Will there be a May Challenge?

DarkChocolate · Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:59 pm

One more thing to mention:

Here are the points I was thinking of doing - any suggestions/comments?

BASE POINTS:
Cardio - 6 each session (3 per week) - PERFECT: 18pts
Strength - 6 each session (2 per week) - PERFECT: 12pts
Beachy days - 5 points each - PERFECT: 35pts
Almost beachy days - 2 points
64oz water - 3 points - PERFECT: 21pts

BONUS POINTS:
Perfect "base point" week - 10 bonus points (a perfect base week is 86 points - 6x3 cadio, 6x2 strength, 5x7 beachy, 3x7 water)
Completed Personal Goal - 7 bonus points
Survived weekend - 5
Tried & posted recipe - 3
Outdoor exercise - 5

So a "Perfect Bonus" week (all base AND bonus points) would be 116 points.

All of the above points (base and bonus) would be doubled for the "Bonus Week!"

Then for the weigh-ins...

4 points for each pound lost

for P3ers looking to maintain - 20pts for the main 5 weeks, 24pts for the total 6 weeks (these are equivalent to points for 1lb lost per week - is this reasonable or are they too high?)

***Also, I'm thinking of only requiring each person to record which days they do each thing, I will make up a spreadsheet to total points for everyone***

What do you guys think? Thanks!

Maryone · Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:14 pm

Looks good to me :) You've done a great job!

meemoo · Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:14 pm

I think it sounds good, although it seems like a lot of things to keep track of. Please make sure you reiterate the fact that the team captains will do all the point totaling. There could be some first time challengers who might feel overwhelmed thinking they have to keep track of all their points and bonuses for everything. As long as they just have to document everything the things they have (or have not) done, I don't think it will be a problem. Just my opinion though. By the way, I am looking forward to it!

DarkChocolate · Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:42 pm

meemoo wrote: I think it sounds good, although it seems like a lot of things to keep track of. Please make sure you reiterate the fact that the team captains will do all the point totaling. There could be some first time challengers who might feel overwhelmed thinking they have to keep track of all their points and bonuses for everything. As long as they just have to document everything the things they have (or have not) done, I don't think it will be a problem. Just my opinion though. By the way, I am looking forward to it!
Understood! I was trying SO hard to make it simple too, haha... but things add up!

Here's the way I was thinking of making up the template (I'll post a long "template" for all the weeks at the top of the "log" thread, so everyone can copy and paste it into their "log" entry.)

Quote: PERSONAL GOAL for Week 1 -

-------------------------------
~~~~ WEEK 1 ~~~~
-------------------------------

CARDIO -

STRENGTH -

BEACHY FOOD -

ALMOST BEACHY -

64oz WATER -

Posted RECIPE?
OUTDOOR exercise?
Survived the WEEKEND?
Met this week's personal GOAL?

So my thought is that for each of the base categories listed, simply write in which days of the week you did it. And then at the end of the week, make sure you've answered yes/no for the four questions and post a new Personal Goal for the following week.

So an example one might look something like this:

Quote: PERSONAL GOAL for Week 1 - Do 4 days of cardio and do 40 crunches every night

-------------------------------
~~~~ WEEK 1 ~~~~
-------------------------------

CARDIO - Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday

STRENGTH - Tuesday, Friday

BEACHY FOOD - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday

ALMOST BEACHY - Friday

64oz WATER - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Posted RECIPE? no
OUTDOOR exercise? yes
Survived the WEEKEND? no
Met this week's personal GOAL? yes
So this person had one non-beachy thing Friday and then Saturday was not a good food day at all... So now as captain I enter the number of days they did each base category into a spreadsheet, and put in the yes/no's for the questions, and I can set up the spreadsheet so it'll calculate the numbers.

This is a little different than the logs were set up for other challenges, but I'm *hoping* it's reasonable and not too confusing![/quote]

pookiebear · Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:01 am

Dark Chocolate, you've done a fine job! You've researched, put out focus groups ;) and things are coming together nicely. ;)

Quote: BASE POINTS:
Cardio - 6 each session (3 per week) - PERFECT: 18pts
Strength - 6 each session (2 per week) - PERFECT: 12pts
Beachy days - 5 points each - PERFECT: 35pts
Almost beachy days - 2 points
64oz water - 3 points - PERFECT: 21pts

BONUS POINTS:
Perfect "base point" week - 10 bonus points (a perfect base week is 86 points - 6x3 cadio, 6x2 strength, 5x7 beachy, 3x7 water)
Completed Personal Goal - 7 bonus points
Survived weekend - 5
Tried & posted recipe - 3
Outdoor exercise - 5

With so many "extras", it could get a tad confusing. But that's totally up to you and your team captains. ;) You'll be the ones adding up all the points. I would also be very specific on what counts for these things and what doesn't. Like, what survived weekend means or can mean?

