A couple months ago I blogged about getting my new Fitbit at Christmastime and how much it’s really changed my whole outlook on fitness. I don’t want to go as far as saying it’s changed my life, because that’s a little dramatic, but it’s definitely changed my fitness level. I consistently hit the gym five days a week now to meet that daily step goal of 10,000. I LOVE getting that “Nailed It!” notification on my cell phone from Fitbit. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment each day.
I’ve seen the little Fitbit challenge group section on the iPhone app but I’ve been uninterested in challenging people. I guess I just didn’t think it sounded like my thing, I’m not that competitive. At least I thought I wasn’t.
But then I got invited to not one but two challenge groups last week called the “Work Week Hustle,” which is a Monday-Friday step competition. Naively I thought I had these in the bag. I figured; I work out daily. I do SPRINTS on the treadmill. I’ve got this!
I was so freaking wrong. God, I was wrong.
You will do nothing else but stare at your Challenge Group stats ALL DAY EVERY DAY
I feel like I have a job to do here; to warn the virgin Fitbit challenge groupers to think before they click that little “Join” button. It will take over your life, oh yes, it will.
First, you can vet your fellow challengers but people will surprise you. Never underestimate someone else’s competitiveness no matter what their fitness level is. This was my first mistake.
Day one last week I joined a group with only one other person – a swim mom friend. Our kids swim together and we chit chat a couple times a week during class. She had low steps when she invited me to a group. I already had 15,000 that day – a bit more than my daily average. I ended the day with 23,000 steps which was hella cray cray for me but it was a nice day so I added a big walk around the neighborhood on top of my gym session earlier in the day. You know what? Girlfriend with 4,000 steps at 2pm BEAT MY STEPS that day! #WHATTHEFUCKKKKKK?
This week I vouched to not join another group with her. I told her no when she asked me. Then I got invited to two other groups and it was kind of fun so I relented and re-joined a group with swim mom. Well, the stakes are higher this week. She slammed me with 12,000 steps in THREE HOURS after the group invitation!!! To put that into perspective, I typically average about 11,000 steps in an entire day! OMG!
I’m in another challenge group with women I don’t know but are in this big mom’s group I’m in. There’s like eight ladies but I only have one competition, the lady at the top of the leaderboard with 25,000 steps a day. YA FREAKING RIGHT. No one has that many steps a day. She’s sitting on the couch swinging her arm with that Fitbit arm band. I just know it. My Fitbit One clips into my bra so it doesn’t count anything but legitimate steps, thank you very much.
There’s two kinds of groups: The supportive one where we cheer each other on and jokingly taunt each other in a humorous way. And then there’s the group where your challengers are out for your blood. I’m in one fun and supportive, yet competitive group. And then there’s swim mom — she’s out for my blood. It feels personal.
I’ve discovered that I can be super freaking competitive when I want to be. And right now, I want to win these groups. I’m totally doing things way outside of the normal scope of my day.
While visiting my mom for the week, we’ve MALL WALKED two days in a row. Yes, that’s laps around the mall. Then I come home and run 30 minutes on the treadmill. THEN I go on another walk. AND THEN I do laps around the pool table while watching Dancing with the Stars when I see someone creepin’ on me on the leaderboard.
In fact, taking the time to sit and write this blog post is killing me because I know that haters be hatin’ on my step count and they’re gaining on me.
Like I said; these challenge groups are going to kill me. It’s taking over my life. I’m driving my mom crazy. She can’t wait for me to leave.
I won’t mind losing to my fun group, but I will mind losing to swim mom. She has 25,000 steps today. Last night I told her I was going to have her committed if she hit me with 12,000 steps in a couple hours every night, and then she hit me with 15,000 steps tonight in two hours. That bitch is CRAY.
Good thing she doesn’t read my blog and we’re not Facebook friends yet.
This level of activity is certainly not sustainable for the long term. I mean, there’s getting steps the legitimate way, like going for a walk, working out at the gym, etc. And then there’s doing circles around your kitchen. This is sort of defeating the purpose of FITNESS because we’re not getting our heart rate up circling the pool table while drinking beer. That’s what I did last night so I know.
After this week I’m taking next week off. I’ll be on vacation and I won’t be dorking out over 25,000 steps. I’ll be lucky to get 5,000 steps a day and I’m ok with that.
But not going to lie; I’ll be itching to check a leaderboard to see where I fall in the lineup each day. Challenge Groups are stressful and addicting. I hate them and love them. They’ve taken over my life. I’m never doing one again. Until next week, on vacation.
