TDC President's Fitness Challenge
 

TDC President's Fitness Challenge



The President's Challenge is a program that encourages people to make being active part of their everyday lives. No matter what your activity and fitness level, the President's Challenge can help motivate you to improve. You don't have to live in the U.S. to participate, this is a program for everyone!

Here's a link to find out more: The President's Fitness Challenge

This is a special thread dedicated to support members of the Triple Digits Club, women and men who are (or were) looking to lose 100+ lbs. Our group challenge officially starts August 2nd, 2004 and you can choose to participate as long as you like.

How to join ...

1) Go to http://www.presidentschallenge.org/...individual.aspx

2) Fill out the registration form.

* Be sure to include the following info during registration

-----> Your Group ID Number: 14000

-----> Use your forum ID as your Group Member Number (i.e., I'm 'AntiM')

3) After registering, start logging your activities. As you log activities you'll be able to track your progress toward winning a President's Challenge Award or Medal. (These cost a few bucks, but are a great reward for a job well done.)


Let's get moving! :)

Do you think we should record our activities and points earned each week similar to what we have done in the past?
Kelly

I've already logged my activities for past two days....Its super easy to use. I think it will be a good tool to keep me motivated.

Kelly, Personally, I'd be happy to just put down my points scored, rather than record everything again.

Teresa, I agree it's very easy to use but some of the points scored are harder than others. 2.5 to 5 miles per hour is quite a difference in my walking pace!

Monika, are we going to record our weight and measurements again?

Yesterday, I weighed in at 187 pounds.

Started the challenge on Saturday 31st July.

This is sooo cool. I too, think it will motivate me to get moving and stay moving.....not that ya'll don't motivate me too, but I need EXTRA motivation, :lol: . I'm including my measurements (in case we're doing that). They were taken 1 week ago, and I get weighed in today so I will edit my weight accordingly.

Weight: 346

Now (7/28/04)
Bust 55
Arm 18.25
Waist 50
Hips 65
Thigh 33
Calf 23.25

I gotta get in the habit of getting back to the forum each day.........Ya'll have a Terrific Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today I suppose will be a rest day (and probably Tuesday will always be a rest day) since I have class right after work. :tears: Maybe I'll figure something out................

Hugs~

Hugs~

heya ya'll :)
I am here though how "here" I am is yet to be determined having one of them weeks
I will get my weight and measurements on my normal weigh in day (thursday) and post them.. i refuse to look at the scale today .. i went out to eat for my birthday yesterday and while it was low carb i am sure it made my weight go up lol
I will post my points, weight, & measurements weekly. BF% I will post every few weeks probably. I just signed up at curves gonna try them out this week see if i like it :) & still doing pilates and dance of course
Have a wondeful day!

Crysania

Happy belated Birthday!!!

Hey Monika and everyone!! I joined the Pres. Challenge last week and today I will get my first star!!! Yippee!!!! What a fun way to keep motivated!!!

No kidding
I was doing about 4 miles per hour yesterday and that's considered very fast yet on the site it's called moderate........Yikes

Hey girls - I sort of noticed that myself....are any of you still planning on using Fitday too?

I'll keep using fitday because it gives me a calorie burned count and for some reason I think I need to know that:p

Happy Birthday Crysania, hope you had a good one. Points weight and measurements sound good - I'll post on Friday as that's when I do my whole 175 challenge thing. Hve to see what it thinks of fencing - off to that in half an hour :)

thanks for the birthday wishes :) it was a good day even if no one but my mother remembered it was my birthday (my dad didn't even call me!)
does anyone know how to get the registration key for fitday PC if you lost it? i saved the program when i replaced my HD last week but I didn't get the regitsration code from my registry before wiping the old drive :(
I plan on logging everything in fitday daily like i was doing then every thursday when i take my measurements going and logging in to there site and putting everything i did according to fitday in ... saves a little time that way :p
welp I am off to do some stuff round the house ... kinda sucks having a 4 day weekend and no where to go or money to go anywhere! I spent all my extra cash durring tax free week on new clothes :D Its the first time i was able to walk into any store in the mall and have them have somthing in my size :yay: and for that matter not even be the largest size they have!

