DonTheBarbarian

Here is my summary of the challenge. Goal #1 – I completed 6 weeks of workouts. However, I didn’t reach the 200 crunches, so I am going to do it again to make the 200 crunches. So this challenge, I earned an “A†so that means +2 CON and +3 STA. Goal #2 – For this goal I did 4 workouts, so that means I earned a “Bâ€. So that means I earned +2 STR and +2 DEX. I did notice my flexibility has improved and how “yoga weak†I am. There were positions that I had trouble holding for a while. So that just tells me that I am strong lifting things, but not in body weight. So I want to improve that next. Goal #3 – I didn’t drink soda for 22 days, so that gives me a “Bâ€. So that gives me +2 WIS and +2 CHA. Now that I have finished my second challenge I believe that I reached Level 3. Here are my stats as I understand them. Level 3 STR +5 | STA +5 | CON +5 | DEX +4 | WIS +4 | CHA +4 Now I have to start thinking about the next challenge.

It is a little frustrating, but once I start training with someone or talk with them I realize how much I really do know. I just don't have the sash to prove it to other people. I am very old school that it is all about being able to apply what you are learning. And that doesn't mean that you have to spar every class, but you have to put everything you learn in context to how it would be applied in situations. I am 15 years old then when I started and I can't recover from those classes like I use to be able to do. Through my journeys, I have been at both kinds of schools and i liked them for different reasons. It depends on what context you want to work in an what school fits for you. For me, I don't want to train MMA style all the time. I like to work out and feel better doing that, but I think it as limited to 1 on 1 fighting. And for me, being older, I don't see myself getting into that kind of situation. I'm more of a self protection person. I am not going to get into a fight with someone at a bar (for the most part).Something more on the street and possibly more than 1 person is where I see myself. And whatever school you decide on, try it and see if you like it. You don't have the years invested yet, so try a school for a while and if you don't like it change. I have done that a few time and it wasn't that the school was bad, it just didn't fit me and my body. It is all right to change, I think, before you decide to spend years dedicated to learn what they are teaching. You might find that the style doesn't fit you. I would never do TKD because I can't jump a lot and do high kicks. I am a big guy built to fight close in and grapple if need be. So the style might not agree with your build. I don't think a little experimenting is a bad thing. And being in the art is different that just seeing it on youtube. Just my opinions.

I am currently studying Shaolin Longfist which I just started again a few months ago. Because I moved around before I studied many different styles myself. I have studied Longfist Kungfu, America Kenpo Karate, Aikido, and now back to Longfist. I am back in the area that I started with before, but with a different instructor this time. But the interesting thing about the 2 teachers I have had for my Longfist training is that they both studied under the same instructor as well. So their forms are pretty similar, and that is making it easier to get back up to speed with my forms. I am 15 years older than when I started the first time, so right now my stances aren't as deep as they once were and my conditioning isn't the same. But I am working on it. I think that actually participating in different styles has taught me and has influenced my style of fighting. From each, I can say that I have learned something that I have brought and blended into the next art. The problem with moving for me was that I didn't earn my blackbelt in any style. I've been studying for close to 15 years now, and once again I am starting over. What are you planning to study after you move?

