Getting fit and healthy is not complicated. We need to move and get active, and what better way than walking? This exercise challenge will help us be more active by walking more and taking more steps.
The Challenge
This challenge has been adapted from the Step It Up June Challenge. In this challenge, we’ll be increasing the steps we take slowly but surely. You can check the target each day and hit your goal. You’ll need to start finding more ways to be active, such as parking further away from your destination, walking whenever you can and taking the stairs. Your daily step target in this challenge should be considered a ‘minimum’ if you hit it. That’s excellent, but keep on stepping!
Go from sedentary to very active. This challenge starts in the sedentary range, which most people will be able to achieve without much additional effort.
By the end of the challenge, you’ll be in the range where very active people are considered to be. So get that pedometer out and get stepping.
How to take part in this Challenge
- Step 1 – Select your current activity level
- Step 2 – Download Target Guide
- Step 3 – Download the Scoring Sheet
What is your Current Activity Level
This exercise challenge has progressions depending on your current exercise and activity level. If you are new to exercise and sedentary, you will be fine starting with the base-level target guides. Read the statements below to see which activity level you are and, therefore, which challenge targets you should follow.
| ACTIVITY LEVEL | ACTIVITY LEVEL | MULTIPLICATION FACTOR |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | You lead a sedentary lifestyle with little to no regular exercise or activity. | none |
| Mild Activity Level | You undergo Intensive exercise for at least 20 minutes 1 to 3 times per week. If you do not exercise regularly, but you maintain a busy lifestyle that requires you to walk frequently for long periods, you meet the requirements of this level. | 1.375 |
| Moderate Activity Level | You undergo Intensive exercise for at least 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. | 1.55 |
| Heavy or (Labour Intensive) Activity Level | You undergo intensive exercise for 60 minutes or greater 5 to 7 days per week and/or you have a labour-intensive job also. | 1.7 |
| Extreme Level | You are exceedingly active and/or very participate in demanding activities: Examples include athlete with an almost unstoppable training schedule with multiple training sessions throughout the day very a demanding job, such as shovelling coal or working long hours on an assembly line. Generally, this level of activity is very difficult to achieve | 1.9 |
Challenge Design
Scoring the Challenge
The 28-Day Step Challenge is split into five levels, for which you can score your progress; you don’t need to keep to one level. You can mix & match and go up or down a level. Each level has a score associated with it. Use the free-scoring sheet available for download below to track your progress and tally your monthly total score. You will score yourself either 1,2, or 3 points depending on which level you achieve, that’s a maximum of ‘5’ per day, minimum of ‘1’ unless you skip a day, in which case it would be ‘0’.
Download the 28-Day Stepping Challenge Scoring Sheet
28 Day Step Challenge Scoring Sheet 98 KB 45 downloads
Scoring sheet to be used with the 28 Day Step Challenge …Target Guide
Download, print, and keep the guide handy. Pin it to your fridge, and check your step target for the day.
Daily Target Guides
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 1)
On day 1 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, on your first day of this challenge, ensure you check the best level for you by knowing your current activity level.
“But the beauty is in the walking — we are betrayed by destinations.”
Gwyn Thomas
- 🟢Level 1 = 4,000
- 🟡Level 2 = 5,500
- 🔴Level 3 = 6,200
- 🟠Level 4 = 6,800
- ⚫Level 5 = 7,600
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 2)
This is Day 2 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. So, if it means going up and down the stairs a few more times, then go do it! It’s all for your benefit!
“Walking . . . is how the body measures itself against the earth.”
― Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
- 🟢Level 1 = 4,200
- 🟡Level 2 = 5,775
- 🔴Level 3 = 6,510
- 🟠Level 4 = 7,140
- ⚫Level 5 = 7,980
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 3)
Day 3 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, check your target! It’s not a lot of steps if you count every step upon waking up. Get up & start moving.
“If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish.”
Charles Dickens
- 🟢Level 1 = 4,400
- 🟡Level 2 = 6,050
- 🔴Level 3 = 6,820
- 🟠Level 4 = 7,480
- ⚫Level 5 = 8,360
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 4)
This is Day 4 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. No excuses; get outside and get walking. You’ll easily do this!
“As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears”
Rumi
- 🟢Level 1 = 4,600
- 🟡Level 2 = 6,325
- 🔴Level 3 = 7,130
- 🟠Level 4 = 7,820
- ⚫Level 5 = 8,740
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 5)
This is Day 5 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. If you work in an office, we all know it’s more difficult to get moving. Take your lunch away from your desk!
“As we stretch our legs, we stretch our minds and our souls.”
