WEEK 2 AMAZING RACE TICKETS
Melodieccurn
Posts: 966 Member
WE are packing our bags and moving on to Havana, Cuba! Cuba is 394 miles from the Grand Bahamas on our island tour and this week our roadblock will include a hiking expedition to the Pico Turquino Mountains. We will start here at the Gran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra, Granma Province. This is Cuba’s highest summit, with a relentlessly steep path up in sticky conditons, rendering it a climb for the fit only. The total climb will be 13-22 km. 8 miles versus 13.6 miles.
It depends if you just climb to the summit or take the full tour to the coast. If you do the short route this is worth 25 points. If you go for the full tour you will recieve 50 points.
Our challenge this week will be a fitness challenge . I want you to think of other ways to add fitness in your everyday life. Little changes add up. I got the following from an article on how you can add little bursts of activity in addition to what you are already doing. Like taking the stairs versus the elevator, parking farther away from the grocery store in the parking lot. So this week for 25 pts I want you to add five ways over the next week to incorporate some of these or some of your own ideas.
To get you started, here are 22 ways to move more during your day.
1. Walk faster.
If there’s just one change you can make to get more fitness out of your days, it’s to pick up the pace each and every time you walk, whether it’s going down a hallway, getting to your car, shopping at the mall, or merely enjoying nature. Walking faster burns more calories, strengthens leg muscles, is great for your heart and lungs, and for your attitude and sense of vitality.
2. Take the stairs.
Yep, you’ve heard that one a million times. But consider this: Walking just two flights of stairs daily burns enough calories to melt six pounds in a year. In fact, climbing stairs for two minutes, five days a week provides the same calorie burn as a 36-minute walk. Consider setting yourself a quota of say, 60 stairs per day (a typical staircase has 10 steps, so that’s six flights).
3. Add 15 minutes of walking to your lunch menu.
At work or at home, we often allot 30 to 60 minutes to eat, but eating usually takes just 10 minutes. Spend your extra time walking, not sitting.
4. Dance.
Move to the music at every opportunity, even if it’s just shimmying to music on your own while you wash the dinner dishes. Dancing is both joyful and healthy; you don’t need a dance floor, special occasion, or even a partner to do it.
6 Ideas for Around Your Home
1. Neaten up daily.
Don’t wait until the weekend to clean your home; spend some time every day tidying up. Dusting, doing laundry, vacuuming, and washing windows can all use up about as many calories as taking a spin on a bicycle. An extra hour of cleanup per week burns enough calories to trim four or five pounds in a year.
2. Turn TV time into a workout.
Don’t just sprawl out on the couch. Sit up straight and grab one hand with the other. Press your palms together hard for five seconds, then release. Repeat at least four times. Next, straighten one of your lower legs so it’s parallel to the floor, then lower it, switching back and forth between legs for as long as you can do it. Next, use commercial breaks during TV shows as a chance to rise off the sofa and stretch or move around.
3. Change your kitchen tools.
Use a cleaver for your chopping needs, rather than a chef’s knife. A cleaver weighs more, giving your fingers, wrist, and arm muscles a real workout. Likewise, use cast-iron pots and pans, which are heavier than standard cooking gear.
4. Put drinking water in a gallon jug.
Keep it in the refrigerator, and when you need a drink, pour it out. A gallon of water weighs more than eight pounds—enough to give your wrist and arms a workout with each pour.
5. Use your windows smartly.
Rather than just turning on the air-conditioning come summer, learn how to create breezes through your home by opening and closing certain windows. You’ll save a fortune in electricity, and regularly raising, lowering, or cranking windows is real exercise.
6. Exercise your calf muscles while brushing your teeth.
Place your feet flat on the floor, then rise up onto the balls of your feet, hold for two seconds, then sink down. Repeat 20, 30, 50 or more times. Do this also while washing dishes or standing in line.
4 Ideas for the Yard
1. Spend an hour outdoors each week.
Preferably, much more. There’s a direct correlation between fitness levels and the amount of time you spend outdoors vs. indoors. Think about it: People who live outside are by nature more energized, upbeat, and fit. What to do outside? Pull weeds. Walk the dog. Practice your golf or tennis swing. Mulch the beds. Look for unusual birds. Bicycle. Visit a neighbor.