Hi Folks!
 

Welcome Old and New Friends ~ I'm glad we're here together again ... and SweetieMae, I hope you'll enjoy this thread as motivating and supportive as we TDC Fitness Veterans have found the previous Challenges.

Happy Birthday Crysania! I hope it was a great one. And may each year prove healthier from here on out. (I can see it now ... at 98, you're the world's top Belly Dancer, teaching Pilates to 20 year olds and blowing their socks off! :lol: ).



My personal opinion is that we should do whatever feels right ... I usually do small variations of the same thing week after week, so posting activities seems redundant. So here's my Plan Of Action (and point modification) for the time being:

Every other day: YMCA

---> I do 2-3 sets at the heaviest weight I can lift with proper form. I count the time as 'vigorous'.

---> The first time I tried the eliptical trainer, I was dying after 10 seconds but kept going for 1 minute. My heart rate travels to the highest zone I want to push it to, not higher, but my goodness my legs protest. Sunday I pushed myself and was able to make it to 2 minutes. I'm going to count it as 'cardio machine - vigorous' and since the lowest amount of time you can log is 5 minutes, I'm claiming that. Right now it's the most intense thing I'm doing - even more so than weights; I feel it should count. But by the time I make my certificate, I want to be able to really do a full 5 minutes.

---> I bike 30+ minutes at fat burning pace (118 BPM for me, about 14 MPH). I love the LifeCycle because all I need to do is hold the hand grip and the bike will adjust intensity to keep me in that zone. No thinking required! :) I count this as moderate.

---> I typically just treadmill 2.5 MPH and at an inclide of 5% or less for 15 minutes (+5 min cool down) - I'm counting that as 'Light', which seems right.

{Like you guys, I think there is a big gap between energy used for walking 2.5 - 5.0 MPH! To me, 4 MPH is almost jogging.}

---> I go to the pool after my workout to *really* stretch and relax. I like to go to the deep end (which for the first time in my life means treading water and not floating!) and work the full range of motion for my joints. (I'm calling this Stretching - light.)

Every other day
---> WAP (1-3 miles) - counting as Aerobics, Moderate
---> bike 5+ minutes (I'll count only if it's moderately intense)

Everyday Stuff
---> Unusually intense Housework
---> Mowing the lawn (push mower)

Not Bothering To Count
---> Rebound 5+ minutes - very mellow "health bounce"
---> Light bike riding


I'm going to keep track of my points here each week so when I'm ready to work towards my bronze and gold medals (I'm thinking ahead), I'll know more about my pattern. I think I'll also post when I make my weekly star.

I only take measurements on the 15th of each month, so I'll keep that separate, but it's worth noting that my weight yesterday (and today) was 231.5 - up 1.5 from Sunday ... it's right before TOM, so hopefully that'll whoosh right on out of here. (Plus, I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night and it was all fragmented - sick kitty in the house :( )

I've got to run now, but I'll be back soon!

Happy Day :rheart:

PS - I use FitDay, but only to check nutritional data.

Hi Everybody,
I'm new to the TDC Fitness Challenge.
This new Challenge sounds like a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to earning a medal. I was a total failure at this when I was a kid and I never got a badge for the President's Challenge. I'm thrilled that I can do it now and not even have to throw a baseball. :)
One thing that I have found with their web site is that you want to be aware of the time when you log in. I'm in Alaska and I suspect they are back east. I logged in last night for the first time somewhere around 8:30 or 9:00 pm. As far as the site was concerned it was the 3rd already. When I tried to enter my exercise for today it logged with yesterdays time. I was able to remove that time from yesterdays but I can't log it for the 2nd because as far as they are concerned I joined on the 3rd. I guess I'll just have to always be one day ahead of myself as there doesn't seem to be a way to adjust for this. Oh well! :rolleyes:
I weigh myself once a week on Sundays. I can work on getting my measurements and post it tonight or tomorrow.
This is going to be so much fun! I'm so glad I saw the posting about this so I can jump in and set a goal.
Thank you AntiM!
I look forward to getting to know all of you,
Signey

This is my first post, so please bear with me......

