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After graduating into a Permabeast last challenge, it’s time to move onto something even bigger. For starters, that means expanding this challenge to 8 weeks. This summer has been insane, both on a personal level as well as with all the political developments, so I’m willing to go with the flow and ride the wave of madness. Also, the end of this challenge coincides with my first ever Obstacle Course Race, the Athens Legion Run. Or at least it used to, before the 2 week break was cut down to one week. Like I said, madness and unpredictability. Either way, I'm stretching things a bit, starting from today, July 20th until a week after the official end of the challenge and day of the race. With all that said, the checklist for this challenge theme says I need a role model that’s Strong Agile Unstoppable Looking badass without a shirt on Completely insane We also share the exact same level of social skills around attractive females. Especially those with hair dyed in unusual, vivid colours Abandon any pretense of sanity and let’s head out to the BADASS CRATER OF BADASSITUDE! Come to think of it, I could have gone with Torgue instead, but he is partly sane and not into fighting. Unless we’re talking about suplexing sharks, but that’s another story. Goals are pass/fail mostly, some just require to keep track of certain things. What was that other thing they needed to be…Oh yeah, SMART NEVER STOP THE KILLING! NEVER! Simply put, keep doing what I’ve been doing as far as Nutrition, 3 Crossfit Workouts/week and Rest are concerned. This is a habit by now, so I’m allowing myself to wrap it up into one goal and allow for some special exceptions due to August holidays that might get in the way. Providing the Rangers’ Guild Mini Challenge is also gonna be a thing and I expect the mini’s theme to work nicely with my challenge theme. Finally, I’m gonna keep a daily count of spam accounts destroyed, just because I get a kick doing it while bored at work. FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL, I STAB AT THEE, SPAMBOT! SALT THE WOUND! Do pushups and plank every day, preferably every morning. The trick here is that every day, I have to do at least 1 extra pushup and 1 second more than the previous, so it’s a ladder thing. YOU WOKE THE WRONG DOG! Cold shower every morning, first thing in the morning. Unless I start with the workout, in which case the shower goes right after. Been feeling lethargic for a while, tried it during the last week of my previous challenge and it did wonders to start my day full of energy. I’ve also tried shouting Krieg quotes to get me out of the occasional haze (surprisingly enough, it worked) which leads us to our next goal... BUZZ AXE RAMPAGE Krieg’s special ability is to go bezerk and do insane amounts of melee damage with his custom made “buzz axe”. He can also throw it, but who bothers with that. Oh yeah, I sometimes do that while charging closer for the melee kill. Also useful in taking out aeroplanes. YES, I THROW A SAWBLADE AXE TO THOSE FLYING BUZZARD THINGIES AND THEY EXPLODE AND DIE BECAUSE BORDERLANDS! In similar fashion, my goal is to summon my 20 seconds of berzerker mode at least once a week. Shouting Krieg quotes before, during or after is optional. Turns out other people do that as well LOOK AT ALL THE DEATH TRINKETS! Make a list of all the necessary gear for the Legion Run, then acquire and prepare it for the actual race. NO BRAKES ON THE POOP TRAIN! First time I played Borderlands 2, I stopped a little before the end. Actually, moments before meeting Angel in person. I’ve been re-playing lately and made it back up to the point where Sanctuary took off. My least stressful goal in this challenge is to finally complete the game. If that’s done before the end of the challenge, that means more time for extra DLC content. EXPLOSIONS? Looking forward to playing Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage and Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. Pffft… Math… Hope we don’t pop a blood vessel Might add various quests presented as guest appearances by various BL2 characters, just to keep things interesting and myself excited. Disclaimer: Don’t expect me to make any sense this challenge round. Cautious, educated Beast was last challenge, this one I’m cutting loose. "Before you can enter the tournament, you must digitally sign our legal waiver." TL;DR breakdown Keep batch cooking and eating according to the plan laid last challenge 3 Crossfit workouts per week Get enough sleep every night Do my NF part (Write up Guild mini and slay spambots) Increase pushups and plank time every day Cold shower every day Berzerker mode at least once a week Prepare my gear for the OCR Finish Borderlands 2 Go insane

