Team RWB March Madness Round 2 - March 7, 2021

Sunday, 7 March brings us to Round 2 of Team RWB's March Madness Challenge.  The brackets are set up by state (with a team for overseas participants too), and my team (NC) had a poor showing last week so is already out of the running for the bracket challenge.  There's still an open category, so I'm going to continue get my max points every week in hopes that we can finish with some level of respect.

There are three different events on challenge Sundays, worth 1, 2, and 3 points, and if you complete and check in on all three events, you can grab six points for your team.  I ran over 6 miles last Sunday so got them all, but I  mixed things up a little this morning.  

I started off with 26 pushups for the free-throw (had to do the one extra for Chesty Puller, ya know), then a 3+ mi run on the treadmill before breakfast for the 3-pointer.  Around noontime I grabbed my pack and went out for a 2-mi ruck in my neighborhood, capturing that 2-point layup before fixing lunch and settling in for a relaxing afternoon.

I think that'll be it for me today in the workout department, but since it's nice out I'll probably spend some time in the yard with the dogs, in between binge-watching sessions while parked on the couch. I don't want to overdo it as I still hope to walk that 11+ mile route on base sometime this week, in preparation for running the Marine Corps 17.75K.

What're you up to today? Whatever else you're doing, make time to get up and move!

~ Marie Anne

How to Earn Money With Leap4Life and Fitness Trackers

I don't know about you, but if there's a way to earn money from something I'm already (or should be) doing, I'm all for that!  Leap4Life offers us that very thing - you can earn money by exercising every day and tracking your walking and jogging with a fitness tracker like Fitbit.  I've already explained how to sign up and earn with Leap4Life while working out, so this post will be more about how the points you earn actually translate to dollars, and how to get earn bonus points.

With Leap4Life, there are two different point systems -  Status Points and Fitwell Points.  You earn Status Points by just about everything you do on the site - commenting on a group or event page, entering events  etc.  Fitwell points, however, are what you need to accumulate to cash out for money, and they're harder to come by.  Don't scoff at Status Points, though, because when your status increases to higher levels, you will get bonus Fitwell points.

The quickest and easiest way to earn both Status Points and Fitwell points is by entering events.  Not all of them pay out in Fitwell Points, but you can earn quite a chunk of Status Points so make sure you check the events page every morning and sign up for the next one available. There is no penalty for entering an event and not making it, so sign up for all of them, even if some look too difficult to complete.  Most of the individual events that do pay out in Fitwell Points only give 10 points, but there are usually several of those a week, and it all adds up.  You need to earn 2,500 Fitwell points to cash out for $25.  That sounds like a lot, but don't run away just yet, as I'll show you how to earn extra Fitwell points more quickly.

The key to earning more Fitwell Points is to join teams and get in on team events that usually pay out 100 Fitwell Points, but as I said earlier, Status Points also help you earn money indirectly.  The chart below shows the bonus Fitwell Points you will get once you advance in status beyond the basic level.

Bonus Fitwell Points for Status Level

If you join and complete each daily event, it shouldn't take long to reach Bronze Level, and that means for every 100 Fitwell points offered for an event, you would earn 112.5 points (but they round up to 113), and you'd earn 11 Fitwell points for those events that offer 10.  Keep pushing to get to Silver Level and you'd get 125 Fitwell points for the larger events, and 12.5 Fitwell points (but they'll round up and give you 13!) for those that offer 10. The benefits are even greater when you reach Gold and Diamond Levels, so keep pushing!

Teams can have a number of members, but only five team members are allowed on the roster for any particular event.  You can be on more than one team, but only on the roster for an event with one team.  I manage four teams that I enter into every event, and can move members around on the roster to capitalize on individual strengths for that event so that both teams have a good shot at completing the event and getting the points.  I also manage a Facebook group so that team members can communicate and encourage each other daily since the setup on Leap4Life isn't the greatest.

So ... if you want to earn money while exercising, or just need some extra motivation and encouragement (I've got plenty of that to go around!), let me know when you've signed up for Leap4Life and I'll get you headed in that direction.  Leave a comment here or send me a PM on Facebook to let me know that you've joined so that we can connect as friends on L4L (it won't automatically connect us for some reason).

Don't wait until tomorrow.  Make every step count today!

~ Marie Anne

Earn money with AchieveMint by working out

Some experts say that rewarding yourself for good behavior is one way to stay motivated to continue, like allowing yourself a treat when you lose a certain number of pounds, or if you work out every day, or make your goal of x number of miles per week.  What's even better is earning that treat by working out, but not having to pay for it yourself!  You can actually earn by working out with AchieveMint, a site that pays you for the miles you walk and run.

AchieveMint can access your running and walking activity through all sorts of trackers - Fitbit, Runkeeper, Map My Fitness, and scores of others.  Simply create an account when you click on AchieveMint and link whatever fitness tracking device you use to and you're off and running!

You'll earn points on AchieveMint for whatever fitness related activities you perform, and also for weighing yourself - it even gives you 20 points every day for sleeping if your device tracks that!  You won't really earn a mint with AchieveMint, but I'm ok with any amount of money an app will give me for doing something I do every day anyway.  You need 50,000 points to earn $50 and it won't happen overnight, but the more miles you log, the more points you will earn, so that's a great incentive to lace up your running shoes and get out there.  Money is a great motivator!