Don the Barbarian's Reattempting his Trials of Self-Control I didn't complete the last challenge. I had some personal issues that distracted me from fully committing to the challenge. I've been able to get my head back into the game, so I'm going to try this once again. I am going to change the first challenge since going to the gym doesn’t seem to be a problem for me, even when the rest of my life looks to be falling apart. So that isn’t a worthy enough challenge for me, so that one is being changed. The other 2, I will attempt again. This time will be better. Goal #1 – Complete the 200 Sit ups (crunches) program. A = Finish 6 weeks of workouts B = Finish 5 weeks of workouts C = Finish 4 weeks of workouts F = Finish 3 weeks or less of workouts Reward: A = +2 CON B = +2 CON C = +1 CON A = +3 STA B = +2 STA C = +1 STA Motivation: I noticed during my kung fu class that my core strength is seriously lacking. Every class we do 2 sets of 25 sit ups, and I am not do all of them. So I am going to work on improving my core strength so that I can do all the sit ups. The 200 sit up program is actually crunches and not sit ups, but that is the way the program is designed. I think that this will be good, so that I am able to train a different movement and not impact the sit ups in class. Goal #2 - Do yoga at least 1 day a week using the wife's yoga videos. A = 5 days or more B = 4 days C = 3 days F = 2 days or less Reward: A = +3 STR B = +2 STR C = +1 STR A = +2 DEX B = +2 DEX C = +1 DEX Motivation: I want to improve my flexibility. I have noticed that my range of motion in my joints isn't what they use to be. So this is the start of me to make it better than it is now. Goals #3 - Not drink soda during this challenge. A = 25 days or more B = 20 days or more C = 15 days or more F = 14 days or less Reward: A = +3 WIS B = +2 WIS C = +1 WIS A = +2 CHA B = +2 CHA C = +1 CHA Motivation: In a previous challenge I logged what I ate or drank, and I noticed that I drank a lot of soda. So I want to cut that out. I think that will help me feel better and help me lose weight. I liked the idea of the boss fight that Steve wrote about in his last post. So I am going to try and think of a “boss fight†that I can do for this challenge. I am not sure what that will be at this time, but I reserve the right to add it in the next week or two.

It just dawned on me that this challenge is over. I have to say that I didn't do well this time. Between being sick and dealing with some personal issues for the last 2 months, I would have to say that failed this challenge. I pretty much got distracted about half way through and didn't get complete what I set out to do. I am sorry to have let everyone down including myself. <Sigh> This challenge is done, so I am going to get my head together and start planning the next challenge. I can't award myself and points for this challenge since I didn't really complete it. I am sorry everyone who was cheering my on to finishing this challenge. I'll take a breath and start to get ready for the next challenge.

Honestly, skipping the soda when I was sick was very very very hard. I always have some 7-up or Sprite to help with my stomach when I am sick, but I didn't this time. And it was really hard. I just got other things to drink that I could chill to make my throat feel better. So that did help, but not having any soda when I didn't feel well was hard. It is comfort thing I guess and a little comfort would have been nice. But sticking to my challenges is nice also. And now I know that when I feel bad, I don't need to turn to old comfort foods or drinks. I am glad that part is over now. Being healthy makes giving up the soda much easier.

Not well. For the past week, I have been fighting off a sore throat, fever, and aches. After 5 days, I went to urgent care and they determined that I had bronchitis. So I haven't been doing much of anything for at least a week now. I am on meds now and starting to fell better. I still have a sore throat, but that is feeling better. For a week, I didn't really eat too much because it was too painful to swallow. In the past week, I have lost about 10 pounds and my appetite. Now that I am feeling better, I am having a hard time eating (I can't believe I just said that). I am feeling weak from lack of food, so I haven't worked out for over a week. I am forcing myself to eat what I can, but not go crazy and just stuff my face. One, I am not really hungry so that wouldn't be much right now. And two, that is how people get into trouble and start to put weight back on without thinking. As for my not drinking soda challenge, I haven't had much in the last week. I have been drinking tea and gatorade trying to get some nutrients into my body. So that challenge has been going well under the circumstances. So today, I am trying to feel normal and in the next day or two I'll try and get some activity. I am starting to go crazy from just lying around coughing. It has been a rough week, and I just want to feel better. Sorry that there isn't much to report.

Thanks for letting me know about your experiences with giving up soda. I wasn't sure I was going to do that at first. But the more I thought about it, the better it sounded to me. I drink coffee, so I was starting to have some every morning as my pick-me-up. This isn't something that use to do, so I figured that I would be able to succeed with this challenge. And like you said, I'll feel better in the long run.

