]

August 30

Use Instapot 4 times	4/4
15K steps/day	28/31
1 pushup/day	29/31
17 weight-lifting days	16/17
post 3 scavenger hunt pics	3/3
Sleep 6+ hours 12 days or more during the month	12/12
Weight loss of 2-4 lbs (Aug 1 = 163.3 on TW)	0.9 lbs

[SunsetRunner]

Day Thirty-one and last day of August.

1. Steps>=5000 - 30/31 - missed a day in week 2. 

2. 2 km walks - 10/8

3. 3 scavenger pictures: 3/3.

Goal no. 2 got a bit messed up. I didn't take two 2+ km walks this week, although I did get in 10 for the month. Have been traveling the last 3 days. While full of good intentions, they didn't eventuate.

Looking forward to next month's challenge.

[CatLover74]

August 31

10,000 steps a day for at least 20 days of the month  -  25/20.

1 walk per week along the foreshore of my local beach (should be fun in an Australian winter)  -  3/4.

At least 7 hours sleep on at least 15 days of the month  -  21/15.

10 wall pushups a day on at least 15 days of the month  -  19/15.

Post 3 scavenger hunt pictures  -  3/3.

Month end, and all goals achieved, with the exception of the beach walking, where I fell 1 short.

[benvegi]

Here are my goals for Anything Goes August.

15,000 steps a day

7 miles per day

30 floors per day

I am modifying this by adding 4 days off so as to not feel guilty when we have a "town" day & can't get the steps.

8/29 steps 20,364, 32 floors, 9.54 miles

8/30 steps 15,707, 16 floors, 7.59 miles

[Baltoscott]

August 31

Use Instapot 4 times	4/4
15K steps/day	29/31
1 pushup/day	30/31
17 weight-lifting days	17/17
post 3 scavenger hunt pics	3/3
Sleep 6+ hours 12 days or more during the month	13/12
Weight loss of 2-4 lbs (Aug 1 = 163.3 on TW)	1.1 lbs

August is done.  Pretty good month overall.  One big win, one big whiff, and a partial win.

Big win was getting 13 out of 12 days hitting the sleep goal.  I've been trying to get that once since I added to the goal mix in March.  If I hit it again in September I'll up the number of days and move from 6 to 6.5 hours as the goal.  Baby steps 🙂

Big whiff was missing my pushup goal.  All I have to do is one pushup/day to meet the goal and I had a streak going for 365 days.  Then somehow I got enough out of my routine enough that I missed a day.  So, a new streak begins ....

The partial win was losing 1.1 lbs (I ended up at 162.2 lbs).  Not a full win since I was going for 2-4 lbs.  I was on target for the low end of the range for the first two weeks, but my mini-vacation to the beach killed some of my progress.  I still count it as a win, though, because I'm back on track for a slow loss, don't feel deprived in my normal eating patterns, and definitely enjoyed the mini-vacation.  

[Jotex]

Anything Goes — August 31 — edited

15 x 10,000 steps —13/15 days

10 x 15,000 steps — 6/10 days 

2 x 20,000 steps — 4/2 days

15 x Strength training — 7/15 days 

3 Scavenger Hunt Photos — 3/3

Well, poo, I am short 2 days on the 10,000 goal, 4 on the 15,000 one, and short 8 (!) weight lifting days! 😵 On the upside I had 2 extra days at  20,000 steps, and got my 3 scavenger photos in. If I calculated correctly, my daily step count averages out at 12,000+ steps. Another unexpected bonus was I lost 3 pounds! All-in-all, Anything Goes August was a winner!

If I had met all my step goals, the tally would have been 340,000. My monthly tally was 384,200, for a daily average of 12,393. Some days I was just short of meeting the goal, or way over 10,000 but not quite 15,000. Sometime earlier last month I increased my personal fitbit step goal from 10,000 to 12,000. Maybe for September I’ll nudge it up to 13,000. Baby steps, as @Baltoscott so aptly put it.

[lavabelle]

August 31 Update

I'm still away, but here you go

15k steps 29/31

1000 Calorie deficit...I have not been tracking food since leaving on vacation...but clothes feeling looser...so maybe I'm staying on track. Not as hungry and getting lots of exercise climbing mountains...😍

Here's a few shots of my adventures...Paradise Meadows, Strathcona Provincial Park, Canada

Little Qualicum Falls, Canada

Little Mountain, Canada, so scary!!!!

Arbutus trees...my favourite!!! I love the smooth avocado green trunk...so beautiful!

Arbutus trees and my daughter and hiking partner ❤

Miracle Beach, Canada

[WendyB]

Beautiful pictures @lavabelle

[benvegi]

Beautiful pictures!

[Baltoscott]

Looks like a great trip @lavabelle.

[benvegi]

Last day of August plus monthly totals:

15,000 steps a day

7 miles per day

30 floors per day

I am modifying this by adding 4 days off so as to not feel guilty when we have a "town" day & can't get the steps.

8/31 steps 19,470, 16 floors, 9.3 miles

Monthly totals;  Steps 546,042 (18,201 daily average), 29/31

Miles, 251.5 (daily average 8.38) 29/31

Floors, 1,336 (daily average 45) 20/31 I'm either way over on steps goal or can't make it!

Overall I'm satisfied with my August stats.

[NellyG]

3 September - final figures for August (I forgot lol)

Good on you for finding a movie theatre @SunsetRunner!

10,000 steps a day for 20 days                   24/20         

Swim 2x per week                                         9/9                 

Dance 6 hours a week                                  25/26    Missed by 1 hour!

One Interval walk or bike ride per week     4/4

Post 3 Scavenger Hunt Pictures                 3/3