Search the Community

A deep, comfortable silence had settled over the world after the passing of the late spring storm, and I pushed the windows open to let the cool, damp breeze wash into the house. Just past the edge of the clouds, a spray of stars glittered in the deep black sky. There was no hint of frost in the air for the first time that year and I drank in the fresh warmth of approaching summer. My world, like so many others', had become very, very small in the weeks of quarantine. No longer the energetic, confident Ranger who crossed land and sea without fear, I had shrunk too, pummeled and bruised in spirit from weeks of grief, loneliness and loss. I wanted to give love and light, but found myself receiving it more often than giving it. I wanted to adapt and thrive in the quiet of isolation, but found myself just past the boundary of survival, dreading the start of each day and avoiding the sleep that brought it sooner. Tears were never far from the surface and regularly burst out at the most inconvenient of times. But all was not hopeless. I climbed up to sit in the windowsill and lean out, looking down across the valley to where the lights of the village twinkled faintly through the trees. My physical strength was beginning to return; I no longer felt pinched and frail. A shipment of fresh fruit and vegetables had boosted my spirits the previous week and another would be coming the following week. I was in regular contact with family and friends, and their spirits were lifting as they adjusted to isolation, finding space for joy and expansion within the separation. And more than these things, I had discovered a strength within myself I wasn't sure I had. Each time I had lost something or someone, fallen to the ground again with weeping, I had lifted my eyes heavenward and gotten to my feet again. When given the choice to give in to despair or keep trusting that the King's plans were good, I had turned toward Him and leaned on His strength through even the darkest nights. I always said I would follow Him even through the shadowed valleys of death, danger and grief - and I had. When I didn't understand, when I had to say goodbye, when my heart longed for the fields of my home and the embrace of my family, I had clung to faith and not given up. And with His help, I planned to continue doing just that. I slid down from the windowsill and padded into the kitchen to measure the coffee and water for the next morning. Courage in this season might not look like climbing mountains or crossing rivers - it might look like measuring the coffee and going to bed instead of staying up to wait for dawn, trusting that there would be goodness in the following day. A hint of a smile crossed my face as I blew out the candle and picked up my journal to head for bed. There was goodness coming in the morning. Even if I couldn't always feel it, I knew it was there. It would find me before long.

Trying something new! Hope y’all like it!

I'll be honest here... I've been apart of the academy for quite some time now.. and with this honesty.. I really haven't been doing much. I've been trying to eat better, and now I have decided to get my attempt at home workouts. Gotta start small I guess. I just re-came across the 20 minute hotel workout that I tried Level 1 in my apartment, part of me is aching a little bit, and the other part of me is glad I went through it. Now I know that rest days are important, what do I do on my rest day? and how can I mix the 20-minute hotel workout with the Level 1 body workouts? I think I can do all or most of those, just don't have a raised enough sturdy enough surface for incline pushups.. Also for the Farmer's walk if you only do one arm at a time, would I have to double the time to walk around? 30s with 1 arm, switch and 30s with the other? I've seen progress of others, and that's great, seeing that makes me want to get work done so I can make some progress. Thanks for any advice.

It's my first week on FitStar and must say I'm kinda loving the short intense workouts. Feeling the burn daily. I haven't used FitStar Yoga yet, but plan on doing so soon... Want to reach out and find other nerd FitStar users. What's your take on FitStar?

Hii all, first post here after creepin' the forums for about an hour and I couldn't find any relevant information on a well rounded workout machine for home use so I decided to sign up and just ask... So, my question is, having a squat rack would be nice but can anyone suggest their opinion on a decent workout machine if I was to purchase one for my home? I don't mean treadmill or elliptical I'm talking about something like a "Bowflex Home Gym" but those seem to be way too expensive and I'm sure there is something more cost efficient with the same workouts included. Please include links if possibly, thanks.

I was going to be doing a Tough Mudder on the 19th but after doing a Warrior Dash on the 12th, I realized I was not even close to being ready for the Tough Mudder. So with that, I transferred my registration to an event in 2015 and need help getting ready. So far this is my workout that I am thinking of doing, but I know I need to do more. Any ideas? It has to be a home-based workout that doesn't involve anything other than body weight stuff. I will eventually - hopefully in the next month, get some sand and concrete to make additional milk jug weights, but that will be all that I have. I can NOT have a pull up bar in my apartment - no doors it would work going over nor a door frame for it to work on. Cardio - running(Zombies, Run and/or C25K) Abs - planks, straight leg leg raises, flutter kicks Arms - push-ups Legs - walking lunges I am not sure on the number of reps or sets or any of that as of right now either, so input on my idea's would be awesome: The running is a predetermined program so not worried about that. Planking I am thinking of 2 sets of 30 seconds each, Straight leg leg raises I am thinking of starting out with 2 sets of 20, Flutter kicks I am thinking of starting out with 2 sets of 20 each leg, Push-ups I am thinking of doing 1 set of 10 normal and 1 set of 15 kneeling, Walking lunges I am thinking of doing 2 sets of 10 each leg.