'Gentle' August Step Support
Wysewoman53
Posts: 582 Member
I have been on two different step challenges that have both been 10,000 steps challenges. Everyone starts out all gung-ho...got a gazillion steps in today or this week...and then, they are gone! I don't know if members just lost interest or the 10,000 steps were just too much for someone just starting something like this.
What I would like to start is something more realistic for people who work in offices or are just starting out as far as walking is concerned.
There would be no limit...top or bottom...just recording steps taken in a day. The goal would be your own and, I think, would be a little easier to maintain if the only person in competition with you would be YOU. This would just be a place to record what a person is doing and maybe help with motivation to keep moving forward.
How this would work is for each person to record how many steps taken in a day...or a week...or how ever you would want to do this. Record it even if you only took 100 steps or 30,000 or anywhere in between. With this gentle challenge, there would be no failure, no judgement. As I said, the goal is your own. Summer is pretty much here so we are probably going to be outside more, walking more, just plain doing more and this challenge would just be a little incentive to keep us all moving.
Anyone want in? I will be here all month.
For those of you who are new to this walking thing, please don't let the amount of steps I take in a day be daunting. I really meant what I said about this not being a competition!
Some things you might want to know about me. I am 62, a wife, a mother and a grandmother, if I have to be labeled as something other than a woman or human being. In 1988, we were in a pretty horrible motorcycle accident during which my husband broke his leg in 5 places from his hip to his knee and each break was shattered. I walked away with a little road rash and pretty much unscathed...or so we thought. He had surgery and everything worked out okay for him and he has no problems associated with that accident to this day. I, on the other hand, had more problems than we realized at the time.
About 2000-2001, I started having a little pain in my hip and started walking with a slight limp to accommodate for that pain and kept on truckin'. The limp was getting worse but when I could no longer lift my leg up or bend over to tie my own shoes, I went to the doctor. I was told that because of the accident, I was developing arthritis and nothing could be done about it...my first round of pain pills began. It's just what happens as we get 'older', he said. SMH!
This went on for years and I kept going back to doctor after doctor because even tho' I was no expert, I had a feeling this was more than arthritis but what did I know? I wasn't a doctor after all. More rounds of pain pills AND now Celebrex was added to the mix. It wasn't helping. During one of these 'visits', one of the doctors 'prescribed' a cane to help me walk. So, here I am, barely able to walk at all even with a cane and just getting out the front door to my car in the driveway was pretty much a miracle for me because my hip and back hurt so much (even with pain killers!), I pretty much gave up walking at all unless absolutely necessary. I walked with that cane for almost a decade!
As mentioned, I had been going to doctors for years and finally I just got mad...I mean really angry!! Getting dressed by myself had become so painful and hard, I was starting to need help with all aspects of it. I have a very loving, supportive husband who would do anything for me but he wasn't the problem...my inability to do anything on my own was the problem. So, I was angry after one more doctor tried to give me more pills to compensate for the pain I was feeling when I knew it wouldn't do any more good just as all the others had done no good. She seemed as tho' I was old anyway and with age comes aches and pains...something I would just have to learn to deal with as part of the aging process. I told her all I had ever wanted was an x-ray to see what was wrong inside and not one doctor would order one for me all these years. Smug as ever, she said "Fine. Let's check your range of motion in that leg" and I know she was trying to prove to me I couldn't possibly know more about my own body than a DOCTOR! Lo and behold! I had no range of motion and she immediately ordered an x-ray. Come to find out, my hip had deteriorated to the point of having almost no bone left! The miracle was that I was able to walk at all!
In October of 2014, I was blessed with a hip replacement. Normally, someone as 'young' as I was...see that stupid age thing again...would not be eligible because 'they' like to wait until someone is in his/her 70's before doing that but my hip was so far gone, my quality of life was effected so I qualified. It took me 14 months after the replacement to start walking again. Not because I couldn't but because I was so used to not walking, I didn't even know how to start. I still relied on my cane because now I was terrified I would fall and break my hip! All kinds of crazy scenarios would play out in my head as my anxiety got worse and worse. Basically, I was like a toddler, learning to walk all over again.
For Christmas, 2015, I got the activity tracker I had asked for from my wonderful husband and realized I was walking less than 1000 steps a day. I wasn't working anymore because I didn't feel like I could walk well enough to keep up with what was necessary for my job after this miracle operation...all mental-ality stuff only in my own head! I quit using my cane and started walking back and forth in my living room...a 'lap' consists of 14 steps but I was walking. I was ecstatic when I finally hit the 3,000 mark...for an entire day! It was not easy by any means but I just kept walking.
