Week 3 Challenge Submissions

You will need to share with us in a few sentences what new fitness activity you discovered, how long you did it, and how many steps you got.

~Philly Streetwalkers, Philadelphia

I kayaked for 4 hours on the Chain of Lakes on Sunday. The weather was absolutely beautiful & paddling against the breeze was a great workout on the arms! ~Michelle Pinkerton, Menasha Corporate

I wore my daughter (23 lbs) on my back for strawberry picking. Talk about super squats! ~Michelle Zimmer-Maertz, Folding Carton Group

I played soccer with my son over the weekend also did some swimming and mowed the lawn. It was hot and made sure water was available to stay hydrated. ~Rosa Yanez, Bridgeview

I did the Elliptical at the YMCA for 65 minutes to get to my 10,000 steps on a day that I had an all day meeting at work so I was not able to move around. I watched the strides and they were pretty close to the steps tracked on my fit bit. ~Kelly Ulmen, Folding Carton Group

Normally I weight lift during the winter months and enjoy outside activities during the summer, but on a hot and humid summer day this week I hit the air-conditioned Y for an hour of weight lifting. ~Jane Boettcher, Neenah Plant

Week 3 Challenge is that I have started doing a bootcamp once a week. Not sure how many steps a week this is. But I burn about 500 calories. ~Anne Milz, Madison Heights

I have started to take my dogs for a bike ride. I hang onto their leashes as they run alongside. it's about an extra 1,000 steps. ~Craig Anvelink, Folding Carton Group

This week I played on a horse shoe team. We played 3 matches that took about 30 minutes. There is nothing similar on the list, but I'll guess perhaps 500 steps... ~Lynda Ketelboeter, Oconomowoc

This week to kick it up a notch I decided to head to my local YMCA and tryout a cycling class. Typically my exercise routine is all about walking. Walking walking on the treadmill...ect The cycling class was awesome and I felt great after it was over. The next day my body showed me I had a few muscles I didnt know existed. But I will definitely take another cycling class. ~Theresa West, Cincinnati/Dallas

Thursday I went swimming in my pool . I used the conversion chart and swam/treaded water for a straight 15 minutes which adds up to 1,470 steps. ~Charlie Hagan, Bardstown

As a young teen i remember riding my bike all day long. Lets just say 20 years later its a greater challenge to do such a task. I rode a little over 4 miles but to my surprise it only took me just over 30 minutes for an average of 8mph. So its much easier on the body to walk but doesn't work the same muscles. ~Gerald Smith, Bardstown

Friday was an extremely busy day at work. Had over 23000 steps in the day, averages about 2000 steps to a mile means I walked over 11 miles. Needless to say I had no trouble sleeping after work. . . ~Ernie Clark, Bardstown

It had been many years since I had used the old weight bench in the basement. So I spent some time dragging it out of the corner, where it was covered with dust and boxes. Then finding the weights was an even bigger challenge, but I found them under another shelf. Once I got everything setup, I lifted for about a half an hour. Boy did I use muscles that I had not used in a long time. Now that the weight bench is out where I can use it, I will try to vary my exercise routine. ~Bob Woerner, Philadelphia

I played soccer with my son to complete this challenge. ~Kelly Krabbe, Preprint

We started taking the kids along for a bike ride (pulling them in a bike trailer) to mix up our routine. The kids have a blast and it's a nice alternative to walking around the block! ~Carol Keller, RPM Beverage

I did about 1/2 hour of weeding last week. I would have done more but was out of town. The gardens need it! What I did different was one day last week for about 2 hours, I helped move some files from file cabinet into banker boxes to a new location. Starting today, I will be adding strengthening exercises with 5lb weights. ~Amy Eichinger, Folding Carton Group

I have been riding my bike with my sons just about every day this past week. I haven't ridden a bike in a few years! ~Amy Liethen, Folding Carton Group

The weekend was spent camping in Copper Falls (near Ashland, WI wayyyy up North. A good portion of Saturday was spent hiking the trails that took us around the falls, with a large variation in elevation. Roughly 2 hours of hiking netted about 8K steps. ~Jordan Bauer, Neenah Plant

I had purchased a Zumba workout for my Wii about 1 1/2 years ago and never opened the game. This challenge not only made me open the game, I also brought the game with me to our cottage and I had a group of us doing the Zumba challenges. It worked out well because two of the days it rained that is what we played with the Wii Fit and Zumba games. ~Leslie Brunner, Menasha Corporate

