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1st 6 week challenge here

So I am new to Nerd Fitness and this is my first 6 week challenge. Working to get back in shape and be ready for my wedding next February. I am 6'6" and 238 lbs. ~20 %BF My Goals over the next 6 weeks Lose at least 15 lbs. Do this by cutting Carbs on not weight lifting days and less than 100g on lifting days. Additionally return to ESE IF 2x a week. Return back to John Romanello's recommendation of a morning warm-up just after getting out of bed. This has always been very helpful for me. Bring my distance run up form 2 miles to 3 miles. Include 3 heavy weight workouts every week Increase my current max bench of 145lbs by 20% Hit 10 pullups Return back to my weekly martial arts training. Hopefully for the next challenge I can join the Assassin's guild. Sounds interesting. If anyone has any recommendations I welcome them. I will be making weekly updates with a weigh in every Monday.

Gah, I'm late! Seeing as I recklessly abandoned my first 6 week challenge, it's time to try again; this time with a tangible goal at the end of the challenge. Main Quest: Improve strength and endurance for karate and lifting. As some may know, I'm in love with powerlifting and I also practice Shotokan karate. The two don't particularly go hand in hand, but they do complement each other. While I'm psyched I've gone from deadlifting 135lb to 205lb in less than a year's time, my squats fell prey to poor form and I'm not at all where I want to be for bench presses. Shotokan is all about strong, low stances and quick and powerful punches. Here's how I'm gonna do this:Dedicate 30 minutes each day to karate basics (kihon), focusing primarily on blocks and leg position, holding for 10-15 seconds each.Squat with purpose. While there's little more satisfying than driving up from a heavy squat, my focus here will be maintaining balance and form while driving up from the squat at about half my normal speed.Pass my karate exam on May 17, 2015! This is my end goal for this challenge. If I pass, this will push me into the intermediate level. If I don't, I'll try again during Fall exams .Life Quest: Memorize kihon (basics) commands in Japanese. Since this next exam will push me into a somewhat more advanced level of training, I'm expected to know at least some of the movement commands in Japanese. So why not study them all? In lieu of flashcards that I'm sure to lose, I'll use my nerdy know-how to build a electronic mini-quiz for myself. Maybe this will even morph into another side-quest where I actually fiddle around with my Raspberry Pi!Accountability: I plan to update this thread every Wednesday with my overall progress for the week and recap the previous Tuesday night's karate class. **Last Update: 5/20/15 (see comments)**

Hi! I only got the email about the next 6 week challenge about 30 mins ago so I'm far from prepared and unsure if this is the correct way to go about things. But the timing was good as I was on the verge of action either way. I was hoping to be an Assassin but a recent tear to my hamstring tendon has ensured that neither running or jumping are in my near future. And I guess that brings me to the point of my 6 week challenge. I have been keen as to start learning Parkour but obviously that's going to have to wait. But my other love has always been martial arts. Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Ninjutsu... I have enjoyed every facet of the martial arts I have trained. So it looks like I'll be a monk at least for a while. But... injury. This has been the scourge of my existence for the last 8 years. Every time I get involved with a martial art/ weight program/ anything within this time frame I have been injured. And usually in a way that lays me up for a while and takes my efforts back to square one. To be honest it's extremely discouraging but what choice is there but to learn from my mistakes and adjust? With this in mind I have started working hardcore with a physio and exercise scientist to fix my manky movement patterns. And manky they are but I am slowly progressing. I am a very experienced lifter and worked as a personal trainer for 5 years in an environment where appearance > sense and I believe that my issues and muscular imbalances stem from this period in my life. So here is my plan: Main Quest: To do my physio/ corrective workouts as prescribed without deviation for the six weeks. I will record every workout and resist the temptation to push myself beyond my workouts and allow my body to recover and grow strong before I prepare for the zombie apocalypse. God help me if it comes before I can run again though... Quest 1: Within the next 24 hours I will contact the Kung Fu school I have been looking at for the last fortnight or so and book an introductory lesson... AFTER first explaining to them my limits. I will attend a minimum of two lessons per week and practise on my days off. Quest 2: I will improve my cooking so that my (mostly) Paleo meals actually taste good. I am a terrible cook although I have mastered the esoteric art of making crackling on Pork Belly. Motivation: I want to do Parkour and I want to study Tiger Claw Kung Fu. To do this to the best of my abilities I need to have a body I can depend upon and that will not injure easily like it has in the past. And I want to be ready on the off chance I am called to be Batman. I am 37 so I still have plenty of time to do the above and save Gotham. P.s. I'm pretty keen on becoming Batman. Just thought I'd throw it out there

