MementoMori

Yeah. Sorry I tend to assume most people will have only heard of Fushigi. My bad. Do you do anything like this? Just curious

It's not actually called Fushigi. That's just a brand name for that specific product. It's actually called Contact Juggling, and has been around for a while (see David Bowie in Labyrinth). *Sorry, I've had some exposure to movement arts and the busking scene. I used to spin poi and play with fire myself*

I'm actually stuck in that cycle right now... It's the second week in a row that I didn't make it past Wednesday without giving up. I want the next six week challenge to start so I can keep myself accountable that way.

It's a deal! Yes I am aware that this is a tough goal. To be honest I was going to get my coach to order me some for october-ish, but with my only starting now. I may either delay it or order some in a smaller size to motivate me. Who knows, I may eventually reach that goal and have NF to thank for it. *Maybe I'll even post that as my "After Picture"

That's exactly why I joined NF myself. I needed motivation, as well as to be kept accountable, since I don't have that good of a social life offline and live on my own, it'll be here on NF. I'm using the 6 week challenge as motivation, and trying to get things ready for when it starts. The idea of doing a challenge and seeing how I do in the end will motivate me. Maybe you should look it up too. It may give you some motivation. And if all else fails, don't let a bad couple of days snowball into weeks or months. Even if it means feeling like you're starting over AGAIN *I used emphasis there because that's what's been happening to me*, think of it as still having benefits. They may not be ideal, but the results will be better than giving up and doing nothing.

As a fellow rookie who has been trying to get back on the wagon after not doing anything for a few months straight, I understand where you're coming from. Heck I fell off the wagon last week and didn't work out until two days ago. But I'm going to keep going and make myself keep up my routine. I don't think you should do more to make up for what you missed. In fact, if you're following a routine like I am, I think you should go into the workout where you would have been that day (use the same weights you did when you last worked out) and just work at keeping consistent. It may not be the easiest, and from personal experience keeping up a diet and a workout schedule can be hard. And yes I agree, the self-loathing of missing a workout sucks, as does the self-loathing that comes from delaying one when you know you should just get it over with (my particular problem ). Find a way to keep yourself accountable (ie: friends, NF, etc.) it may motivate you more that way. You can do this! *So can I!*

I've been doing some thinking as this thread has progressed, and I definitely think that I've been wanting to do everything without looking at the big picture... I won't have much time to focus on bulking up within the next 5 or so weeks, so I'll won't even look at that until the next off season. I'll just focus on the swim training, put some running and weights in on the side to gain a little long-distance endurance and strength. Would you recommend that I run once a weel and swim three times, or is the two/two balance alright?

I definitely feel that the start of the school year will be quite a transition period for me, but if I can sustain this until then I'll make the necessary adjustments. I'll be swimming four nights a week once the water polo season starts up in September, so I feel that it's going to be maintaining the strength training that may give me some trouble. We'll see what happens, it'll definitely be a big part of the latter part of my first/upcoming six week challenge.

Ok, so I'm a swimmer by sport (Water Polo), so perhaps bulking up may not be as much of a priority and more of an aesthetic goal. I'm assuming the body fat will come naturally, as competitive swimmers tend to be rather slim (WP players are slightly bulkier, I'll admit, but I'm fairly short and small). Should I just keep focussed on the cardio via swimming and running, keep up some weight training in order to gain some muscle strength, and focus on sport-specific instead? What would you recommend if I want to focus on sport instead of aesthetics? Thanks

I have a few of the more common powers, such as speed-reading, sneaking up on people, fading into the background and a sometimes absurd memory for details and trivia. But my personal physical quirk, which admittedly runs in my family (I got it from my mother), is the ability to make my eyeballs vibrate, which is useful for staring contests. I can't see fine detail too well when I do it, as my entire field of vision is shaking rapidly. If I have an object to focus on they can go even faster. Hope that counts

Thanks for the response, sorry I took so long to reply. So would the first cut have more of an emphasis on cardio than those that focus on bulking up? I currently do (or at least am starting to do) 2 running days, 2 swimming days and 2 strength training days per week (both full body) Do you think that would help with fat loss or should I personally go for fitness goals and let the fat loss come in time?

I'm slightly embarassed to admit that I'm the only member of my family (including aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents) that doesn't have a tattoo who isn't either a little old lady or too young. I've grown up around them my entire life, but haven't found the design I would get inked into my skin... until now... I admit, this won't happen until I've achieved my body fat goal, mostly for motivation and vanity's sake, but I already know exactly what I want: A skull, surrounded by easter lilies with two pieces of parchment, one above and one below it. The top one will say Memento Mori (Remember to Die), and the bottom one will say Memento Vivere (Remember to Live) *It's the reason my username is Memento Mori* I'm likely going to get it along my side. I'll post pics when I get it done!

