Steps Challenge: Join us!!
Steps Challenge
A 7 Cups Wellness Program Initiative
“Every marathon started with the first step.”-- Obs
Steps Challenge is open for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are new to walking or you go for regular walks. This step challenge has been created with community inclusivity in mind. It is about taking steps to achieve a bigger goal. The goal is to build a healthy community where every community member is vested with the power to encourage fellow members to take steps and support each other.
The Steps Challenge is designed to help you move more every day in order to have good well-being. It is no secret that the amount of physical activity you do every day has positive impacts on your health. And, the easier way to monitor your progress, record your daily steps count. And you can increase or decrease it as well as per your convenience.
Sounds good? Let’s get started!!
Steps Challenge: What you’ll need
You need to track the steps count you take each day and log it to record the progress you made. To track your progress, all you have to do is get an activity tracker. Either you can have Fitbit or simply download one of the applications from PlayStore on your phone and carry your phone while you take a walk.
How to do the Steps Challenge?
The steps challenge is suitable for everyone as a way to supplement your daily physical activity. Taking 10,000 steps per day is a good goal that you can work towards. As it is generally accepted as a reasonable target for good well-being.
But, before you set your eyes to hit the goal, let’s determine your level. So that, you can have a specific plan to achieve the goal without feeling overwhelmed or stressed out.
Use your fitness tracker to record the steps you took in three consecutive days and sum it and divide it by three. It will give you the average number of steps you took in a day.
Levels:
If your daily average is less than 2500 steps, opt for “Beginner” level
If your daily average is between 2501-5000 steps, opt for “Intermediate” level
If your daily average is between 5001-7000 steps, opt for “Advanced” level
If your daily average is above 7000 steps, you are in “Master” level
Once you know what level you are in, you can follow a daily/weekly plan to achieve your goal as shared below. Please remember every step count and consistency is the key.
Daily Steps Target (A rough outline which you can customize as per your convenience with an increment of 500-1000 additional steps every week)
First Week
Beginner Level: 2500 Steps Daily
Intermediate level: 5000 Steps Daily
Advanced level: 7000 Steps Daily
Master level: 7000+ Steps Daily
Second Week:
Beginner Level: 3000 Steps Daily
Intermediate level: 5500 Steps Daily
Advanced level: 7500 Steps Daily
Master level: 8000+ Steps Daily
Third Week:
Beginner Level: 3500 Steps Daily
Intermediate level: 6000 Steps Daily
Advanced level: 8000 Steps Daily
Master level: 9000+ Steps Daily
Fourth Week:
Beginner Level: 4000 Steps Daily
Intermediate level: 6500 Steps Daily
Advanced level: 8500 Steps Daily
Master level: 10000 Steps Daily
Please note: You can complete your daily steps in one go or in multiple blocks of a small period as well. You can take these steps anywhere, anytime. It is your choice.
Leaderboard
Every day or at the end of every week, please submit your steps log here. It will be used to share your progress, give a shout out and also create the leaderboard. Every week, we will announce 3 winners in each level and a shiny badge will be awarded. At the end of the month, Top 10 participants in the leaderboard will receive a cool participation certificate, and everyone will receive a certain amount of cheers, a badge, and a shout-out for taking part in the challenge.
Also, please do share the pictures of the place where you took your steps, screenshots of your Fitbit or tracker app through Tracker Form (Click here). We would love to see it.
But, what’s the benefit of taking this challenge? And why you should participate in this challenge.
It helps you get a good sleep.
Help you become self-aware about your body, the environment around you, and your thoughts.
Help you feel energetic and motivated
Help you practice discipline
Help you become resilient
Help you boost your self-esteem/ confidence
And, many more benefits that you reap by simply taking small steps every day!
We will be participating in this step challenge and we invite you to join us to take a step towards a cool goal together starting from October 01, 2021
Also, November Steps Challenge is open to participating NOW.
A few FAQs
1. "I feel bad looking at how few steps I took."
Everyone, please know no matter how many steps you took in a day or a week or a month, every step counts. And we appreciate you for taking them. It is okay to take a few steps than none. It is okay to take small and slow steps than rushing into taking big steps. We are learning and practicing. And it is a good start.
2. I don't get how this works when I hit master level 1 day but beginner others, and with doing ranges I think there were days I hit intermediate too
I hear you and it is okay. We consider it on average rather than on daily basis. The sole purpose of levels is to facilitate self-awareness. If you are a beginner or master, it is okay as long as you are consistent and comfortable with your steps taken.
3. I'm confused by how this works when I meet different criteria on different days and I don't know how to pick a date range
You need to consider your weekly progress over daily. But to make progress tracking easier, we allow both daily and weekly logging. You can pick either option that is comfortable and easy for you. On the form, date range pick may not be possible, so you could add the date range in the comments of the form while we figure out a better way to do the logging.
All queries and questions are welcomed. Reminder: The purpose of the challenge is to take our small steps while we support and encourage each other to continue taking it every day. Every step count!
This actually sounds really unhealthy to me.