TiffanyD’s New Trait – Tactical Advantage In order to have a tactical advantage at all times you must be skilled, have clarity, and always prepared. My skill-set is growing! I can now deadlift my body weight, which was my big goal for this year (I guess I jumped the shark early on that one). Now that my strength has improved greatly through Strong Lifts I am switching to Strong Curves to A. Keep things fresh and B. Focus on training for the body traits I want. Skilled: Train at least 3 times a week (strong curves, weights, or a class), and hit at least 10k steps a day (or 1 good extra workout/heavy duty home project) every weekend. Worth 3 str & 2 dex points. I usually hit close to 10k on weekdays, but my weekends become a blur of cooking, some minor cleaning and video games so I need to focus on getting moving on the weekends more. My prep work for the week has gone by the wayside and I need to refocus on making it a priority again. I also want to eat in a way that my body is always working properly and ready for anything. Prepared: Eat no more than 1360 calories a day average, and track all meals via MFP. Make sure to get within 10g of 98g of protein a day. I get 3 "cheat" days that won't count towards average total, with 1 being for my 30th birthday. Worth 3 sta & 2 con points. Water is a vital thing for clarity of body and mind, I am going to continue create the habit of drinking enough each day. Clarity: Drink at least 80 oz of water per day. Worth 3 wis & 2 cha points. Life Goal: Clean up finances and stick to weekly spending budgets, and spend 15 min everyday cleaning up the house (with Ben).

Hello fellow nerds! I am a long time reader, but never really joined in on anything (well sometimes I would start, but never finish), until today. This seems like a great community with a lot of people who genuinely want to help each other out so we can all get into the shape we want to be in. I mostly wanted to get this out here now, before I either forget or just talk myself out of it. Here is my 60 day challenge. I will try and update every week, more if I have questions or concerns. MAIN QUEST To reach and maintain a body fat % of 15% (Fitness) by April 30, 2016 GOALS FOR CURRENT QUEST: 1) Walk at least 5,000 steps a day. (Walking to Modor takes a while!) A = 6+ days of compliance B = 4+ days of compliance C = 3+ days of compliance F = Less than 2 days 2) Eating at a caloric deficit (under 1,800 cal/day. (Also trying to eat more paleo) A = 6+ days of compliance B = 4+ days of compliance C = 3+ days of compliance F = Less than three days of compliance 3) Sleep for 8 hours a day. (I wonder what this will be like...) A = 6+ days of compliance B = 4+ days of compliance C = 3+ days of compliance F = Less than three days of compliance If anyone has any questions, I can probably answer them. Note I did not write about myself mostly because I am on a bit of a time constraint (Busiest month of the year) and just wanted to get this out first.