Hey guys, Yes I know I ask a million and a half questions, and that's mostly because I'm all over the place, but this one is fairly simple. I have a few long-term goals that I want to achieve, but I'm not sure in which order to put them into. My long-term goals are: -Reduce my body fat % to 8-10 (currently in the low 20's I believe) -Gain muscle mass/Bulk up -Gain muscle strength -Gain endurance *I think this one can be done throughout, but I chose to include it anyway* I like being organized, and knowing which goals make more sense to do first, and which ones can wait. Any ideas? Thanks for answering all my questions - MM

My Strength Routine is mentioned above Admittedly I will tone it down a tiny it as I'm still sore from Monday... I work at the pool as a lifeguard, so I have regular access, and I could easily swim more than twice a week by replacing a running day with another swimming day. If you'd like I can post the sets as well if you'd like to critique them. Do you think I should focus on swimming and weight training, and put yoga and running on the back burner? Thanks a ton for all the detailed advice, it really helps me sort things out and get ready for the upcoming challenge.

Do you think that I could eventually transition from one to the other (Muscle Endurance to Muscle Size, and Burning Fat to Bulking Up) I may eventually change my goals in order to gain more muscle once I've slimmed down. Or do you guys feel that it would be better to do this the other wat around? Thanks again for all the advice, I'm definitely going to follow it.

Any recommendations of what I can do in order to work up to using Yoga X as a rest day? Should I still try and do yoga, but just not that particular set?

I have to agree with you that my fitness regime is fairly cardio based. I definitely think that has to do with my circumstances and my goals. I've played water polo for four years, and being fairly short/small means that I can't beat people in terms of strength for that reason I've had to be fast instead. Ex: I can outswim my coach, a rather buff guy who isn't much older than myself and has an extra 5-6 inches on me heightwise. The people who tend to outswim me are the former competitive swimmers for the most part. BUT my problem is that I have fairly poor cardiovascular endurance; I can go fast, but not for very long. Even after one 25m sprint in the pool I will find myself slowing down. So my main goal is to improve my endurance levels for when the new season starts. Admittedly, vanity does come in as well, as water polo is a sport where male players tend to not wear very much (speedos, square-leg suits and jammers), so I do want to look good in a swimsuit as well. So building muscle and burning fat would help I hope. With that in mind, are there any suggestions as to how I can tailor this regime to my goals? Thanks for all the feedback, it is much appreciated.

I'm not exactly new, but due to the fact that I've never been consistent in maintaining training is why I'm not in better shape. I did some crossfit stuff on-and-off with members of my water polo team, but that was never too serious. I did train with the same sets I'm using now a few years back, but only for one summer and it never lasted. I thought that perhaps the yoga would count as a rest day, or is that not really the case? I also do work part-time at the moment, so I have a fair amount of time on my hands outside of the workouts. Anyways, here's the set and the amount of weight I'm likely gonna start using: Pre-workout warm-up = 5 minute run Abs - Crunch Twists (15) Knee to Chest Crunches (15) Side-Ups (10 each side) Back - Plank hold with lift (10) Back extensions (15) The weights portion I do each set twice (Squats are 12 reps, everything else is 10) Squats (I used 70lbs, may increase that to 75) Barbell Bench Press (I used 70, gonna increase to 75) Seated Barbell Front Press - (I used 70, gonna decrease to 65 if not lower) Barbell upright row - (Used 70, going to decrese to 65) Barbell Bicep Curl - (I used 45, going to decrease it to 40) One armed dumbbell tricep kickbacks - Used 30lbs Wide grip front pulldowns (with a machine) [used 60] Leg extensions (with a machine [used 100, may keep it at that point or reduce it to 95] That's the full strength training routine Swimming I have split into four sets with identical warmups (900m) and cooldowns (500m) One is an endurance set, one is a main and sprint set, one is a ladder set, and the last one is a sprint. Hope that is useful info Sorry for the long post

As a newbie who is planning to take part in the next 6 week challenge, I'm hoping to find a fitness routine that will achieve my goals and be reasonable. So I'll just break down my current schedule into days, and if further detail is required for an honest opinion don't hesitate to request it. *I don't mind posting the sets/workouts* Sunday - Run in the Park (Currently 2.5km run, with 2k walk there and back) Monday - Strength Training (Full-Body, Barbell-based) Tuesday - Swim (One of four sets that an old water polo teammate of mine made for me) *Today I swam a 2.9k endurance set* Wednesday - Yoga (P90x Yoga X, chose this as my off day. Had considered doing it daily, but it's an hour and a half long and I'm still sore from monday) Thursday - Strength Training (Either the same as monday, or a variation based on dumbbells, haven't decided) Friday - Run in the Park (Same route until I feel I should increase the distance) Saturday - Swim (a different set than tuesday) So that's what I'm doing (or at least planning on doing) What do you guys think? *Off Topic Which class would I fall under: Adventurer or Ranger? (I'm not currently doing crossfit, although that may come up once the water polo season starts up_ Thanks - MM

