Raidho

I think it's a perfectly reasonable goal to lift a man over your head. So when you talk about tightness in the thighs and knees, are you talking in the sense of stretching/flexibility? I can handle the burn of the work out, but ask me to sit down and touch my toes.... nope. I just keep stretching a little further by further and I've made progress. I used to have the same problems like Meesa, where squats used to hurt my knees (actually lunges were the worst) but keep at it and it'll get better. It seems like your Cardiac Hill might help with that while still being low impact.

Is there room for at least one more newbie with a late start?

Hey hopefully it isn't too late for me to poke my face around here. If I could be any assassin-y type character... as tempting ans awesome Ezio Auditore would be to pick..... I would have to say I'd want to be Deadpool. I mean look at those sweet moves! But I like some wit with my anti-heroes. My first challenge got off to a little bit of a rough start, but that's on me, no excuses. I've gotten into the rhythm and have been attacking those goal every day since.

Welcome (though I'm new as well)! It sounds like you've got a pretty awesome set up as far as available equipment, though I certainly understand scheduling being an issue. I've also had to deal with less than enthusiastic co-workers. Every one thinks I'm crazy getting out of the gym at 5 am at the end of a 12 hour shift. It's also crazy de-motivating (I'm not sure if that's a word) to have co-workers that seem to make you feel outcast for wanting to be in shape. What I do is just focus on my goals and stay enthusiastic about my progress. Usually they either catch the bug or I end up using their lack of enthusiasm to fuel my fire and remind me of my old mentality/the mentality I don't want to have. I look forward to hearing about your adventures in getting back into routine!

UPDATE TIME! So I won't lie... my challenge got off to a rocky start.... ok so it didn't start at all at first. However, I finally pushed myself to get going. I stopped saying that I didn't have the time and energy because of work, and started looking at working out as an energy boost and as something I wanted to do, even if it would mean less free time. So, technically, it's been a week. Thus far I have been working out. I'm trying to stick to one day on one day off, but my schedule has made it look more like.... two days on, one day off. But I figure as long as I'm not overworking myself, and getting recovery time, while still actually making it to the gym.So far I'm just happy that I'm getting there regularly. I forgot how addicting the gym can be. As far as fast food, I've been able to avoid it. Though, I've had to alter my definition slightly. As much as I'd love to be able to meal plan and lay out food to ensure I'd be able to eat right, my living situation isn't really conducive to that (though that should be changed in the next month). Thus, I've realized that, on occasion I'm stuck eating Wawa hoagies, or chipotle every now and then, but I have sworn off all the fried, greasy chains. It's not perfect, but it's a start and I'm always trying to make the best decision, even if it's the lesser of 2 evils. Yoga, however, is a bit of a struggle. Flexibility is something that I'm lacking. While I know that yoga will help improve that (and I am stretching a lot), it just has been farther down on my priority list. Hopefully NerdFitness yoga will roll out soon and give me something to hold onto. In other news..... apparently I don't totally hate running. It's hard... .and not necessarily my favorite, but I've been having nice 20 minutes jog. I have a friend who's worked a ton on their body and through talking with him, I discovered the fact that I need ankle wraps. These have helped SOOOOOO much. I just need to get a torso wrap or a compression shirt because my belly fat starts to get a lil painful after running a while. And yes, I've been reading an hour every day.

Greenjasper - Currently I'm re-reading The Complete Hitchiker (faux)Trilogy. I'll read about anything you set in front of me. I'm terrible at picking out a good book to read, though. Jaex- Thank you! I thought hard and realized that I wanted to kinda cover all my basis since this is challenge one for me. I figure I can always focus in more with each other challenge.

Hmmmm.... running with things to do in between the runs doesn't sound to bad. My real dislike isn't short distance running... it's long distances. I'll shoot ya a PM.

Introduction: Hi everyone! I'm Riadho. I'm 25, 175lbs, and 5' 7". I manage a movie theatre, so it's not the best job for inspiring fitness. I love reading books and comics. I'm a little music obsessed. I also like to knit. As far a physical activities, I'm a big fan of hiking, geocaching, biking, and geocaching. I'm trying to change my body and want to be able to keep up with my athletic boyfriend and our dog....and to prove to myself that I can do this! Main Quest: Drop to 14% body fat by the end of the year Quest 1: Practice yoga every single day (I'm lacking in flexibility). Measurement: A= Every Day, B= At least 30 days C- At least 20 Days Reward: A= +3 STA, +2 STR +1 CHA B= +2STA +1 CON C= +1 STA Quest 2: No more fast food! Measurement: A = 0 fast food, B = 1 meal of fast food per week C = 2 meals per week Reward: A = +3 CON, B = +2CON, C = +1 CON Quest 3: Complete 1 work out (or equivalent activity - ie. hiking, kayaking, etc) 4-5 times a week. Measurement: A = 4-5 times; B = 3 times C = 1-2 times a week Reward: A = +3 STR, +2 DEX +2 CHA, B = +2 STR, +1 DEX, C = +1STR Life Quest: Read for at least one hour every single day. Measurement: A = 42 days, B = 36 days, C = 30 days Reward: A = +2 WIS +1 CHA, B = +1 WIS, C = +0.5 WIS Motivation: As I said before, I want to be able to keep up with my boyfriend and my dog (and also my friends). I've become inflexible and easily winded. I want to be able to be a superhero to those I know (plus being attractive never hurt anyone)

Hi everyone, So, my fitness life is basically a long list of strong starts followed by getting completely sidetracked and falling off the fitness wagon. I used to be the really skinny skid who was also short. Athletic things intimidated the crap out of me. Then, as I got older that little skinny kid eventually started to look less like an elf more and more like a dwarf. As it stands I'm 25, 5' 7" and 175 lbs and 24% body fat. Long term, I'd like to drop that fat percentage closer to 14%. I'm not so much concerned with my weight, I don't mind be short and bulky, as long as I'm strong. Honestly, the drive i get to look good comes from watching my heroes in comics, shows, movies, and video games. I want to be able to do what they do. I want to be able to free run like Ezio, to have the stamina of Deadpool (not the face though). I live in Philadelphia (Go Union!) and I'm a manager at movie theatre.... which isn't really the most health based job. Despite my tendencies toward laziness, I really enjoy hiking, and geocaching. I'm a reader and singer. I love to dance (not that I'm any good at it). I LOATH running. I'm glad that it makes people happy (my boyfriend of 3 years loves running). But it's just not something I like. I do love talking and egtting to know new people. Oh and I can knit.... like a proper viking. I'm also bad at thinking of what to say about myself. So please feel free to ask me just about any question you can think of. I'm a very open person. Anyway, I think this has gotten long enough! Hello everyone! I look forward to getting to know you all.