2. Weed by hand.
Getting down on your hands and knees to yank out weeds can be part of your daily workout once or twice a week. Leaning onto your hands as you weed will build arm, shoulder, and upper back strength.
3. Rake by hand.
Don’t use a leaf blower. By grabbing a rake instead, you’ll burn an additional 50 calories per hour. And maybe your neighbors will start speaking to you again.
4. Split your own wood.
Instead of buying overpriced bundles of firewood at the supermarket or having a half cord delivered each winter, chop your own logs if it’s an option. Start in the late summer and put in 30 minutes each weekend (wielding an axe any longer can leave you with a sore back). You’ll burn a few hundred calories and strengthen your upper-body muscles.
4 Ideas for the Office
1. Talk standing.
Whenever talking on the telephone, stand up and if possible, walk or pace. Never be seated while chatting on the phone.
2. Have walking meetings.
Need to discuss an important matter with a colleague? Skip the conference room, slip on some comfortable walking shoes, and invite them for a stroll. Bring a small pad and pen to jot down notes, or use the voice recorder on a smart phone.
3. Get face-to-face at work.
Likewise, instead of e-mailing or calling colleagues, walk to their part of the building for some face time when you need to ask a question or solve a work issue.
4. Take 30 seconds.
Here’s a quick shoulder-toning exercise you can do at your desk without calling too much attention to yourself: Sit up straight with your back firmly against the back of your chair and your feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart. Raise your arms over your head with your palms flat and your elbows facing to the sides. Inhale and press up as if you were going to push the ceiling with your hands. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing normally. Repeat. This exercise isolates and strengthens your shoulder muscles.
4 Out and About Ideas
1. Park on the perimeter.
You’ve been hearing this one for years, too, but you might be surprised to learn how much exercise you get from leaving your car at the far edge of the parking lot. For example, if you park in an empty spot closest to a store entrance, you might only walk about 20 steps to the front door. Parking at the far edge of the lot could mean you take 200 strides or more. Let’s say you shop twice a week. Over the course of the year, simply parking on the perimeter could tack on close to 40,000 steps to your workout regimen.
2. Get in line.
Here’s a back-strengthening exercise that you can do in the checkout line as you browse magazines. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping your neck, shoulders, and arms relaxed, pull in and tighten the muscles of your abdomen. (Picture a belt being tightened around your midsection.) Hold for 60 seconds, breathing normally. If the line is long enough, repeat three times.
3. Go green.
Have you been meaning to get some reusable canvas grocery bags? Now’s the time. They hold far more than flimsy plastic shopping bags, so you can load ’em up until they’re good and heavy. Lugging one in each hand to the car—you know, the one parked way, way out there on the far end of the lot—then carrying them into the house will burn 100 calories. You’ll give your arms an even better workout by doing curls as you walk. With your elbows at your sides and wrists facing out, raise the bags to your shoulders. Return to the starting position and repeat until you reach the car.
4. Go public.
As in, take public transportation more often. Riding the bus or train to work or for a foray into the city requires you to walk more, and the extra movement can have an impressive impact. Commuters in Charlotte, North Carolina, who gave up driving and started taking a new light-rail system, lost more than six pounds in 18 months. Compared with drivers, rail passengers were 81 percent.
It depends if you just climb to the summit or take the full tour to the coast. If you do the short route this is worth 25 points. If you go for the full tour you will recieve 50 points.
Our challenge this week will be a fitness challenge . I want you to think of other ways to add fitness in your everyday life. Little changes add up. I got the following from an article on how you can add little bursts of activity in addition to what you are already doing. Like taking the stairs versus the elevator, parking farther away from the grocery store in the parking lot. So this week for 25 pts I want you to add five ways over the next week to incorporate some of these or some of your own ideas.
To get you started, here are 22 ways to move more during your day.