Bicycling -- one hour == 5,580 steps!! A great way to increase the activity and step count. ~Tina Roe, Oconomowoc

Instead of walking by myself, my son and I went for an early morning bike ride on Saturday. ~Kathy Collien, Menasha Corporate

I road my bike to work last week. Added 6000 steps. ~Patrick Morrissey, Chicago (Downtown)

This week I participated in a number of cross training activities. Although I frequently play basketball, tennis, and golf, it was surprising to learn that most of my "converted" steps come from my daily weightlifting routine. More than 30,000 steps this week from weightlifting alone. ~Pat Lauscher, Chicago(Downtown)

Mowed lawn with the push mower instead of rider. 30 minutes = 4050 steps. ~Kristi Blumreich, Folding Carton Group

This week I decided to get into gardening a bit more and worked in the garden for about an hour and 15 minutes. This equaled 6,225 steps. I really liked this because I was exercising while I am growing yummy vegetables. It is definitely a win-win and I'm so glad I planted a garden this year. ~Becca VandenLangenberg, Neenah Plant

I played soccer with my son three times this week. I noticed different muscles being used and could tell the second and third time I played. Great reminder on the cross training. ~Cathy Mulcahy, Oconomowoc

I have picked up walking to add steps into my daily numbers, but instead of using a riding mower to mow the lawn, I have picked up push mowing for added benefit. I pushed mowed for about an hour and a half and acquired roughly 5000 additional steps! ~Rachel Rogers, Bardstown

This week I had the opportunity to take to dancing. While I was on vacation, I attended Country Fest and boogied some steps. ~Sherri Brigowatz, Oconomowoc

I tried kayaking! What a great time and good workout! I used the step conversion chart and discovered that my 2.5 hours of leisurely rowing converted into 11250 steps! Woo! Hoo! ~Colleen Shew, NCS

I spent a lot of time this weekend with my niece and nephew. They force me to be active even on 'lazy days.' We played basketball, went swimming, and threw the frisbee. ~Beth Bruch, Bardstown

Dusted off the bike and went for a ride! Added an additional 5580 Steps! ~Amy Gross, NCS

I tried my hand at some jui jitsu at fox valley grappling club. It was an amazing experience with rigorous exercise. I had time to do one on one instruction and got to meet a lot of new people through this experience. ~Justin Huntington, Folding Carton Group

I bought a trailer to pull behind my bike. Now I pull the twins in it when I go for a bike ride with the older kids. It didn't add steps but 90 extra pounds to pull is a bit more of a workout. ~Kevin

Kramer, Folding Carton Group

I've begun using the fitness center at my apartment complex and am now using the stationary bike as my primary warm up exercise. Great way to get those steps! ~Mike Vaughan, Madison Heights

For my week # 3 challenge, I chose to dive into swimming as my new fitness discovery. Yes, pun intended!!!

Its kind of funny, my gym has a pool but I never went in to do any exercising, I just thought of swimming as a cooling off, fun thing to do for a few minutes.

I did the following on Thursday and Friday this week:

5 minutes of lap swimming (which on the conversion chart equals swimming, 50 yards/min) 225 steps per minute x 5 minutes = 1,125 steps.

5 minutes of the back stroke (back stroke at 1 mph) 111 steps per minute x 5 minutes = 555 steps.

And finally I did a combination of treading water and the crawl stroke which I averaged out at 94 steps per minute x 15 minutes = 1,400 steps.

1,125 + 555 + 1,400 = 3,090 extra steps for 25 minutes of swimming!!!

I will always use the pool after my workouts from now on, it cools me down and also is a great way to add a cardiovascular event into my routine. ~Steve Kamke, Folding Carton Group

This week I was a base runner for my daughters softball practice. It got me off of the bleachers and involved in something I enjoy. I can see this becoming more regular. ~Melissa Walter, Coloma

I moved 2 ton of stone to landscape around my cottage for extra steps and cross training. What a workout! ~Laura Nelson, Preprint

I discovered that landscaping is a great way to get weight bearing exercise. We moved approximately 200 brick on and off the trailer to start our project. On my so-called rest day I ended up logging over 10,000 steps! I burned a lot of extra calories by adding the 10lb average

weight of each paver/brick. It was challenging and fun all at the same time (and better than using the weight machine or free weights at a gym). ~Anonymous

