Insert Clever Math Pun Here

It’s back! The third annual Fitbos challenge! Because working out is always better with friends!

Here are some FAQs about the challenge:

What is the #Fitbos18 challenge?  Set your own workout hours goal for the year, make that goal public by entering it on the first sheet at bit.ly/fitbos18. At the bottom, you’ll notice tabs for each month. This is where you can enter your daily workout times (if you’d rather enter them by week, just put the week’s totals in for one day). The front sheet should update your times.

What if I want to do something other than hours, like miles or steps or pushups?
The spreadsheet is set up to convert minutes to hours. For each month, in cell 7 in your column, simply delete the “/60” part of the formula.

How did this start? In 2015, for some reason, I signed up for #500milesin2015. I made it (and did a 10K!) but not without some “knee awareness.” I wanted to still have a yearly goal but be able to vary the workouts, so I started a google spreadsheet last year. Each year I always end up slacking for the first half and then amping it up for the last quarter, but I have made my goals!

What should my goal be? I’m doing 150 because it’s a nice number. 3 hours a week with a two-week vacation. Some people are doing 100 hours, some people are doing 275. I try to find the line between possible and believable and that is something different for everyone. We don’t judge.

What counts? We’re not the exercise police. If you think it counts, count it. My rule of thumb is, “Am I not sitting on my butt when I rather would be?”  Hiking? Of course. Snow-shoveling? I’ve heard that such a thing is actually quite the workout. Dance-vacuuming? Hey, if you break a sweat and have a clean house, double bonus! Walking around the school during your planning period? Great way to get in some extra minutes and get re-energized! I personally do a mix of walking the dogs when the weather is nice and youtube videos and DVDs from Jessica Smith when the weather isn’t.

What if something doesn’t work on the spreadsheet? Yes, I was lazy and just made a copy of last year’s and did some tweaking (I changed % month to monthly hours left because math is hard), so there may be some wonkiness left over. Just shoot me a tweet (I don’t check blog comments very often) and I’ll try to get it sorted!

What if I’m a fitbit user? Sarah Martin (@Sarah3Martin) has a fitbit fitbos challenge group. You can give her your info and she will add you to the group for weekly challenges if you need more (or different) motivation.

What do I get when I complete my goal? Your hours turn green and you get a monthly shout-out on Twitter from me.

Who completed the 2017 challenge? Congrats to:

Kristen (@fouss) 170 hours (100% of goal)
Shelly (@stcarranza) 110 hours (100%)
Tina (@TPalmer207) 120 hours (100%)
Shelli (@druinok) 135 hours (113%)
Sue (@dsrussosusan) 2,418 miles (120%)
Dave (@daveLanovaz) 179 hours (105%)
Mary Anne (@mahiker) 425 hours (!!) (106%)
Jennifer (@hhsmath) 185 hours (109%)
Jim (@mrdardy) 207 hours (114%)
Megan (@megandubee) 278 hours (110%)
Laura (@laura_wagenman) 280 hours (102%)
Elissa (@misscalculate) 2017 miles (100%)
Me! 170 hours (100%)

What does it feel like to complete your #fitbos goal?

Cloud 27. #EarnedHistory pic.twitter.com/amevwJkk54

— Houston Astros (@astros) November 2, 2017

And to answer your final question, “where do I sign up again?” bit.ly/fitbos18!