Any ideas about setting up a President's Challenge Group for non-TDC members? I started the President's Challenge in late May and have accumulated 32,000 points so far. (Due to a semi-low carb diet which has six miles of walking six days a week!)

Hi everyone - Just thought I would post my shock at having walked 4.38KM today at work. I couldn't believe what my pedometer told me! Plan on keeping it up for the rest of the week just to see. Very very surprising!

Okay so how do you log the distance on that thing? I see its noted but I can only see how to enter time?? What am I missing...my 4.38km are impossible to input as it was stretched out over a big period of time.

ldcowboy ~ Welcome to the forum! I think it's a great idea to start another group. Just start a thread on the Countdown subforum when you're ready. The President's Challenge Group site has suggestions on how to start; if you register as Group Administrator, they'll send you an email with an 'Invitation' form to attract members. I used part of it in my opening post.

Good luck to you and let us know how it goes. :)

Teresa ~ Congratulations on all the walking! If you look at the full activity list, you'll see 'pedometer'. You can log the amount of steps you've taken (or distance, I think). It also prompts you to enter time ... you're going to have to figure out a method for this.

This is what the site says:


10,000 steps seem like a lot! How many did you do the other day?

Signey ~ Nice to see you here! Like you, I always wanted a medal and never made it. I remember trying to do pull-ups ... my chin never, ever even once made it above the bar. :lol: I've had problems with the activity log entry time, too, but not like you've experienced. I'm sending them an email to let them know about this problem. They're really responsive and will probably work on it for the next Alaskan.



Hey everyone ... I made my first star!! 3131 points for Week One. I was feeling so blech today I almost skipped my workout. I took a tumble yesterday and threw my shoulder out a bit, so I had a good excuse, but then I thought of you folks. I took it easy ... but I went to the YMCA and got my butt in gear. It was nice to log my activities and see that star turn completely red.

Has anyone else used the 'Compare With Others' page? It's not important for our group, but I love checking out how I stack up against 39 year olds ... or Washingtonians ... or the good people of Belarus! I hit the 100 percentile against Norwegians. :lol: Not a whole lot of 'em participating, apparently!

You folks working on medals, how do they show your progress?

Active Lifestyle shows 6 empty stars for each week of the Challenge. Each day you do 30+ minutes, an arm of the star turns red. And you can't apply points to Week Two until 7 days after you start Week One.

Okay ... signing off for the night.

Sweet dreams Challengers!

Hi Monika,

The Presidential Challenge doesn't have stars just a red bar starting from the left and moving right on the page as you gain more points. You have a total of 20,000 points to get and it tells you how many more points you need and what percentage you've done towards target. I'm up to 17%. I'm counting my household tasks (house may as well get something out of this as well) and I'm amazed at how even light housework bumps up the points. I've never had a medal in my life either! Here's hoping.

i am only at 4% i have been a real slacker the first few days of this week, but I am getting back into the swing of things :) yesterday was my first day at curves and today my legs (calves mainly) sure are feeling it so thats a good thing... i need to rest of me to feel it like this though!
my weight is actually up 2lbs for last thursday so apparently ruby tuesday's low carb cheesecake and them two lc candy bars i had sunday and monday didn't agree with me to well :( that or its water weight from curves i didn't think about that hmm ok so i am not to upset now :D

Starting info:
Weight ... 206lbs
Bust .......... 38"
Waist ........ 34"
Hip ........... 45"
Thigh ........ 25"
BF% ..... 25.28%
Size 12 Jeans

My Weekly Goals will be:
Curves 3x
Pilates 3x
Bellydance before work hopefully 5x a week but i will allow this to be flexible, if i have time i will do it but i tend to sleep through my alarm at least once a week :help:
Stationery Bike everytime i cook.. its broken up it a minute here and a minute there but at least i am doing something other then sitting waiting
and since it will be adding to my points, i will also be doing yardwork (mowing ect) every sunday morning and house work every couple days :P

:hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :yay: ...... ok that was to much jumping around :yawn: :lol:

Week One
 

I signed up early to the challenge and Friday is the best day for me to report in.