"A Wizard is never late... nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to." -Gandalf Well I may not be a wizard, and I may be 3 weeks late, with only 3 weeks left in this particular 6 week challenge, but I decided it would be better to start now than to wait for three weeks because "Well, I can just do it later". Procrastination has always been a challenge for me. I could have easily used my lateness as an excuse, but I have found in life that one should never wait too long for a perfect opportunity; things always get in the way, and nothing is ever perfect. So I'm just going to do the best I can. The Beginning of Adventure My name is Seb Woodland, but I always figured as an adventurer I'd go by Bastian. You can call me whichever you want! I'm eager to start this new challenge. My girlfriend, Kat, introduced me to Nerd Fitness a few months ago, and since then I've been inspired by the articles and loving what I have seen. I loved Kat's layout for her first challenge, which she just posted a few weeks ago, so I'm basing mine off of hers. I love to keep things looking nice and clean. More about myself: I'm a wannabe indie video game creator, as well as musician, artist, almost anything creative. I've also been using HabitRPG for a year now, and it's greatly helped me, but I think this community will be even more help! I love video games, role-playing games, and movies, sci fi and fantasy, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Mass Effect, Zelda, Dark Souls, that sort of thing. Since I was a kid I always looked up to the heroes in these stories and wished I could be just as awesome as them; being able to run for long periods of time and defend myself, doing cool acrobatics, climbing mountains, etc. The thing I'm really focused on now though is trying to raise my energy levels, becoming more flexible, more in-tune with my body, and yes, becoming stronger. I'm a very tall, very thin person; I've never really had any body-fat, but I've never really had any muscles either. In fact, I like being thin, I'm very comfortable with my body type, however I know I'm very far from reaching my body's potential health, strength, and vitality. So I want to become stronger, more balanced, more flexible. When I reach for my toes and I can't touch them, I just have this feeling that something is wrong; I know I have the capability to expand my reach, and increase my blood-flow. It's like my body has been asleep and static for a very long time, and I want to change that. I want to level up my stamina. I think my body was built for running and I intend to embrace that. I ran a 10k once, but that was years ago and I've stopped running regularly since then; this is definitely something I want to start up again. It just makes sense to me to be ready to run fast and far for a long time, and it always makes me feel awesome when I give it my best shot. I also recognize how much what I eat affects me (my energy especially). I've been really interested in Paleo for a long time, but I have extremely little experience cooking/preparing food of any sort, which is going to be a challenge for me. I need to become more familiar with food preparation, then I will be able to reach out and try new foods. I'm trying for a more or less balanced first challenge, but I don't want to skimp out on anything. I figure I should be doing something towards these goals everyday, be it working out with weights or running, or stretching/yoga. Main Quest: To connect more with my body, and increase my energy levels and flexibility.To become stronger, and increase my stamina.Specifics:Comfortably touch my toes with straight legsRegain my ability to run for a long time: 1hourWithin the next few months, build up enough strength to do 10 pushups (no knees; this would be amazing for me, I've never been able to do it yet) The Steps I will do my stretches routine every day of the week - This is like training for both Wisdom and Dexterity I will do my workout routine 3 days a week and run for at least 10 minutes 4 days a week - Constitution and Strength training I will try a new 100% Paleo meal once a week (or more) - Perhaps the scariest for me and my lack of cooking ability, but also perhaps the most valuable Side Quests: Finish making the armour pieces for my Commander Shepard Cosplay by the end of the month - it's been way too long since I worked on it seriouslyWrite a song this month to post to bandcamp30x30 Nature challenge - 30 minutes of being in nature each day in May Weekly Grading Sunday --> Saturday Stretches: _/7 A+: 7, A: 6, B: 5, C+: 4, C: 3-2. C-:1-0 Workout: _/3 A+: 4, A: 3, B: 2, C+: 1, C-:0 Runs: _/4 A+: 5, A: 4, B: 3, C+: 2, C: 1, C-: 0 New Paleo Meal: _/1 A+: 3, A: 2, B: 1, C-: 0Monthly Grading for May: 30x30 (__/30) A+: 31, A: 30, B: 29-25, C-: Less than 25 Grading will be done each Sunday (excluding today, since it's my first post). I look forward to my time with the Rebellion, meeting all you great people, and kick-starting my journey into fitness!

Hi there! I'm Chlorofyl and as of today, I'm also starting with the 6 Week Challenge. This is the first time I'm participating in such a thing. In 2014 I gained a lot of weight due to overeating and a lack of exercise. This year, I'm already doing a lot better but I still tend to fall of the wagon every now and then and I don't seem to lose those last pounds. I hope a challenge like this will help me to build some good habits and finally reach my goals! My Main Quest: To lose some fat. I want to lose around 8 kg (approx. 18 lbs). I don't expect to have reached this goal by the end of the six weeks, but I hope to be halfway at least. My Subgoals: I want to work out at least 4 times a week (1x sprinting, 1x running, 2x CrossFit or weighttraining - I like versatility!). I'm already doing this most of the time, but not always. I want to be more consistent with this. No overeating/binging. Not a single day. I already know what triggers this, so this is a matter of discipline and staying motivated. I want to maintain a caloric deficit in order to lose weight. (Actually, the second subgoal is kind of related to this one.) In my case, this means eating around 1700-1800 kcals a day. This is approximately 500 kcals less than what I daily need, which makes (hopefully) for a steady weight loss. As of what I eat, that's already pretty healthy (Primal), though as a student I like to stick to the 80/20 rule . I will keep track of my caloric intake in MyFitnessPal.My Life Quest: To get at least 8 hrs of sleep each day. Lately, my study has consumed a lot of time and I did not sleep as much as I needed to feel rested and relaxed during the day. This is kind of a vicious cycle, because less sleep makes me more stressed and less efficient, which means that it takes me longer to get my things done, which means that I go to bed later, etc. To reach this goal, I want to go to bed between 10:00-11:00 PM and wake up between 7:00-8:30 AM. Also, I need to shut down all electronic devices (smartphone, laptop) 1h before going to bed because I know those things keep me up late. Motivation: I want to look good and feel good . When I'm comfortable in my own skin, I'm much happier and everything seems to go better in life (study, relationships, personal development, etc.). I'm really excited to get started!

