Good Morning,
I stumbled on to Nerd Fitness while listening to the Art of Manliness podcast and really connected with the concept of gamifying your life. I use gamification techniques in my sixth grade classroom and my students thoroughly enjoy it, so why not give it a shot in my personal life.
I am 32, married, love my job teaching sixth graders, but have felt like there has been a part of me missing since an injury forced me to stop playing football in college. Up until that point motivation was directly connected to my sport and was never a problem. Now endless football watching binges, television, and any other excuse to do nothing and consume copious amounts of calories makes up my weeks. I did do crossfit the past two years and lost 50 pds, but I have always been strong and don't need to improve things like squats, clean & jerk, or bench press, since they are already very high. Additionally, years of doing them have taken a toll on my body. I love the outdoors and enjoy fitness through exploring rather than pounding weights. I am not downgrading CrossFit, because it was awesome, especially the team aspect, but the money was too much for me.
I currently lack like minded men (not putting down the ladies) who share similar passions. When playing sports you always have a pack, battle buddy, or what ever you want to call it. These relationships for me always helped and provided me the means to grow, kept me on the right track, and forced me to constantly analyze my status. Without them complacency has taken over. I hope the community will help me gain this sense of being part of a pack back, which in return will make me a better me.