I know that I am coming to this challenge a little late to the party. But here are my goals for this challenge. I am trying to setup these 6 week challenges to have a theme of what I want to accomplish during the challenge. Goal #1 - Do conditioning style workout 3 days a week. A = 15 times or more B = 12 times or more C = 9 times or more F = 8 times or less Reward: A = +2 CON B = +2 CON C = +1 CON A = +3 STA B = +2 STA C = +1 STA Motivation: The last month or so, my body has been feeling "beat up". My shoulders, knees, and elbows have been sore and achy. So I want to get away from the heavy weights that I have been using and go lighter to give my body some time to recover. So these style workouts will use lighter weights but do more work with them. Plus they will help me burn off some fat, increase my muscular endurance, and kick my metabolism up. Goal #2 - Do yoga at least 1 day a week using the wife's yoga videos. A = 5 days or more B = 4 days C = 3 days F = 2 days or less Reward: A = +3 STR B = +2 STR C = +1 STR A = +2 DEX B = +2 DEX C = +1 DEX Motivation: I want to improve my flexibility. I have noticed that my range of motion in my joints isn't what it used to be. So this is the start of me to make it better than it is now. Goal #3 - Not drink soda during this challenge. A = 25 days or more B = 20 days or more C = 15 days or more F = 14 days or less Reward: A = +3 WIS B = +2 WIS C = +1 WIS A = +2 CHA B = +2 CHA C = +1 CHA Motivation: In the last challenge I logged what I ate or drink and I noticed that I drank a lot of soda. So I want to cut that out. I think that will help me feel better and help me lose weight. Let my trials begin.

Nerd Fitness 6 Week Challenge 1/5 to 2/15 Summary I completed my first 6 week challenge this weekend. I think that the first 1 went well, since I wasn't sure what I was doing at the start. Here is my summary of the challenge. Goal #1 - I made 16 workouts during this challenge. So that means that I earned +3 STR and +2 STA. With all of the weather, I made my workouts but I would have liked to get out of the house more to be outside. That wasn't part of this challenge, so I'll try and work that into the next one. Goal #2 - I made 10 kung fu classes. So I earned +3 CON and +2 DEX. I have a kung fu demo next weekend, too bad it is between challenges. It would be nice to work that in to the challenge. Goal #3 - I kept track of my food for 28 days. This was my hardest part of the challenge. Half way I reset myself by committing to this part of the challenge and I was able to turn it around. So with the number of days I made, I earned +2 WIS and +2 CHA Life Goal - I didn't finish a book during the challenge. I checked out a book from the library Conan the Invincible, and I didn't finish it before I had to return it. So I'll have to continue reading this later. So based on the leveling writeup, I believe that now that I have finished my first challenge I believe that I reached Level 2. Here are my stats as I understand them.Level 2STR +3 | STA +2 | CON +3 | DEX +2 | WIS +2 | CHA +2 I hope that I did this right. I am glad that I did this challenge and I learned at about myself and how supportive everyone here can be. Thanks to everyone who reached out and offered their support during this challenge. Now I prepare for the next one.

Time for an update on my challenges. Goal #1: I am still going to the gym and completing my workouts. I did get over a foot and half of snow in 2 days, but that didn't derail my workouts. I just made up the workouts on other days. Goal #2: I have been attending my kung fu classes and practising my sets that I'll be performing in the Chinese New Year's demo. So far, things have been going along well. After my last class, my legs have been sore. I was pushing my stances lower, and holding them longer. I guess since my legs are sore that means that I was working them hard. So that pain is worth it. Only 2 weeks until demo day. Goal #3: This is the goal that I was having the most trouble doing. Since I reset myself on this challenge, I have been doing much better. There were a few days where we celebrated my wife's birthday so I over indulged at dinners and had dessert. But those were special occasions and not my normal meals, so I didn't worry too much about them. I just treated each day individually. So if I had a bad day I didn't let that carry over to the next day. Each day was a fresh start. That seems to be working for me at this time. So I hope to keep that going. That is the latest with my goals for this challenge. We have 1 week to go and I see the finish line. Time to put my head down and sprint for the finish.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. That is the point of these challenges right? To work on things that you aren't good at to get better. At least I am not behind in more than 1 challenge or this might become much harder. But I believe I can shift my focus to the challenge that isn't going well and cruise on the other ones now that I have momentum on them. The key here is to not let the other challenges slip, but I don't think that will be a problem.