1. Walk faster.
If there’s just one change you can make to get more fitness out of your days, it’s to pick up the pace each and every time you walk, whether it’s going down a hallway, getting to your car, shopping at the mall, or merely enjoying nature. Walking faster burns more calories, strengthens leg muscles, is great for your heart and lungs, and for your attitude and sense of vitality.
2. Take the stairs.
Yep, you’ve heard that one a million times. But consider this: Walking just two flights of stairs daily burns enough calories to melt six pounds in a year. In fact, climbing stairs for two minutes, five days a week provides the same calorie burn as a 36-minute walk. Consider setting yourself a quota of say, 60 stairs per day (a typical staircase has 10 steps, so that’s six flights).
3. Add 15 minutes of walking to your lunch menu.
At work or at home, we often allot 30 to 60 minutes to eat, but eating usually takes just 10 minutes. Spend your extra time walking, not sitting.
4. Dance.
Move to the music at every opportunity, even if it’s just shimmying to music on your own while you wash the dinner dishes. Dancing is both joyful and healthy; you don’t need a dance floor, special occasion, or even a partner to do it.
6 Ideas for Around Your Home
1. Neaten up daily.
Don’t wait until the weekend to clean your home; spend some time every day tidying up. Dusting, doing laundry, vacuuming, and washing windows can all use up about as many calories as taking a spin on a bicycle. An extra hour of cleanup per week burns enough calories to trim four or five pounds in a year.
2. Turn TV time into a workout.
Don’t just sprawl out on the couch. Sit up straight and grab one hand with the other. Press your palms together hard for five seconds, then release. Repeat at least four times. Next, straighten one of your lower legs so it’s parallel to the floor, then lower it, switching back and forth between legs for as long as you can do it. Next, use commercial breaks during TV shows as a chance to rise off the sofa and stretch or move around.
3. Change your kitchen tools.
Use a cleaver for your chopping needs, rather than a chef’s knife. A cleaver weighs more, giving your fingers, wrist, and arm muscles a real workout. Likewise, use cast-iron pots and pans, which are heavier than standard cooking gear.
4. Put drinking water in a gallon jug.
Keep it in the refrigerator, and when you need a drink, pour it out. A gallon of water weighs more than eight pounds—enough to give your wrist and arms a workout with each pour.
5. Use your windows smartly.
Rather than just turning on the air-conditioning come summer, learn how to create breezes through your home by opening and closing certain windows. You’ll save a fortune in electricity, and regularly raising, lowering, or cranking windows is real exercise.
6. Exercise your calf muscles while brushing your teeth.
Place your feet flat on the floor, then rise up onto the balls of your feet, hold for two seconds, then sink down. Repeat 20, 30, 50 or more times. Do this also while washing dishes or standing in line.
4 Ideas for the Yard
1. Spend an hour outdoors each week.
Preferably, much more. There’s a direct correlation between fitness levels and the amount of time you spend outdoors vs. indoors. Think about it: People who live outside are by nature more energized, upbeat, and fit. What to do outside? Pull weeds. Walk the dog. Practice your golf or tennis swing. Mulch the beds. Look for unusual birds. Bicycle. Visit a neighbor.
2. Weed by hand.
Getting down on your hands and knees to yank out weeds can be part of your daily workout once or twice a week. Leaning onto your hands as you weed will build arm, shoulder, and upper back strength.
3. Rake by hand.
Don’t use a leaf blower. By grabbing a rake instead, you’ll burn an additional 50 calories per hour. And maybe your neighbors will start speaking to you again.
4. Split your own wood.
Instead of buying overpriced bundles of firewood at the supermarket or having a half cord delivered each winter, chop your own logs if it’s an option. Start in the late summer and put in 30 minutes each weekend (wielding an axe any longer can leave you with a sore back). You’ll burn a few hundred calories and strengthen your upper-body muscles.
4 Ideas for the Office
1. Talk standing.
Whenever talking on the telephone, stand up and if possible, walk or pace. Never be seated while chatting on the phone.
