How about a Challenge?

[James Newman]

There are lots of challenges going on here at JPF. I thought I would see if any of you folks who aren't currently participating in one would like to.

What kind of challenge might you be interested in? I would even be willing to put up some prizes, I just don't know what they'll be yet.

I was thinking of something along the lines of fat loss%, compliance/adherence, gains in lifts%, etc. Let me know what you think....

I never participated in the MH 52 Day Challenge, but remember it looking pretty interesting...but my memory is pretty vauge at this point....

Newman

[RacerBill]

Oooh, prizes! I'd love to win a Caribbean cruise!

Seriously, though, a challenge of some sort sounds fun. Compliance/Adherence seems to fit the group here, but what happens if everyone, or several, achieve 100%? Perhaps some other tie-breaker? I'm not trying to criticize, I'm just tossing around ideas; maybe my lack of imagination will inspire someone to suggest something really cool.

[James Newman]

Well, I plan on providing something to everyone who participates. Honestly, I am not good at this sort of thing but I wanted to get some feedback and get something started by 1 June.

Newman

[GG300]

I have participated in the last several runners challenges and knowing you need to meet a set goal has seemed to help alot of folks get in their miles. I am currently refocusing on weight/fat loss and would love to join in on something of that nature.

[SpacecityPaula]

I'd be up for a challenge.

[Leigh P.]

I always love challanges and think they are great motivators. I am in for offering up some prizes for whatever is decided.

[James Newman]

Thanks Leigh! You are Rowdy Awesome.

[rgv]

compliance would be great for this forum but you would have to find a good way to judge what is meant by compliant as well as a way to log it.

[Ogedei]

Agreed, compliance is a good way to do things. The 52dc is really all about goals and compliance. I know they helped me a tonne back in the day. Allowed me to focus and have a very measurable goal.

As for prizes. Really I don't think these sorts of challenges are really about prizes, they are about pride and doing something good for yourself.

Just my 2 cents.

Og.

[gregl515]

Compliance would be something that would encourage me!

[gregl515]

Originally Posted by Ogedei

Agreed, compliance is a good way to do things. The 52dc is really all about goals and compliance. I know they helped me a tonne back in the day. Allowed me to focus and have a very measurable goal.

As for prizes. Really I don't think these sorts of challenges are really about prizes, they are about pride and doing something good for yourself.

Just my 2 cents.

Og.

I agree that prizes aren't necessary. The prize is the reward you get from meeting your goals!

[James Newman]

You're right, prizes aren't necessary, but they can be fun. I am typing this on my pda so bear with me.

Summer is most notably baseball season. Regardless of what teams you cheer for a notable moment in baseball history occurred in 1961 when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle competed to break Babe Ruth's record of 60 Home Runs. Maris succeeded with 61. The goal was known as 61 in '61. In essence what Maris and Mantle were trying to achieve was a PR (Personal Record). The competition between Maris and Mantle was one of friendship. A large amount of comraderie is referenced in history books between the two. They even became known as the M&M boys. Also interesting to consider is that Mantle was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first time of eligibility. To this day, Maris has not been inducted.

Whether publicly recognized or not records should be achieved for yourself.

I submit to you the Challenge: 61 Days from June 1 to Aug 1.

Determined and others at the MH forum created what was known as the 52 day challenge. Participants were encouraged by Quotes of the Day, frequent check ins on progress, and a strong spirit of accountability, teamwork, and accomplishment. Everyone does their best to not only achieve their goals but spur the others on toward theirs. I would like to pay homage to those who created a great program by reproducing it in part here with credit given to them, of course, for the idea.

To that end, I have asked Kyle to gather and present the rules, etc for the 52 day challenge. I would like to expand it to 61 days and encourage increased participation with a 3 strike philosophy. please review the material and make suggestions for how we might better improve the challenge.

All participants who last at least 33 days [61%] will receive a JPF shirt.

In the original 52DC only a handfull completed the challenge. We can do better! Lets make this happen and have fun.

Thank you to Determined and others for creating a great template for us to model.

Newman

[SpacecityPaula]

OOOH goodie!!! this will end right after my birthday (the big 4-0) so I will give success at the challenge as a gift to myself.

[James Newman]

Paula... I am glad you are intrested. The great thing about the Challenge is that everyone succeeds who tries.

Newman

[Sign]

Ok, so James has brought up the general format and covered the motivation aspect. Time to start discussing specifics. I am going to present the rules of the 52DC that we are looking to borrow and modify. These are not absolutes and are very much open to input and discussion. This is our challenge, we should fit it to our needs so if you any ideas please share them.

For those of you that frequent or used to frequent the mens health board you are most likely familiar with the challenge. The way it works is every person sets their own goals when they signup and simply works to reach their own goals. This isn't a "Biggest Loser" style competition where there is only one criteria (ie. weight loss) because overall those style competitions aren't really fair unless every person starts off at the same point and we all know that that isn't the case. Some of us have a lot of fat to lose, while others are nearing their goal, or even looking to add muscle. I would also like to add that this isn't just for people that are "Living Large" I want this to be open to anyone at JPs regardless of goals, the more people participating the greater the competition.

In the 52DC at the end of the time they rank people based on how close they came to their goals and award medals, ie anyone over 95% success gets a gold etc. That is a good system and I would like to continue it however I also want to have a hard number ranking, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and a few people have mentioned putting up prizes. Of course everyone who participates and works hard to reach their goals is a winner for putting the effort but for those of us that are highly competitive I think a ranking system will provide that extra motivation to stay true to the goals. The beauty of this setup is if you don't care about being first you can still participate and strive to hit your own personal goals.

Also there will be check-ins, most likely weekly but we can make them 2x a week or something else if people think it would be better. At the check-ins you have to list your progress towards your goals. Someone will be designated to keep track of all progress and we can give weekly standings if people want them. Also regarding the check-ins, if they are weekly for example we will have them every Monday. There will be a 1-1.5 day check-in window, meaning that if check-in is monday you have till Tuesday at noon to post your progress. If you fail to check-in you are given 1 strike, just like baseball, 3 strikes and you are out. This means you are no longer qualified to win a prize or be ranked. However this does not mean you cannot continue to post your stats and have them tracked. I will continue to track your progress and will still provide your final results at the end of the challenge.

Goals: This is where I feel we could use input from everyone. The 52DC used the format of Clean Eating days, number of workouts, number of cardio sessions, and a personal goal. These are good goals to set but I think other then the clean eating and workouts others should be optional. However I think we should set a hard number of goals per person (ex. each person has to make 5 goals). In regards to the clean eating they have it setup in 1/2 day blocks, that way if you mess up for 1 meal that doesn't negate your entire day. I am sure everyone knows the feeling of, "Well, I messed up, in for a penny in for a pound." I would like to avoid that at all costs. some other possible goals are weight loss, fat loss, BF% change. If you have other ideas please share them. We will also need to come up with some form of scoring system, possibly some form of weighted percentages. (ie. .5 point for every pound lost, 1 point for lb of fat lost etc.)

So these are the general format and rules of the competition, like I said it is all open to discussion but please discuss now, we want this underway by June 1st so we need to get the details finalized and set up by then.

Also if you are willing to help setup and run the competition all help is appreciated

[Ogedei]

Originally Posted by James Newman

Paula... I am glad you are intrested. The great thing about the Challenge is that everyone succeeds who tries.

Newman

This is very true, back in the day the 52DC were a huge part of my success.

Og.

[SpacecityPaula]

hmmmm while the idea of points for pounds is interesting. It doesn't account for the person whose goal may be to gain or the person (like me) who is losing inches/cm but isn't losing a lot of weight. Just a thought