I figure that tomorrow is the half way point of my first challenge, and I can’t say that it has been perfect. It has been a great learning experience about me. Here is my update on my goals. Goal # 1: Getting to the gym to work out hasn’t been a problem. The month started out a little rough with me getting sick and last week I hurt my back. Not bad, just a little twinge that kept me from moving a lot for a few days. But I have been making it to the gym and getting my work outs in. Unless, something else happens in the next few weeks, I should be able to make keep this pace up and pass the goal. Goal #2: I have been attending my kung fu classes. I found out at the beginning of this session that we are going to be doing a kung fu demonstration for the Chinese New Year. The demo will happen after the challenge is over, which is too bad. I didn’t know that when I started the challenge, but that is the way the fortune cookie crumbles. In the demo I’ll be going, within a group, the first couple of forms that I have been learning. I am nervous as hell, but that it what challenges are for right. Right now I am working on getting ready for the demo, so I should be able to pass this goal. Goal #3: This has been my most challenging goal of the challenge. I haven’t been current on this goal like I thought that I would be. I haven’t been recoding my food in my journal regularly. This has caused me to fall behind in the goal. I don’t have anyone to blame for that. I have just been lazy. The other goals have been easier for me to track, but this one I have let slip. Well starting today, I recommitted myself to getting this goal done. At this point I won’t be able to earn my “A†in this goal, but I can still earn a “Bâ€. That is my progress on my challenges up to this point. Let the second half begin.

The start of this challenge started out a little rough. I got a cold just before the start of the challenge. So I wasn’t able start out like I was planning. I haven’t been able to work out as often as I was planning. The weather here got really cold, and so many of the schools and city building were closed due to the weather. So this cancelled some kung fu classes. I am not making any excuses, things happen that are out of our control. I am just starting a little slower than I wanted, but I am moving forward. I am loading up on power potions (tea and protein shakes) and taking power up tablets (meds) to get back up to normal. I feel my energy returning, so I am powering up and getting back on track. So I have encountered my first test in this challenge. I feel like this is the first encounter of a RPG, a simple encounter to get you use to how the game works. It isn’t there to defeat you, but help you learn. Thanks for taking the time to check on me, erosan. It is nice to know that I am not going through this alone. I’ll make a note to make updates to my challenge at least on a weekly basis. Is that how often people make updates or do they do it more frequently?

Hi Rubicon. Welcome to the game. I am sure that you will do great. I'm pulling for you.

Sorry to hear about the health issues and I glad that you are getting back into the game. I am pulling for you.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Jezaraen. I am sure that you will on your challenge as well.

I am very impressed, that is exactly what it is from. It seemed appropriate since that is basically what is we are all trying to do with these different challenges.

Hi Teirin. Thanks for letting me know about the Book Club area. I will have to go check it out. As for my workouts, I mostly focus on a powerlifting style workout. I don't have any desire to compete or anything, but I just want to be as strong as I can be. So I was basically using full body workouts where each workout focused on deadlift, bench press, or squat with some accessory exercises. Last year, I started to break down with shoulder pain and lower back pains. So doing workouts started to be counterproductive, and I realized that I needed to make some changes. Starting this year, I have realized that I can move larger weights, but I have lost some of my movement and flexibility. Especially for doing martial arts and doing more than a movement more than 5 times. So I am going to keep working the deadlift, bench press, and squat because I love to do them. I am going to try using 5/3/1 programming for those exercises because you go for rep PRs on the last sets of each. So I am hoping that will give me more muscular endurance. The rest of my workouts will be more a bodybuilding style exercise to build up the support muscles for those exercises. And I would not ashamed to say to look better as well. Thank you for inviting me to Courtyard to say hi. I am new to all of this, so I don’t want to jump into something before I was ready. Just a little back ground on my martial arts training. I started out with kenpo karate back in the 90’s. Because of school, I had to stop and I didn’t get back into it until 2000. Since then I have studied kung fu, kenpo karate again, aikido, and now back to kung fu. I have moved around a lot, so when I moved I had to pick up a different art to study because my older style wasn’t available in my new area. But I think that by studying different styles, I have a wider view and greater appreciation for different arts. That is just a little background my martial arts journey so far. But enough about me. Have you only study judo or have you studied something else before that? How long have you been practicing? Also, I noticed that you have a Battle Log in your signature. Do you record you workouts there? I am asking because I just started to record my workouts in Fitocracy. I have recorded my workouts for years in notebooks, so I thought it might be interesting to post them online as well to have them more accessible. Do find it helpful for you?

