It’s been 17 days since I challenged myself to do 10,000 steps per day while in lock-down. In New Zealand, lock-down really means lock-down. We are only allowed to leave the house for groceries, exercise and emergencies. That means that the only way I’ve left the house in the last three and a bit weeks has been for walking. My husband is the only one who gets to go to the supermarket.

The other thing we’ve been battling against here in a Dunedin autumn is the weather. Right now it’s pelting down outside with no signs of letting up. This has led to a lot of creativity in getting my 10,000 steps per day. My younger daughter ( the little one) has been a great help over the last few weeks. She is fascinated with the bluetooth connection between my step counter and my phone and likes to regularly check it for me and watch the steps go up. She says “Mummy, have you finished your steps yet?” or “Mummy, how many steps have you done today?” It’s fun to make up games that get us more steps

Now I haven’t been a perfect angel but I’ve been trying hard. There have been times when the lock-down blues have kept me on the couch but it’s been infrequent.

To date this month I have:

• Walked 112,128 steps (6229 steps per day on average)
• Covered 72 kilometres (45 miles)
• Burned 4622 calories

Whew!

For the last week I have got my 10,000 steps daily and this has taken some clever thinking and determination. You can read my previous post for more ways of getting steps but these are my latest ideas:

• Stepping to Electro-swing music – it has a great beat and lots of pep to keep you motivated (3,000)
• Going on an (adventure) nature walk with my little one and exploring the neighborhood (4,500)
• Walking down and back up the steps to the waterfront (4,000)
• Stepping in front of a kids movie the little one insisted I watch with her (2,000)
• Walking along a pretend runway with the little one being ‘fashion models’ with poses, high 5s and everything (1,000)
• Having a conversation with the big daughter in the front hall while stepping together (1,000)
• While watching YouTube history videos with my husband (2,000)
• And any other way I can think of…

This new challenge has really changed my mindset towards movement. On top of that, it’s been keeping me sane in what is otherwise a very difficult and uncertain time. Exercise is great for mental health and mine has kept me in a pretty good and positive mindset despite everything.

How is your 10,000 steps in lock-down challenge going?

Published by the lean minimalist

Donna Sherriff is a New Zealand based improvement and operations management specialist. Seeing a need for simple, no fuss, improvement advice she started The Lean Minimalist blog in 2017. Donna writes articles offering advice and tips for rapid and sustainable business improvement based on over 15 years in Senior Management roles. Passionate about sharing the lessons of over 20 years on the high performance track Donna offers coaching services to professionals. She also writes about her own personal improvement journey, minimalism, and her life long struggle against the tyranny of cookies and sugar which she overcame in 2020. These days, Donna is pursuing a journey to earn her black belt in Taekwondo after a long hiatus of 16 years away from training. On the side she is an amateur but passionate musician and poet. View all posts by the lean minimalist