Neria

@Ithiel Coal: Hey! Sorry I haven't replied in a while. In fact I haven't been on here in a while, but I just wanted to let you know that I wasn't able to participate in the challenge at that time, and to be honest, I'm not really sure when I'll be doing a challenge. Just taking it one step at a time. Hope your first two challenges went well, and that if you're working on one at the moment, that it's going well too! (: @StillWaters Hey! I'm sorry that this is a late reply, but I guess I can say RPGs, especially open-wolrd RPGs like Skyrim and apparently the new LoZ that is coming out sometime in the future (: I'm starting to check out strategy games too, like I'm interested in starting to play StarCraft.

As a gamer, I understand the blessing that is being able to continue and pick up where you left off. I'm glad that when it comes to the working out and fighting for my previously set goals, I have that possibility to continue as well. So what happened? I don't really know. I know that most recently I just haven't been working out at all. I let school and my laziness (mostly the latter) get in the way. But the past is the past, and now I'm back and ready to try again. My gameplan right now is mostly to take it one step at a time. I know I'm going to do the suggested routine by Dakao in that beginner parkour article starting tomorrow. However, because I can't do a pull-up I will do 3 sets of 8 reps of bent over dumbell rows as suggested in Steve's article, then I'll do the 2 sets of 10 reps of push-ups, leglifts and squats. That's the plan as of right now. Things may change, but I'll take it as it goes.

Hey NicTheRugger, I decided to drop by on your own thread since I saw in your sig that you're interested in doing pull-ups, and I'm aiming for that this upcoming challenge too. I just wanted to check if you're quest to do pull-ups was going well. (Sorry if that sounds creepy lol.) Anyway, I agree with Barfly and I think you should continue to aim for the 5 pull-ups. Don't give up just yet (: You seem to be on the right path so far. Hope the rest of your challenge goes well, ~Neria

@Barfly Haha I enjoyed that mp3. Yes, it does work, and thanks for the welcome! (: @Laertes Thanks for the input! I think it's super cool that you have taken tai chi and baguazhang. I'm honestly not that fit to do push-ups on my fists, but that's a cool goal to work toward if I could. Because of it, normal push-ups do make it hurt, and I'm nervous as I'm starting out working on doing pull-ups, that that would hurt them too, but we'll see. Do you also have any specific suggestions for where to find proper silk-reeling exercises? Thanks! @ItsDaniel Thanks for the inspiring quote from Bruce Lee! I'll try to make sure I keep that in mind when I attempt this first challenge that's coming up really soon. @NicTheRugger Ah, that's great to hear from another fellow Hiddleston fangirl (: Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it. If you have any dorm room specific suggestions, let me know, please (: I may take you up on your offer for time management help too especially once I get back to school

Don't mean to steal Anaticula's thunder from her introduction thread (thank you again for sharing it, @Anaticula), but apparently there's a way you can track your progress toward going fully Paleo. Here's the direct quote from there. Hope this helps, and hope the rest of your challenge goes well!~Neria

Hey all, I just want to say that I'm excited to do this first challenge. I'm still trying to figure out how to write out my initial plans for this first challenge. Once I get that down, I should be able to post it. Hope everyone else's challenges go well! ~Neria

Hi Anaticula, I love how you are literally following Dory's advice. For a great line from a beautiful and well-made Pixar movie, this line always seemed to get me through the figurative deep waters I've faced in the past. I also like swimming. It's very fun and it's an important skill to learn in my opinion. Thanks for sharing the post from the Nerd Fitness Academy. I may start to follow that too. Good job for being persistent. It's good that even if you're not able to make it out to the pool. You're still able to continue your quest to become a proficient swimmer. Hope the rest of your challenge goes well! Looking forward to learn hear more about your progress. ~Neria

Hi Ithiel Coal, I like that you're not only trying to get healthier, but you're also willing to improve the other important aspects of your life such as caring for your family and working toward becoming an architect. I was just wondering how much of Cantonese do you know? Would you consider yourself conversational? Also, how would you say is the best way to learn the language? If you could let me know, I would appreciate it. Hope your challenge goes well! Looking forward to hear about your progress. ~Neria

Hey cn3wton, I just want to say I like how the way you expressed your main goal. I don't think anyone wants their body to get in the way of accomplishing their goals, and I admire that you're pursuing that. I believe that you can push the limits as it does seem you're very determined. Also, congrats on completing the first workout in the rain. Keep going! You can do it (: Hope the rest of your challenge goes well! ~Neria