Now, I walk more than that first 3,000 step goal but I want all to know, I understand how hard it really is to get steps in everyday. I can really empathize with the struggles each and every person has with motivation and support to get up and moving...Hence, this 'Gentle' challenge. Some of us will take a whole bunch of steps in a day, some of us will take fewer steps a day but just remember, every step each one of us takes is a Victory!
What I would like to start is something more realistic for people who work in offices or are just starting out as far as walking is concerned.
There would be no limit...top or bottom...just recording steps taken in a day. The goal would be your own and, I think, would be a little easier to maintain if the only person in competition with you would be YOU. This would just be a place to record what a person is doing and maybe help with motivation to keep moving forward.
How this would work is for each person to record how many steps taken in a day...or a week...or how ever you would want to do this. Record it even if you only took 100 steps or 30,000 or anywhere in between. With this gentle challenge, there would be no failure, no judgement. As I said, the goal is your own. Summer is pretty much here so we are probably going to be outside more, walking more, just plain doing more and this challenge would just be a little incentive to keep us all moving.
Anyone want in? I will be here all month.
For those of you who are new to this walking thing, please don't let the amount of steps I take in a day be daunting. I really meant what I said about this not being a competition!
Some things you might want to know about me. I am 62, a wife, a mother and a grandmother, if I have to be labeled as something other than a woman or human being. In 1988, we were in a pretty horrible motorcycle accident during which my husband broke his leg in 5 places from his hip to his knee and each break was shattered. I walked away with a little road rash and pretty much unscathed...or so we thought. He had surgery and everything worked out okay for him and he has no problems associated with that accident to this day. I, on the other hand, had more problems than we realized at the time.
About 2000-2001, I started having a little pain in my hip and started walking with a slight limp to accommodate for that pain and kept on truckin'. The limp was getting worse but when I could no longer lift my leg up or bend over to tie my own shoes, I went to the doctor. I was told that because of the accident, I was developing arthritis and nothing could be done about it...my first round of pain pills began. It's just what happens as we get 'older', he said. SMH!
This went on for years and I kept going back to doctor after doctor because even tho' I was no expert, I had a feeling this was more than arthritis but what did I know? I wasn't a doctor after all. More rounds of pain pills AND now Celebrex was added to the mix. It wasn't helping. During one of these 'visits', one of the doctors 'prescribed' a cane to help me walk. So, here I am, barely able to walk at all even with a cane and just getting out the front door to my car in the driveway was pretty much a miracle for me because my hip and back hurt so much (even with pain killers!), I pretty much gave up walking at all unless absolutely necessary. I walked with that cane for almost a decade!
As mentioned, I had been going to doctors for years and finally I just got mad...I mean really angry!! Getting dressed by myself had become so painful and hard, I was starting to need help with all aspects of it. I have a very loving, supportive husband who would do anything for me but he wasn't the problem...my inability to do anything on my own was the problem. So, I was angry after one more doctor tried to give me more pills to compensate for the pain I was feeling when I knew it wouldn't do any more good just as all the others had done no good. She seemed as tho' I was old anyway and with age comes aches and pains...something I would just have to learn to deal with as part of the aging process. I told her all I had ever wanted was an x-ray to see what was wrong inside and not one doctor would order one for me all these years. Smug as ever, she said "Fine. Let's check your range of motion in that leg" and I know she was trying to prove to me I couldn't possibly know more about my own body than a DOCTOR! Lo and behold! I had no range of motion and she immediately ordered an x-ray. Come to find out, my hip had deteriorated to the point of having almost no bone left! The miracle was that I was able to walk at all!
In October of 2014, I was blessed with a hip replacement. Normally, someone as 'young' as I was...see that stupid age thing again...would not be eligible because 'they' like to wait until someone is in his/her 70's before doing that but my hip was so far gone, my quality of life was effected so I qualified. It took me 14 months after the replacement to start walking again. Not because I couldn't but because I was so used to not walking, I didn't even know how to start. I still relied on my cane because now I was terrified I would fall and break my hip! All kinds of crazy scenarios would play out in my head as my anxiety got worse and worse. Basically, I was like a toddler, learning to walk all over again.