Hi everyone, I'm starting my second challenge now, the first was a reasonable success, even though I'm always harsh on myself. http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/62304-better-very-very-late-than-never/ A little background, I decided to start worrying about fitness at the start of August 2014, since I was quite significantly overweight weighing about 95kg (210 pounds). I'm 6'3 tall, so that was quite overweight. In the next six weeks, I lost 10kg by eating less (but very badly) and working out almost every day doing relatively low intensity cardio workouts. From mid-September until Christmas, I worked out about twice every week on average, and lost 10kg again, bringing me to 75kg now (165 pounds). I went from not being able to do a single knee pushup in August to now being able to do over 20 incline pushups. In March, I discovered Nerd Fitness, which relaunched my motivation. I took my before picture after losing 20kg, which I find quite ironic. Since I've gone on a Paleo diet, except for Saturdays for carb cycling and social occasions. I also signed up for a karate class for the first time in a few years, I loved doing karate but when I tried a class in September I found it too physically challenging, since i was in very bad shape at the time. Bonus: what "race" do you think I am if I'm 6'3 with "normal" weight and somewhere between a thin and athletic build? Quest 1: Karate - After the last karate class of the school year, start doing 2 karate training sessions alone per week, including technical training and drilling combat techniques and katas OR an HIIT workout. A - 12 + total B - 10-11 total C - 8-9 total D - 6-7 total F - less than 6 total STA Quest 2: Workouts - I'll be doing an internship in Belfast this summer, I need to find a gym there and workout at least 3 times/ week while I'm there and twice/week before and until I'm there at home or in the local gym (I'm too lazy to check if I'll be there before the challenge ends) A - 12 workouts B - 11 workouts C - 10 workouts F - Less than 10 workouts STR Quest 3: Stretching - Do leg raises every morning, 20 on each side per leg, and a complete stretching routine at least once every 2 days. A - 21+ stretching routines and leg raises every morning A- - 20-21 stretching routines and leg raises every day, sometimes not in the morning B - 16-19 stretching routines and 30+ leg raises C - 12-15 stretching routines and 25+ leg raises F - Less than 12 stretching routines and less than 25 leg raises If there's a different grade between leg raises and stretching routines I'll average them and round down. DEX Quest 4: Life goal - My exams are in a few weeks from now, there are about 650 students in my university class, but so far I've gotten a good start this semester. A - Rank top 10 in my university B - Rank top 15 in my university C - Rank top 25 in my university F - Rank below top 25 in my university WIS

Howdie all This morning I woke up - over it. Over thinking about food, over feeling bad about my food choices, or feeling guilty that I was too tired to go for a run. Over comparing myself to other people who are having diet success while I'm not. I keep thinking about all the times I've tried, had some success and then ultimately gone back to my old ways. I woke up ready to throw it all in and just try to let it go - until I went to get ready for work, and my favourite pair of pants was too tight. Over it. Over letting my past control me. Ready to start again - clean slate - Tabula Rasa. 6 week challenge to restart my fitness?....I'm in! At the end of the 6 weeks I will fit in all my favourite clothes again. Over the next six weeks I will: Food I will drink at least 2 litres water every day and only one coffee daily. Alcohol may only be consumed on Saturday Nights, and in moderation. I will log my food - regardless of what I eat. Exercise I will start my C25K again and run 3 times weekly I will go to 16 pole classes I will get 10K steps per day Mind Sunday is always a rest day - no matter what! I will take this day to read, have a long bath, paint my toenails etc and reflect on the week that was, my achievements and my focus for the week ahead. Accountability Starts here. I will check in on the forums on a regular basis, and update you all at least once a week. Starting.... Now!!!!! xox Kam

I'm both completely new to forums and Nerd Fitness, so bear with me. I hope I'm doing this right. Challenge Quest It just so happens that this challenge ends just 4 days before my 5-year college reunion weekend, and I've already set a goal in my head to lose 15 lbs by then. So, my quest for this 6-week challenge is to be down to 163 lbs from 178 lbs by May 28, if not by May 24. Here are my stats: Weight: 178 lbsHeight: 5'7"Waist: 34"Hips: 42.5"Chest: 39"Right bicep: 13"Left bicep: 13.5"Right thigh: 24"Left thigh: 23"I'll update this thread with a weigh-in and weekly recap every Monday, and update my measurements at the end of the 6 weeks. Hopefully there will be a change Challenge Goals Complete one workout session every morning before work, Monday-Friday, no questions asked. I'll be following the 12-week Jillian Michaels Body Revolution program (I've already completed my first workout this morning ). ALSO, I would like to do my best to complete an additional p.m. workout session Monday-Saturday. This will be either Kettlebell Kickboxing or Zombies, Run! depending on the day. If I miss a workout, it can't be an excuse to completely fall off the fitness wagon. Too often I feel that missing a workout is so much of a pox on my carefully crafted workout plan that I feel like I have to start all over. No more of that. Eat right 80% of the time. I'm not quite sure what this means for me yet - nutrition has always been my greatest obstacle - but I'm going to do my best to avoid carbs after lunch.Again, I hope I did this right, and I hope I qualify to be a Ranger!

