I recently completed a 30 Day Challenge with my online
Facebook group Coaching for Geeks.
If you don’t know what Coaching for Geeks is, go back and
read last week’s entry. I’ll wait here.
Did you finish?
Good.
Anyway, the group hosted a 30 Day #LevelUp Challenge, with
the goal of leveling up, or advancing, a stat of your choice. And, for those
non-geeks out there, a stat is defined as a skill of our choice. Some people
chose to practice a language or promote a business. There was lot of choice.
There was even a prize – a SNES Mini (among other things).
I didn’t start what I’ll call my Wellness Adventure to win
prizes. But I mean, if I can get prizes, I’m not going to complain.
Okay. Truthfully. I actually have a perfectly good,
functional SNES from you know.. back in the day, that I barely use. So I’m not
sure what I would do with a SNES Mini…. But I digress.
Moving On.
I choose working out or activity as my stat. I had to do
some form of exercise for 30 minutes every day. This could be walking (which is
my go-to if all else fails), swimming (30 minutes of laps), workout videos (I
subscribe to Daily Burn and Les Mills), or using the Treadmill at work. Oh, and
let’s not forget Wii Fit for 30 minutes, which is always good in a pinch.
I posted evidence to the group every day. Usually a screen
shot from my FitBit app or a photo from the activity I did (picture of the
treadmill display, for example). I also posted (almost) daily selfies to my
Instagram and Facebook page.
In the end, I was one of 16 people (out of 37) who completed
the event every single day. That’s actually a pretty impressive stat of 43% who
completed the challenge. Not to mention those who completed at least half of
the challenge – 81% according to my math.
I mean, I’m not big on math, so there’s that.
I think the real question though is, what did I learn?
For starters, I learned that I CAN, if I choose, fit some
kind of exercise into my day, every day. 30 minutes isn’t that much and if I
plan for it, I can accomplish it. It was even kinda fun sometimes trying to
switch around what I was going to do (which video would I do today? Is today a
walk day or a swim day?). I even had some challenging days, like Thanksgiving,
in the middle of that madness. Even when faced with turkey and family, I managed
to walk around the field near my mom’s for 30 minutes to stay active in the
challenge.
I also learned that, as annoying as it might be for some, I
liked posting the daily Instagram and Facebook posts. They gave me an opportunity
to reflect on the day and how I accomplished my goals. It also was a great way
for me to gauge how I was feeling, because a few days I was “not quite right.”
The challenge also motivated me to stay active and I felt a
bit of a letdown the week after the challenge as I set my weekly goals. I don’t
have to push myself to be active every day – there’s no incentive. As much as I
didn’t need the incentive when I started my wellness journey, it was a bit like
throwing a proverbial carrot in the mix all the sudden. Now I have to readjust
to no carrot again.
I DON’T LIKE CHANGE AND READJUSTMENT.
But I can do it.
As for changes - when you’ve been losing weight for a few
months, it’s hard to identify what was special about one month specifically. I
did, however, notice that I could go faster for longer on the treadmill. My
goal will be to workup to walking two miles in 30 minutes on the treadmill. I’m
really close – last time was 1.8 miles.
And if I lose much more weight I’m going to be out of
clothes to wear, so that’s a thing.
Finally, I think the biggest question is, would I do it
again?
My answer is yes, but not if it was an every month event. Because
the #LevelUp Challenge was for a limited time and had a pre-determined ending,
I felt motivated to complete it. If this became a monthly challenge – or I went
out and found a new challenge every month to complete – I’d eventually get
bored and stop participating. There’s something nice and manageable about this
event being just one month.
One and done.
For now.
Unless the next 30 day challenge.
Someday in the future.
Perhaps Nega Robin will make his return!
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