Quote: for P3ers looking to maintain - 20pts for the main 5 weeks, 24pts for the total 6 weeks (these are equivalent to points for 1lb lost per week - is this reasonable or are they too high?)

It sounds reasonable. I don't think it's too high. If anything, more on the low end.

Things to maybe think about:
Are you going to have a minimum requirement on how many minutes an exercise session should be? Like, for cardio... what qualifies as a session... 10 min? 30 min?
What counts as a strength training session?
What if the weather doesn't permit them to be outside for exercise?
Is gardening an "outdoor exercise" or something else (cardio, etc.)?
What qualifies an almost beachy day? What qualifies you to not even get an almost beachy day?
Do the winners get anything?
How will you add up team points? What if the teams aren't even? What if someone drops out? (For fairness with points)

DarkChocolate · Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:35 am

Okay, thanks SO much for all the input!

Here's what I'm thinking - I think I might ditch the "weekend survival" thing since it's rather vague, unless we can think of a more specific way to define it...

For CARDIO, I was thinking of requiring 20 minutes (more is great, of course!). And defining it as something that gets your HEARTRATE going. Something that is routine or that you don't have to really exert yourself shouldn't count - you should try to PUSH yourself beyond what is comfortable, and go above and beyond to really push your body. Is a rough definition like this okay, or should I try to find a more technical definition or try to put together a list of examples?

For STRENGTH, I don't think there should be a time requirement, but that makes defining it a little trickier - any suggestions? Things like weight training and resistance training should count, and probably things like pilates could too, but I don't know the technical details of things like that.... so could anyone help with how to "define" strength training? Something that involves MUSCLES...

The idea of the OUTDOOR thing is to have one of your regular exercise sessions (cardio or strength) be outdoors (it doesn't have to be an extra one, though of course it could). I'd say things like gardening would count for both outdoor exercise and cardio - assuming of course that it is INTENSE activity and not just a relaxing activity. :)

I am really hoping people will be able to be honest with themselves enough to figure out when a "non-typical exercise" activity could really count as a workout, and when it's just extra "activity" for the week - is this putting too much faith in people? :)

Also, I'm thinking the weather issue might be okay since it's just a bonus... and even here in chilly New England where there's snow on the ground, some of the days have been nice enough that you could at least go for a nice brisk walk around outside. And as the challenge progresses into May, there should be a decent enough amount of good weather everywhere, I'd think. And even if there's crappy weather one day, it's not often crappy for a whole week right? I feel like this could be doable, but what do you all think? I don't want it to be unreasonable!

Would it be easier to just ditch the Outdoor bonus and just *encourage* everyone to get outside when they can?

As far as the food, I'm thinking Beachy Day = ALL food is "on plan" according to the Phase you are in. Almost Beachy Day = food is all "on plan" with the exception of one off-plan "treat" item (e.g. a brownie - NOT a pan of brownies!). Anything more than one "treat/cheat" item and it's neither, for the purposes of the challenge.

I remember reading something in one of your challenges pookiebear that you added up total team points and divided by the number of people on the team, which seems like a good way to deal with slightly uneven teams. Now my question about this - what do you do when people start disappearing? Do you could their points as ZERO and average that zero in with the team scores? Or do you only find the average of the remaining people? I almost feel like averaging in the zero would be more incentive for people to stick around, so they're not dragging the team score down.

Also, this isn't a time of year when too many people are sick, but it's always possible, as are injuries. How do you think we could work this into the scoring so that people aren't PUNISHED for being sick/injured (but so that people are slacking around either)?

As far as what the winners get... I hadn't really thought about it. Not sure what options there are other than bragging rights... so any suggestions?? :)

pookiebear · Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:02 am

Quote: Here's what I'm thinking - I think I might ditch the "weekend survival" thing since it's rather vague, unless we can think of a more specific way to define it...

Sounds good unless you have a good definition.

