March Madness -- Monthly Step Challenge

[Baltoscott]

March Madness -- Monthly Step Challenge

Time for a new monthly challenge.  I may add some variation related to the collage basketball tournament coming up this month in the US, but for now just the standard stuff.

 
How It Works:

The primary purpose of these challenges has been to keep track of your daily step goals for the month; though we tend to 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, for example.
Monday -> Friday = 10k steps a day
Sat & Sun = 6k steps a day

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

The March Madness Variation.

Will there be one?  I have an idea perculating, but thoughts are welcome.

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

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.

[Jotex]

Ditto on the ‘Awesome’ @Ennay! Sounds amazing! Nice pals ya got @Baltoscott. 🐕 

March 17
Steps 10,000/day x 5/15 days
Lifting Weights x 5/15 days
Trampoline 15-min x 5/15 days
Sleep 7+ hours x 5/15 days
Lose 2.5 kg - currently 69.5 kg - .6 kg loss {lost traction on this somehow; gotta ways to go to reach that goal this month}

[Julia_G]

Since I last posted, it has been a bit up and down.. Tuesday was a + 12k day (my goal).  Wednesday was well short.  Thursday was okay with 13k, and Friday was (yay!) the 25 k steps in a day badge. Fitbit tells me that I have had it 69 times so far, but I don't care!  I'll have it anytime.

Friday I started on my next trail walk -- in the UK.  I'll be doing it very graudually, in day trips, over the next few months, the Cotswold Way.  

There are great views, and lots of hills (Fitbit said 69) and lots of sheep... now if Fitbit could only count sheep...

[WendyB]

March 17

13K steps/day 14/31 <----- Not even close

Exercise bike 40 minutes/day 17/31

Boxing 30 Minutes/day 17/31

12 weight lifting days 7/13

Stomach exercises 200 a day with Ab roller 17/31

13 days Yoga/Pilates 7/13

Went to a wine club Party and soon going out to dinner so didn't make my steps

[Ennay]

3/17 - 12869

28 day average 13301

>10K : 17/26

Dots: 193/310

Food Tracking: 17/31

Way too much wine and I earned it!  Gala was fun.  Feeling rather lazy today will need to get out for a walk soon before the rain ....oops or in the rain.

[Baltoscott]

March 18

15K step/day: 18/31
1 pushup/day: 18/31
16 weight-lifting days: 10/16 
12 6+hour sleep days: 7/12

Cotwold Way looks like a beautiful trail walk @Julia_G.  Maybe you Shake it with Shaun the sheep on the trail.

Glad you enjoyed the wine/gala @Ennay.  I've had a bit too much beer of the past four days of noon to midnight basketball watching.  It will be good to take a break for the first part of next week -- until things start up again next Thursday evening 🙂

[WendyB]

Looks like an awesome Walk @Julia_G I take it you can enter in many places?

March 18

13K steps/day 15/31

Exercise bike 40 minutes/day 18/31

Boxing 30 Minutes/day 18/31

12 weight lifting days 7/13

Stomach exercises 200 a day with Ab roller 18/31

13 days Yoga/Pilates 7/13

It was hard today. Went to walk but my Thigh had a different idea. Have not figured it out yet

[NellyG]

19 March

Step Goal                  4/5     14/23

Swim                         1/2        5/8

Fitbit Coach/Bike    2/1         4/4

[Ennay]

3/18 10458

28Day : 13166

>10K : 18/26

Dots: 203/310

Food : 18/31

Work SHOULD be easier for the next couple weeks so hopefully I can get some good steps in.  Been relying a lot on intermittent steps - marching in place while reading emails, etc.  Need to get some continuous activity in.  Should be nice for the next couple of days.  Might tackle the weed pile known as a garden and see if I still can get one in this year.  I didn't last year so our puppy thinks the garden is his play space. 

[WendyB]

March 19

13K steps/day 17/31

Exercise bike 40 minutes/day 19/31

Boxing 30 Minutes/day 19/31

12 weight lifting days 8/13

Stomach exercises 200 a day with Ab roller 18/31

13 days Yoga/Pilates 8/13

[Jotex]

March 19
Steps 10,000/day x 6/15 days
Lifting Weights x 6/15 days
Trampoline 15-min x 6/15 days
Sleep 7+ hours x 6/15 days
Lose 2.5 kg - currently 69.5 kg - .6 kg loss 😐

[Baltoscott]

March 19

15K step/day: 19/31
1 pushup/day: 19/31
16 weight-lifting days: 11/16 
12 6+hour sleep days: 7/12

Just got back from a walk that finished up my steps.  Nice day out -- upper 50s.  But dropping back to the 30s with a rain/snow mix for tomorrow and Wednesday.    