This weekend I went swimming for two hours and got 14,000 steps. Normally I usually go for a walk at night to get to my daily steps. I realize now that I can do other activities that will get me more steps in less time. ~Melissa Kaminski, Menasha Corporate

My chosen activity was aerobics for 30 min. converted to 6525 steps. ~Brenda Leihser, Unilever- IL

This Saturday I went to several community yard sales and walked 3965 steps from 7am to 12pm. ~Michelle Gelarden, Unilever- IL

I had an opportunity to hike last week at Hartman Creek State Park in Waupaca. It was great to hike on trails that had inclines which provided an additional challenge to my workout. My walking poles worked great and I ended up with over 19,000 steps for the day!! ~Debbie Boardman, Neenah Plant

New Fitness Activity discovered = Hiking How long = 1 hour pavement & trail combined

Steps = 9300 total

Hiking with my dog @ Lapham peak this past Saturday in between the light rain showers ~Leigh Vavrik, Oconomowoc

My primary fitness activity is running and cycling. Instead of doing a run/ride, I spent 30 minutes playing soccer with my 7 year old son. Recreational soccer equals about 144 steps per minute, so I racked up 4320 steps just by playing for just a short amount of time. ~Ellen Wacker, Oconomowoc

My husband and I normally walk after supper. For the challenge we decided to get the bikes out of storage and go for a bike ride. After wiping all the cobwebs and dust off of them we went for a 45 minute bike ride which equals around 4185 steps. It was a nice change of pace but I think next time we will remember to check the air in the tires ~Kim Bauer, Neenah Plant

One day during week 3 I worked out on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes for a total of 6,000 steps. I also fit in a short walk that day. Felt good to change it up a bit! ~Connie Rushford, Menasha Corporate

I did some weight lifting. I put 5 full water bottles in a purse and lifted with each arm and then each leg. I have done this every day since Wednesday a total of 25 times with each arm and leg. ~Jennifer Boerma, NCS

For the week 3 challenge I spent part of my weekend playing basketball with a few of my cousins. It has been a while since I have actually played and ran like that. My total steps were around 4700 just for the basketball game. Of course, I could feel it the next day! ~Jason Mattingly, Bardstown

This week for my alternate activity I added swimming as my alternate way of getting into shape. ~Ryan Averbeck, Cincinnati/Dallas

My new fitness activity this weekend was biking in the early morning (before it got to hot) and swimming in my sisters pool in the afternoon. I picked up approx. 2,000 extra step. Of course I spent extra time just floating (which I did not count) around and enjoying the lovely day which made it a real treat. Happy Summer! ~Vickie Kirby, Coloma

A new activity I have discovered, is doing boxing with my husband. I found it fun and I burn a lot of calories in just 15 minutes. The total steps for this activity was a total of 3195. ~Maria Mendez, Unilever- IL

I did challenge myself to add weight machines to my routine that I normally avoid because Im not too fond of them (too hard!) I can tell by my sore muscles that they are machines I need to include. ~Christa Sanders, Folding Carton Group

I split logs the old fashioned way for over an hour. Using the conversion chart, this is about 18,000 steps. Great exercise and created a nice pile of firewood for our backyard pit. ~Lynn Hediger, Oconomowoc

For the week 3 Challenge I mixed cycling (on Thursday for 2h with average 10mph for 11,160 steps) and swimming (on Friday for 1/2h for 6750 steps). Great / active week for me. ~Marta Altier, Chicago Converting

I added weight lifting to my regular cardio routine. ~Judy Hau, Oconomowoc

I recently have had some issues with my knee that has curtailed my walking. This challenge inspired me to look to other less stress on the knee activities and I went swimming. I had never taken advantage of the lap pool at my gym so this was the push I needed. I swam competitively in my youth. I have gone twice and done 30 minutes of breaststroke laps. ~Eleni Fosses, Chicago Converting

This weekend I went hiking, for about 80 minutes, which converted to 12,400 steps. ~Raquel Serna, Oconomowoc

For my week 3 challenge, I pulled out a shred fat DVD that I bought a long time ago and never used it. It was a 20 minute high cardio work out that I performed for the full 20 minutes. Based on our calculator this added an addition 7,000 steps to that days work out. ~Sandy Conklin, Pre Print