Quote: For CARDIO, I was thinking of requiring 20 minutes (more is great, of course!). And defining it as something that gets your HEARTRATE going. Something that is routine or that you don't have to really exert yourself shouldn't count - you should try to PUSH yourself beyond what is comfortable, and go above and beyond to really push your body. Is a rough definition like this okay, or should I try to find a more technical definition or try to put together a list of examples?

Also sounds good. I don't think you have to be specific. As long as you say, "For at least 20 min. and something that gets your HR going." is good enough, IMHO.

Quote: For STRENGTH, I don't think there should be a time requirement, but that makes defining it a little trickier - any suggestions? Things like weight training and resistance training should count, and probably things like pilates could too, but I don't know the technical details of things like that.... so could anyone help with how to "define" strength training? Something that involves MUSCLES...

Strength training: Resistance training exercise usually involving weights or some other form of resistance designed toward improving an individual's strength. Activities specifically designed to build muscle and increase strength. I would be specific on this. It just depends what you want to count. Pilates is improving your strength, but not necessarily building your muscles like weight training. So, that one is up to you. In the extreme challenge, we had weight training and Pilates/Yoga/Stretching in different categories. But again, whatever you would prefer.

Quote: I am really hoping people will be able to be honest with themselves enough to figure out when a "non-typical exercise" activity could really count as a workout, and when it's just extra "activity" for the week - is this putting too much faith in people? :)

hehe Well, it depends... you saw what people wanted to count in previous challenges (sex, grocery shopping, etc.). That's why it's good to be as specific as possible. ;) Especially because it sounds like there IS a line to you. If you don't want people to count "a, b, or c" as exercise, it's better to say it than assume. Common sense isn't common. And I don't mean that as a bad thing at all. Some people come from the background of, "Well, I burn calories during sex." And that's not "wrong". It's just all a matter of what you'd like to count for this challenge. :)

Quote: As far as the food, I'm thinking Beachy Day = ALL food is "on plan" according to the Phase you are in. Almost Beachy Day = food is all "on plan" with the exception of one off-plan "treat" item (e.g. a brownie - NOT a pan of brownies!). Anything more than one "treat/cheat" item and it's neither, for the purposes of the challenge.

Good. Love it!

Quote: I remember reading something in one of your challenges pookiebear that you added up total team points and divided by the number of people on the team, which seems like a good way to deal with slightly uneven teams. Now my question about this - what do you do when people start disappearing? Do you could their points as ZERO and average that zero in with the team scores? Or do you only find the average of the remaining people? I almost feel like averaging in the zero would be more incentive for people to stick around, so they're not dragging the team score down.

I score on a week by week basis. If some one is here for week 1, but leave after that? Their points have already been calculated in that week's points. Trust me, you do NOT want to have to go through and REcalculate every week's points. If they post points? I count it. If they drop out? I just don't count them anymore. And, you won't only have YOUR team changing with dropouts... but you'll also have 2 OTHER teams to think about as well. You don't want to change all those weeks for 3 teams. :) So, I would suggest doing that - an average of the people who posted their points that week and then come up with final points for that week per team. Keep each week's score so you can add onto the scores each week.

Quote: Also, this isn't a time of year when too many people are sick, but it's always possible, as are injuries. How do you think we could work this into the scoring so that people aren't PUNISHED for being sick/injured (but so that people are slacking around either)?

Good question. I did that on a situational basis. If someone had really bad TOM cramps... and couldn't exercise that day, but wanted to - I would give them 1/2 the exercise points. Things like that. If someone hurts their arm... and they couldn't do strength training, I would say, "Well, for this week, can you just do more cardio sessions to make up for the strength training sessions you missed?" and I would give them points for that. You can also consult your team captains if you want throughout the challenge for situations that might arise.

Redrabbit · Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:34 am

Sounds like this challenge is really coming together. Count me in I really need the motivator on exercise.

I agree with pookiebear about telling what activities you will NOT count.

DarkChocolate · Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:14 am

Hey everyone!

I officially posted a Challenge thread here: http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=75455

I expect all of you to sign up! :)

Also, I said something in there about needing to stick to the full 5 weeks, but if any of you who have helped develop this challenge want to participate, but are going on vacation or whatnot for part of it, absolutely feel free to sign up anyway!!

Thanks EVERYONE for all the suggestions that went into designing this Challenge! We'll just have to figure out how we want to do team captains and things.

I'm looking forward to this!

