After gaining more than 50 pounds with my second baby I was more than anxious to drop the weight and get back to the temporary super-fit CrossFit body I had for all of about six months. The first 30 pounds fell off immediately but I knew the next 20 was going to be a challenge, even while easing back into my CrossFit routine.
So I was more than happy to sign up for the Omron Pedometer 10,000 Steps Challenge. I probably walk more than the average person just living in the city, but was it 10,000 steps? How would a pedometer record box jumps and lunges? Would upping the walking ante make a difference?
On day one I quickly learned that 10,000 steps was a lot more than I imagined. After walking Sam the four-blocks-each-way back and forth to school and doing a Crossfit workout that included an 800 meter run I had only logged about 6,000 steps. On a regular day, that would have been more than enough movement. But I somehow had to get to 10,000 so I walked laps around the neighborhood and danced around my living room. And on day one I hit my goal – but I was exhausted.
Day two I planned to start with walking the dog, but it was absolutely pouring and the rain did not let up all day. I walked the 1.5 miles back and forth in the pouring rain to a doctor’s appointment but had only logged about half the required steps. I knew I was not going to hit goal and settled for less than 7,000 steps.
By day three, I started to panic. I wasn’t willing to give up my Crossfit workouts four times per week, which massively zapped my energy without logging many steps. One day I thought my body was going to give out after 75 burpees which didn’t even translate to more than a handful of steps. I was sore, exhausted, and stressed out at the thought of having to meet the required steps each day. I had two children (one of whom was constantly latched to my breast), a PR firm to run, a regular workout routine, and, of course, my blog. And I had just had a baby less than eight weeks ago! I was ready to throw in the towel.
But the Mamavation team wouldn’t let me quit and told me to just do the best I could. For me that meant picking up Sam from school when I would have ordinarily sent my husband, actually picking up some of the dog-walking duty, and not hailing a cab when it rained. I was certainly going to increase my step intake – it just might not meet the established goal. And I had a great group of bloggers to cheer me on one step at a time.
Follow #omronpedometer on Twitter to see updates from all of the bloggers taking the challenge.
Disclosure: I was compensated for this post about the Omron TriAxis Pedometer through the Bookieboo Influencer Network and Mamavation, a disease prevention campaign for moms.
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