It is at this stage of the programme where we'll need to dig deep, ensuring we continue with our increased daily activity in order to see a long-term change in our health. The key to achieving a big goal like this is to break it down into smaller ones and so to help us through the sixteen week programme, GCC enables participants to set step targets throughout the event. We also each receive a weekly dose of motivation from our very own GCC Coach who gives personalised guidance on where we should focus their attention for the week ahead. The entertaining coach claims an impressive training record, which boasts time spent with Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and Tiger Woods, no less!
Week 7 of GCC saw the second mini-challenge take place where participants were invited to join the exclusive '100,000 club' by achieving 100,000 steps in seven days - no mean feat. Successful team members were awarded with a shiny new trophy for their efforts. Collectively, the teams at Mark Allen Group have racked up an impressive 199 trophies between us for our virtual cabinets and with plenty more up for grabs we continue to step up to the challenge.
This week, features editor, and team captain, Katie Jacobs shares her experiences.
"So, we're at the half-way point. The novelty has worn off and behaviours become more embedded. It's now more about fitting the steps into our daily lives, rather than pulling unsustainable stunts. We've settled into a rhythm as a team and are racking up a little under 13,000 steps a day as an average, comfortably beating the 10,000 steps target. While certain members of the team are more engaged that others, and holidays are getting in the way of people uploading their steps, I think we're not showing ourselves up too badly.
I'm proud of my step average (over 18,000 a day, since you asked, I'm not showing off), but as someone who was active before the challenge kicked off, has it changed my behaviour? I'd say the most valuable thing I've learned is that on the days where I don't go to the gym or spend hours rushing around town between meetings and interviews, I can be dangerously sedentary - living less than five minutes walk from the office doesn't help. So the one thing the GCC has taught me is to work more incremental steps into my day, whether that's by getting up earlier for a walk around the park before work or making sure I go out at lunch.
I'm a sucker for all things gamification, so the competition element really appeals, which perhaps isn't always for the best. In a bid to beat my personal best a few weeks ago, I got off the night bus on the way back from the pub a few stops early, walking alone through not the safest part of South London. Sensible? Probably not, but I got the trophy - and I wasn't mugged.
My message for the GCC for next year would be to find a way to convert more activities into steps. It's great that swimming and cycling can be converted and that the GCC Pulse measures all movement, but for gym-goers, how about ways to measure the intensity of more static but still valuable exercises such as pilates, weight-lifting or toning? I'm definitely a GCC convert, so this would make 2014 better than ever."