I've made it down to 279 lbs. I'm almost half way to my goal. I was 347 in June, and was at 329 when I started changing my lifestyle in December. In total, I've lost 68 lbs so far. Since December 1st, I've lost 50 lbs even. I want to be around 210-220 with muscle and built like Gerard Butler or the Cap. Not huge, but not scrawny either. Okay... So I kinda stopped training for a few weeks. I was car shopping because mine wasn't going last much longer. I had the gym on my mind the whole time although I let my diet get out of control. Not so much what I was eating as much as how much I was eating. I still managed to lose 10 lbs in 3 weeks. I got back to the gym last night and it's exactly what I've needed. I'm back on track as if I never stopped. I had a chest day yesterday (a routine I designed) that supersets chest and core. I'll list the routine below if anyone is interested. It was pretty killer and I went to do my pushups and my arms gave out. Such a great feeling to know that I have worked that hard. School has been going well so far, I'm still at an A. I'm signed up for a summer minimester, but I'm still figuring out how I'm going to pay for my fall semester so I'm waiting to sign up for that. I know for sure I'm going to take 1 class, but I'm trying to find out about taking more. Since I dropped off on the last challenge, I'll keep the same goals and finish them this time. Goals ++ Increase Squat weight by 40 lbs (+4 STR) ++ Drink 64 oz of water every day (+4 CON) ++ Get down to 260 lbs (+3 CHA, +2 DEX) ++ Get an A in my programming class (+2 INT)

Hey I'm Shynnee and I'm overweight. I've been doing a good job running and keeping track of my food lately so I decided to start a weight lifting workout called Strong Curves. I happened to get an email about this 6 week challenge the day I decided to do it, so here I am holding myself accountable. I am a stay at home mom of a cute little geek baby girl and while I would like her to play lots of board and video games with us, I would like to set an example for a healthy lifestyle as well so she never falls into the place I am now. 1.) Main quest: I am starting my first weight lifting routine. Its 12 weeks long, my goal is to get through the first 6 weeks without missing days.I have a FitBit and have set my weekly goal to 100k steps2.) Side Quest My life side quest is to do one load of laundry and one load of dishes every single day to help keep up with those things. So, if you see this post and its been more than a week since I've updated, please comment on it. That will really help keep me in the game!

I've been thinking about this for the last few months and now it's time to do something about it. One day a few weeks ago I woke up and decided it was time to actually do something, so I signed up to my local gym, started doing group PT sessions once a week and did a crazy amount of research online, and that's how I found Nerd Fitness. I'm 23 and live in Melbourne, Australia. I was quite athletic when I was at school and uni but since getting a full time office job I've spent that last 4 years sitting on my butt at my desk (yay for working in IT!) Current Life Quest: Survive Ski Week in August/September this year. To get into the Chalet for the week you have to Ski 11km cross-country with a full hike pack. This year I want to not feel like I'm dying the whole way in and make it before the sun goes down! Goals for the next 6 weeks: Goal 1: NO soft drink Goal 2: Get to the gym 4 time a week Goal 3: Hold a 60 second plank (I currently struggle to go for 10 seconds.) I'm a bit scared, but feeling committed - can't wait to compare things in 6 weeks time.

Hey all, my name irl is Jenna and I am stoked to start this 6 week challenge. I subscribed to the Nerd Fitness newsletter a while back but never really participated until now. I told myself lest night that I needed to get really serious about eating clean and working out. Then, I got an email this morning about the new 6-week challenge. If that isn't a sign then, I don't know what is. My main quest: Lose half of the 30 pounds I have gained while away at school. Eventually I would like to lose all 30 and then some but seeing as I am extremely out of shape right now, I will start sort of small. SMART Quests: 1. Restart keeping track of what I eat on a daily basis by making better use of my calorie counter. My goal is 1500 a day with one cheat day to eat something extra to satisfy my sweet tooth. 2. Figure out a daily routine that will work with my schedule and get me to want to work out and exercise. 3. Find a way to learn to love running or find an alternative to it. I have just never been able to get into running and not enjoying it causes me to not want to ever do it. Life Quest: Be more social, meet new people, and come out of my shell a bit more. My Motivation: Feel better about my body in general. I want to look in the mirror in the morning and feel good about myself, not want to wear baggy clothes to hide everything. I want to get ready to wear shorts and a bikini when I move to Texas, and not feel completely self-conscious about it.

