Jujuba

So I got much worse before getting better. Last week I couldn't do anything at all. By the weekend the fever was finally over, but I'm still coughing like crazy. I'm getting back on track this week, pretending this is the third week. Since I'm still coughing a lot, I get out of breath quickly, so I'm doing everything slower than usual. The sleep goal is a little messed up. Between working over time and then getting sick, my schedule wasn't followed as it should. However, I did discover that my method works. It really works like a charm every single time! I go to bed early with my book, I read until I'm tired and then I fall asleep on time with no problem at all. The reading routine makes me feel calm and gets my mind off of work or any other concerns. It's great! My book is in a bad part where the man is hurting and killing people, the woman is scared, it's a generally tense nasty part of the story, but that doesn't seem to matter. The routine itself is soothing to me. Just being able to stop thinking about deadlines and obligations is enough. This was an amazing discovery! Oh, you know what? I'll go say that I'm grateful for my reading routine on the mini challenge thread!

It is great! I'm really getting into yoga and I love that. I've been doing random poses during the day too. Sometimes at work, after staying too long on the computer, I stand up and do some stretching poses. It's such a relief! Yoga has been a great addition to my like. This weekend I felt terrible, really sick. I think I pushed myself really hard at work last week and then I crashed afterwards. This has actually happened a few times before. When I have important deadlines at work, I just work myself until the very end of my energies and then I fall sick afterwards. It's a bad habit that I still don't know how to change. Today I was supposed to exercise, but I was still feeling down and just couldn't do it. I think I'll just pretend tomorrow is Monday and the schedule will fall back into place on Saturday.

Sorry I've been away! This was a crazy week. I had an important deadline and I even spent a few nights working away so my sleep goal suffered. I also skipped on a yoga day to do some overtime at work. It wasn't ideal, but it was necessary. I managed to keep up with the workout, but I missed my yoga more than I thought I would. I've been alternating the workout with yoga and it's interesting how the yoga helps me recover and feel generally better. I've been keeping the weekends free, but I think I'll do some yoga today to make up for the day I missed. I've been more careful about my position in the exercises, paying more attention to the alignment of the knees and it seems to have helped. I'm watching them closely though. I have a nice little plan to progress slowly on the exercises and yesterday I started doing 2 circuits instead of just 1 and the idea is to work up to 3 circuits. It actually felt easier to split it into 2 circuits even though I increased the total amount of each exercise. On Wednesday I did 17 squats then yesterday 10 in each circuit, for example, and I worried I was increasing too much at once but I guess I really wasn't. I may have to rethink my progress plan and maybe alternate circuits with the whole thing at once.

Oh, I'd never do something that hurts. My knee just feels weak and I'm scared of forcing it, that's all. I kinda think lunges are evil too!

So what are brushing techniques and the "Moroccan Method"? I'm curious. I think my hair is completely different from yours, but what works best for me is Dove soap, believe it or not. I use it only close to my scalp just so it doesn't get too greasy. The hair gets wonderfully shiny and smooth.

I'm using an app called Simply Yoga. It's very basic really, but it's been enough to get me started. My university offers free classes twice a week, but the schedule doesn't work for me and any other place I've looked was too expensive. I'll go to youtube when I get bored of the app, thanks for the suggestions! As for the sleep, I do keep myself awake when I fret about getting to sleep, but that's where the book comes in. I get lost in a story, it relaxes me and keeps my mind occupied with something else, so it's much easier to fall asleep. It's been working so far! Never heard of him, but he certainly sounds interesting. I'll check it out, thanks! Thank you! So about half a week has passed and I see you all have been super active in your threads! I don't really expect to update mine every day, but I'll try to catch up! First three days of my challenge have been good. I've been adjusting the routine since last week and it took a little while to get everything in order, but I think it's good now: challenging but not impossible. The bottles I was lifting were not heavy enough and I almost came over here to ask for suggestions, but then I tried a bag full of my work books and it's perfect ("my beloved Invertebrate Zoology book, I knew you had all the answers!"). The pushups were also a bit complicated: I can't do the normal kind, on my knees it's too easy, against the wall also too easy... I'm now using a low chair and it's quite difficult, but I can do a few so I'll work with that for now. I did 23 seconds of plank today. Held it for 22 seconds on Monday. And so the story goes, slow and steady... In all the challenge is going well so far. The only thing I wanted to ask is about my knees. See, I fell down the stairs on January and I didn't go to the hospital or anything, but my right knee hurt for many weeks afterwards. It now feels a little weaker than the left knee, I notice when doing lunges. I'm a little worried about forcing it and getting hurt again. Are lunges bad for the knees? Is there anything I should do?

You're being very brave in your challenge! We don't get to choose our food here either, but the nutrition department makes sure we always have a well balanced meal and I'm very thankful for that. Best of luck!

I totally agree with you on this! Planks are more about core for me too. My arms can take it, probably due to the yoga as well. Congrats on the planks!