Julia Cameron
- 🟢Level 1 = 4,800
- 🟡Level 2 = 6,600
- 🔴Level 3 = 7,440
- 🟠Level 4 = 8,160
- ⚫Level 5 = 9,120
28 Day Step Challenge (Day 6)
This is Day 6 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. We are putting one foot in front of the other. It’s what we were born to do, and we’ve forgotten how to do it.
“The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy.”
Charles Dickens
- 🟢Level 1 = 5,000
- 🟡Level 2 = 6,875
- 🔴Level 3 = 7,750
- 🟠Level 4 = 8,500
- ⚫Level 5 = 9,500
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 7)
This is Day 7 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, and Week 1 is done. You won’t see the difference straight away, but you’ll start to feel it soon.
“Writing is one way of making the world our own, and walking is another.”
Geoff Nicholson
- 🟢Level 1 = 5,200
- 🟡Level 2 = 7,150
- 🔴Level 3 = 8,060
- 🟠Level 4 = 8,840
- ⚫Level 5 = 9,880
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 8)
Day 8 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go; it’s just that you’re moving more.
“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
Raymond Carver
- 🟢Level 1 = 5,500
- 🟡Level 2 = 7,562
- 🔴Level 3 = 8,525
- 🟠Level 4 = 9,350
- ⚫Level 5 = 10,450
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 9)
Day 9 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. You move more, you burn more calories, you lose weight. It is that easy. That’s a win-win for you.
“Go for long walks and try to create something new every day.”
C.C. Chapman
- 🟢Level 1 = 5,800
- 🟡Level 2 = 7,975
- 🔴Level 3 = 8,990
- 🟠Level 4 = 9,860
- ⚫Level 5 = 11,020
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 10)
Day 10 of 28-Day Step Challenge! If you only walked when the weather was good, you would limit your chances of enjoying what nature offers.
“My God is the God of walkers. If you walk hard enough, you probably don’t need any other god.”
Bruce Chatwin
- 🟢Level 1 = 6,100
- 🟡Level 2 = 8,387
- 🔴Level 3 = 9,455
- 🟠Level 4 = 10,370
- ⚫Level 5 = 11,590
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 11)
This is Day 11 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. The daylight is longer, so you have even more time to walk. We don’t listen to excuses.
“Walking is the great adventure, the first meditation, a practice of heartiness and soul primary to humankind. Walking is the exact balance of spirit and humility.”
Gary Snider
- 🟢Level 1 = 6,400
- 🟡Level 2 = 8,800
- 🔴Level 3 = 9,920
- 🟠Level 4 = 10,880
- ⚫Level 5 = 12,160
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 12)
On day 12 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, make opportunities to get more steps in. Walk to work, and park further away when you do the shopping.
“In every walk with nature, one receives more than he seeks.”
John Muir
- 🟢Level 1 = 6,700
- 🟡Level 2 = 9,212
- 🔴Level 3 = 10,385
- 🟠Level 4 = 11,390
- ⚫Level 5 = 12,730
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 13)
It’s day 13 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. You may have to start thinking about how you can increase your steps now. Go the scenic route today!
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.
Walt Whitman
- 🟢Level 1 = 7,000
- 🟡Level 2 = 9,625
- 🔴Level 3 = 10,850
- 🟠Level 4 = 11,900
- ⚫Level 5 = 13,300
28 Day Step Challenge (Day 14)
It’s day 14 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. Comfortable shoes are a must, so if it means walking to work with your trainers on, do it!
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Henry David Thoreau
- 🟢Level 1 = 7,300
- 🟡Level 2 = 10,037
- 🔴Level 3 = 11,315
- 🟠Level 4 = 12,410
- ⚫Level 5 = 13,870
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 15)
Day 15 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. So, two weeks are done. Your activity level has doubled in two weeks. Are you getting used to moving more? Are you having fun yet?
“Walking brings me back to myself.”
Laurette Mortimer
- 🟢Level 1 = 7,700
- 🟡Level 2 = 10,587
- 🔴Level 3 = 11,935
- 🟠Level 4 = 13,090
- ⚫Level 5 = 14,630
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 16)
Day 16 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. So they say it takes 21 days to break a habit, five more days to make this your new routine! #walk
Walking gets the feet moving, the blood moving, the mind moving. And movement is life.
Terri Guillemets
- 🟢Level 1 = 8,100
- 🟡Level 2 = 11,137
- 🔴Level 3 = 12,555
- 🟠Level 4 = 13,770
- ⚫Level 5 = 15,390
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 17)
On day 17 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, if you move more every day, you’ll get used to it and notice how good it makes you feel.