2. Have walking meetings.
Need to discuss an important matter with a colleague? Skip the conference room, slip on some comfortable walking shoes, and invite them for a stroll. Bring a small pad and pen to jot down notes, or use the voice recorder on a smart phone.
3. Get face-to-face at work.
Likewise, instead of e-mailing or calling colleagues, walk to their part of the building for some face time when you need to ask a question or solve a work issue.
4. Take 30 seconds.
Here’s a quick shoulder-toning exercise you can do at your desk without calling too much attention to yourself: Sit up straight with your back firmly against the back of your chair and your feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart. Raise your arms over your head with your palms flat and your elbows facing to the sides. Inhale and press up as if you were going to push the ceiling with your hands. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing normally. Repeat. This exercise isolates and strengthens your shoulder muscles.
4 Out and About Ideas
1. Park on the perimeter.
You’ve been hearing this one for years, too, but you might be surprised to learn how much exercise you get from leaving your car at the far edge of the parking lot. For example, if you park in an empty spot closest to a store entrance, you might only walk about 20 steps to the front door. Parking at the far edge of the lot could mean you take 200 strides or more. Let’s say you shop twice a week. Over the course of the year, simply parking on the perimeter could tack on close to 40,000 steps to your workout regimen.
2. Get in line.
Here’s a back-strengthening exercise that you can do in the checkout line as you browse magazines. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping your neck, shoulders, and arms relaxed, pull in and tighten the muscles of your abdomen. (Picture a belt being tightened around your midsection.) Hold for 60 seconds, breathing normally. If the line is long enough, repeat three times.
3. Go green.
Have you been meaning to get some reusable canvas grocery bags? Now’s the time. They hold far more than flimsy plastic shopping bags, so you can load ’em up until they’re good and heavy. Lugging one in each hand to the car—you know, the one parked way, way out there on the far end of the lot—then carrying them into the house will burn 100 calories. You’ll give your arms an even better workout by doing curls as you walk. With your elbows at your sides and wrists facing out, raise the bags to your shoulders. Return to the starting position and repeat until you reach the car.
4. Go public.
As in, take public transportation more often. Riding the bus or train to work or for a foray into the city requires you to walk more, and the extra movement can have an impressive impact. Commuters in Charlotte, North Carolina, who gave up driving and started taking a new light-rail system, lost more than six pounds in 18 months. Compared with drivers, rail passengers were 81 percent.
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Replies
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So, to recap:
394 minutes of exercise to continue
25 points for climbing 13 km or 50 points for climbing 22 km (Can you tell us if this is supposed to be flights of steps, and if so how many flights for each route?
25 points for 5 ways of incorporating more fitness in our every day lives
And all this starts tomorrow, 5/18?
Thanks!0 -
lbenson2006 wrote: »So, to recap:
394 minutes of exercise to continue
25 points for climbing 13 km or 50 points for climbing 22 km (Can you tell us if this is supposed to be flights of steps, and if so how many flights for each route?
25 points for 5 ways of incorporating more fitness in our every day lives
And all this starts tomorrow, 5/18?
Thanks!
I fixed it up above. We need to walk/run hike ect 8miles or 13.6 miles over the course of seven days.
Yes it starts tommorow.0 -
Thanks so much! I was scared thinking we would have to climb a certain number of flights of stairs for the week. Lol. Looking forward to this week's challenge!! Good luck everyone!0
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Loving this week! Actually as of this week my neighbor and I are going to begin hiking on Fridays together! Perfect timing. And I'm always looking for new ways to add activity to my day, especially since I work a desk job. I already do several of these so I'm super excited about the new ideas!! Thanks Mel, much love!
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I usually use my fitbit activity minutes for my exercise min. I do 12,000 (5miles). So would this be able to knock out both my exercise min and roadblock in one. Or do I have e to do it separately0
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PS. @Melodieccurn is there going to be a new tab on the spreadsheet for each week or how is that going to work??0
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Loving this week! 0
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SmashleyM914 wrote: »PS. @Melodieccurn is there going to be a new tab on the spreadsheet for each week or how is that going to work??