This is my first 6 week challenge and I am a little nervous and scared. That tells me that I need to do this because I am stepping out of my comfort zone. I feel like I am starting out on my own hero’s journey like Bilbo, Frodo, or Luke. So at the same time, I feel excited to be joining the rest of the rebellion marching to face their challenges. Here is my first 6 week challenge info. Main Quest - Lose weight. I weighted myself this morning, so I am starting at 265. My goal is to lose 50 pounds. These are just numbers for gauging my progress. Goal #1 - Workout 3 days a week. A = 15 times or more B = 12 times C = 9 times F = 8 times or less Reward: A = +3 STR B = +2 STR C = +1 STR A = +2 STA B = +2 STA C = +1 STA Goal #2 - Sign up for Kung Fu and attend classes each week. (2 classes a week) A = 10 classes or more B = 8 classes C = 6 classes F = 5 classes or less Reward: A = +3 CON B = +2 CON C = +1 CON A = +2 DEX B = +2 DEX C = +1 DEX Goal #3 - Record food daily and keep calories under 2100 total for the day. A = 35 days or more B = 28 days C = 21 days F = 20 days or less Reward: A = +3 WIS B = +2 WIS C = +1 WIS A = +2 CHA B = +2 CHA C = +1 CHA Life Goal - Read more books. Pass or Fail = Read at least 1 book during this challenge. Motivation = To become the person that I know that I can be.

Thanks to snowfox and Strickland5 for the warm welcomes. snowfox, I feel the same way, and it is nice to be a part of such a great community. I just got to see the last of the Hobbit movies last night. I liked it, sorry to see the end of Middle Earth on the big screen. What am I going to look forward to next year? Strickland5, I am going to be reading The Coming of Conan the Cimmarian on my flight to Mexico for vacation. I got it for a pre-Christmas gift, so I am looking foward to it.

Hello to everyone, my name is Don the barbarian. I have been reading the Nerd Fitness articles and the forums for a while, but I haven't had the courage to join the rebellion until today. I don’t have a lot of friends to look to for support, and things in my life have changed causing me to withdraw even more. So I am reaching out to the coolest group of people that share similar interests as me. I am 40 years old overweight former athlete, swimmer, who still lifts weights 3 to 4 days a week. I just got back into studying Shaolin kung fu a couple of months ago. I have studied various martial arts over the last 14 years. I have studied kenpo karate, kung fu, tai chi, aikido, and now back to kung fu. I would study for a while and because I would move, have to stop one and start another in my new area. I was always into science fiction and fantasy stories and movies. Three years ago, I rediscovered my love of Conan the Cimmerian stories and movies. Since that time, I have been reading anything I can find about Conan and his adventures. Books, comics, movies, you name it. The only person cooler to me is Indiana Jones, but that is for a completely different reason. Two years ago, my job at my company changed and I work out of my house now. Since then I don’t interact with a lot of people any more. I am not shy or anything, I am just not outgoing and tend to be a homebody. So I don’t interact socially with a lot of people any more. When I worked in a office, I would be able to talk to different people and have lunch with my colleagues. But I don’t have that anymore, and I have become more introverted and socialize even less now. So I am hoping that by working on the different challenges and other ideas presented here, I’ll learn to become more outgoing and to do things that I want to experience. Just as Gandalf said the Bilbo, “The world is not in you books and maps. It’s out there.†So I am here to venture forth in search of fortune and glory. May I prove myself on the field of honor with the other brave men and women of the rebellion.