Thanks to Mike Walsh for really getting this started. Active August is similar to Fit February where folks endeavor to make changes in their lifestyle to get in better shape. I didn't join in on the Fit February but I do plan on getting on board for Active August. I need to as I'm still woefully out of shape. My plan:

• Getting back to eating healthier. I was doing a good job back in May and August and dropped some pounds. Then I was training to lead a sports evangelism ministry team at Bethany Summer Youth Camp (BSYC). We were going to use soccer to reach kids. So I knew I had to make changes to my diet then. With BSYC ending in June, I slid off track.
• Getting back to doing soccer nearly every day. One of the reasons I think I was dropping weight at a decent, but healthy, clip was I out practicing soccer every day. The last time I played in a competitive league was back in 1995-1996. Yeah. I've coached youth since then, but I hadn't been active in a number of years. So part of doing it was to get my touch back, which I did to some extent. But part of it was to make sure I could go and survive running two soccer camps a day for a full week. I did, but like my diet, things dropped off when BSYC ended.
• Start on the Cool Running :: The Couch-to-5K Running Plan. My ultimate goal is to run the Cooper River Bridge Run next year in August along with members from my church. That's eight months away. While I'm better than couch potato status now, mainly because of the work in May and June, I have a long way to go before I can run a 5K consistently, much less a 10K.
• Take the stairs more. I work on the 5th floor. I go up and down several times a day to the various floors for meetings and the like. I'm going to intentionally forego the elevator more. If it's bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom type of trip, I will initially look to take a floor or two and then take the elevator with the goal of eliminating the elevator altogether.
• Use my 15 minute breaks at work for walking. This is a pretty simple one to do. It means getting up out of my chair, going downstairs and walking around the block a couple of times for the 15 minutes. The other advantage is I'll be taking the stairs.
• Do upper body work. Not sure whether to attempt the 100 push ups challenge or just go to use dumbbells and getting some more tone on my arms. I'm a goalkeeper by trade in soccer and I noticed the loss of velocity and distance on my throws when I got back to working out again. I had built up a lot of strength and power from Little League baseball and carried that into my years of playing soccer. Well, all that work as a kid has been lost due to years of not doing much of anything. So I need to build my arms back up to be able to turn my throws into a weapon again (think speedy and accurate delivery for an immediate counterattack). If it sounds like I'm looking to get back into a soccer league again, I am. But I'm a long way off before I can be competitive again, even in a friendly league.
• Weigh-in. I'll do this weekly to track my progress. I'm a long way from my ideal weight, or even the weight I was at in the USAF, but if I stick to the plan, I should see a net loss over the month of August and in continuing months. This was encouraging when I was working out in May and June, because I saw a decent and healthy amount of weight drop based on the time period. I want to make sure that I'm dropping weight in a healthy manner and continuing to work on lifestyle changes that will be a permanent part of my life.

That's my plan. If you're not extremely active (see Steve Jones) already, how about joining in? Tweet or blog about to help encourage others in the community to try and get in better shape and stick with their plans. August 1 is a Saturday, the perfect day to get started!