Less than three weeks after starting the HealthMiles incentives program, I have reached Level 2 (out of 5). I plan to update my progress as I reach each new level (see my previous post, Racking Up HealthMiles, including the comments about how individuals can now sign up for the program; we have joined through our conference’s health insurance plan).
Reaching Level 2 (6,000 HealthMiles or “rewards points”) is fairly easy, though, and it generates $25 HealthCash (which I can receive in the form of gift cards or cash, I believe). Many of the first 6,000 points are given simply for things like signing up and activating the pedometer, completing a Health Snapshot survey, signing a smoke-free agreement, as well as extra points for reaching each of the milestones (7,000, 12,000, and 20,000 steps) for the first time (100, 200, and 300 HealthMiles, respectively), etc.
Overall, I took 296,221 steps in my first three weeks (an average of 14,106 steps/day) in getting to Level 2 which breaks down like this …
- Less than 7,000 steps: 1 day
- 7,000+ steps: 2 days
- 12,000+ steps: 16 days
- 20,000+ steps: 2 days
According to the HealthMiles website, 7,000 steps is considered a good day’s workload. Other sources consider 10,000 steps a good target (the HealthMiles site even offers a downloadable guide to getting 10,000 steps/day).
The one day I got less than 7,000 steps was the day we travelled to Mechanicsburg for 6 hours of psychological testing, totaling 12 hours with time on the road, taking tests, eating lunch, and talking with a counselor. One of the two days I got 7,000+ steps was the first day, which was only a half day.
Interestingly, on very few of the 21 days did I actually get out and “walk” (I did get out and walk on the two 20,000+ days, including our day off yesterday). Most of it was simply walking around from the time I got up in the morning till I went to bed at night. As I said before, I do a lot while walking — thinking, praying, even eating and/or reading, sometimes. I also park at the back of parking lots and take stairs instead of elevators whenever possible.
20,000 steps isn’t really worth it from a HealthMiles perspective (not to mention that the days after getting 20,000 steps, like today, I’d be happy with 7,000 steps! 😉 ). 20,000 steps generates 100 HealthMiles but you can take 12,000+ steps (80 HealthMiles) and log an activity session in the Activity Journal (10 HealthMiles) for 90 HealthMiles. However, hitting 20,000 steps the first time is a good deal with the 300 bonus points!
On the HealthMiles site, users can challenge other HealthMiles participants. I created my first challenge yesterday (a 21-day challenge for the most steps starting next Wednesday — unfortunately, our workload during those 3 weeks will be extremely intense!). In recent weeks, I’ve been looking around to see who’s wearing GoZone pedometers, including at last week’s interviews with the Board of Ordained Ministry. In all, I challenged 14 other people. (If you’re a HealthMiles member and would like to participate in a future challenge, let me know.)
While reaching Level 2 was easy, reaching the other levels will be more difficult. It’ll take another 6,000 HealthMiles to reach Level 3 ($75), then 12,000 more to reach Level 4 ($100), and another 12,000 to reach Level 5 ($100) — and that’s with many of the freebies and bonuses out of the way! It took me 21 days to get to Level 2, but I’m guessing it will take approximately 60 more days to get to Level 3 (if I stay on track).