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How did the getfit@mit organizers come up with the weekly minimum exercise goals?

As a starting point, organizers used the averages posted by the median-ranked teams and individuals during 2005, the first year of the challenge. In 2006, weekly exercise goals started at 150 minutes and increased each week, ending with 300 minutes, which breaks down to one hour of exercise, five days a week. The exercise goal at the end of the challenge is in line with the newest government exercise guidelines, which suggest an hour of exercise per day on most days.

The majority of respondents to the exit surveys in past years told us the exercise goals were challenging, but attainable. However, many 2006 participants also told us they would like one or two “maintenance periods” during the challenge—periods during which the exercise goal did not increase for several weeks. In response to this suggestion, we modified the 2007 goals to include maintenance periods in the middle and at the end of the challenge, and we’ve kept the same weekly goals each year since.

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