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1000 minutes challenge!

3K views 126 replies 20 participants last post by  Maggi315 
#1 ·
i got this idea off weightwatchers...

does anyone want to do a challenge with me? in the month of september, let's make a goal of doing 1000 minutes of exercise--whatever that means to you. it can be weights, yoga, dancing, walking, running, aerobics, swimming, chasing your children, whatever you think of as working out.

we can start counting minutes on september 1 (or, earlier to get ahead if you don't want to wait) and the challenge will end on september 30.

if you don't want to do 1000 minutes, it would still be fun to count how many you do!

is anyone interested? i do much better with short-term goals, so this might work well for me.
 
#3 ·
I'm already doing this. This strategy worked really well for me. I did it for a three week period in late July-early August, setting a goal of 750 minutes of running. I made it with 1 minute to spare. Since my long-term goal is to make running just part of who I am, I'm working on a bit longer-term goal: 2600 minutes in 98 days.

I'd be happy to do this with you. I'm already a bit behind on the 2600 minute goal, so I need to kick it up starting tomorrow morning!

I keep track of my times in an excel spreadsheet, with the remaining amount of time in a huge box on the side in red. Every time I enter a time, the red number gets a bit smaller....
 
#4 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by cdcgmama
That is a fabulous idea!!! I'll do it for sure. Are we going to have a weekly report thread or just keep our numbers until the 30th?
I'm, um, very active on the weekly running thread. Any time I did a run during my 750 minute goal period, my post would have the title of

"xx more minutes down, yy minutes to go"

It was fun typing in the countdown....
 
#5 ·
geo, i love your sig.

i'm so glad you two want to do this! i'm excited. i need motivation, but i'm horrible with long-term goals. short-term goals, groups, and flexibility (chosing the exercise) help me a lot. so this is perfect.

geo (i love your sig, btw!), do you have any tips on working out a lot with kids around? i have a baby (11 months almost) and a 4 year old who does not like for me to work out. he'll be going to preschool in the mornings so i'll have time with just her...hopefully i can do something then.

i like the excel spreadsheet idea. that's what i think i'll do.
 
#7 ·
I'm in. It will be a struggle because I will be on a vacation in the middle of September for 8 days and will then have to recover from jet lag, but it will be fun to challenge each other.

McLisa
 
#10 ·
I'll join! I need some incentive to be on top of my exercising. I've recently gone off some medications, and for my health and the health of future offspring, I need to exercise!!!

1000 minutes. Here I come!
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mamaley
geo (i love your sig, btw!), do you have any tips on working out a lot with kids around? i have a baby (11 months almost) and a 4 year old who does not like for me to work out. he'll be going to preschool in the mornings so i'll have time with just her...hopefully i can do something then.
How far away is the preschool? Can the pick up or drop off be done on foot?

I've only got one, which greatly simplifies things. I know someone who takes her kids to an enclosed playground and runs around on the grass for a while.

Put on music and dance!

Can you leave the kids (or the 4 year old) home in the evenings and go out by yourself? Figure that 1000 minutes means about 16 hours total, so that's not a huge amount of time to ask a partner or someone to watch one of your kids. Hmmm, exchange with a friend? Have a 2 hour playdate: you leave your daughter for 45 minutes, the playmate's mom or dad takes the next 45 minutes.... Make it a whole family affaire? Everyone goes out for a walk after dinner? Can the 4 year old ride a bike with training wheels?

The reason I run is that it's one of the only things I can do with Karen. I've had to play with time of day, starting off in the early evening because she was in need of some "chill" time between her nap and bed time. Now it's working pretty well to go out first thing in the morning, allowing her to take a slower transition from asleep to awake. Karen gets snacks, special toys, and sometimes a juice "bribe" that I whip out towards the end of my run. I find that things go better if we talk the whole time. My neighbors must think I'm looney because everytime I pass I'm talking about minivans (my DD's favorite topic
)!
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Geofizz
I keep track of my times in an excel spreadsheet, with the remaining amount of time in a huge box on the side in red. Every time I enter a time, the red number gets a bit smaller....
Wendy who is the resident geek!

I do think this would be rather rewarding and as the other geek -- I just figured that it amounts to 30 minutes per day. I can totally do that.
 
#18 ·
i'm glad so many people are here!

this is going to be a challenge for me, because i have not been in the habit of working out in the past couple of months


i plan to do a combination of walking with the baby (not very hardcore, but kind of enjoyable for me), and (gulp) firm tapes, and maybe i'll bust out the pilates dvds.
 
#23 ·
Count me in!

I do have a question though:
Do you count all exercise-type activity or do you have to be in a certain heart rate zone for the minutes to count? I mean, I know standing in the kitchen peeling cucumbers won't count, but will walking to pick up dd from school? Even if I don't really get my heart pumping?
 
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