Hahah! Listen Bobby Brown, you better suck it up and step up next to swim mom! So gals we are the young and fun group you talk about! But after vacay, it’s on like donkey kong in the step game! #letsdothis
Hahah! Listen Bobby Brown, you better suck it up and step up next to swim mom! So glad we are the young and fun group you talk about! But after vacay, it’s on like donkey kong in the step game! #letsdothis
As someone coming home from the gym at 11pm this is HILARIOUS!!! I love this blog. Thank you!! Every bit is 1000% true
This fitbit challenge is awesome. I think everyone should take this challenge because it is really good for health and our fitness too.
So true! I just completed my first challenge and came in second place to someone who normally averages under 10,000 and was hitting minimums of 20,000 throughout the challenge. Plus, it looked like she was purposely syncing late so that the rest of us would relax thinking that we had a comfortable cushion of a lead. So wrong, she beat me by about 8,000 steps once she synced up at the end.
Oh that’s so annoying! I’m in a challenge group now with just one person and she doesn’t sync until 8pm!!!! And then she’s like 2k steps ahead of me and it’s not like I can do anything about it that late at night! These people gotta play fair!
OMG, I can so relate to this. I spent an hour and a half pacing around my living room last night so I could take down some girl I don’t even know…. Even though I was nauseous and well aware that my two kiddos would be waking me up all night for nursing and comfort. I can’t help myself; I’m addicted. Beating challenge people I don’t even know has become the primary focus of my life. I need help.
Hilarious Sunshine! And so true! Fitbit challenge groups were what I lived for for one solid week of my life and I have never been able to commit to being in a super competitive one again. It was too much. I had 150,000 steps in FIVE days! I was manic! I’ve been in non competitve groups since but they haven’t awaken the beast in me yet. There was a girl I did not know killing it this week in a group in which I didn’t know a single person. She ended the week with 130k steps and I was all; that’s weak. Bwahahaha!
When I first started the challenge I was seeing people numbers and was like heck to the no way in HECK they are getting all of these steps until I wanted to see if it could be done!! So I went to the gym and got on the treadmill ran and walked on a incline for 1:30 the distance totaled 4 miles and by the time I was done I was at 10k and something steps and that was by 8:00 am I was so hype I continued to do it that entire week I won the work week hustle ended with 115k but it consumed my whole damn week!!! So let’s just say that will be my only time I will win it lol it takes to much to do!!!!
Haha, so true! I’ve done a handful of challenge groups in the last year and when I do get into the super competitive groups it totally takes over my life! My laundry baskets pile up, my bed doesn’t get made, and I’m losing my mind over someone not syncing in like 5 hours, lol!! I can’t do these groups very often because they take over my life!
Yes! I’m in work week hustle with non syncers and its so annoying. I just woke up from a 3 hour nap and I am ahead 9,000 steps ahead of the chic in second place that last synced 6 hours ago! Guess I’ll get up and make sure she has a well kicked ass!
Haha, you gotta go whoop some ass, Trina! It’s Friday night, you’re on the home stretch!
I totally laughed out loud at this blog post. I relate completely. I’m addicted to this challenge. I pretend it’s not that important and that I don’t take it too seriously but…I have to win. I tried to not ‘compete’ one week but it just wasn’t fun…
I hear all of you. I am over 50 and I love the challenge but I am not invited back to a challenge when I win. Am I that intimidating? If any of you want a challenge invite me please.
I love the workweek hustle.
Hilarious! I am in a group competition at this moment. And I just don’t care and act as if there is no challenge at all. Check this tutorial out of you want to own all of your detailed data:
http://shishu.info/2016/06/how-to-download-your-fitbit-second-level-data-without-coding/
I laughed so hard! This is totally me!!
This is hilarious, well, because it’s true. I have taking the step challenge, but only participate in one workweek hustle. This group is quite challenging. You can tell that my enemies, I mean opponents, do schedule the workweek (all of us have corporate jobs) with blocking time to walk. People wake up sometimes unusually early to get a few thousand extra steps. Likewise, they also step after work hours. I remember one time, I was in second place with about 6k steps separating us. I added 12K steps during the last third of day 5, but the guy in fourth place logged in 41k the last day. I remember thinking to myself “WTF!” That’s crazy dedication. He must have taken a half-day or something.
Ha! 41,000 steps is CRAY!! I’ve hit like 31-32,000 on my most insanely craziest physcho day, but I can’t imagine what it would take to get to 41k, maybe a half marathon!!! Challenge groups are exciting, addicting, and totally annoying, lol!
I just found this post and it is HILARIOUS! I am currently in a FitBit challenge at work so I know the struggle. I kill myself at the gym trying to get 35,000 steps a day (which is the bare minimum for my group). FitBit challenges are making me crazy but at least I am slimming down! I am going to share this post with my readers. So relatable.
Omg Taylor, 35,000 steps a day is the MINIMUM for your group? That’s psychotic, holy crap! I would literally be dead by Wednesday of the workweek hustle, lol! My best is like 31k! You go girl, but dang, give yourself a break after this one!! Kuddos for the slim down though! 🙂