Entries Tagged 'HealthMiles' ↓

Yesterday, the first day after the 2010 HealthFlex HealthMiles Challenge (a program of Virgin HealthMiles through our health insurance program), I experienced an “adrenaline hangover” (I’ve written before about a pastor’s hangover, which is probably a form of an adrenaline hangover).

I was able to hit the daily limit of 30,000 steps/day for each day of the 29-day challenge, as I did last year. But I think I went into last year’s challenge with a higher daily step average (around 16,000/day last year compared to maybe 13,000 this year) so I’m not sure I was as ready this year, but I was able to endure.

Like last year, I thought it was more of a mental challenge than a physical one due to having to keep constant checking of the pedometer and pacing myself throughout each day to make sure I was staying on track.

I got up just about everyday between 5:00 and 5:45 and walked for about 75 minutes. I usually had to do at least one more walk before the end of the day (sometimes after the kids went to sleep at night). The most challenging days were the four days went spent in Washington D.C. for the General Board of Church and Society seminar. Also, the final week, I could tell I was starting to drag a little as I seemed to cross the daily finish line a little later each night than usual.

As I said at the beginning, I wanted to do it just to see if I could. I also think it was a good (endurance) discipline to “run (or in my case, walk) through the quit!”

There was more of an emphasis on the team competition this year instead of the individual competition. Out of 33 conferences/teams (totaling more than 3,300 people), our conference should finish in sixth place (similar to last year, I believe). Our team looked like one of the larger teams.

Waking up yesterday morning, though — the first day in a month that the adrenaline didn’t help me get up and moving — was tough. I felt pretty rough all day!

It was a good experience, but I’m glad it’s over. I’ll rest for a few days from exercising before getting back to it. I expect my exercise/workouts to be more intense but much shorter!

One of the main benefits of the Virgin HealthMiles activity rewards program is that it provides a nice incentive for healthy living.

Part of the program encourages the use of “challenges” where participants can challenge one or more others in the program to a friendly competition. In addition to the participant-initiated challenges, the plan sponsor (in our case, HealthFlex, our health insurance plan in the United Methodist Church) can offer a organization-wide challenge once a year. This is our second annual such challenge.

My goals and interest in 2010 HealthFlex HealthMiles Challenge that beings Monday isn’t just about being among the leaders of the pack of more than 3,000 participants or even helping my team/conference do well (although I hope to do both ), it’s also about taking advantage of this incentive for healthy living.

While I tend to be fairly active in terms of getting my steps, I don’t think I do a good enough job of getting my heart rate up enough days of the week, which is important for heart health. And heart health is important to me because I’ve battled the “bad” cholesterol (i.e., LDL) all of my adult life. And even though my diet is probably average or better, there’s room for improvement (I’ve always said, whether it’s true or not, I just don’t think my body knows what to do with whatever saturated fat I do get in my diet).

So, I’m looking forward to the upcoming 29-day challenge, not just for the competition and the self-testing, but also for the extra incentive that it will be to live healthy!

As I gear up for the challenge, I racked up 20,000+ steps Wednesday and 31,500+ steps Thursday (in what I thought was a mediocre day, actually). I took it easy Friday, getting 12,000+ steps. Today, I wasn’t planning to do more than 20,000 steps, and would’ve been play with 12,000, but will probably go over 23,000. Tomorrow, the final day before the 29-day marathon, I’ll try to limit myself to 7,000 steps (but hopefully not much more than 12,000, at the most). Then, it’ll be full-on for 29 days!

Everyone needs incentives. What are your incentives for active, healthy living?

If you read my post about the 2010 HealthFlex HealthMiles Challenge, you may know why I’m looking for creative ways to get my steps in each day.

My newest experiment is a temporary workstation on our treadmill (pictured below). I tried it out for about an hour this afternoon and it worked pretty well, although my typing at 3.5 miles per hour is a little erratic!

I’m not sure how much I’ll use it (I’ll use most of my treadmill time, especially early mornings, praying, reading Scripture, thinking about my sermon, and listening to worship/inspirational music), but I also may use this temporary workstation to watch the DVDs from Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit as well as online video resources like The Nines and Aha!.