Fitness Nerds, Summary: I'm a nerd, Sports causing not to have to worry about weight, sports end, prom weight loss, post-prom slump, freshman 15, today, problem= lack of motivation, solution= blog? Finally a group where I'll fit in. The label nerd definitely fits me well, but I embrace that. Recently I have been reflecting on what my goals were this time last year, which was a significant year for me. I was a couple of weeks out from moving away to college. Moving away really only meant 100miles to Baylor University (I live in Dallas), but nonetheless still a daunting task. Up to that point I had never had to worry about weight issues really because I was active in high school. I played high school and club ice hockey (in Texas? what?!?! wouldn't the ice melt?!?!). Although, despite playing hockey pretty much everyday I still was on the heavier end and certainly was never the one looking forward to taking my shirt off at a lake house or pool. My weight at the time hovered around 190, which I always wanted to get down, but part of my role in hockey was to be the big physical guy, so I never had anyone really encouraging me to lose weight. Senior year roles around in high school and I was going to prom with my new (and still current) girlfriend whom I had been chasing since freshman year (don't judge). She is a workout-aholic and had been telling me about these Insanity workouts she was doing and boy did I think she was crazy. Well hockey season had ended by then and I needed to lose weight for prom so somehow she convinced me to do all 3 months of Insanity. You really start to appreciate the name of the program once you finish it, pure Insanity. It had worked though and I lose about 15-20 pounds and looked fairly muscular and fit. Unfortunately, the happy part of the story ends after prom. I gained the weight back slowly over the summer and right before I left for college I was back at 190 again. My goal was to lose the weight in college. After all there is a "free" gym on campus. Well as you may have guessed....that did not work out very well. It turn out having a cafeteria on the way to the gym is very distracting and counter-productive. My freshman year I did what I had promised not to do, I gained the Freshman 15 (Amazing how accurate that is btw...I weighed almost exactly 205 when I came home for summer. fast forward to now, before my sophomore year, 3 months later and I still weigh about 205. My biggest problem when it comes to fitness and weight loss is motivation. I am the personality type to be super motivated when other people are expecting me to workout with them(i.e my girlfriend the workout-aholic). Unfortunately, my girlfriend lives another 100miles down the road in Austin, TX. The Plan: I want to start a weight loss blog and document my weight loss and body transformation. I can track my workouts and calorie intake. I may even get a body fat percentage monitor and track that as well. I would get an enormous amount of motivation from people interacting there. I also just have an interest in blogging. I am interested in workout like boxing, interval, running, sports, and anything else you can think of. I may even train for a half marathon? let me know what y'all think?!!? Names for the blog?! Authors note: This was way longer than I planned... sorry to bore you with my life. You're fat nerdy friend, Zach

Alright peeps, let's try this one again. This is my 4th (??) challenge and I have been fairly successful until the last challenge where I fell off the face of the planet because I was completely and utterly overwhelmed with everything in life. But I am not letting it get me down, as I am here and ready to RESPAWN!!! *cricks neck and cracks fingers* Let's get started Overall goal is still the same for those who have been following me: Lose 10lbs every challenge to get to my goal weight of 175lbs, and take necessary steps to join the Police Force Here's how: GOAL 1: Back to basics: 8 glasses of water a day Grading Scale: A - 8 cups of water a day B - 6 cups of water C - 5 or less cups a day Rewards: STA 2, CON 2 GOAL 2: Taking care of business: Stretches, stretches, stretches I simply do not stretch enough and it has hindered my progress Grading scale: A - Stretches 3 times a day B - Stretches 2 times a day C - once or not at all Rewards: WIS 1, DEX 1, CON 2 GOAL 3: Get back on the horse. Get back to training. I have been designated a great workout plan that will get me police ready if I can commit to it. A - Workout 3-5 times a week B - Workout 2x a week C - workout 1x or not at all per week. SIDE QUEST: Finish my schoolwork!!! I have been stressing over this last course because I am behind, I need to get caught up or I will fail. Rewards: INT 1, CHA 1

Lilith the Chubby Kitten - The Battle Against Fear Level 3 Kitten (definitely not yet a Cat, or Tiger, or...) After having won the battle of heights from Ravi, things were happy and fuzzy and cuddly and nice. Lilith and Ravi had decided they were both the absolute best at everything kitty related, and were therefore partners now, instead of rivals. Lilith was growing up to be a much bigger kitten now, and became much more aware of the surroundings. The human servants especially deserved much more attention! There were two gigantic humans who could reach the shelves with food easily. The trick with those was to look adorable and a little bit sad, that way you could get extra treats! *nomnomNOMnom* But Lilith's favourite human was a small one, a kitten like her. They could play for HOURS (*cough* minutes *cough*) hyperactively, before Lilith would cuddle up to the kitten human and fall asleep. "ZZzzzZzzzzzzz purrrrrrrrr purrrrrrrrr....." * Happy kitty dreams about outdoor adventures, capturing the flying noise machines! * A sudden earthquake woke Lilith up. What's that? Oh.. Her kitten human had run away to the outdoors portal (the one that was very strictly forbidden for kittens and not for mommy cats). Oh well... Lilith went on her drowsy way to a softer spot to sleep. WOOOOOF. *growls* Only to be waken up again by the monster of monsters. Smelly, bad teeth, gnarling.. And intently looking at her. NEVER TRUST THE OUTDOOR PORTAL! WHAT SORCERY, WHAT EVIL ENTERED LILITH'S SAFE WARM CUDDLY SPACE?! The adrenaline kicked in Lilith's veins. She was cornered, alone. She was the absolute best at sneaking past threats, but she never had to sneak past a threat that was looking directly at her, and very menacingly at that. One paw in front of the other. Stay low, you're invisible. Two steps later the dog barked again, jumping towards her.