Member Stories

Being part of a

“Being part of a project team working on implementing a new computer system at MBF we tend to sit at our computers a lot during the day. We did not realise how little exercise we were getting until we began the 10000 steps challenge. Instead of sitting down at lunch time to eat, many of us have lunch at out desks and then go for a long walk down to Darling Harbour or to Hyde Park. Staff drop by my desk and let me know how well they are doing ie "You would be proud of me Viv, I clocked up 19,000 steps today, I did a long walk with the dog in the morning and then went to Darling Harbour during my lunch hour". I asked my team what motivates them: The Viv Factor (me) - Each day I send an email to all the team members on our progress, I mention how many steps over our target we are. At the end of week I send out an attachment with our weekly progress brightly coloured with flashing text to get their attention. I placed a poster on our floor mentioning how well we are doing and challenging other teams to do better. I set targets such as "Lets see if we can achieve 10000 steps over and above our weekly target". We achieved this and more, we ended up with 16715 steps each over out weekly target and we are only 30 days into our 10000 Steps Challenge. Staff are doing the following to get there steps up: - Getting off the Station before their normal station and walking to work - Not being picked up after work at the bus stop and walking home - I jog each evening after work and go for a walk at lunch time - Staff are clubbing on the weekend doing lots of dancing - When staff attend their children's sporting events, instead of sitting on the bench they are walking around the oval Some of the staff have found their cloths are looser since they started the 10000 steps challenge. This is a great motivator with Summer just around the corner. All the best from Viv Coomb Team Captain HIT the Target Team at MBF HIT stands for Health Insurance Transformation system, this is the new system we are installing at MBF. ”

Hi, My name is

“Hi, My name is Mark. My company had started the pogram for its employees and I was unsure how I would manage as I use a wheelchair at work. MBF was eager for me to participate in the program, and with the help of the 10,000 step program team, they worked out how to measure how many steps I was doing around the office. MBF even paid for a speedometer for my wheelchair so, I could see how many kilometres I was doing. On an average day, I do 3.75 km per day without too much trouble. On a really good day I have done almost 10 kms in 1 day while I was on holidays. The program is fanastic, just seeing how much I do each day. I have noticed that I don't do that much on weekends I'm lucky if I do 1-2 kms. Its good to see the graph on how I am going. Well done on the program. ”

My 10000 steps came

“My 10000 steps came up to 12685 in two hours just by wearing it to football training tuesday night. ”

Just by walking my

“Just by walking my dog each morning for 30 mins plus the other everyday walking around I get close to my 10,000 steps ... but by extending my morning walk by a mere 15 mins I get 10,000 plus everytime. It's crazy only an extra 15 mins a day walking my beautiful baby boy ... and he LOVES it too. ”

Teck's Harem has finished

“Teck's Harem has finished our first challenge and are now on our way for the next the east west challenge. It is sometimes hard to take those extra steps each day but we have all been trying our best & that is all we can ask of ourselves & those around us. Good luck & happy walking to all the teams involved in the 10000 step walk. Laurel Waldhelm team captain Teck's Harem ”

Have you ever wondered

“Have you ever wondered what happens to your pedometer step count when it gets one step beyond 99999? Well it took a holiday to Sydney for me to find out that one step beyond takes you back to zero! It was just amazing how many steps you take just wandering around. I prefer to walk rather than catch the bus when I am on holidays. Walking around the zoo, the shops and other tourist attractions in Sydney I totalled OVER 99999 steps over just five days. Imagine my horror when I got back home to show a friend to see a total of 3 steps for my 5 days effort! So the lesson is record your steps as you go! ”

Over the year of

“Over the year of 2003 I used a pedominter about my suburb and noted the steps per day in my diary.At the first month of 04 I took the time to add these steps and 2003 came to 2,190,000 steps. This shocked me but that was it. So keep walking. Vince b ”

Hi--I am having trouble

“Hi I am having trouble getting my steps in each day with the children on school holidays and the heat and humidity intolerable. For this time I am walking up and down the pool from the deep end to the shallow end, I walk 1000 steps and whilst I don't know how many normal steps I am doing at least I am cool and the children can be with me whilst I am exercising. It is not as interesting as getting out and walking through the streets and gardens etc, but it keeps me motivated for the time being until school returns and the heat is more bearable. I am always careful to keep up the fluids even though I am in the water. Thank you for the emails because a copy of times when I have been busy with work and family commitments it has prompted me to give myself the luxury of the time alone to do something for myself. Cheers ”