As I enter day 2 I am looking inside of myself and at the external evidence of my actions on day 1 and how I can change and improve on day 2. I was successful in logging both Good and Bad food on MFP - it was very painful to see just how out of control my eating is. I know and tell myself on a daily bases that I am only hurting myself by this behavior. I feel it every time I eat if I am on track or not by the way my Crohn's reacts. You would think that I would get it - this action is highly illogical. However I did going to belly dancing last night. I so look forward to the day that I have lost the 60 lbs that I am over weight by. I will then look the way I feel when I belly dance. So time to start day 2 - "let's see what's out there" V

Hi All, I have been a religious Nerd Fitness follower for years now and I may or may not have a secret crush on Steve I am super excited to start this 6 week challenge...my biggest flaw is falling off the wagon, so I am really looking forward to being accountable this time around and sticking it out through the 6 weeks, I hope I can get as much support in this endeavor as possible from all you awesome people on this forum! Ok now down to the deets: Main Quest: Be able to fit into clothes in any store I want (even if its the largest size they have). So approximately becoming a size 8-10 US by end of the year. 4 Main goals for this 6 week: - Hit the gym 5x (bootcamp, boxing and strength training) a week and do yoga 1x a week - Track all my meals atleast 6 days a week for the next 6 weeks - Fast for 24 hrs one day a week for the next 6 weeks - Follow Tim Ferriss' slow carb diet for the next 6 weeks Stats: Starting Size: 16 Starting weight: 238.8 Starting BF%: 43.8% Side Goals (I have 2, I'm a LEO over achieving, or atleast trying to, is part of my horoscopic makeup!) 1. Update this post weekly (thats only 6 posts!) 2. Make a to-do list at work daily and ensure that I finish my list everyday before finishing up for the day... I'm not super clear on the points or grade yet, but hopefully I can figure that out by next week and will update my post accordingly! Alrightey, here we go...wish me luck!!

Introduction: Hi I’m Brian and this is my first challenge. I'm 32, I'm married, we have a toddler and I work mid-shift (my life currently doesn't lend itself to a prime schedule, but that doesn't mean I can't make it work). I'm currently performing what I call a "Deliberate" year and that means that I don't just accept what life gives me. It means that I deliberately choose the path for my life (though I understand that life will still try to stick its foot in every once in a while). That is where this post/challenge comes in. I see a change I want to make and instead of going into my head and internalizing it I'm going to get a good portion of my thoughts straight and then act. As a result this post won't be perfect, and I'm sure I'll do something wrong, but it doesn't matter because I simply need to act. I need to move. Nerdy interests: Doctor Who, Zombie/Apocolypse, Star Trek, Starwars, Superheros, Board Games. Main Quest: Be ready when the Doctor says "Run!" or at least when my kid does. Quest 1 (Sta): Wakey, wakey. Eggs and Bakey! I will open the blinds when my 1st alarm goes off! (A= 5/5, B= 4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – Where did the daylight go?) Bonus points if I wake up without using the snooze feature (+1 if I get dressed and ready right away).Bonus points if I wake up and workout (+1 point a day). Quest 2 (Sta): Tire the Monster Out! Actively interact with the kid 5 days of the week (turn of the tv and do something different). (A=5/5, B=4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – this kid doesn't stop, but you did.) Bonus points for any extra days (+1 for any extra half hour). Quest 3 (Wis): What am I even eating? Track food/drink consumed. The idea is to build habit of logging, not yet adjusting. (A=5/5, B=4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – Was that even edible?). Bonus points if a healthier substitute is made as a result of logging (+1 per substitution). Bonus points if I submit my log onto my 6 week challenge page (+1 per weekly submission). Quest 4 (Cha): That's F*ing Cold! Take a 5-minute cold shower. This one is all about the mental benefits(http://impossiblehq.com/cold-shower-therapy).(A=5/5, B=4/5, C=3/5, F= >3 – I can still feel my toes). Life Quest: Make changes that stick around long after the motivation for change has gone away. I'm building habits that will lend themselves to more positive life outcomes. Motivation: Change, deliberate and uncomfortable change. I want to be able to play with my kid without hesitation, know what I'm eating, and actually be awake to do it all! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Points Week 1: 30 points (16,4,6,4) Points Week 2: 33 points (15,5,6,7) Points Week 3: 33 points (15,5,1,1) Points Week 4: 36 points (14,8,7,7) Points Week 5: 36 points (14,9,7,7) Points Week 6: 36 points (14,8,7,7) Total: 205 Rewards: I don't know yet.

