realbrickwall

mobilitywod.com might have some good stuff for leg mobility (which is basically mobile flexibility, as opposed to static flexibility). Give it a look. I'd also recommend working on your balance. Nothing inhibits power in high kicks like struggling to avoid falling while kicking. Yoga is awesome for mobility and balance, if you're looking for a discipline that packages those fitness goals.

Seriously, are girl push-ups just a word for knee push-ups? I've never seen the term before this thread. Who even uses it? They're jerks.

Door frame. Also, congrats. Pull-ups on difficult ledges are a cool thing!

I flit between activities all the time. I have an encyclopedia of dalliances when it comes to skills and talents. Believe me when I say I understand what it's like to be obsessed, and then soon not interested. I think what has really made me stick with this whole fitness thing so far is one thing: there's this guy I know. This guy is incredible. He's multilingual, he's published fiction, he can parkour and rock climb at near-professional levels, and he's good-looking to boot. This guy is who I wish I was. But this isn't the sort of guy I wish I was in the sense that I can't be him. He's the sort of guy I could be "if". I used to not really know what came after that "if". I thought it was circumstance. That it was a more productive childhood. That it was genetics. NerdFitness taught me that it's work. I can be that guy if I work at it. It's not too late. My motivation is to be that guy. There's a vision of a "perfect me" in my mind. And, while perfection is impossible, it lies at the end of an infinite road that everyone wants to be further along, but most people don't know the direction of. I have my heading. And now, I know that there's always something I can do to take another step. I'll never be at level cap (well, maybe I will be when I die). But that doesn't mean I'm stuck at low levels. I don't think there's anything I can tell you that will help you find some guiding light through the haze of life. But, even if you're lost, there is something I want you to do: I want you to keep walking. You could stand still and keep trying to figure it out. Maybe you'd even find the right way. But, in the end, I think you'd always regret not going with your best guess and just getting a move on. Because your instinct is better than you think. As for overthinking...that's a problem everyone has. Especially smart people. You'll never truly be able to stop. But try to think of some ideas that will help you ameliorate the issue. Make yourself a "thinking timer" where, if you're trying to think about something, you set it, and after it goes off, you have to do something, even if it's something unrelated to the issue, for at least 5 minutes. That's actually probably a horrible idea, but spouting off every idea that comes to your head will eventually get a good one out. Something that few people appreciate is that, though ideas do gestate in your head, they keep doing so even once you've gotten them out. I often redevelop things I've already written. The world is an idea-building environment. So, get out of your head, and get into the world. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. The short version is that you sound paralyzed and that's bad. I want you to move, and I think you're a little afraid to. And maybe you're not, but I'd like to hear that you're moving, all the same.

Awesome! Now do plyo pistols. >

Question: these habits you're developing, what do you want to get out of them? When you answer that question, find out EVERYTHING you could POSSIBLY do to get to them. Then, select the path that you think will work best for you. There are many ways to build great habits. Some people really do best with a daily checklist. I think you don't like that. Here's an alternate proposal: make yourself an XP bar. Choose actions that get you towards your goals. Those add XP. It doesn't matter what interval lies between them. Make "levels", which have rewards. Perhaps you will find that you work harder to gain those rewards, and thus, you end up building habits. Or maybe that won't work for you. But, clearly, your current method is making you miserable. And life is about being happy, even if you are working hard. I know that I'm very happy with my workouts and with my yoga and with my writing. If they made me unhappy, I'd stop. But don't give up. Analyzing and making new approaches is all well and good, but never EVER say "I can't do it". Because saying that is the ONLY thing that makes you unable to get where you want to go. Unless you're trying to invent FTL travel. But, even then, persistence often turns up useful results. Ask any physicist.

I know what you mean about wanting to bulk but wanting to get low body-fat first. I won't feel comfortable bulking until I at least get rid of this gut. We'll see about the six-pack when it comes to that.

Feel free! I'm happy to share what knowledge that I can. However, I do encourage that you use the forums themselves, even for small questions. There are many approaches to bodyweight training and to martial arts. Getting multiple perspectives is essential to improvement. Even the best source (which I'm not) is still one source. We here at NerdFitness have a firm belief in helping those with questions who seek knowledge and improvement, so don't hesitate to ask anyone here any question that you have.

Yes. You think I'm kidding, but the Assassin challenge forums end up getting a lot of bodyweight tips posted in them that don't go anywhere else. As good as our more educational members are about spreading the knowledge, even more ends up in our challenge threads. However, if you have specific questions, or are looking for a knowledge-focused thread, the bodyweight strength training (and, sometimes, the parkour/gymnastics) forums are your best bet.

You're entering a hobby in which people will hit you with sticks until you stop moving. You're much more likely to get an injury from SCA than you are from weights. However, if you'd rather stick to bodyweight, well, believe me, I understand *points to Assassin logo*. You can get stronger without iron. Please join us in our bodyweight strength forums. We'd love to have you around!

I'm definitely taking this. I might make my own. Maybe I could use "The Fragrance of Dark Coffee"...

I certainly hope you wore a pink tracksuit and played the music from Punch Out.

I've never heard of the phrase "girl push-up". I don't know what it's supposed to mean. Wait. It's a push-up with a girl sitting on your back. Do those.

The best way to get stronger at something is to do it a lot, and that's definitely true for holding heavy objects. Honestly, though, you'll be much better served by a full body workout. Biceps, triceps, delts, traps, lats, pecs, quads, calves, abs, and everything else. They're all important for power, agility, and endurance in a fight. I know that a NF member advocating strength training is nothing new, but it really is a good idea.