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! I'm currently reading Rose Madder by Stephen King. I tend to favor supernatural stuff. The new sleep plan has been sort of working, I've been able to get to sleep earlier most nights since I started. Last night it failed terribly and I was unable to fall asleep until 4am, but as disappointing as that may be I can't let frustration ruin my resolve. ::sigh:: This will not be an easy goal. On the other hand, the BBWW is going better than expected. Sure, I had to make things easier with assisted squats and lunges, but on the first two times I tried it, I felt sore which is why I reduced the yoga. But after the third day of exercise, I'm suddenly fine. It's funny that the same thing happened when I started the yoga: weird and sore at first then suddenly it's like my body accepted the new situation and it was fine. I'm more confident now that I'll be able to go through with the plan. Now what kind of yoga I practice is a harder question. I'm using an app on the iphone for beginners. It starts with simplified versions of the poses and then it builds up to the actual poses. I like that it's well explained, the videos are easy to follow and it includes the breathing. It was an easy and cheap way to start at home. I'd like to go to an actual class at some point, but right now I just can't afford it. Maybe the app explains more about the kind of yoga it teaches, I never really checked...

Hello, fellow druids! I'm ready to start my second challenge here! As I mentioned in my previous challenge I work in a lab where I sit around all day and I'm seriously out of shape after many years with no exercise at all. I've tried different kinds of exercise a few times, but it's always been too hard and frustrating and I've never been able to stick to anything. What really got me interested in nerd fitness was the Jedi training! lol The nerd in me could not resist such a thing. But that training is too hard for me in my current level, so I'm starting small. On my first challenge I did only yoga and I can already feel changes in my body. This time, I'm adding the Beginner Bodyweight Workout. Main Quest: Learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi so that I can help keep peace and justice in the galaxy. Quest 1: Do the BBWW 3 times a week. Measurement: A = 3 times a week, B = 2 times a week, C = at least once, dude, just once! Quest 2: Alternate the BBWW with Yoga. I'll expand a little on this goal. When I started last time, I had an easy 20 min routine and I worked up towards a 30 minute one and then at the end I was able to complete my goal which was a harder 40 minute routine. I started the BBWW this week just to see how much I could do and write my progression calendar. It's been difficult and felt hard on my body so I reduced the yoga back to the 20 minute routine because I didn't want to force myself. If I feel alright, I will increase it again to 30 or 40 minute during this challenge, but I will not push it. Measurement: A = 2-3 times a week, B = once a week Quest 3: Get enough sleep. I tried this goal on the last challenge and failed. I'm trying again now with a different strategy. I got a new super special piece of equipment: a lamp. Before bed instead of spending way too long playing little games or surfing the internet on the iphone, I'll read. I love to read, I'm in the middle of a book, but reading in bed has never been "practical" because of the light in my room. Well, now there's no more excuse. And even if I don't feel like reading, the phone doesn't come to bed with me, that's the new rule. I'll also be a little more lenient on the grading for this goal, because I know this is hard for me. Measurement: A = more than 30 nights; B = 25-30 nights, C = 20-25 nights

Have you tried Flylady? I really like her method and I actually apply the "baby steps" idea to all kinds of things besides cleaning. Good luck with your goals!

That would be great! I'm a serious beginner though. This week I'm trying the BBWW to see how much of each exercise I can do and it looks like I have a long way to go before I can do the whole thing. But I'm making a detailed plan with gradual increases, etc. It might be interesting to compare that.

Interesting. It's raining over here. I'm going to try your technique and see if it works for me too.

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! Oh wow, our lake is beautiful indeed. I wish I was there for real.

Cool challenge! I'm sitting right here to watch the show!

Hi! Just wanted to wish you good luck with your goals. I've already tried the "savor your food" technique to lose weight and it worked really well for me, especially when I was eating with someone else. If a person is not eating much the others around tend to notice and make comments. At least in my house the comment is always "why aren't you eating, honey? Have some more." Eating slower I could really reduce my portions without feeling hungry at the end of the meal and avoiding that situation.

Strong, calm and focused! Wow, this is a really cool challenge. Very inspiring!

I have a get-moving soundtrack too, to help me get into the mood. But then one day I was listening right before I started the Yoga and then I couldn't get the songs out of my head. It got to the point I kinda started dancing during the eagle pose. I thought I was steady enough but then... it was bad! I loved your whole idea of fit and fun. I think you'll have a great time, but I will leave my warning: no matter how good the song is, never try to dance while doing the eagle pose!

Oh, man, this is such a familiar feeling. I'm finishing Biology and I'm super confused about the future. I think the lack of a clear perspective makes it really hard to move forward. I've been trying to force myself to suck it up though. I've invested a lot of time, money and effort into this course, so I should go ahead and finish it. Maybe engineering is not your future, but then again maybe it is or, even worse, maybe it's not your whole future but it might help pay the bills at some point (which is what I've been telling myself). If you're so close to the end why not make an effort to reach it? Try to be strong! Don't let the negative feelings make you give up without a fight!

Hi, everyone! I'm new here! I just finished my first challenge and I was directed to the druids. My previous challenge was only with Yoga and I plan to continue with it and add some bodyweight workout to my routine for the next one. I was a little insecure at first since I thought the bodyweight workout wouldn't be appropriate for the druids retreat, but I see many of you combine activities so I guess this is indeed where I belong. I'm happy to be here and continue on my quest to become a Jedi master! I loved that sun salutation diagram! I'm going to do it right now!