Went for a bike ride with my godchild and it is not true you do forget how to ride a bike! Hahaha I was pretty rusty at first but once I got my balance skills back we went for a 20 minute ride on some nice quiet country roads. Thanks to her Ps (parents) for the use of their bike. ~Fay Borchardt, Folding Carton Group

I removed several layers of dust from my elliptical machine and used that for 30 minutes this weekend. It was a nice change of pace and it was refreshing to be in the cool basement when the humidity was so high outside. 30 minutes on the elliptical coverts to 6,000 steps. ~Leslie Ley, Oconomowoc

I chose cycling as my alternate to walking. We took a trip to visit the neighbors a couple miles down the road and went by bicycle instead of car. This was worth a bonus 1300 steps. ~Cory Firari, Hartford

I rode my bike this week as well as the walking. ~Anu Varma, MPC Home Office

The new activity I tried out for this week was Yoga. I did a 30 minute session over the weekend, which comes to about 3000 steps. Its a great activity to release stress and provide more energy. Yoga is an activity I will definitely continue to use periodically. ~Amanda Faust, Chicago Converting

This week instead of just walking I also rode my bike. I can really tell the difference in the muscles I used, my legs were definitely more sore after riding my bike instead of just walking. I did 30 minutes of riding in the city which translated into 2,790 steps! ~Jennifer Orszula, Oconomowoc

Previously I did not count my service as a volunteer firefighter as exercise/steps, but it is a very physical activity that requires a lot different muscle groups depending on the incident at hand, car accident, fire, tactical rescue, wild land fire, etc. On Sunday morning I added 6,100 steps to my count by actively fighting a fire with full PPE (personal protective equipment) on, which adds about 70lbs. of weight in addition to performing very physical activities like pulling hose, pulling down ceilings, manning a hose line, etc. ~Lynsey Madison, Oconomowoc

For the 3rd week challenge, I challenged myself to lifting 5# weights as I walked on my treadmill. I walk 30 minutes at 4.3 MPH and I changed up by adding the weights the first 20 minutes of my walk. 20 minutes Xs 42 = 840 step conversion. I did this 3 times last week for an increase of 2,523 steps for Week 3. ~Patty Rega, Yukon

I went on a hike with my wife and daughters, and with our son in a carrier. We ended up walking 5 miles, which was so much easier on my knees than running. ~Abel Menchaca, Mentor

At least once a week myself along with Philly Streetwalkers: Cynthia Morton, Ana Dias, Sue Faber practice Weight Loss Yoga. We actually have been practicing since Earth Week. This converts to 2500 steps. ~Melicia Pompey, Philadelphia

I am usually a walker but I took the dog for a jog this week she enjoyed it! I also did several hours of serious planting and gardening; that sure used some different muscles than walking

does! ~Heather Brandt, RPM Beverage

The alternate activity I chose for the Week 3 challenge is horseback riding. I give my nieces riding lessons and decided to get a ride in before they came. I do not get to ride often with having a full time job and then taking care of the horses we board. I rode for 30 minutes, 20 minutes leisurely & 10 minutes of trotting which came to 1,640 steps. Riding is very good exercise, you use a whole different set of muscles . . . . . trot on! ~Sue Gloede, Folding Carton Group

This week I tried yoga for the first time. It definitely looks much easier than it is. The most difficult part was changing poses; trying to watch the video while in some of the poses was not possible. I did enjoy the experience and think I will try it again. It felt really nice stretching, especially after sitting at a desk all day. ~Karen Bykowski, NCS

Went with some friends to their rec. center to swim laps. It was a great way to get in some exercise when it has been 97 degrees in Tennessee. I was able to swim laps for 20 minutes. Calculated 6,000 extra steps for the day. ~Robert Peters, Madison Heights

I suppose you could say I weight-lifted over the weekend. Instead of barbells, I carried patio block for 2 hours! ~Valerie Knetzger, Oconomowoc

My new fitness activity I discovered during this challenge is I can crank out A LOT of steps just walking around the house while Im drying dishes and brushing my teeth! Usually I just stand in one place doing these activities, but wearing the pedometer really encourages me to keep moving no matter what Im doing. My husband and my dog think Im crazy marching around the house all the time now J. Heres to walking, no matter where or what youre doing! ~Debbie Baumann, Cincinnati/Dallas

This past weekend I performed several new activities at our camping house:

Carry firewood 15 x 176 = 2640

Stacking firewood 30 x 89 = 2670

Weeding and cleaning out landscape 30 x 73 = 2190

Digging up a water line which I converted using hoeing steps 30 x 93 = 2790

Cleaning up 3 golf carts 60 x 75 = 4500 ~Angie Fortner, Cincinnati/Dallas

I did swimming as my different activity totaled 1000 steps. ~Greg Osborne, Bardstown

We added a basket to our bike. This way our Dachshund could ride along rather than going for a walk, which gives 11000 steps for a twenty minute slow ride. ~Lynnette Martineau, Oconomowoc

~Melissa Byrne, MPC Home Office

~Samantha Goetz, Oconomowoc

~Sheri Treu, Oconomowoc

~Eric Henley, Bardstown

I took my kids to Noah's Ark Waterpark. In between walking all over the park, climbing steps, and swimming in the wave pool I estimate I put on 14,000 steps. My feet and back were sore afterward as all that varied activity hits muscles that don't normally get worked. ~Submitted by Randy Trelka, FCG

I have been thinking of trying Yoga. It seems to be a good ideal of stretching and relaxation. ~ Submitted by Martell Blakley, NCS

What I did new was instead of just walking the track like usually I jogged a little then walked a little then jogged again, it gave me around 500 extra steps since it was new to me I couldnt jog for a long period but I will eventually get it. ~ Maria Serrato, NCS

I have no idea if this counts as a different activity or what the steps equivalent may be but I found myself helping cut tree branches for about 2 hours and cleaning the mess and yard after that. Then I helped sand furniture for several hours more. ~Franca Bonta, Rexdale

I cross trained on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes for 7,050 steps as a supplement to my running to lessen the stress from pounding on the pavement. I am planning on incorporating the elliptical machine to reduce the chance of injuries, yet still reap cardiovascular and muscular improvements. ~Mike Foust, Menasha Corporate

Took over lawn mowing duties from the kids2 hours16,000 steps!!! ~Troy Martin, Neenah Plant

I have added weightlifting into my weekly routine 3 times a week, this is an additional 630 steps a day. ~Andy Jacobson, Lakeville

This challenge stated to find different activities to mix things up. Im training for the Fox Cities Half Marathon so I need to try on put miles on this summer but I cant overdo it. I need to find was to mix things up to avoid running fatigue. Maybe its just a walk one night or the elliptical. Another challenge is that my family just had our third child this past week, so I need to keep the other girls entertained. I found doing activities with them is a great change up. I continue to be active but in a different way. Walks to the park/library, bike rides in the neighborhood, or even a little obstacle course are fun little things to do. Ive also found that adding a kettle bell workout a couple times a week is very helpful in resting up the body. ~Steve Grosskreutz, Neenah Plant

I work in the garden for an hour which is 4380 steps

I also rode my bike for an 1 hrs for 8370 steps ~ Steve Beuchel, Midwest Fulfillment Center

I have taken up Rebounding as my alternative to walking. 30 minutes on my fitness trampoline gives me about 3,000 steps, is low impact and works all the muscles in my body. ~Wendy Raabe, Oconomowoc

One of my favorite things to do is to bike - in addition to being good exercise, I find it fun and a great way to relax and unwind! ~Amy Martin, Menasha Corporate

I added cardio (elliptical) to my usual workout routine which added up to around 3,500 steps for 30-40mins each visit that week. ~Demetria Hickson, Chicago Converting

Stepped it up with some basketball and aerobics. Added 3000 steps! ~Laura Reed, Urbana

I biked over the weekend at an average speed of 10 mph, which was worth 2,790 steps for every 30 minutes. I also weeded my garden for 30 minutes, which was worth 2,190 steps. ~ Julie Weyenberg, MPC Home Office

I added weight lifting to my usual walking workout. This added about 500 steps a day for me. ~ Cassie Raith, FCG

I added hiking twice a week to my routine in place of walking, this is an additional 4,550 steps. ~ Sara Koller, FCG

I started riding my bike again. I am trying to ride daily, but that is not always possible with work and family. This is definitely adding steps to my overall total. ~Mark Jensen, FCG

This week I decided to go rollerblading instead of my primary activity of biking. It was nice to try out a different activity and I definitely felt it afterwards. I rollerbladed for 1 hr and 12 minutes and got 12,456 steps out of it! ~Amy Kumaraperu, MPC Corporate Office

~Neenah Plant

~FCG