I might also try to read a couple of the books I didn’t get to from my Lenten Growth Plan: Secrets from the Treadmill and When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box.

Iwrote several posts last year about the Virgin HealthMiles activity rewards program, including last year’s first ever HealthFlex HealthMiles challenge (see my preview and recap posts). HealthFlex is our UMC health insurance program.

Last year’s challenge started in July so I was caught a little off guard with this year’s challenge which begins Monday (4/19). It’ll be another 29-day challenge, involving at least as many people (around 3,000, at the moment) from all across the U.S.

There are fairly significant changes this year, mainly a much greater focus on the team competition with little mention of individual rewards (other than some healthmiles/rewards points). Last year, the money went to individuals (the top 50). This year, $500 goes to the team (i.e., conferences/organizations) with the highest average number of steps per person and another $500 goes to the team with the highest percentage of eligible participants who sign up.

I like the new emphasis on the team competition. Last year, our conference placed somewhere around 7 out of 30-something teams (if I remember correctly). I’m hoping we can do better this year!

Since last year’s challenge, I haven’t really known what my goal would be for this year’s challenge. In some ways, I’m still recovering from last year’s challenge (or more likely the things that have taken place since then, like going to Korea and returning with a second baby!).

I will have a couple extra challenges this year …

1. We have two kids, both under 3. With two kids, whose nap/sleeping schedules aren’t always in sync, it’ll be a little harder this time around.

2. My biggest time concern is a 4-day trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the General Board of Church and Society as part of conference requirements for ordination, one week into the challenge. And the (old/historic) place we’re staying does not appear to have a fitness center/treadmill. That’s gonna be tough!

But I know two things: (1) I will view it as a personal test (physical and mental) to see what I can do, and (2) I am a competitor.

And having reached the daily limit (30,000 steps) every day last year, I’ll probably at least start out shooting for the max again. Funny thing is, if it weren’t for the daily limit, I probably wouldn’t do as many steps because I’d never be able to keep up with the marathon runners in the group (there were 2-3 guys last year who uploaded their 30,000 steps between 10:00 am and noon most days, as I recall; it took me all day every day to get mine!).

To reach my goal, I’ll need to get up extra early every morning and walk for 1.0-1.5 hours (while praying, reading Scripture, and/or listening to worship/inspirational music) and probably finish the day with another walk, with a fairly normal/active day in between!

I’ll try to take it one day at a time. It should be fun!

I have written several posts this year about the Virgin HealthMiles activity rewards program. The program is available to individuals but is available to us through our health insurance in The United Methodist Church.

The program involves wearing a pedometer to track steps. Depending on how active you are, you can progress through various stages, earning a little money at each stage (up to $300/year for all five stages, and actually, our insurance program added $125 in other incentives along the way). I decided to chart the course here on the blog through the first year, and today, I reached the highest level (5), nearly four months after reaching Level 4.

Interestingly, after the big HealthFlex HealthMiles Challenge (where more than 2,800 United Methodist participants competed in a national month-long challenge; 17 of us, including me, reached the daily maximum of 30,000 steps each day of the 29-day challenge), I haven’t been nearly as active as I was before the challenge. Of course, I expected a bit of a slump (or recovery time), but overall, my daily step counts are lower. I should get back on pace around the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, though.

On our “anniversary” date (the date we signed up for the program), participants start over, so on January 23, 2010, I will start all over again and work toward Level 1 (and beyond) during the second year.

Anyway, I’ve written these posts this year just to say that I think the program (or even simply wearing a pedometer, which provides instant feedback on activity level) is good incentive for getting/staying active!

As I wrote in mid-July, there was a big HealthMiles challenge open to the members of HealthFlex, the health insurance plan of The United Methodist Church.

In all, more than 2,800 participants logged more than 709,581,760 total steps during the 29-day challenge. The challenge sponsors set a 30,000-step daily limit, and a number of us shot for the limit each day. In the end, 17 of us finished in a tie with 870,000 steps.