Hi Celeste, Your quests sound awesome, especially the fact that you too want to join the assassin class and work on the pull-up. I also especially like how you based your rewards for each quest on allotting skill points. I've been confused about that still, but I love how you simplified it. I may borrow that from you...if it's okay (: Starbucks is a struggle, but yeah, I believe you can help that through loose leaf tea. I don't know much about the different teas from Teavana, but usually specialty loose leaf tea shops have dessert-like/coffee-like flavours, just a suggestion. You can try it out, and see how it goes. (: I look forward to hearing about your progress, and hope it all goes well! ~Neria

Hey Ironhead, Thanks for your reply and advice. I really appreciate it. Good luck on your goals too. ~Neria

Hello, My name is Aaren, but you can call me Neria if you want. It's finally nice to have the guts to actually do my first introduction post. To be honest, I was kinda intimidated, so I'll admit it has taken me a bit to muster up this courage. Just a little bit about me: I'm 21-years-old and I currently live in Canada. My lifetime goal (non-fitness related) is to become a doctor, or any job in the medical field for that matter, in any area of the world that needs medical attention. I believe that medicine may be my calling, so I want to pursue that and use these talents that I've been given to help others in need. Though I do love medicine and helping others feel better, I do have some geeky interests I have a strange fascination with Superman. Though I'm not as hardcore as I would like to be with the comics and the movies, I think I'm more into what he symbolizes. Superheroes just fascinate me in general, like the Hulk, Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, Sif, Wonderwoman, Loki (yeah I know he isn't a hero but I'm a Loki fangirl mostly because I admire Tom Hiddleston), if only I had the time to read the comics, so most of my ideas of superheroes are based on movies and tv series (sorry, don't hate me ) I also really enjoy Nickelodeon's Avatar series both the Last Airbender (not the movie by M. Night Shyamalan though) and Legend of Korra. I like the storytelling, the characters, and just the whole idea of humans being able to manipulate the traditional four elements. I also truly appreciate these shows because in some way they made me enjoy my own culture that I used to not be so fond of because it was mocked by some of my peers in middle to high school. One of my hobbies is playing video games as I've always found it stress relieving. I have probably loved video games since I was a child. The first console I ever interacted with was a Sega Genesis, but my fondest childhood memories were spent with the N64, the Gameboy Colour and the PS2 (Kingdom Hearts anyone? ), but I do believe that the main reason why I like video games so much is mostly because I loved the adventure that came with it, and I have found that I especially enjoyed open-world rpgs where there is a whole bunch of places that I can explore. At this moment, my favourite video games are LoZ: Ocarina of Time, TES V: Skyrim, Portal series, KH series, Assassin's Creed I and III, Mirror's Edge, Uncharted series, and the Last of Us. Surprisingly, these video games have developed my desire to want to be more adventurous myself. I like the idea of hiking, swimming, and climbing to explore this beautiful world that we live in because let's be honest, despite the realism of the graphics in the PS4 or Xbox One, it can never beat the reality of the Amazonian rainforest or the Himalayas. My ultimate workout goals are to become a parkour traceur (sorry if I spelt that wrong); to become a Wushu martial artist (modelling after the martial arts forms that Nickelodeon's Avatar series bases their bending after, specifically Northern Shaolin, Baguazhang, Hung Gar, and Tai Chi), and to conquer this American Ninja Warrior course like Kacy did in this video: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=american+ninja+warrior+kacy+catanzaro. These seem like big, daunting goals, especially the last one, but it doesn't hurt to shoot for the stars (pardon the cliche). Anyway, for the parkour and wushu, I mostly want to be self-taught since classes do cost money, and I'm still a college student dealing with tuition (lol), but if it is better to do classes then I will consider it. My only issue is that I struggle finding time with working out in general. I know that it's a lame excuse, but I've always found it to be hard especially when I have school assignments to deal with and I'm struggling with lack of sleep. Granted, this was probably due to my horrible time management, but either way, I do struggle with this issue, so I prefer shorter, quicker workouts. I've also struggled with the motivation to workout, but I feel like since I found this site, it hopefully may not be as much of a problem. Another excuse I've struggled with is that I suffer from DeQuervain's tendonitis in my thumbs and wrists, so whenever it acts up, I struggle to do pushups, inverted rows, and hold heavier weights. (Maybe I'm not doing them right?) But I'd like to hear suggestions in stretching to help lessen the inflammation, while also still strengthening my hands and increasing my dexterity, since I'm also very interested in practicing surgery. Currently, I have the summer off, and I know I can start developing habits, right? So my first current quest is to develop the habit of working out consistently, and figuring out what kind of workouts I can do once I get back to school. (I know that that sounds vague, but I'll probably be more specific when I start my first log). As for the workouts, I'm very much open to suggestions. Anyway, I apologize for the long winded introduction, but I am looking forward to starting out my first challenge and levelling up. Thanks for reading! ~Neria.