I made a tab for the new spreadsheet. We will do that every week.0 -
lbenson2006 wrote: »Thanks so much! I was scared thinking we would have to climb a certain number of flights of stairs for the week. Lol. Looking forward to this week's challenge!! Good luck everyone!
There was in the last challenge! One week I think it was an outrageous 88 flights-- If I am remembering correctly. to make the goal I used the upstairs bathroom at home and at work LOL0 -
Awesome0
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1.walk instead of sit during conf break
2. Stairs instead of elevator
3. Walked instead of drive to take something to a nearby office
4. Exercise while watching tv
5. Park faraway and walk further.0 -
1.park further from the store entrance and away from the cart corral.
2. Take stairs into work each day. 3 flights to my floor & 2 into the parking garage
3. Walk the dog daily. She loves it but I've been lazy lately
4. Work in the yard daily this week
5. Continue tidying my home. Using ConMari method so I need to get the big bags of extra clothes & stuff out of my home, right now they're just piles on the floor! Lol0 -
1. park further from store enterance
2. when watching Tv bounce on mini trampoline during commercials.
3. Do a few squats while cooking.
4. Do arm exercise while walking around the track.
5.help husband with the yard work.1 -
1. Walked around the school track while waiting for my son to get out of school instead of just sitting in the car.
2. Took the stairs at the hospital instead of the elevator.
3. Parked further at the store while shopping.
4. Park further while taking the groceries in the house.
5. Played with my son at the school play ground instead of just chatting with the other moms.0 -
1. Drinking 2L of water everyday.
2. Riding stationary bike during TV commercials.
3. Cutting my own lawn, instead of paying someone do it for me. (Ugh I loath doing it)
4. Getting to bed by 11pm. I usually stay up really late and get 4-5 hrs of sleep in before work.
5. Eating breakfast/lunch. I'm bad for not eating throughout the day, and then devour everything after work/before bed.
6. Walk during my lunch hour instead of just sitting on the couch in the staff room.
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1. 4 days of gardening/yard work- mulching. Not counted as activity in the amazing race.
2. Heel raises while brush teeth every night (lol, but it I need to stretch my calfs)
3. Walk to upstairs coffee station for coffee refills, rather than outside my office door
4. Walk instead of driving to post office.
5. Parking at far end of parking lot is becoming a habit since the spring amazing race.0 -
1. Walk dog every day (nothing new there, we rack up the miles every week)
2. park at the far end of the parking lot
3. carry a basket in the store instead of pushing a cart
4. mow twice a week. I have push mower and the smaller I get the harder it is to push. I now have to put my whole body into it to get it up the hill.
5. when knitting or reading set a timer to go off every 20 min and get up and do a chore or walk around.0 -
1 - Standing while talking on the phone.
2 - Walking across office to talk to someone versus calling them.
3 - calf raises while brushing teeth (loving this except for the fact that now I cannot multitask while brushing teeth, I am glued to the bathroom)
4 - parking further away
5 - More time outdoors - striving for an hour plus0 -
1. Calf raises while distributing the mail at work
2.Increase reps in the weight room (from 8-10 to 15-20)
3. Increase weight in the weight room (from BW or 10# DB to BW +20# DB or 15# DB)
4. Use the upstairs bathroom at home
5. Walk on the track at work twice this week0 -
1: taking stairs at work
2: march in place when just standing
3: park even further away from office
4: do push-ups against the wall at work when on break
5: jumping jacks upon waking up and before shower0 -
1. Walked instead of drove the trail.
2. Used the push mower instead of the ride on
3. Parked at the last parking space at work instead of the front door
4. Had a timer go off every hour at work to walk around the office and upstairs
5. Use the en-suite bathroom instead of the closer one by the living room and Kitchen0 -
1 - stopped using a basket for collection of items to go up or down and instead made the trips up and down the steps for each.
2 - parked further from the store
3 - squats on commercials
4 - computer timer and break = squats or planks or sit ups for the break
5 - calf raises with dishes, cooking
**Wish I wasn't sick this week and once better spent the weekend long-distance traveling for soccer - I only managed to get the short distance in instead of the full climb.
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