The top three finishers were determined in a random drawing. I was not one of the three (who will receive $100, $75, or $50 for first, second, and third places). The other 14 of us will get $25 (along with the rest of the top-50 finishers).

There were 33 teams (31 conferences plus the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits and one college) in the team competition. My team/conference, which averaged 273,228 steps/person, finished 8th.

As I said at the beginning, I simply wanted to see what I could do. I didn’t really intend to do 30,000 steps a day for 29 days in a row. I thought I’d start out with 30,000 on the first day and see what the competition looked like. I knew it was going to be tough when 50+ people uploaded 30,000 steps the first day. From then on, I took it one day at a time!

My biggest challenges were mental (constantly tracking my daily progress and keeping myself moving) and, of course, time. The biggest thing that helped was getting up earlier and starting the day with a 60-90 minute walk, racking up 7,500 to 10,000 steps first thing in the morning. I also used this time for prayer and planning. It was a great way to start the day!

Beyond that, it was a fairly normal but very active day. There were a few days (especially toward the end) where I was finishing my day with a 30-45 minute walk to get those remaining 3,000+ steps (a sign of getting tired?). Overall, though, I felt pretty energized. It was probably the adrenaline!

The toughest day was the 28th day of the 29-day challenge. We had to leave for Pittsburgh at 4:30 am for a 9-hour continuing education event. We spent about 6 hours on the road to and from Pittsburgh. I knew that didn’t leave much time for sleep!

I got up at 3:00 (on 4 hours of sleep) to walk for (only) 45-minutes. I walked at the Mellon Arena when I could (which wasn’t much). When we got home, and after Ethan went to bed, I walked for about an hour and a half to get my 30,000 steps for the day. I think I finished around/after 11:00 pm. Then I had to get up a few hours later for the final day of the challenge!

Well, in the 8 full days since the challenge ended, I’ve held myself to 12,000 – 15,000 steps a day with one day over 20,000. Soon, I’ll get back to aiming for 16,000 – 20,000 steps a day.

During the challenge, I thought a lot about the theme of “running the race,” the commitment to “keep moving forward,” and the utter importance of “finishing well” (which happens to be the topic of tomorrow’s sermon, my first since the challenge and a few days of vacation).

Yesterday, I reached Level 4 (of 5) in the HealthMiles walking incentives program, less than six months after signing up. That leaves me plenty of time (six months) to reach the final level (Level 5). At my current pace, it should take up to four months.

I reached Level 4 on day 7 of the 28 day marathon I blogged recently. The challenge, involving 2,830 people from across The United Methodist Church, is going very well. I am doing as well or better than I expected and am running with the leaders, so far.

HealthMiles, which is now available to individuals (not just organizations), is an excellent program. I like the instant feedback (by uploading my steps to the HealthMiles website), the focus on cumulative activity, and the ability to track progress at the website. The financial incentives are a nice touch as well.

I tend to get a lot of steps simply because I move a lot. A few days ago, Ethan’s first words after waking up in the morning (which I heard via the baby monitor) were, “Daddy, walking” (and I get most of my steps while he’s asleep!).

Occasionally, Ethan will stop in his tracks, lift up his shirt near his right hip, look at his imaginary pedometer, and call out a number, then continue walking. As we’ve said before, some things are better caught than taught.

Anyway, one more stop (in the first year), Level 5. One step at a time.

Beginning at midnight tonight, 2,830 people from across The United Methodist Church will begin a 4-week challenge. The challenge is open to members of the denominational health insurance plan, HealthFlex, who are participating in the HealthMiles rewards incentive program.

As we’ve blogged before (see Racking Up HealthMiles), we are participating in the HealthMiles program, which involves wearing a pedometer to count the number of steps we take. We upload our steps to the HealthMiles website via USB cable to earn rewards.

The HealthMiles program allows organizations to conduct organization-wide challenges once a year. A couple weeks ago, we received an email inviting us to participate in the first ever HealthFlex-wide challenge, a 4-week challenge that begins tomorrow (7/15). Twenty minutes after the email went out, I was the 70th person to sign up. When registration closed last night, a total of 2,830 people had signed up.