Are you resting? If you're doing high-intensity workouts more than three times a week, you're going to see diminished capability. No matter how much fuel you put into it, your engine can only take so much. Try taking it easy for a couple days. I know it feels like you're not doing anything, but rest is an important part of going stronger.

Hired muscle would be Jayne types, who basically fight fight and more fight. Zoe is kind of the all-around troubleshooter. She's tough, she has good ideas, she knows what's going on, she can keep a vehicle going the way it's supposed to, and she's immune to ever giving up. They're both good characters to have around. But, I agree, we kinda need some firepower right now. Can't do much work without the tools.

I did it for a bit (technically not SCA, but another European MA society which used broadswords). Unfortunately, there are a number of swordfighting styles practiced in the SCA, so I can hardly give you specific advice. My advice to you, therefore, is to practice, and to look out for toxic practice partners. You are fighting for sport and training, not to actually fight. The fighting part of the SCA (yes, there's LOTS of other parts) tends to attract people who really enjoy the idea of letting loose on another person. That is not safe or healthy, even with practice weapons. Find people who will not go easy on you, but who also won't be complete assholes to you. Oh, also, drills. Find some drills for good weapon swings, stances, movements, and blocks, whatever your style. Drilling form gives you good form. Good form, even in a pitched battle, works wonders. I've had my butt kicked by enough good fighters to recognize that they're using technique, not just better reflexes. That's something you don't get without constant practice.

Persistent wrist pain is a common symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome. But it might be something else. Joint injuries are weird.

Don't feel like you need to fit into someone else's fitness goals. Our ethos is all about each person achieving that which brings them the most happiness in life. We will all be here to help you find and pursue your passion, wherever it may end up lying.

I don't feel like I even need to make a comment on this. Are there pictures of your WW cosplay on the forums already? If not, there should be!

It tasted nothing like bacon, and had these weird chewy parts, but overall, it was tasty. Tastier than the ribs, at any rate (I never thought the meat of an animal's ribs could taste so mediocre).

Why not? In ten years, you'll still want to be fit. In ten years, you will only be fit if you start now. So, do what you can!

Today, I got to do an outdoor parkour workout. Woo! Said workout was actually mostly running and (attempted) climbing, but still. I went back to the awesome fallen-tree valley and tried to climb up it again. I got a lot farther (by which I mean, more than two feet up), and then I grabbed what turned out to be a loose rock. Thankfully, it was only a five-foot fall, but it was onto rocks. I didn't get hurt, but I could have, especially since rolling was basically impossible. Next time, I'm bringing gloves and trying to take the tree up, because that was scary. All in all, it was mostly failed attempts to climb stuff. I also found some places where I could do wall run and tic tac practice, though they were not completely vertical walls, so it wasn't ideal. Better than nothing, though. Also, I feasted upon the heart of a wild boar. No joke. Believe me, I know I'm making progress. In July, I could use the third notch on my belt with discomfort. Right now, I'm at that exact point with the sixth notch, and still trimming. I can do three pull-ups, and I couldn't even do one at the beginning of September. I'm making transformations that, as recently as June, I didn't even consider as being possible, and was resigned to simply being things I couldn't do. But I never want to have the attitude that I'm doing "good enough". There may be some times where I must do reduced work to optimize my quality of life, but even then, it's a case of rest being a necessary part of exercise (I went from 2 to 3 pull-ups after my week OFF of strength training). There's always a way to do better, and if I ever let myself stop trying to do better, then I will start doing worse.

I found it and watched it when you mentioned it. Honestly, with fight choreography like they had, they should have made it much more actiony, because their one big fight was better done than some that Hollywood's cranked out. My character isn't quite like that guy, personality-wise, but she'll be having a very similar role. She will definitely act as a fixer, due to her contacts (I took Friends in High AND Low Places), and she's very social-focused, so she'll be at the front of a lot of those sorts of dealings. Besides that, her primary focus is buying and selling, so she'll have a great place in a crew that's always tight on money. She's great at finding deals, selling things for more than they're worth (or more than what they are made to look like they're worth, wink wink), and otherwise managing money. She's actually technically not going to be part of the crew. More like "highly invested permanent passenger", a la Inara and Book. Still, with her around, the crew will likely be very comfortable when times are good, and manage better when times are lean. As far as relationships with the rest of the crew, she's the kind of person who makes a lot of effort to stay on everyone's good side. Whether your character finds that somehow distasteful or not is up to you, but she definitely acts genuinely nice and agreeable with even people who openly take a disliking to her. She is a money-grubber, but that's not exactly an uncommon trait out in the black, and she tends to make shows of generosity and sharing her fortune when she feels she can manage it. When it comes to politics, she's adamantly non-committal, and she is genuinely evasive when it comes to any deep matters like religion or heartfelt beliefs. She'll happily act as a listening board and sympathetic conversant to anyone else on those sorts of things, though. It's unlikely she'd be in anyone's backstory. She'd have found this ship as a matter of convenience, not attachment. Harness, you're the captain, so she's all kinds of deferential to you. When she needs something, like a particular landfall, she tends to phrase it as a favor for which she'll show appreciation, and she often does. However, as far as passengers go, she's both independent and flexible, and is usually more than willing to make concessions and plan changes as fits the crew and ship's needs. So long as it doesn't require her to pay up a big hunk of cash she might not get back, at least. And you certainly recall that she was pretty relentless with rent negotiations, even if she's never made any mention of it afterwards. But, hey, that sort of thing's half the reason you keep her on.

Diet will do most of the work for weight loss, but yoga can be great exercise if you do it right. Unless you're already a yogi or an acrobat, I guarantee you can find poses which push the edge of your athleticism when you transfer in and out of them quickly.