[NellyG]

20 March

Step Goal                  5/5     15/23

Swim                         2/2        6/8

Fitbit Coach/Bike    2/1         4/4

[Ennay]

March 19 - 17276

28 day - 13353

Daily 10K:  19/26

Dots:  215/310

Food:  19/31

@Baltoscott- our weather is very similar.  I think it got near 60 yesterday and today should be about the same today, but dropping back into a rain snow mix for the rest of the week. 

I modified the workout routine I tried last week and was able to do 20 chair squats without my knee hurting or giving out so I am going to do those for a long time until I feel the knee tighten back up..  I'm a bit down today because I woke up a bit sore and having that "How did I go from a person who could run 10 miles of steep hills in the morning, eat breakfast and then do 200 lb back squats at the gym and now I can barely sit down and stand up 20 times in a row" gloom. 

For the second time this week my fitbit came off while I was sleeping.  I woke up to the glow of it trying to find my heartbeat. 

[WendyB]

March 20

13K steps/day 18/31

Exercise bike 40 minutes/day 20/31

Boxing 30 Minutes/day 20/31

12 weight lifting days 8/13

Stomach exercises 200 a day with Ab roller 20/31

13 days Yoga/Pilates 8/13

[Julia_G]

@WendyB, yes, I think all the UK National Trails go through various towns and villages -- we don't really have any deep wilderness the way there is in the USA, so you can enter and leave in lots of places.  We are doing the 102 mile trail in a series of day trips.  The upside is that you are often not that far from a pub for a lunch time break, though my friend and I didn't run into one on our last walk (a closed coffee shop was the best we managed until we dropped down out of the hills into the village at the end to catch our bus back to the car).

We were meant to do another 10 or 12 mile section on Monday, but there was another snow storm all day Sunday, Sunday night, and Monday morning, so we had to cancel.

Meanwhile, steps have not quite made my goal of 12 k per day.  Sunday I barely moved, Monday I almost managed my 12 K, despite the treacherously icy conditions.  Today was better: just coming up to 17 K

My new goal is to average at least 10 k per day for March.  I hope I can manage that.

Meanwhile I had 0/2 red meat meals last week, so that was a win, and Trendweight says I lost half a pound (very small win)

I completely forgot that in my original goals I was going to try to be in bed by 11 five nights a week. Oops!  That hasn't really happened...

[Ennay]

I do not think I have ever before used the phrase "Wow, it is gorgeous out, better get some garden work done before it snows"  Two hours of hand tilling was a measly 2000 steps.  Boooooooo.

[GershonSurge]

My percent body fat appears to be randomly fluctuating between about 17.2% and 18.6% even though I've been keeping up with my exercise. I'll continue tracking the information to see the long-term effect.

My weight is staying close to 165. I'll keep trying to grow muscles to match this weight as I would look too skinny at the center of my normal range.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing many positive changes in my body that I'll credit to my weight lifting program. The love handles have disappeared and my stomach is shrinking. I can see muscle building, especially in my chest, shoulders, upper back and obliques. 

[Baltoscott]

March 20

15K step/day: 20/31
1 pushup/day: 20/31
16 weight-lifting days: 11/16 
12 6+hour sleep days: 7/12

Left DC early (2:20 pm train) because it looked like it had already started snowing in Baltimore and I was biking home.  The ride wasn't too bad, mostly just an accumulation of sleet.  More of it coming overnight and through tomorrow.  Spring ... pffftt

Yucky -- but I can work with it.Snow Tires!Time to head home!

[Ennay]

3/20 - 16196

Avg -13476

Daily>10K - 20/26

Dots  227/310

Food 20/31

Not feeling great today.  Have to go in to work for a few hours and plan on walking but then might hopefully get a nap.

[Jotex]

March 21
Steps 10,000/day x 7/15 days
Lifting Weights x 7/15 days
Trampoline 15-min x 7/15 days
Sleep 7+ hours x 7/15 days
Lose 2.5 kg - currently 69. kg - 1.1 kg loss 😅

@Julia_G - loved the pic of the Cotswold Way! Have heard a lot about it, but not the sheep! Did you have to watch your ... ahem ... step?

@WendyB - proud of you for foregoing steps for a party and dinner! 

@Ennay - I hope you feel better soon. Spring fever? I can’t sleep with my Fitbit at night because it wakes me up, too. 

@Baltoscott - same weather across the Atlantic - we woke up to fresh snow and temps in the 20’s. 😟

@GershonSurge - congrats on the body building! Any tips for losing love handles would be gratefully accepted! 😇