First week is only 6 days long as my application wasn't accepted until the Saturday (sob, I did so much exercise last Friday!)

Last Friday I weighed 187.8 and my BMI was around 39%
This Friday I weigh 186.2 Loss of 1.6 pounds.

Measurements:

30th July: Bust=41; Upper W=36; Waist=39; Tummy=43; Thighs=47
6th August: Bust=40; Upper W=34; Waist=37; Tummy=44; Thighs-47

Think my tummy is rather bloated this morning which may account for the extra inch! Otherwise, wow, I didn't expect such a differene so soon! No wonder people have been complimenting me over the last week.

:yay: :yay: :yay:

Presidential Points for week one - 3794 - 18%
Running Total - 3794 - 18%

Hello,
Just checking in to let everyone know that I've completed my first week. I'll be able to input my information tonight to get my star. I'm very excited about this challenge!
My main focus is riding my stationary bike. I average 30 min. a day - 4 miles. This pattern of 30 min. a day, five days a week has been a goal of mine for quite awhile. Something always derails me. I'm thinking that this challenge will be the extra motivation I need to stay with it for the long term. I'd like to set the goal to continue with the next level after I've completed this challenge.
Monica,I had forgotten about the chin ups! I think they "were" the worst part of the testing at school. I never had the upper body strength to do them. It's only been in the last few years that I've learned that few women do. I'd carried that failure with me for all of those years. It was a relief to know that I wasn't in a minority. Of course it didn't help that I was a chubby child too. :rolleyes: I love that I've been given a new opportunity to make good on this challenge. I can make it up to myself. :)
Thanks for the opportunity! :wave:
Signey

Medal rules
 

For the medals:
20,000 points earns you a bronze medal
45,000 points earns you a silver medal
80,000 points earns you a gold medal

Only 750 points per day count toward a medal.

My goal is to earn a gold medal by end of 2004. I'm at 32,500 points and climbing.

You earn 220 points per hour of walking, and +360 points per hour of hiking. I walk at a mall 6+ miles Monday-Thursday, and go hiking on the weekend. I typically earn +1,000 points on a weekend day, but only 750 points count.

- ldcowboy

Only 750 points per day, ah that explains a lot.

I've been very active this week, getting ready to sell my rental property and it has needed a lot of work. So while my routine workouts haven't been occuring, I have been getting a "real life" workout. :lol: I'm at 4172 points since last Saturday. Once I finish getting this rental property in shape, I'll go back to my normal workouts.

So how do you get a star?

I'm just keeping track of what I'm doing right now (since I'm in the middle of setting up my classroom--which entails building a desk, building bookcases, arranging furniture, and unpacking lots and lots of books--I'm getting a workout while doing "household chores"!) and being honest about the level of difficulty.

Man, Monika, your daily activity is making me tired just reading about it!

Crysania, a very belated happy birthday. And congratulations on reaching a size 12! That's awesome!

Teresa, all that walking just for doing your job! I 'm impressed. Just spent some time trying to find out an average "steps per mile" for women... it seems like a rough idea is 5,000 steps = 1 mile. A Km = .6 miles. So you walked roughly 13100 steps at work. Man--I gotta get me a pedometer that works!

Congrats to all.

Jude

Hi Everyone!

First, a programming note. I had someone outside of the forum sign up for our group, so I've now made ours 'Private'. I would have done so in the first place, but I couldn't figure out how to invite you all! :lol: This means that if anyone wants to join our happy troop, they'll have to contact us first.

