10,000 Steps & a Friendly Challenge

You probably know what this post is about from that title, right? Yep. Getting in 10,000 steps a day, or more realistically, on most days, is a goal of mine. As you know, I’m done with New Year’s resolutions, but goals, I have plenty of those. One of my goals is to increase movement, okay, in other words, to exercise more. But I prefer calling it movement, don’t you?

Over the holidays when son #1 was home for a visit, he mentioned he had an app for his phone which allowed him to track his steps. I know, I know. These apps and pedometer gizmos have been around for ages, but finally, this sounded like something I might like to try. And guess what? I like this type of motivation.

Besides, according to dear hubby, I’m always on my phone anyway (I don’t think it’s always, but… it is a lot of the time), so having this particular app makes perfect sense for a whole lot of reasons.

So far it’s helping.

We all know how important exercise movement is. Everywhere you turn, there is more and more evidence supporting the benefits. Recently the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology released the Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline to help breast cancer survivors and their primary care providers better manage their long-term care. Included in this guideline is the recommendation (among other things) to encourage breast cancer patients to be more physically active. The exact recommendation for physical activity is as follows:

It is recommended that primary care clinicians should counsel survivors to engage in regular physical activity consistent with the ACS guideline… specifically: (a) they should avoid inactivity and return to normal daily activities as soon as possible after diagnosis… (b) should aim for at least 150 min of moderate or 75 min of vigorous aerobic exercise per week….; and (c) should include strength training exercises at least 2 days per week and emphasize strength training for women treated with adjuvant chemotherapy or hormone therapy…

But as we all know, sometimes it’s not that easy to just do it. Sometimes we all need some motivation. Especially in the winter months.

I am no different.

So my brainstorm is to invite you, my dear readers, to join me in a 60-day step challenge. If you have a pedometer, an app, a Fitbit or some other kind of tracking device, why not join me in trying to get in a few more steps? (or whatever form of exercise movement you are up for) 

And, of course, there is no need for you to set your goal at 10,000 steps a day. You can set your number of steps goal wherever you want.  It’s always best to start off slowly anyway, so a lower number might work better for you. Even a small increase in daily steps seems to make a difference. The point is to try to get in more steps than you are now, unless of course you’re already doing fine exercise-wise and don’t need to add more. If you’re more of say, a pool person, you can set your goal to be a certain number of laps or minutes in the water. Whatever works.

I will write a followup post sometime down the road and let you know how things are going and to see how you are doing as well.

Maybe we can motivate each other a little.

And sometimes a little helps a lot.

Who’s in?

If you do opt in, I suggest keeping a log. This will serve as a visual record, proof, motivation – whatever you want to call it. This is what I’m going to do anyway. Because yes, I have some accountability issues; maybe you do as well.

Do you have pedometer of some sort?

What’s your favorite way to get in movement and how are you doing with it?

Would you like to join me in this friendly challenge?

Walking in the winter can be challenging. But it can be fun, too, once you’re out the door! And having a dog helps!

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