Yesterday, I took my spin class. Monday’s class is still my favorite. I’m still rather hung up on the Virgin HealthMiles pedometer that I am wearing to earn real money through Stephen’s work.
According to the Virgin HealthMiles website, the following activity is recommended:
“But how much activity do you need?
- 30 minutes of moderate physical activity or 15 minutes of vigorous activity 5 days a week (or any combination of those) is considered enough activity to reap these health benefits.
- Measured in steps, taking over 7,000 steps a day, 5 days a week is considered the right amount of regular, moderate physical activity.
- 15 minutes of Active Minutes, or vigorous activity, 5 days a week will also get the job done. “
Unfortunately, if you achieve the above, you don’t come anywhere close to earning the maximum amount for the pedometer use. In my case, we are talking about $300. The whole project really bugs me since the numbers to achieve the different levels don’t add up. But, here I am still playing along.
My goal yesterday was to see if I could max out the miles available for the day. For me, that meant that I needed to log into the site (10 healthmiles), enter two activities (20 healthmiles) and complete 45 active minutes or 20,000 steps (100 healthmiles).
So, at my spinning class, I ignored the instructor and used the motivation from the class and music to spin. I kept spinning at a good clip the entire class. I only slowed down to stand a couple of times to stand and give me a break from sitting on the bike seat. I looked at the pedometer a few times and new that I was on track. During the hour long class, I was able to accumulate 45 active minutes. It did take me a couple extra minutes during the cool down.
On one hand, this is a great accomplishment. I maxed out with 130 HealthMiles yesterday. On the other hand, I didn’t do any interval training and rode at a constant pace. It would be unhealthy for this to become my daily workout for the rest of the year. And, I’m pretty sure that’s about what I would need to do to end up with the 36,000 HealthMiles to earn the $300.
It’s really not about the actual money. It’s about a plan that should be motivating, but is actually demotivating on several levels. For now, I am experimenting and trying to get additional feedback from other participants and from Virgin HealthMiles. Maybe at some point, I’ll figure out that I am missing something.