Dianne ~ Good luck selling your rental property!
Here's a star from me... ... since you won't get stars tracking your progress. You're a Presidential Champion - working towards a medal instead of an Active Lifestyle Award, like me. In fact, here's the group breakdown:

Active Lifestyle Award Challengers
Kelly
Mary
Becky
Jude
Signey
Skinnbones
TedMom
Monika

We've committed to 30 minutes of activity a day, 5 days a week for six weeks.

Presidential Champions
Julie
Dianne
Crysania
Teresa
JstPeachie (So glad to see you are back!)

You guys are working towards 20,000 points for your first Bronze Medal. I don't believe there is a time limit, but there is a 750 point daily cap (as ldcowboy kindly pointed out in an earlier post).

Both these programs have lovely rewards - certificates, pins, tee-shirts, stickers, etc. I may reward myself with one of their pedometers when I complete my six weeks.

What I love about these Challenges is that this is a program that never has to be over! You work your way up - Award, Bronze, Silver, Gold - and then there is Advanced work where all the points need to be doubled to achieve the medals. Whew! That is a serious challenge and can keep you moving ahead for a long time.

Jude ~ I'm like you and Julie - when 'household activity' is vigorous, I'm counting it by God! But I can't exactly claim most of the housework I do: straighten up, pet the cat, vacuum a little, heat up a cup of tea, start a load of laundry, check the forum, etc. Mostly fragmented and at a very easy pace. Good luck setting up that classroom! I think we've got two teachers, you and Mary (Marebear). Looks like we're in good company! :)

ldcowboy ~ Good luck on getting the gold! Your activity level is an inspiration!

Signey ~ We'll do it together this time and heal all those 'I can't do it' wounds, okay?! Let's kick those sadistic gym teachers in the butt. (If you didn't have one, come on over and we'll give a few of mine double duty! :lol: )

Julie!!! My goodness woman, you are shrinking away! Those are better inch losses in one week than I typically make in a month. Sometimes two! No wonder your friends have commented - that's a big change in so short a time. Congratulations! Now a question ... you must be measuring both thighs at once. That's not typical this side of the pond - is it a European thing or personal preference?

PS - Love the Presidential Points and Running Total ... so cool!

Crysania ~ You've made me think of all the time I stand around in the kitchen, waiting for something to finish so I can move onto the next step. My bike is literally around the corner and twice now I've gone and pedalled for a few minutes, thanks to your suggestion. They're not long sessions, obviously, but since one of my major goals is to keep my inner furnace running hot, this is bound to help. Thanks!


Have a great start to the week folks!

Monika and Challenge Members:

What a wonderful challenge! I got signed up to the Presidential Champions group and I think this is going to be a blast!

Summer is getting more tolerable here in Florida so I started hiking again! But I still treadmill, work on weights, and swim. I love every moment but sometimes I do have to drag my ass out to get started! This should make it fun. Rewards like medals and certificates really work for me :). I am definitely a nerd!

I really admire TDC members who exercise. Dang, you really have to have motivation and want this BAD! It is just tough to exercise and drag the extra weight with you. GO US!!!

I filled in my Presidential chart starting 8/2 so my starting weight was 229 and my measurements are:

Bust - 43.5 inches
Waist- 43 inches
Hips- 51 inches

For my goal, I would like to lose 10 pounds over this six weeks and exercise at least 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week :).

Thanks for making this challenge!

Orchid

"Julie!!! My goodness woman, you are shrinking away! Those are better inch losses in one week than I typically make in a month. Sometimes two! No wonder your friends have commented - that's a big change in so short a time. Congratulations! Now a question ... you must be measuring both thighs at once. That's not typical this side of the pond - is it a European thing or personal preference?"

Monika, to be honest I'm a bit worried about those stats, have a horrible feeling when I do them again this Friday they will be up again. TOM is approaching and I've definitely put some pounds back on over the weekend.:eek:

Yep, I've measuring both thighs at once, personal perference I suppose.

To count my housework, I put down mostly light unless there is some sweat involved! I use my stopwatch on my watch and this week my resolution is to make myself work for 1 hr at a time and to do a minimum of two hours a day.