I may do 6000 steps one day, but not even be able to manage 2000 the next. I think this is really encouraging the mindset of you can always improve, which can lead to dangerous habits instead of encouraging to listen to your body.
What happens from day to day, week to week changes. Symptoms go up and down, triggers go up and down.
With the state of the healthcare system here, if I pushed myself and needed emergency care there's a good chance I wouldn't even get it, so the timing with the covid increase makes this especially a bad time to encourage one pushing their limits in this area.
@AffyAvo
Your concern is valid, very valid indeed but I think that is why the average of the first three days is done and levels are put... Being in a beginner level does not necessarily mean weak or not good at walking, and the fact that prizes are given for the winners in each level makes it so realistic. Like me for instance, I know the importance of steps but I don't think I will participate in the competition because of personal reasons but I would encourage everyone else to participate, knowing there boundaries and knowing what there bodies are capable of.
Again thank you for raising that concern and speaking for the ones that this challenge may cause more harm than good.
@JoyHappyNess It's not about the levels, it's about that someone can fail easily. Let's say someone plans on doing the advanced level. They do the first 2 weeks well, they do half of the 3rd week well. Then something happens, it can be a new injury, a flareup of a condition, whatever. To make this understandable to those without a condition that goes up and down I'll say an injury, they slip with a snowfall and break their ankle.
Now at the end of week 3 they are in pain, they are wondering how to manage their job, they need help with groceries as even with delivery it's difficult to get them all put away. A relative is mad at them for cancelling on their promise to help plant garlic and decorate for Halloween. They had plans to take their kid trick or treating, so now their child is upset too. What do we do on 7cups? Instead of supporting them we say nope you fail this challenge, no badges for you despite the amazing job you're doing at juggling all these things to make things work when dealing with your broken ankle. Those steps you take on crutches? Don't count because it's less than you were doing in weeks 1 and 2.
@AffyAvo
I agree. It puts pressure on "advancing" but progress or a healthier step can also look like taking a step back and not doing things. Or they might not be able to do this in the first place which needs to be acknowledged too I think. Being gentle with yourself is important. It's not like someone is at fault for not being able to do it in the same fashion or time period.
In my opinion, if there is a challenge like this, people need to be allowed to set their own goals, without having to increase those but also having room to alter those. There's too much emphasis on numbers and functioning though. Just give the badges to everyone who participates in their own ways if you wish to.. and also remind them that it's okay to do what looks healthy/right for them.
The challenge needs to make sense in the context of our lives. These days everything seems like a healthy-unhealthy dichotomy..
@AffyAvo Hey affy, I hear your concerns and they are valid. However, here the goal is not to push yourself too hard and set unreasonable and uncomfortable goals. But working towards small goals with the focus to walk together as a community.
I am glad you may be able to walk 6K steps a day and you can or not increment the steps in the next week at your convenience and your body's comfort. For example, maybe for someone incrementing 2K steps would be the easy goal but for me, it wouldn't be and I can only be able to increment by 50 or let's say additional 10 more steps or even no increment. So that is fine. The increment plan given above is for understanding purposes and one can design their plan based on what works for them.
But, the ultimate goal is to take steps and walk together as a community where we are backing up, supporting, and encouraging each other to have good well-being. And this challenge is a small start for the same.
@ASilentObserver The big issue I have is the challenge isn't just do what you feel is a good amount, it's the pressure to increase it. So like 6000 steps one day may be fine, but then there's testing, fasting, a bunch of appointments, etc. and I need to rest when not doing those things for a week. Or maybe the smoke flares up and again, that puts me close to being pretty much on bed rest.
After I had a biopsy I couldn't even stand up without having help to get to my feet for a while. Maybe there's a member of the community who will be experiencing something like that this month. It might not even be planned. I know how disheartening it is to see a loss of function, to experience deconditioning. To be in a challenge like this and then to experience something that is a setback, this just adds to the pile of things that are upsetting when dealing with that.
There's a lot of reasons for ups and downs with what one can do in a healthy way when it comes to activity. This seems to be contributing to the idea that the only way to be healthy is to continually increase activity levels and it puts stigma on people who are acknowledging that hey, right now I shouldn't do what I did yesterday, or what I did a week ago.
@ASilentObserver if I'm not understanding how this is supposed to work for someone who has large ups and downs day to day, week to week with what's a healthy activity level for them can you explain more how they participate?
@AffyAvo
Hey Affy! For those of us with chronic health conditions, I think it's important for us to be kind to ourselves ❤️ We're doing our best and that's enough. Personally, I'm not going to try this challenge. I have enough on my plate and need to prioritise my wellbeing.
@ASilentObserver
Wow☺️! That is awesome, and really encouraging... simply wow
@ASilentObserver
Count me in 🏁
I most likely not gonna come out on top, but who cares, challenge is fun! 🤸♂️
I think this is a really good idea, im in ^^
at least I will try :D
Count me in.🏁
I want to join
Thank you for doing this! I'm excited about this challenge!
@ASilentObserver any alternatives to walking? I’m waiting on a knee replacement and walking is beyond difficult.
That's great.
let's do this.
@ASilentObserver