The challenge will track the number of steps each participant takes over the next 4 weeks. There will be both individual and team components. Teams will be determined by conference relationship (in addition to a college and the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits). There are 32 teams in the challenge.

Team results will be determined by the average number of steps per day for each team member. Individual results will be determined by the total number of steps. There is a 30,000-step/day cap (my sense in reading the rules is that the cap is to deter people from cheating).

Each member of the winning team will receive 250 HealthMiles (i.e., reward points); 100 HealthMiles will go to each person of the second place team. In the individual competition, the top 50 people will receive a cash prize ($100 for first place, $75 for second, $50 for third, and $25 goes to those who place 4-50).

I’m excited about the challenge. I’ve been raring to go ever since the challenge was issued. I have at least three personal goals …

1. To help my team (Central Pennsylvania Conference) win the team competition!
2. To test my endurance and consistency (i.e., to pace myself and to rack up as many steps as possible every day)!
3. And while there’s *always* someone out there who can do more, I’m playing to win!

Part of the fun is that participants will be able to chart their progress and placement during the challenge at the HealthMiles website. Participants can also post comments on the chat page and with 2,830 participants, that could be interesting!

Well, I’ll write about the experience at the finish line (unless I decide to blog along the way, periodically). In the meantime, let the challenge begin!

Self-care is important for all of us. It’s certainly important for leaders — people who influence and model life for others!

If we don’t care for ourselves — body, mind, and soul — we will have less to give to and for others.

Businesses and organizations are discovering this reality, partly in response to the rising costs of health care. A recent article at Time.com describes the interest some companies are gaining in helping their people become more fit and healthy.

Even though I have long believed in the importance of self-care, I was still blown away by the results IBM has seen in just the last three years. According to Joyce Young, IBM’s director of wellness, they have saved around $100 million due to the improved health and fitness of their employees.

The Time.com article mentions the Virgin HealthMiles rewards program that I’ve blogged recently. The health insurance plan of the UMC that our conference is participating in, offers membership in the HealthMiles program.

You can read my most recent posts here and here, as well as Racking Up HealthMiles, which has been one of the most popular posts in recent weeks.

Health care costs are high among pastors in our conference. It will be interesting see what kind of results we experience — not only to save money (although that’s important, too, from a stewardship perspective), but so that we will be able to offer more effective ministry, for longer!

I have now reached Level 3 (of 5) in the HealthMiles incentives program, less than 2.5 months after activating the GoZone pedometer that came with the program, offered through our conference’s health insurance plan (see my first post, Racking Up HealthMiles).

When I reached Level 2, I estimated that it might take about 60 days to reach Level 3; it took 50. But it will take longer to reach Levels 4 and 5 because each requires 12,000 HealthMiles instead of 6,000 (each) for Levels 1 and 2. And while I racked up 12,000 HealthMiles in less than 3 months, some of those early HealthMiles were given simply for signing up, activating the pedometer, etc. I think it’ll take around 4 months for each of the next two levels, at my current pace.

My number of steps/day has been increasing. Overall, I’m averaging 15,719 steps/day, but I’m averaging 17,460 steps/day in April, including seven days with at least 20,000 (a mark I only hit four times in the month and a half before April).

I am still waiting for a Mac version of the software used to upload steps from our pedometers. In the meantime, we are using a PC that we have access to. A beta version of the Mac software is being developed, but it isn’t working for me yet. I have provided feedback on my experience with it (as requested) and am waiting for the next version (while I would gladly do the testing for free, I will receive 250 HealthMiles for testing it).

Reaching Level 3 adds another $75 to the $25 earned for reaching Level 2 (Levels 4 and 5 provide $100 each for a total of $300). BTW, the program is now available to individuals; see this page for details.

Even outside of the HealthMiles program, though, I think simply wearing a pedometer is a good way to track your steps and your level of activity.

Next stop, Level 4. One step at a time.