I've been a member of AchieveMint for several months and have earned almost 30,000 points so far, and I'm not stopping now!  I could use a new pair of running shoes and we all know those aren't cheap, so it seems fitting to put my first $50 from AchieveMint towards the price of new shoes.

What will you work towards?

~ Marie Anne


Update 11/16/2015:  I did very little in the way of exercise for a couple of months this summer, but I'm back on track now and earning more every day!  At the rate I'm going, I'll have earned my $50 gift card in probably about three weeks.  I'll be posting separately about how I earn more points every day, so keep an eye on this blog for future updates on this and other programs that pay you to exercise.

How Can I Get More Steps in to Meet My Fitbit Goals?

If you use a Fitbit or other fitness tracker to monitor your daily activity, you know how hard it can be some days to meet your daily or weekly step goals, especially if your job requires you to sit at a desk for extended periods.  With a little creativity, however, you can not only achieve your daily goals, but surpass them.  Below are some tips to increase your daily steps without taking a lot of extra time out of your day.

Stairway to heaven
It's a no-brainer that taking the stairs rather than an elevator or escalator is better for you, but don't just take the stairs when they're right in front of you - go look for them.

If you work in a multi-story building and there are facilities on more than one floor, go out of your way to go to the restroom on your break.  Instead of taking the easy route and going to the bathroom down the hall, take it a step (well, a few steps) further and walk up a floor or two instead.  The extra minute or so won't be missed, but the extra steps will be a bonus towards meeting your Fitbit goals.

Shop 'til you drop
When grocery shopping, go up and down every aisle, whether you need to buy something in that aisle or not.  It's a good idea to shop with a list in hand so that you're not tempted to buy things that aren't on your eating plan, so browse the aisles looking for the items that you need, and when you hit an aisle that you don't need anything from, scoot along smartly without stopping to look at the items on the shelves.  Score bonus points for going up and down every aisle at a decent pace when you've completed your shopping.

It's more difficult to do this when the stores are crowded, so pick days and times of day when you're less likely to be tripping over other shoppers' carts.  Also, if you wear your fitness tracking device on your wrist, you'll need to push your cart with only one hand in order for the steps to register.

Step up during play time
If you have young children, set aside a little time to actively play with them for at least a few minutes every day.  Put some music on and get everyone up and dancing, lifting your legs up high and swinging or pumping your arms.  You'd be surprised at how much fun you can have while getting your steps in.

No kids?  No excuse!  Crank it up and get moving to your favorite music video.  You don't need to tune in to an actual exercise program in order to groove to the tube - pick some lively music to jive to and just get up and do it!

Photo by Arizona Foothills Magazine

Stay tuned 
While watching TV, get up and move during the commercials.   When you get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, take a couple of extra trips down the hall and around the living room before sitting back down.  If you don't need to get up for any other reason, get up anyway.  Step in place or around the room for the duration of the advertisements, then plop down and get comfy again when your favorite show comes back on.

I use that trick often but do it in the reverse when watching "Dancing With the Stars" - I'll get up and move while the performers are dancing. I find it motivating to see some of the older people out there dancing and figure if they can do that, I can at least march in place.

Mail call
Don't check the mail from your car when you come home, but park your car, then walk to the mailbox.  If you're home when the mail comes, walk down to get it, then make an extra trip or two up and down the driveway or walk to the end of the block and back.

Something for everyone
While cooking, walk back and forth the length of the kitchen while waiting for the water to boil or until time to stir something.  Talking on the phone?  Keep your feet moving as much as your mouth is.  I get LOTS of steps while talking on the phone.  I'm up and moving the whole time.  Waiting for a file to download?  Get up and step in place in front of your computer. You'll meet your Fitbit goals in no time.

When all else fails
If the day is almost done and you've fallen short on your goal, don't give up.  Walk up and down the hall and around the inside perimeter of your house if you have to.  You might think it's silly (and I know my dogs are convinced that I'm nuts as I do this almost every evening), but is it silly to try to reach your goals while getting fit?  I've been known to crochet while walking in place, so I'm sure you can't look any sillier than that.  I'll set the piece I'm working on on the back of the recliner and step and stitch at the same time.

Since I've started doing these and other things every day, I've had no trouble at all making my 10,000 daily steps goal on Fitbit, and usually can get to 13-14,000 steps with a little effort.

You don't need to carve out large chunks of time to fit exercise into your day.  Think outside the box and see how easy it can be to add extra steps to the activities that you're already doing every day.

~ Marie Anne

Hula Hoops for Fun and Fitness

Photo by madmaven

While picking up a few things at the Dollar Tree this morning, a rack of hula hoops caught my eye.  Hmm ... I used to be able to hula hoop forever some 40-odd years ago, so thought that might be a good thing to add to my workout to mix things up a bit.  Since it was only a buck, I grabbed a pretty pink one and headed for home, reminiscing all the while about fun times shaking my hips to keep that hoop spinning as a scrawny kid.  As I think back, I believe it was Nana that bought me the hula hoop and it was kept at her house, and sometimes she'd join in and give it a spin!

The fun was short-lived after I got home and tried it out.  I stepped into the hoop, gave it a big spin and gyrated for all I was worth, only to have it drop to my feet after only a revolution or two.  I picked it up, dusted off my pride and tried again, with similar results.  Wow.  I wasn't expecting great things, but I also didn't expect to fail miserably.  I mean, how hard can it be?  It's a simple plastic hoop.  Wiggle your middle and keep it going, right?  Is it even possible to hula hoop incorrectly?  Are printed directions required?