April Fools' Fitness Challenge
Welcome to the April Fools' Fitness Challenge!
Interested in pushing yourself to your physical limits? Interested in getting in shape? Interested in winning a badass watch?
If so, you are in the right place. April 1st, 2019 will be the moment you begin to compete against all eligible contestants for the entire month. The intent of this challenge is for you to get in shape, compete against your friends and win a brand new Garmin sport watch. I wanted to create a challenge that rewards effort. Meaning that the participant in the best shape does not have a significant advantage over the participant that doesn't have as good of conditioning. So the harder you work and the more time you spend in an activity, the more likely you are to do well.
In order to achieve a baseline tracker, I have decided to use the MyZone MZ-3 Heart rate monitor and associated app. It tracks your activity and time in the Heart Rate Zones(1-5) and rewards you a point value(MEPS-MyZone Effort Points) for time spent in each zone. The more time spent at a higher heart rate, the more points you get. The person with the most MEPS, wins.
Any activity counts! So long as you are getting your heart pumping and are working hard, your effort counts. That means all activities you do, give you points(you must be wearing the monitor). If its hiking, skiing, kickboxing or yoga, it doesn't matter. The only activity excluded is swimming, the monitor is not waterproof. So whatever your activity shtick is, do it and do more of it!
What you need to do:
1. Get a MyZone MZ-3 heart rate monitor. I ordered mine here. You can get it off Amazon but the supplied link and site are significantly cheaper at $100. The MZ-3 will work with Bluetooth to your phone and any associated fitness trackers(watches) that accept Bluetooth capability. The MZ-3 is all you need equipment wise on this challenge. It stores the activity internally and then uploads the data to the app on your phone the next time you connect. If you want track your activities in parallel using another means, so be it but it is not required for this contest. Additionally, when the contest is over you will still have an activity tracker that you can use to maintain your fitness.
2. Register on MyZone and download the app. The app is where we will set up the challenge and track the MEPS. I am posting this blog early so you have plenty of time to buy the monitor and download the app. Hopefully you are set up early enough to get a couple of activities in prior to the competition and understand how the system works. Please note that you cannot register with MyZone until you have the MZ-3.
3. Pay your entry fee. The cost for this contest will be $25 per participant. My hope is that we have enough participants to cover the cost of the watch. If not the participant with the lowest amount of MEPS will pay the difference! It pays to not be last place!! If we have more than enough to cover the watch, the excess will go to the participant that comes in 2nd place. Late entries will be accepted but any points accrued prior to paying your fee will not count. So if you don't pay your fee until April 5th, that's fine but any points gained on the previous 4 days are void. Please make your payments via paypal or venmo. mattboy70@hotmail.com for paypal and venmo @mattboy70. Please no cash or checks.
***Cheating*** If you are caught cheating you are dropped from the competition with no refund. Examples of cheating would be having another individual wear your monitor to gain more points or falsify your profile age to give you a more favorable heart rate zone. I will retain my discretion on how to judge a potential cheater. Just be honest,do honest output and you are fine.
Side bets are encouraged! Examples would be that Alice bets Gerry $20 that she will get more MEPS than he does at the end of the month. Its just another way to add to the fun and keep it competitive. Let me know if you want to run a side bet and I will post it on the blog so it is official and and we can track the smack talk!
Hopefully you are engaging this competition for its intended purpose, to get in shape and possibly the best shape of your life. Side benefits are that you get bragging rights and maybe a really really nice watch. If at midnight on April 30, you didn't win but are 5lbs lighter or 30 seconds faster on your mile time, I hope you view that as a win. My hope is that with a significant prize, potentially costly fines and a competitive environment, you will be giving it your all.
That is all I have for now. I am sure there are tons of questions I didn't answer so please let me know or respond to the blog. I will make posts with those questions and answers so we can all learn.
Welcome to the AFFC and good luck to all!!
Matt
Interested in pushing yourself to your physical limits? Interested in getting in shape? Interested in winning a badass watch?
If so, you are in the right place. April 1st, 2019 will be the moment you begin to compete against all eligible contestants for the entire month. The intent of this challenge is for you to get in shape, compete against your friends and win a brand new Garmin sport watch. I wanted to create a challenge that rewards effort. Meaning that the participant in the best shape does not have a significant advantage over the participant that doesn't have as good of conditioning. So the harder you work and the more time you spend in an activity, the more likely you are to do well.
In order to achieve a baseline tracker, I have decided to use the MyZone MZ-3 Heart rate monitor and associated app. It tracks your activity and time in the Heart Rate Zones(1-5) and rewards you a point value(MEPS-MyZone Effort Points) for time spent in each zone. The more time spent at a higher heart rate, the more points you get. The person with the most MEPS, wins.
Any activity counts! So long as you are getting your heart pumping and are working hard, your effort counts. That means all activities you do, give you points(you must be wearing the monitor). If its hiking, skiing, kickboxing or yoga, it doesn't matter. The only activity excluded is swimming, the monitor is not waterproof. So whatever your activity shtick is, do it and do more of it!
What you need to do:
1. Get a MyZone MZ-3 heart rate monitor. I ordered mine here. You can get it off Amazon but the supplied link and site are significantly cheaper at $100. The MZ-3 will work with Bluetooth to your phone and any associated fitness trackers(watches) that accept Bluetooth capability. The MZ-3 is all you need equipment wise on this challenge. It stores the activity internally and then uploads the data to the app on your phone the next time you connect. If you want track your activities in parallel using another means, so be it but it is not required for this contest. Additionally, when the contest is over you will still have an activity tracker that you can use to maintain your fitness.
2. Register on MyZone and download the app. The app is where we will set up the challenge and track the MEPS. I am posting this blog early so you have plenty of time to buy the monitor and download the app. Hopefully you are set up early enough to get a couple of activities in prior to the competition and understand how the system works. Please note that you cannot register with MyZone until you have the MZ-3.
3. Pay your entry fee. The cost for this contest will be $25 per participant. My hope is that we have enough participants to cover the cost of the watch. If not the participant with the lowest amount of MEPS will pay the difference! It pays to not be last place!! If we have more than enough to cover the watch, the excess will go to the participant that comes in 2nd place. Late entries will be accepted but any points accrued prior to paying your fee will not count. So if you don't pay your fee until April 5th, that's fine but any points gained on the previous 4 days are void. Please make your payments via paypal or venmo. mattboy70@hotmail.com for paypal and venmo @mattboy70. Please no cash or checks.
***Cheating*** If you are caught cheating you are dropped from the competition with no refund. Examples of cheating would be having another individual wear your monitor to gain more points or falsify your profile age to give you a more favorable heart rate zone. I will retain my discretion on how to judge a potential cheater. Just be honest,do honest output and you are fine.
Side bets are encouraged! Examples would be that Alice bets Gerry $20 that she will get more MEPS than he does at the end of the month. Its just another way to add to the fun and keep it competitive. Let me know if you want to run a side bet and I will post it on the blog so it is official and and we can track the smack talk!
Hopefully you are engaging this competition for its intended purpose, to get in shape and possibly the best shape of your life. Side benefits are that you get bragging rights and maybe a really really nice watch. If at midnight on April 30, you didn't win but are 5lbs lighter or 30 seconds faster on your mile time, I hope you view that as a win. My hope is that with a significant prize, potentially costly fines and a competitive environment, you will be giving it your all.
That is all I have for now. I am sure there are tons of questions I didn't answer so please let me know or respond to the blog. I will make posts with those questions and answers so we can all learn.
Welcome to the AFFC and good luck to all!!
Matt
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