Thanks for the idea I've heard elsewhere that it's my core that's weak and that my back is compensating, but it's possible it's the other way around. I may need to do some research into the matter. If I find conclusive or convincing evidence I'll post it. But until then, I'll definitely try these things out. Thanks again

This is something that has been going on since before NerdFitness days, but I'm hoping that a collective of nerds can help solve this little conundrum: For years now whenever I do any abs/core-specific exercises, such as plank, crunches, etc., I always feel it in my back and not my core. I do slouch, especially when seated, if that helps any. (May just be extranneous information) But it's always my back that feels the strain during any abs-related work, and I don't know how to fix this. Any ideas, advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated. *Also, if this has already been discussed, a link to that thread will suffice* Thanks

Status Update: I've started running and going to the gym, tomorrow I'll be starting to swim as well. I'm planning on doing full body weight training two days a week, running two days a week and swimming two days a week (with yoga each of those days as well), along with a run and a swim together on the last day. My only question is (advice and opinions are welcome as always): Is this too much? should I give myself a rest day? Do you think I'm going to run myself ragged if I keep this up? *yes I know that was three questions, but I like to think of it as asking the same question three different ways* Thanks -MM

Hi D_chelyst. I've never actually heard of that song (about to look it up). The phrase itself has been around for quite some time, and can be interpreted as a bit of a darker "carpe diem". To be honest, I chose that username because it's going to be a part of the tattoo I mentioned in my first post. As for fitness, my plan so far is to swim three times a week, run three times a week, strength train twice and do yoga as well. The only overlap other than one day where I'm both running and swimming will be doing yoga post-workout. At the moment diet is mostly going to involve cutting out sweets (I have a mouth full of sweet teeth) and using a few cookbooks' worth of recipes. I'm not ready for Paleo yet because I love dairy and bread, although it may come in the more distant future. Thanks for the insight, it's much appreciated, as are off-topic moments. I do those a lot.

I've looked around, and it seems that the current 6 week challenge is already more than half done. I can wait a couple of weeks to start one, but until then I'm just going to do my own personal challenge instead to get myself ready I'm going to focus on keeping committed during the next couple of weeks, just to make sure I can stick to something as big as a six week challenge. It'll also make it easier for me to adapt the workouts and the schedule I'm hoping to maintain, so that it isn't unrealistic. Thanks for pointing me in that direction. It's great motivation. Have you done a six week challenge yourself? If so, how did it go?

Hi, I'm Dylan. I'm going to break this down into sections, just for organizations sake. *Warning: Rather Long Post, I have a bad habit of being verbose* About Me (The Basics): I'm a university student in my early twenties, and a man of rather eclectic tastes. I'm not exactly a nerd, but not exactly anything else either; I dabble in a bit of everything without really falling into a specific category or social scene. Why I'm here (My Problems): I'll start with the fact that I stumbled onto this site last weekend, and something clicked in my head. I eventually e-mailed Steve, and his response was to show me that day's blog post: "Getting Back On Track When Life Sucks", as well as to invite me to join the community. I guess I finally have, almost a week later... Which brings me to point 1: I procrastinate. A Lot. As a student with a part time job, I have quite a bit of time on my hands. But with the loss of a regular routine (my team doesn't play over the summer, which means that my regular fitness habit is gone) and a complete lack of social life, which I'm working on fixing by dabbling in the local nerd culture and spending time with another university club I'm active in, have left me with no motivation or energy. I don't like where I'm at in life, and I want to change as much a possible. But I'm not sure I can, which scares me. But I think with some support I can do it, which is why I'm here. What I want to change: Fitness is one component that I need to work on, as I'm in a sport that I love and want to do the best I can in. The fact that the typical equipment consists of a speedo (I swim/play water polo) is a major motivating factor as well. I want to be a good player, but I want to look the part as well. I need to work on building a support network, as at the moment my social life consists of people I see in one context (work, certain social events), and otherwise I don't have any close friendships. So not having a social life does cause me some trouble. *P.S: I don't have facebook, which has benefits and consequences* At the heart of it all, I feel that I have very little confidence in myself and somewhat of a low self-esteem, which contributes to and is influenced by my current issues. A bit of a vicious cycle really. My goals: I want to get into shape, which to me means: -Not dying every time I run/sprint (I blame my lungs) -Having a better endurance in and out of the pool -Having some degree of muscle strength (mostly upper body) *For vanity's sake, that also means looking good in a speedo *Another vanity motive is a tattoo I want to get on my side I want to be more comfortable in my own skin I want to build a support network and a social network Sorry for the rant. That's it for now. Wish me Luck.