I knew I walked

“I knew I walked a lot and when I got the pedometer it's motived me to walk a lot more. I love seeing how far I can got every day. I guess sometimes I walk too far when yesterday I did 40,000 steps. But it's fun but my legs are hurting but it gives me something to do....thanks for taking the time to read this. ”

We are currently on

“We are currently on a five week 4-wheel drive trip from Rockhampton to Broome. With driving for long stretches on some days I have not achieved the 10,000 steps every day. By far my best day ever was on Tuesday 7/10. We were staying at Nitmulik National Park (Katherine Gorge. I did the Lookout Loop walk in the morning - 1.5 hrs (approx 7,000 steps). Then in the afternoon we went on a 4-hour river cruise which involved walking approx 2km between gorges over rocks. Total steps for the day = 22,100. We had an amazing time and stayed for 3 nights instead of the planned 2. ”

So pleased to be

“So pleased to be a million steps winner. So glad to be part of this great concept. What a great job you are doing for the community. > > > >Gayle ”

We can make

“ We can make a difference. I was once a principal of a High School and claimed that I could tell how many days were left in the term by noting the stress in the teachers’ voices and the number of disruptive students being sent to the Office. Now having completed my ‘10000 Steps Course’ at CQU, I can understand what was happening. The problem was not with the students but with stressed teachers. There is a definite correlation between how we feel and how we act. But this can happen away from school. Stress has the habit of feeding on itself and taking control. How to break the circle? The answer is – ‘feel good about ourselves’ but putting it into practise is where the trouble lies. This is where the 10000 Steps program comes into its own. Starting off from basics such as walking, it works its way through simple steps, until we get our bodies in reasonable shape and start to ‘feel good’; once we ‘feel good’ stress loses control. One strategy is positive ‘Self-Talk’. I wasn’t keen on this as my reputation is in enough trouble without going around talking to myself so instead I compromised and talked to my computer. I christened him Albert after the famous Mathematician, Albert Einstein. But I was in trouble immediately. Some secretaries, eavesdropping, heard me talking to Albert and said it was fitting that I used a ‘male’ name because computers cannot think for themselves, they need help to get started, they ‘crash’ at the most inopportune times, they don’t listen, and they can only do one thing at a time. I shall report them. Soon after, Albert appeared on screen, smiling. He explained, “I have just read about Einstein and found that he was an exceptionally wise person. I’m honoured that you gave me his name. He was quite prophetic and warned us about war.” “He once said, ‘I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought with, but World War IV will be fought with bows and arrows.’” We seem to be close to the limit of weapons we can devise without annihilating human life altogether. Einstein could be right because the end result of violence is more violence, not peace. Violence feeds upon itself. The policy of first world nations of attempting to control ‘rogue’ nations by having more powerful weapons and a stranglehold on the world’s resources, cannot work. History gives many examples of empires which had unlimited power and appeared to be indestructible, yet became depraved and weak, usually decaying from within. If nations keep on chasing wealth and power when it is based on inequality and injustice, the scourge of terrorism and war will only grow worse. The problem is not new. British Historian, Lord Acton in 1887 wrote the famous maxim: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Powerful first world nations, using spin doctor logic, con themselves into believing that they can bring peace by becoming more powerful, monopolising the world’s resources and then doling out leftovers to weaker countries. Peace cannot be built on injustice. This is just stating what Spiritual Leaders have said – Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Mother Teresa, Buddha. These leaders preached much the same message of peace, love, justice and equality. However sometimes their followers twist the message for their own ends and we witness holy wars, jihads, crusades; the opposite of what the founders preached. If I want peace in the world I must start with myself. One way is to use the 10000 Steps Program to feel good about myself, develop an inner peace and security, which is self-perpetuating and watch in admiration as it spreads to my friends, my acquaintances, to Australians, to the world. Cynics might say that peace, using the 10000 Steps way, will take 10000 years but at least it is a start and will succeed long before our present strategies will. Jesus put it forcibly, “Put your sword back into its place for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Mat 26:52) I had better sign off now; I still have 3700 steps to go for today and I had better sneak along and check that the secretaries are working. John F. Smith ”

as i have had

“as i have had 8 operations on my right knee, i feel i have done well. some days are better then other days, but i am determined to continue. wish me luck. darilyn farne sang ”