For Christmas, 2015, I got the activity tracker I had asked for from my wonderful husband and realized I was walking less than 1000 steps a day. I wasn't working anymore because I didn't feel like I could walk well enough to keep up with what was necessary for my job after this miracle operation...all mental-ality stuff only in my own head! I quit using my cane and started walking back and forth in my living room...a 'lap' consists of 14 steps but I was walking. I was ecstatic when I finally hit the 3,000 mark...for an entire day! It was not easy by any means but I just kept walking.
Now, I walk more than that first 3,000 step goal but I want all to know, I understand how hard it really is to get steps in everyday. I can really empathize with the struggles each and every person has with motivation and support to get up and moving...Hence, this 'Gentle' challenge. Some of us will take a whole bunch of steps in a day, some of us will take fewer steps a day but just remember, every step each one of us takes is a Victory!
15
Replies
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Lets do this!!1
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woooooooop Im in and August is gonna be better than July was.
Last week my 7 year old son got dragged on a walk with me as he had a doctors appointment at the time I was out walking....today my 8 year old son will have to come as he has an appointment ....he is determined we will do more steps today than I did last week with Charlie lol
my only goal is to walk daily, I track my walks with map my walk and then will add my recorded walks her.
still not sorted myself out with an activity tracker to do full days step count, however Im thinking I might just ask the husband to get me one for christmas ...save myself a few quid lol2 -
August...here we come!!
2 -
I'm in - on the lower end of the numbers. Right now I am proud of me when I get 3500 steps or more a day.5
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Finally find it again! Do I have to do anything special to join? Or just post every day?1
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Finally find it again! Do I have to do anything special to join? Or just post every day?
Welcome, @ranchmimi ! All you have to do is post. This group is open to everyone. ~~Stephanie2 -
I'd like to join
1 -
1st August - 1hr 19mins, 3.3 miles, 8467 steps1
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I'm in1
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I just downloaded an app, "Couch to 5k" in 8 weeks. It starts pretty slowly.
I also have chronic pain in my knees, from skiing, and numerous knee injuries, so, my right knee has arthritis. The joint is swollen twice the size of the other knee.
October 1st, I signed up to do a 5K. I think by next summer I could do a 10k, maybe.
The problem is my knee hurts, so I don't exercise, but if I don't move it, and get the weight off, it will get worse.1 -
August 1: 11,538 steps, 4.6 miles3
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I'm in and glad this is not a competition because I've only walked 1251, tomorrow will be better4
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Aug 1st
11,152 steps
7.15 km2 -
1 August. 9,801 steps - 4.1 miles2
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August 1 - 5509 steps - 2000 over my goal!
1 -
1st August - 1hr 19mins, 3.3 miles, 8467 steps
2nd August - 1hr 35mins, 5.2 miles, 11,053 steps1 -
Welcome @kooshky , @mickey2942 and @elleelle03 !August 1 - 5509 steps - 2000 over my goal!
Congratulations!!elleelle03 wrote: »I'm in and glad this is not a competition because I've only walked 1251, tomorrow will be better
Absolutely no competition here! Everything done is done for oneself and no one else!!
Glad to see some return visitors to this page. Welcome to all 'oldies' and 'newbies'!
~Stephanie3 -
August 1st
13,732 steps1 -
1 August. 16,372 steps - 6.7 miles2
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I would also like to join. I will have days when I take very few steps and days I can take many. Just depends on my level of pain. I hope to lose weight and to strengthen my back to reduce the pain because I hate taking pills every day! Ironically, the Pokemon game that my son plays has me moving much more than usual as I won't allow him to walk all over town alone. 3
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August 1 - 6,833
2 -
August 1 - 1,2662
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Aug 2 16493 steps today2
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Aug 1-6,960 steps
Aug 2- 2,689 steps (strength day)2 -
Aug 2 ~ 6,461steps2
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August 1: 11,538 steps, 4.6 miles
August 2: 11, 160 steps, 4.45 miles2 -
Aug 2nd
7451 steps
4.77 km1 -
2 August. 8,439 steps - 3.46 miles2
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1st August - 1hr 19mins, 3.3 miles, 8467 steps
2nd August - 1hr 35mins, 5.2 miles, 11,053 steps
3rd August - 1hr 08mins, 2.8 miles, 7330 steps2 -
Over goal again - 4955 for Aug. 2nd including a red wasp sting which should add some wild steps!2
This discussion has been closed.
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