DarkChocolate · Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:29 am

Okay, a TEAM CAPTAINS question -

Ideally I think having 3 teams would be great. I'll plan on captaining one, so we need at least two other official captains. And the teams could each have 2 co-captains or whatever if you want. The important thing, of course, is that each team have AT LEAST one dedicated captain. :)

The main role of the Captain would be tallying the team's points each week - I plan to make up an Excel spreadsheet to assist with this, so the main task will be entering the numbers, the spreadsheet should do a lot of the calculating. Also, if members of your team aren't reporting in, it might be nice for the Captain to send them a PM or try to "hunt them down" in their journals, etc. to check up on them.

And I think it'd be nice to have a "Team Chat" thread for each time, like they're doing with the Extreme Challenge - so it'd be great if the team captain played a sort of "leader" role in that thread - providing encouragement and whatnot.

So - otter70, meemoo, mariesha416, and luvmycritters all expressed an interest in helping out - do you guys maybe want to do shared captaining, like otter70 and meemoo do one team and mariesha416 and luvmycritters do the other? You don't HAVE to captain, I certainly don't want anyone to get stuck with extra responsibility they don't want! So let me know what you guys want to do and we'll get it figured out in the next couple days!!

meemoo · Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:41 pm

I would be honored to co-captain with Otter! (If she'll have me! :wink:) She has been amazing in the Extreme Challenge!

DarkChocolate · Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:46 pm

meemoo - Awesome! So one team is set (well two, as I'm doing one as well).

Also - just checked the forum and couldn't figure out where the Spring Challenge thread had gone - then realized it'd gotten officially STICKIED! Woohoo! (Thanks pookiebear!) :)

luvmycritters · Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:11 pm

Geez, take a night off from the computer and now I'm a team captain?!? :wink: I'd love to do it. I need the motivation and accountability of being a team captain!

You've done a great job. I haven't read the official challenge thread so I'm heading over to do that. I did want to comment on the "chores" that will count though. I agree that stuff like major housework, gardening, mowing the lawn should count if it's not in your normal routine. It's hard to define because everyone is at a different fitness level. Maybe they need to justify it to the team captains or in their journal?

Mowing with a push mower is a definite yes.
Gardening - tilling, raking, moving dirt, cleaning beds all yes.
Housework would need to be major spring cleaning stuff, nothing you do on a weekly basis.
Sex - I don't think we want people explaining why it qualifies because it was more strenuous than normal so no. LOL P
Playing with kids OUTSIDE or at a gym, yes if you play hard and get your heart rate up

Basically I think the chores should count IF it's strenuous for you, is something you do less than once a week and takes longer than 1/2 hour.

Thanks for doing this! I was hoping to join a challenge!

Lora

pookiebear · Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:59 pm

luvmycritters wrote: Sex - I don't think we want people explaining why it qualifies because it was more strenuous than normal so no.

And, um, not everyone has a sex partner. ;)

DarkChocolate · Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:04 pm

luvmycritters wrote: Geez, take a night off from the computer and now I'm a team captain?!? :wink: I'd love to do it. I need the motivation and accountability of being a team captain!
Yay! So we've got our official three teams then - mine, otter70/meemoo's, and luvmycritters's - and if someone wants to help out with luvmycritters's team just in case she ever needs an extra hand, that'd be great!

luvmycritters wrote: I did want to comment on the "chores" that will count though. I agree that stuff like major housework, gardening, mowing the lawn should count if it's not in your normal routine. It's hard to define because everyone is at a different fitness level. Maybe they need to justify it to the team captains or in their journal?

Mowing with a push mower is a definite yes.
Gardening - tilling, raking, moving dirt, cleaning beds all yes.
Housework would need to be major spring cleaning stuff, nothing you do on a weekly basis.
Sex - I don't think we want people explaining why it qualifies because it was more strenuous than normal so no. LOL P
Playing with kids OUTSIDE or at a gym, yes if you play hard and get your heart rate up

Basically I think the chores should count IF it's strenuous for you, is something you do less than once a week and takes longer than 1/2 hour.
I think your thoughts on this are just like mine, and I like the way you've explained it - check out what I have written in the Challenge thread and let me know if there's anything you think I should add/adjust to it about this (or anything else!). I especially like the idea of having to justify the activities to your team Captain... I think I might go add in that part now.

Also, otter70 - any additions/adjustments you can think of for the Challenge thread explanations? Thanks!!

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