Discover a Double Bonus Mick

“Discover a Double Bonus. Mick was pleased with himself as he strode along a country lane during his 10000 Steps Walk. He came across Tex fixing his fence while his dog Bozo was sitting nearby, howling mournfully. “What’s wrong with poor old Bozo?” he asked, “he seems to be in great pain.” “He is,” answered Tex, “he is sitting on a thistle.” “Well, why doesn’t he move?” asked the astounded Mick. “He can’t be bothered,” replied Tex. That has to be the silliest story I’ve ever heard, you might claim; it would be except for one detail; there is a fair bit of Bozo in us all, including myself. Don’t we all have problems which lessen our quality of life and which we can fix up but ‘we can’t be bothered’? In the 1930’s when I was in Primary School, my father had a golden rule, “We Smiths don’t watch sport, we play sport.” I thought it was just his excuse for not taking us to the football but I was wrong as he spent a lot of time teaching us various games. I became competent at playing and enjoying at least 10 sports at a social level. As I grew older I thought that if I was active enough and played plenty of sport, I would not have to worry about watching what I ate, or dieting. It worked, but only for a while. Middle-aged spread, some arthritis and a mild heart attack let me know that my belief that I was ‘fairly active’ was only wishful thinking. I knew I had to do more but I kept putting it off. Work, busyness and a couch-potato habit kept filling up the day. Then I read of the 10000 Steps per Day Project and decided that it was just what I needed so I joined up and now in my 5th week I am pleased that I started. A nasty little voice inside my head whispers, “How long do you think you’ll last this time? You’ve tried all sorts of fads before.” I pour scorn on this objection because the lectures have already covered this. It is called negative self-talk and is a no, no in the program. I completed my walk yesterday; I am well on schedule for today, I have already earmarked time for tomorrow and my Pedometer tells me I’m on track for attaining my goal, so there! It is called positive self-talk. The blurb on the enrolment form says ‘Welcome to health and fitness’ and I am pleased that I have at least started. But read on, there is more. In the 8th February edition of the Rockhampton Bulletin this year it tells about the “Secrets of Your Health” and talks about meditation. This term is a bit scary to some people but to me it simply means quiet time, awareness living, reflecting or private prayer. The Bulletin goes on to say that meditation can relieve: - Anxiety and stress, - Fatigue and insomnia, - Headaches and migraines, - High blood pressure, - Long term pain and addiction - Boosts the immune system, - Improves self-esteem and self confidence. It finishes up by stating that researchers say that regular meditation also helps to give some protection against heart disease and cancer. We can be wise and pick up two bonuses, first, the benefits of the 10000 Steps Program and second, use part of the Walking Project as an ‘awareness walk’ and tap into the benefits of meditation. Another alternative is make use of the Deed Poll and change your name to ‘Bozo’. John F. Smith. ”

This is fantastic!!

“This is fantastic!! ”

If I can do

“If I can do it anyone can!! My idea of exercise was looking for the remote control when it got lost in between the couch! I registered as a member about 4 months ago and since then things have definitly improved. I'm now doing a 35 minute walk, three times a week with some other local walkers....you will see us puffing away either early in the morning or late afternoon. Seriously though, the pedometer is a great little device to kickstart you into doing something. And if you're like me and easily demotivated, try walking with some mates or in a walking group. ”

I find that the

“I find that the pedometer is a great tool for motivating me. It tells me exactly how much (or how little) walking i have done. ”

Motivating myself to walk

“Motivating myself to walk was like pulling teeth. I found it boring. Now that I have my pedometer this motivates me and reminds me of how slack I have been. My job is bad for me in the sense that I sit at a computer all day. Not good for clocking up steps. I now take a regular break and have an "time to myself walk" and come back in a few minutes feeling refreshed and ready to continue with my work. Walking is no longer boring, i make sure i take a walk before or after work for about 30 mins. I feel so much better for it, I have more energy and I not a tired as I used to feel. Give it a go!!!! you won't regret it. ”