Women's 8-Week Challenge COUNTDOWN!!!!!!

Morning Everyone...... 5 DAYS AND COUNTING!!!!!!!!!!!! Mark your calendars, think about your fitness and activity goals, because we are counting down to the start of the 8-week challenge. And boy do I have some neat stuff planned. Let's start with our team. This is who I have listed. If you want to join, or do not see your name on this list, please message me so I can add you to the team. Amber B Judy B Anna B Tammy C Robin C Tiawna J Corinn K Christine L Joy P Jennifer R Christina S Jackie T Naomi Z Now, I have been asked by several people as to how this all works. As part of your participation in the WOMAN Challenge, you will be asked to set your own individualized, weekly goals. You can choose to set your goals in steps (using a pedometer or armband pedometer), in time duration of physical activity, or in miles (measuring the distance covered by your activity). When setting your weekly goals, it is important to consider your current level of physical activity, as well as any mobility impairments that you may have. It is best to set goals that challenge you physically, but are achievable and realistic for you based on your lifestyle. A goal of 10,000 steps a day is roughly equal to 5 miles in distance, and is considered to be the average amount of daily physical activity for a person with an active lifestyle. A goal of at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day is also considered an active lifestyle. Consider the following guidelines: Lifestyle Steps per day Minutes of exercise per day Miles per day Sedentary Less than 5,000 Less than 30 Less than 2.5 Low activity 5,000 to 7,499 30 to 44 2.5 Somewhat active 7,500 to 9,999 45 to 59 3.75 Active 10,000 or more 60 or more 5 I plan to set my goals based on time. Since I am considered "somewhat active", I will set my goals for 45 - 60 minutes 5 days a week. You should assess which goal is best suited to your physical activity level and most achievable for you. Your doctor or nurse may be able to assist you in this decision. You are encouraged to challenge yourself by increasing your daily physical activity each week as part of the WOMAN Challenge. So, if you start out at 30 minutes in week 1, add 5 minutes in week 2, and then another 5 minutes in week 3, etc. That would put you at 65 minutes by the end of the 8 weeks. That would move you from "Low Activity" to "Active" in a mere 8 weeks. OR......if your goal is distance, you could do this..... Start at 1 mile in week 1, add .25 miles in week 2, .25 in week 3, etc. By the end of week 8, you could be at 2.75 miles, which would move you from "sedetary" to "low active". That's an IMPROVEMENT! Once you determine you goals, you will log them into the website. It is VERY important to the team that you log in your goals and activity WEEKLY (by Sunday evening). If you do not, we, as a team, cannot move along the virtual map to our next destination. And this could unmotivate those who are working hard and looking forward to the challenges at each location. To do this, go to the website, log in and click on "My Challenge Home Page", located next to the "Register/Log In" button. Then, click "Enter My Daily Physical Activity". You will move along your own personal virtual map and as a team, we will move along ours - BUT ONLY IF EVERYONE PARTICIPATES. If you miss a workout one week that causes you to miss your goal, do not worry - I will have "Bonus Challenges" that you can participate in to help you out in meeting your goals. The "bonus challenegs" will be for individuals and teams to keep eveyone motivated and moving along the map. Can I include activities other than walking in my tracking log? Yes! If you are tracking your activity in steps (using a pedometer) and doing swimming, biking, gardening, or any other physical activity just use the conversion guide in your tracking log to calculate the equivalent number of steps and record that amount (these step conversions were calculated based on research and averaging). Remember not to wear your pedometer in the water! If you are tracking your activity in time, just keep track of the minutes you spend on all types of physical activity each day. If you are tracking your activity in distance, record how far you walk, jog, or run each day. What if I forget to log my activity or my pedometer clears? If you forget to log your daily physical activity for one day or your pedometer accidentally clears, just estimate the amount of physical activity you completed that day based on the amount you had been completing on previous days and your level of physical activity on that particular day. How do I know if I got a pedometer? (IMPORTANT) During registration, if you choose to record your physical activity in miles or minutes, you are not eligible to receive a free pedometer. You can receive a free pedometer only if you register to record your physical activity in steps. If you have already registered using miles or minutes, simply log in and go to the My Challenge webpage and click on the link " Withdraw from the WOMAN Challenge." Once you receive the pop-up message confirming your withdrawal, you can go ahead and register again, choosing steps as your physical activity measure. If, during registration, you elected to measure your activity in steps, you should receive a free pedometer if you told us you wanted one. If you did not see a choice to receive a pedometer, that means there were no pedometers left in your region at the time you registered. If you do not receive a pedometer by Thursday and want to record by steps, I suggest that you go to Walmart or Target and pick up one. They are not very expensive and do not require anything hi-tech (unless you want soemthing high-tech). OR...you can simply change how you will be recording from number of steps to time or distance. What if I don't have a pedometer? For women and girls who are interested in participating in the Challenge, but do not have a pedometer, pedometers are readily available and come in models with a wide of prices, some as inexpensive as few dollars. Pedometers are available on-line and at many stores including drug stores and large retailers. Alternately, you can participate in the Challenge without a pedometer by setting your goals and measuring your daily physical activity in time or miles rather than steps. What if I don't want to use a pedometer? For those who for some reason cannot get access to a pedometer but would like to participate in a physical activity program, we suggest setting your goals and measuring your daily physical activity in time or miles rather than steps. This will allow you to track and record your activity in terms of minutes or distance you engage in a specific activity, in which case you won't need a pedometer. I hope this answers some of your questions. Now.....think about your goals! Jill

You never cease to amaze me! Thanks so much for taking the time to organize us all in this chaleenge and then to post so much valuable info for us! You're the best! Thanks Again, Robin

Please add me to the list. Can I enter my activity on friday or monday. I do not have access to the internet on the weekends. Thanks for organizing.

I would log in on Friday instead of Monday, because I think the week starts on Sunday. so, this way you won't be behind. Did you go to the website and register? Make sure you do that, and then message me your last name so i can attach you to our team. WELCOME!!!! Jill

Hi Jill..Can you tell me when this 8 week challenge started. I would love to join it. an I cant fine out where to go in an log on at..thanks Maria

OK I was just on the site and am a little lost..How do we set up these weekly goals..I do see the button for it but it just gives me the standards of it all as you posted..Is it not avaliable yet? I would think it would of been being it starts tommrow..lol..