So after a long time watching the rebellion but thinking I could go it alone (or being too scared to participate) - it is time to join the rebellion and get active. Please bear with this hermit as she comes out of her shell. My overall goal is to lose just over 100lbs - 52kg where I'm from. The exercise is sorted and has been for a while but the eating is seriously on the dark side. I am also (typical apparently) a woman who puts everyone and everything before herself so the emotions / life balance are out of whack as well. So my small goals to get started are: Goal 1: Buy food and prepare my menu for the week so I eat clean and don't make those last minute, tired runs through the drive thru. I've just pulled a batch of egg muffins out of the oven so breakfast is sorted for the week - 1st of many little steps Goal 2: Make sure I am getting enough sleep. I am a typical owl - stay up late on the computer and then drag myself through the next day - repeat. The plan is to close the lid on the laptop 30 mins before I go to bed so I can unwind then get to bed well before pumpkin hour to get in a solid 7hrs. Goal 3: Be consistent with going to the gym and not skipping because work is more important or other various excuses. Hopefully this new journey will also help me break through my mental barriers and get my clean and snatch numbers going up. It seems I have a mental block about going heavier even though I know I am strong enough. Goal 4: Get into the routine of meditating 10mins every day. It is really helpful and I have found it works for me but I think it will work better every day rather than every now and then. Let the journey begin . . .

Hello, everyone! My friend introduced me to Nerd Fitness a couple years ago, and I only now created an official account. I've been through all of the posts, and keep updated. I also have written about Nerd Fitness on my own blog a few times (where I keep a list of my favorite posts for reference). I must have seen posts for the six wek challenges several times, but for some reason I finally decided to go for it. I'm not sure what changed this time, but I'll see how I do! I'm in pretty good shape, and I'm fairly strong too, but I would like to lose some weight, and possibly get stronger. So I'm going to start up with this 6 week challenge!

Hello, everyone! I've been following Nerd Fitness for a couple years, but I only created a forum account a couple days ago, when I noticed the start of a 6-week-challenge. I must have seen several challenges go by, and I'm not really sure what made me take notice of this particular one. But I suddenly decided that I would go for it. I actually started the challenge on the first day - two days ago. I'm just a bit late posting. ^-^' Now, I'm not in bad shape. I'm not noticably fat, and I'm strong and fast and flexible. But at the same time, I would like to lose some excess fat. There are some shirts I have that fit, but aren't flattering for my mid-section, if you know what I mean. - - So I generally stick to wearing looser shirts. Plus, there's always room to get stronger. I've been vaguely trying to get in shape for a while now, with little success. So this time, I'm going to try to keep a record of what I do each day - my excersize, and what I eat. I'd like to start by losing about ten pounds, and see where that gets me. So for this six weeks, I'm going to try to get as close to that as I can. Once I hit that goal, I'll see if I want to doible the amount. The three steps I want to take are as follows: 1. Less sugar. This might be one of my biggest problems. I want to stop snacking on sugary stuff throughout the day, and eat less for dessert. So, I'm going to allow myself only 1 piece of candy during the day, and then 1 dessert (though I may do that backwards, depending on circumstances). 2. More veggies. I like veggies, and there are plenty of ways in which I'd be happy to eat a lot of them. But sometimes I just don't... So I want to eat veggies with every lunch and dinner (or an extra lot during one meal, if I have to miss one). I may also include fruit with every breakfast. 3. Be more active. I'm fairly active already, and pretty strong. But some days I completely forget to do some kind of exercise (or I make some excuse not to do it). So this time, I want to do some form of exercise at least six days out of the week. I'm getting pretty good at running and biking, and I'll also do some body-weight workouts from this site (and possible try a few of their other workouts). I would like to get better at push-ups and pull-ups. And I'm also working to fix my posture. Though I've gotten pretty far on that already. As my extra goal, I want to write some every day. At least a paragraph, but I can sometimes do an entire chapter in an evening. (It's a story I'm writing as my graduate project - I'm actually editing. My first draft is done, so I'm mostly re-writing everything). Does this sound like a good beginning for a 6-week-challenge? I do have a question though. When I updats on my challenge, do I reply to my own post? And of course, good luck to all the rest of you!

