Steptember Plymouth's Active Workplace Challenge

Take Part in Steptember, Plymouth’s Active Workplace Challenge

Steptember 2021 is coming, so don’t miss out…it’s time to get ready!

With huge thanks to Plymouth City Council’s Plymotion programme, Active Devon and Livewell Southwest will once again be hosting Steptember.

Team up with work colleagues and join the many businesses, companies and organisations across Plymouth who will be taking part in this popular active workplace challenge during September.

Whether you travel to work or work from home you can sign up, (see below). The challenge is all about encouraging you and your colleagues to be active daily, and together helping your workplace climb the leader board to be the most active in Plymouth.

To motivate you along the way and for a chance to win great prizes, there will also be a fun weekly theme for you and your colleagues to enjoy.

Step Into Action and Encourage Each Other to Become More Active

This year, we have teamed up with buddyboost to bring you an even more inclusive and socially interactive challenge, that’s much easier to sign up to and take part in.

The challenge will be based on consistent daily activity. The aim will be for you to buddy-up and create a team of six colleagues and for each of you to complete a minimum of 26 minutes of activity for 26 days in a row.

The buddyboost app provides a simple way for you to create your team, log your daily activity and encourage each other to become more active. Plus, any kind of physical activity counts towards your 26 minutes.

Can Your Workplace be the Most Active Workplace in Plymouth?

There are so many health and wellbeing benefits to moving more, and it’s now widely proven that being active boosts your mood. So, this is the perfect way to get your workplace feeling healthier and happier.

Top tip: Why not consider travelling actively to and from work or for short journeys, as this is one of the easiest ways to achieve your daily goal.

For More Details Read These FAQs

This year all activity counts! Whether that’s walking, cycling, dancing or yoga, the key is to be active every day to help improve your health and wellbeing.

Yes, you can create a team of six buddies within the app, and help your workplace climb the leader board with your daily logged activity. Try picking buddies that will inspire, support and motivate you throughout the challenge.

This year is all about consistency. We want to see if you can manage a minimum of 26 minutes of activity every day, for 26 days. You chose the activity that’s best for you and help support your buddies to do the same. You can still track your total steps, times and distances using your favourite activity tracker apps or wearables and why not share your progress with the wider ‘community’ too.

You’re probably asking ‘what’s so great about the number 26?’ And it’s a good question. Well, it’s all about helping you to achieve the UK’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) recommendation of doing at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. If you do your buddyboost minutes every day, you’ll clock up 182 minutes a week and, even if you were to miss a day, you’d still be up at 156 minutes, which exceeds the CMO guidance.

It’s also less than 30 minutes. That 4 minute difference may not look much, but our research shows that 26 minutes feels psychologically easier to squeeze into a busy day and more achievable for people who aren’t used to exercising much. So, 26 it is!

The leader board tracks how many people of those taking part from each workplace, complete their daily 26 minutes. If you want your workplace to climb to the top, make sure your organisation is encouraging every employee who is taking part to be active every day throughout the challenge, with whatever activity works best for them.

Yes. There will be a weekly prize relating to each weekly theme and the main award of becoming Plymouth’s Most Active Workplace.

Yes, absolutely! This year is all about rewarding consistency, tracking your progress and celebrating the activity levels of your workplace.

Sign Up Now

How do you usually travel to work?(Required)

Taking part in Steptember(Required)

We passionately believe that being active is important as ever. However, safety is paramount and it is crucial that everyone follows current government guidance when leaving the home to exercise and accessing open spaces. #StayActiveStaySafe.

What Do I Track? What Activities Count?

Track your steps every day. Any activity which involves steps, counts, whether you’re at work or not. Make your next meeting a walking one, take the stairs instead of the lift, take a walk in your lunch break, why not walk to work? However you like to, get walking.

How Do I Track My Steps?

However you like; use your smart watch, your smartphone or a pedometer. Log into the Challenge Platform, register your team and log your steps to take part. You can even log your steps based on how many minutes you have walked, it’s that simple.

How Many People In A Team?

There is no limit to the number of people per team. You can take part with just 2 or a 100 team members.

What If Another Team Has More People, So Can Get More Steps?

Your team score will be an average amount of steps per person so it’s fair.
The categories for the overall competition are:
Overall Team winners (average steps and also total steps)
Small (2-10) Medium (11-25) and Large (26+) Teams where we will calculate the average steps taken by each team.

Are There Prizes To Be Won?

There are weekly challenges and lots of exciting prizes to be given away including some fitbits, vouchers and other exciting goodies. Keep an eye on our Active Devon Plymouth Facebook page and your weekly round-up emails to find out more.

“I’m Not Very Fit, So Will Never Win”

You’ll win health benefits! Whether or not you compete with others is up to you, the main thing is that you are increasing the amount of physical activity that you do, so you are competing with yourself.

A Step Further

During the challenge we will be giving you lots of hints and tips on how to take things a step further by including 10 Active minutes of physical activity each day and the health benefits you can gain.

The challenge finishes at midnight 30th September and you will have until 12pm on the 1st October to add your steps either manually or syncing your fitness tracker. Steps will continue to appear on your activity tracker page after this date but wont be counted in the challenge.