Sorry things have been hard over there. But you did great keeping your resolve and becoming healthier in spite of the trouble.

Yes, we will! We can do it!

My summary: "Quest 1: Master the poses on my beginner 40 minute routine by the end of the 6 weeks. I got a B for this. An A would include all the poses and I haven't mastered the plank pose or the warrior 3. Considering all the poses and how bad I was in the beginning, I'm very very pleased with this result. At first, I couldn't imagine doing the half bow pose comfortably or opening my legs as wide as they go now for the warrior poses or being able to rest my forehead against my knees, now I do these with no problems. Now I do the cobra pose happily, the pose makes me feel powerful somehow: it's no longer a hardship, it's a joy. I never imagine this would happen. In general, I feel good about my body, I feel like I can do stuff and I want to do more. A B on this quest gives me +2 STR and I think these points were well earned. Quest 2: Keep a steady routine. This one was hard and I thought I'd fail, but in the end I got a C: exercise 2-3 times a week. When I began this challenge, my routine was difficult and uncomfortable and I couldn't do all the poses and it hurt when I tried to push it and I thought I was crazy for trying to do it every day... But it was for the best after all, by requiring exercise every day I managed 2-3 times a week. I imagine if I had decided on less, I wouldn't have accomplished even that, especially in the beginning when it was so difficult. A C on this quest gives me +1 STA. Quest 3: Get enough sleep, so I can wake up early and exercise without feeling like a zombie. I thought I had done better on this, but checking my calendar, I get a C. I think for the next challenge, instead of just trying to get to bed early, I'll add a rule: "Without the iphone!!!" I'd really like to improve my sleeping habits more than I did on this challenge. On the next one, I'll do better. For this C, I got +1 CON." Link to thread post. I'm still not sure where I want to go next. I plan to start alternating Yoga with the BBWW. I considered Adventurers and Assassins, because both seem appropriate for my future plans. The idea is to continue improving the yoga, maybe include some harder positions now, and starting building on the BBWW because I currently can't do much of it, but I'd like to be able to complete the whole routine by the end of the next challenge.

I guess it's time to evaluate my progress. It wasn't as good as I hoped, but not as bad as I feared either, so I'm happy about that. As a matter of fact, what really made me happy was not included in my quests, but I'll get to that later. So Quest 1: Master the poses on my beginner 40 minute routine by the end of the 6 weeks. I got a B for this. An A would include all the poses and I haven't mastered the plank pose or the warrior 3. Considering all the poses and how bad I was in the beginning, I'm very very pleased with this result. At first, I couldn't imagine doing the half bow pose comfortably or opening my legs as wide as they go now for the warrior poses or being able to rest my forehead against my knees, now I do these with no problems. Now I do the cobra pose happily, the pose makes me feel powerful somehow: it's no longer a hardship, it's a joy. I never imagine this would happen. In general, I feel good about my body, I feel like I can do stuff and I want to do more. A B on this quest gives me +2 STR and I think these points were well earned. Quest 2: Keep a steady routine. This one was hard and I thought I'd fail, but in the end I got a C: exercise 2-3 times a week. When I began this challenge, my routine was difficult and uncomfortable and I couldn't do all the poses and it hurt when I tried to push it and I thought I was crazy for trying to do it every day... But it was for the best after all, by requiring exercise every day I managed 2-3 times a week. I imagine if I had decided on less, I wouldn't have accomplished even that, especially in the beginning when it was so difficult. A C on this quest gives me +1 STA. Quest 3: Get enough sleep, so I can wake up early and exercise without feeling like a zombie. I thought I had done better on this, but checking my calendar, I get a C. I think for the next challenge, instead of just trying to get to bed early, I'll add a rule: "Without the iphone!!!" I'd really like to improve my sleeping habits more than I did on this challenge. On the next one, I'll do better. For this C, I got +1 CON. Life Quest: Tackle the cause of my disregard for myself. Before exercising, look in the mirror and say that I can do it and I'm worth the effort. Ah, the self esteem. I'm going to go ahead and fail myself on this quest. I would get a C even for a halfhearted attempt at this, but my attempts were half-assed rather than halfhearted, so I don't think it counts. I started this challenge because I wanted to improve my fitness and get strong enough to complete the jedi training. When I started I couldn't do that, I couldn't even do the BBWW, or even half of the BBWW. If I'm completely honest, trying half of the BBWW was terrible, I was sore for days. Actually, my beginner yoga routine made me sore too on the first week. I planned on trying the BBWW today, now that this challenge is over, just one circuit to see if I could, but I was too scared of being horribly sore again. I tried cutting each exercise in half (except for the plank because I can do 15 little seconds of plank ok!), and I managed it and it gave me some hope that it's possible. Now I want to try the whole thing, maybe I'll be able to complete 3 circuits of the full exercises by the end of the next challenge. It feels possible now and that's what really made me happy after these 6 weeks: feeling like I can do it.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention that I tried your suggestion and it really did help! Very interesting! Thanks!