In 6 weeks time I will be Bridesmaid Dress Shopping for my sisters wedding in August, perfect timing for my first six week challenge. Operation, not be the fat sister at the big wedding! Main Goals: 1) Aim for a 90-10 Paleo Diet, I am almost there at the moment but I think I can step it up a notch. 2) Be able to run 5K, I can currently run a slow mile. Speed it not important to me, just distance. 3) Lose weight, I have reached a plateau with my weight and I would like to smash it. Life Quest: Read the books that have been stacked next to my bed for 4 weeks (and finish catching up with game of thrones)

Hi all - I'm Will and this is my First Challenge, Second Post, and it's Three Days Late. Anyhoo, here's my challenge, and it's all about getting a good start. Touch toes This is one that I've been very humiliated by, since I've read that it should be a basic touchstone. I hadn't realised how much flexibility I've lost! I can get about half-way down through my calves. For this one I'll be using the exercises at https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/cant-touch-your-toes-do-this-96573345003.htmland other hamstring stretching moves every day. Shoulder Press 25kg This is my strength goal! At the moment I've been able to hit 15kg at 13 reps - by the end of the 6 weeks I wanna be at 25. I work out 4 times a week, and I'll add this to every one, leading up. Any help is greatly appreciated! Food - A consistent lunch This is a thing I've been trying for awhile - I get very easily intimidated when actually starting a meal (What the hell are shallots?). A month or so ago I made a vegetable curry which, while good and lasted two days, was very intense. Wake by 5 Another thing I've been trying. For some reason I haven't been sleeping well recently, which results in me being wiped the next day. I'm going to aim for sleeping by 9, limiting screens at night, and reacting more when my alarm goes off at night. Read 5 books I told myself I'd read 10 books a quarter at the start of the year and I fell JUST shy at March. At the moment I'm close to finishing Jane Eyre and Uta Hagen's A Challenge For The Actor. I've got some more lined up, but I'd like to read a non-fiction history book. Any recommendations? (Yes, I am saving Infinite Jest for after) Thanks, and I'm excited to share the next 6 weeks with you all!

I have been receiving Nerdfitness newsletters for a while now - I like what they do here - encouraging health and fitness without the "gym rat" persona. So I decided to join in finally. It has been my mission to get myself into a better place with my health for over a year now - I want to be in better health and fitness at 45 then I was at 35! Having my last baby (of five) at 39 really kicked my butt and I haven't been able to recover physically yet (and she is now 3). To my credit- I have made a lot of changes so far - I have changed the way our family eats over the last year - retraining myself to buy and cook healthier - mostly paleo. I have had allergy testing and have done the elimination diet to find foods that were making me feel sick and eliminating them from my diet. I am also trying to sleep!! Battling insomnia on some nights - but this is getting better. I am taking the vitamins my Dr has prescribed and they help a ton! But...I feel there is room for improvement - I fall short in the exercise department for sure! So having a place to talk about my health, and feel accountable may be the motivation I need to push it to the next level. I just want to have more energy and strength to not just get through the day - but thrive! I will never be a skinny-minnie, nor do I want to be one, but I would like to feel a little more fit and toned and slim down some. I want to feel younger...I don't want everyone to think I am the grandma to my baby girls So! My goals: 1-Diet goal: Continue with the Paleo way of eating - be great during the week - don't feel bad for going 80/20 on the weekends. Take time to get good breakfast, take vitamins, and drink so much water!!!! 2-Fitness: Do 30 minutes 4 times a week (start there). Walk, do resistance training, yoga, use that dusty elliptical in the basement - whatever - just get moving for at least 30 minutes! Find the best time of day to do it and do it at the same time. 3-Try something new: Go to that yoga class I have been too scared to go to at least once!! Maybe find a buddy to go with me?? 4-Other "Life" goal: Keep doing one photo shoot a week - stay on top of editing and don't get behind. There. I just did that. Now let's see how I do.

Hello fellow recruits, I'm Jason! I'm a 38 year old geek who grew up on Transformers, Star Wars & all of the great nerdy things of the early 80's & beyond. Over the past several years, I've let my health, weight, and overall life kinda spiral downward. I'm working on changing that right now. Currently, I'm 6'5", I weigh 300 lbs and I'm dramatically out of shape. My quest is to lose 50 lbs by the end of the year, and another 50 before I turn 40. I want to get back to the 200 lbs I weighed after I got out of the Navy at 25. Goals to help me complete this quest: Give up the Ice Cream. Drink a pitcher of water every day at my desk, more with dinner. Eat a small but healthy breakfast every morning before heading to work. Follow Along with the 30 Days of Change program. More fruit, more veggies, less candy.I've already started by working on the Couch to 5K program and I'm signed up for the Beat the Blerch 10K in September, but that's a little beyond our 6-week challenge here. Also, every Sunday I've started attending "Church". It's a 4 block set of stairs that goes from 10th & Howe (here in Seattle), down to Franklin Street underneath I-5. It's crazy steep & intense. I've only been able to go down & up twice. I jog the mile & a half from my apartment to the stairs, then run up & down. If you happen to be in the Seattle area & would like to "attend church services" with me, please let me know. *laugh* I think this should do it for a first post. Let's kick this 6-week's ass.