Walking is the favourite sport of the good and wise.
A. L. Rowse
- 🟢Level 1 = 8,500
- 🟡Level 2 = 11,687
- 🔴Level 3 = 13,175
- 🟠Level 4 = 14,450
- ⚫Level 5 = 16,150
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 18)
This is Day 18 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, so what’s a few more steps if they’re taking you to where you want to be? A healthier, fitter version of you!
A lone walker is both present and detached, more than an audience but less than a participant. Walking assuages or legitimizes this alienation.
Rebecca Solnit
- 🟢Level 1 = 8,900
- 🟡Level 2 = 12,237
- 🔴Level 3 = 13,795
- 🟠Level 4 = 15,130
- ⚫Level 5 = 16,910
28 Day Step Challenge (Day 19)
This is Day 19 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. All you have to do is move—every step counts!
Walking is the great adventure, the first meditation, a practice of heartiness and soul primary to humankind. Walking is the exact balance between spirit and humility.
Gary Snyder
- 🟢Level 1 = 9,100
- 🟡Level 2 = 12,512
- 🔴Level 3 = 14,105
- 🟠Level 4 = 15,470
- ⚫Level 5 = 17,290
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 20)
This is Day 20 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. Make it fun! Walk it, skip it, jog it, or dance it. We don’t mind; just keep moving to see a healthy body and mind.
A morning walk sets us out on the right foot for the day.
Terri Guillemets
- 🟢Level 1 = 9,500
- 🟡Level 2 = 13,062
- 🔴Level 3 = 14,725
- 🟠Level 4 = 16,150
- ⚫Level 5 = 18,050
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 21)
This is Day 21 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. Make time for yourself. It promotes a sense of well-being and releases the feel-good hormones you need.
Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.
Carrie Latet
- 🟢Level 1 = 9,900
- 🟡Level 2 = 13,612
- 🔴Level 3 = 15,345
- 🟠Level 4 = 16,830
- ⚫Level 5 = 18,810
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 22)
It’s day 22 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. Three weeks in, and you’re into your last big push towards the end. Finish this in style and become a better you.
“The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk”
Jacqueline Schiff
- 🟢Level 1 = 10,400
- 🟡Level 2 = 14,300
- 🔴Level 3 = 16,120
- 🟠Level 4 = 17,680
- ⚫Level 5 = 19,760
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 23)
This is day 23 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. This is all for you, so remember who you are doing it for. Focus, and then you can fulfil your goals.
“My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.”
Aldous Huxley
- 🟢Level 1 = 10,900
- 🟡Level 2 = 14,987
- 🔴Level 3 = 16,895
- 🟠Level 4 = 18,530
- ⚫Level 5 = 20,710
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 24)
It’s day 24 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, and we’re into your last week. Do whatever you have to to get those steps in.
“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far”
Thomas Jefferson
- 🟢Level 1 = 11,400
- 🟡Level 2 = 15,675
- 🔴Level 3 = 17,670
- 🟠Level 4 = 19,380
- ⚫Level 5 = 21,660
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 25)
This is Day 25 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. Is there little room left over in your clothes now? That can only be a good thing, right? Admit it, you like it!
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.“
Soren Kierkegaard
- 🟢Level 1 = 11,900
- 🟡Level 2 = 16,362
- 🔴Level 3 = 18,445
- 🟠Level 4 = 20,230
- ⚫Level 5 = 22,610
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 26)
Day 26 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, more little steps today. Every step counts. It counts towards a healthier, happier you. What are you waiting for?
Steven Wright
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
- 🟢Level 1 = 12,400
- 🟡Level 2 = 17,050
- 🔴Level 3 = 19,220
- 🟠Level 4 = 21,080
- ⚫Level 5 = 23,560
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 27)
This is day 27 of the 28-Day Step Challenge. It has been about expanding your lungs and keeping your heart healthy.
Walking is my main method of relaxation. I don’t go over my lines or try to solve the world’s problems, I just enjoy the scenery and the wildlife.
Kevin Whately
- 🟢Level 1 = 12,900
- 🟡Level 2 = 17,737
- 🔴Level 3 = 19,995
- 🟠Level 4 = 21,930
- ⚫Level 5 = 24,510
28-Day Step Challenge (Day 28)
On day 28 of the 28-Day Step Challenge, go right, left, and right all the way there and back! Don’t think about the number; just enjoy yourself at the moment.
All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking. Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
- 🟢Level 1 = 13,400
- 🟡Level 2 = 18,425
- 🔴Level 3 = 20,770
- 🟠Level 4 = 22,780
- ⚫Level 5 = 25,460
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