Baseline

Baseline:

a. A line serving as a basis, as for measurement, calculation, or location.

b. Something, such as a set of data, used as a basis for comparison or as a control in a study.

c. A starting point.

(Source: www.thefreedictionary.com) 

Before updating you on my journey to take 10,000 steps a day, it is worth exploring my baseline. We all need to start somewhere, so here is where I am starting from.

Although I have always considered myself an athlete, that description has taken a backseat to husband, father, and even employee in the last five years.  As I was promoted at work, got married, and became a dad, my activity level decreased from 2-3 nights per week, to 1 night a week, and sometimes none. Even having a gym on site at work has not been enough of a motivating factor to keep me moving. That said, I still manage to play ultimate frisbee and run at a pretty decent level given my athletic background. That background consists of doing distance running from the age of 13 to 27, and then discovering ultimate frisbee and falling in love with that sport. Over the last 10 years, my love affair with ultimate has evolved into a stable long-term relationship, that has its shares of ups and downs. For those ultimate friends that end up reading this post, it's safe to say I'm more of a weekend warrior at this point, as my competitive days are fading into the distance in my rearview mirror.

I started the 10,000 step challenge last Saturday weighing in at 162 pounds on my 6 foot, 1 inch frame. Some might consider that skinny, but the nurses who did assessments at work last year told me I was slightly heavier than I should be given my tiny bone structure. Since I decided against playing ultimate frisbee this spring, I have been hauling myself to the gym and trying to walk more in order too get in my 10,000 steps the last three days. The result has been very achy legs at night and a whole lot of sweating when running & working out at the gym. 

Trying to calculate my baseline number of steps is challenging. I figure every day when I work from the office , I take about 5,000 steps. When I work from home, or kick around home on the weekend, that number falls to about 1,500 steps. Clearly, there is a big gap between those baseline numbers and where I want to end each day. I have been thinking of ways to fill that gap in a natural way, so that I do not have to make the trip to the gym each day, or go for long runs/walks on the weekend.

I have been using a very basic pedometer since February after sending away two proofs of purchase from boxes of Vector. Seriously, my main tool for completing this challenge came from cereal boxes. My highest step count for a day was over 15,000 when I made the mistake of covering one of Canada's best Masters age ultimate frisbee players in a league game. Although I like to challenge myself and my team needed me to step up that night, I had a hard time getting around the next day.

In summary, I am a 37 year-old, 162 pound, desk jockey who has been struggling to keep active as my priorities shift in life. With my best athletic days behind me, I am looking to keep active in order to stay healthy and happy.  

Keep moving friends!