* RETREAT!* Back on top of the couch it was. Now what to do? She thought about Ravi, but couldn't call him for help. But she did remember how they both wanted to become the best sneaky kitty assassins ever. What would an assassin do? Lilith, scared as she was, realised she had to face her fears. Show the dog who's boss. "The key is not to look scared, don't look scared, maybe don't look at all.. Oh no, no I can't not look that's even scarier. " One, two, three....! That would teach him! Lilith felt strong, fierce, like a cat, like a lion! Raaaaaaawr! .... Okay doggie is gone run for the hiiiiilllllsss! O_o * Lilith is now hidden among the shadows, until further notice (notice being dog left the building)* Epic quest: From 73kg to 54kg. This goal will stay the same for a long time, which is why it's an epic quest. This challenge will be great for making progress in the epic quest, I'm sure! Especially because I'm going to try to focus on food again! I will grade myself for the epic quest too this challenge! Main quest: Kitteh is brave, kitteh is strong, kitteh is FEARLESS! Sadly, I am not as fearless as my kitten alter ego. Which is what I'm working on this challenge! BONUS goal 1: Workout 5 times a week. I will mostly be doing Insanity, ZWOWs, other bodyweight circuit training, toprope climbing, bouldering, and pilates. Maybe I will add in some running too, depends on the weather really. Anyway, point is, I don't follow a specific schedule. It works for me to do what I want (do I want to die? Insanity it is! Do I want something challenging but not too exhausting? Pilates it is) I do keep track of which Insanity workouts I do so I do those evenly spread out (they have different body focuses) The fitter and stronger you are, the less you'll have to fear! I'll be able to crush my enemies! Grading: No workouts missed is an A. For every two workouts missed during the entire challenge I lose one grade. BONUS goal 2: Skill practice 5 times a week. Again, this is the same as last time. So climbing practice that can include grip strenght, balance etc. Yoga also counts towards skill practice. But I'm making it broader, to make skill practice really 'having fun play time and seeing what my body can do' so it could also be walking, handstand practice, maybe I'll dare practice some safety rolls to prepare for parkour... Well you get the idea! You will soon find I'm very enthusiastic and basically want to do and try everything! How does this relate to fear? Well if I would do handstands and parkour stuff, those are things I'm scared of but would love to not be scared of anymore! Safety roll bitches! Grading: No skill practice missed is an A. For every two workouts missed during the entire challenge I lose one grade. Goal 3: BodieBoost. You guys won't know this, but it's a diet/lifestyle method (NOT a crash diet). It's not about eating perfect, nor is it about counting calories. I've been doing this for the duration of last challenge too, and it works for me so far. It keeps me from binging, it MAKES me eat two treats a week (no more, no less) and I feel happy and not obsessed with food when I follow it. I tried eating sensibly without structure, it doesn't work. I tried being perfect with food and counting calories, it didn't work. I'm going to try keeping to this because I notice I am losing weight and more importantly feel so much better in my skin! Anyway, this goal is definitely fear related, because I'm scared I'll binge again but I really want and need to tackle my food problem if I want to lose weight. Grading: A for a perfect day, B for a good day (where I eat one portion of food too much or eat one treat extra in a week). D for a bad day, where I didn't keep to BodieBoost. F for a binge. I'll have a grade for every day and I'll take the average for the final challenge grade. Lifegoal: Getting my life back on track. One of my biggest sources of anxiety is all the stuff I need to do for uni, like studying and finding an internship. Equally scary I find all the insurance declarations I still need to do and just that random official important LIFE stuff that I would love to hide from. And ALSO just doing house chores like tidying and cleaning and fixing flat tires etc... So I want to face those fears. It's unbelievably hard for me but I really NEED to because those things have a thing of getting worse the longer you ignore them... Grading: A if I had a very, very productive day, perfect, super awesome! B if I had a good day where I did useful stuff. C if I did one thing, which is not enough, but better than nothing. F if I didn't do anything. Tracker Measurements before challenge 23Feb14: Waist 85cm, Upper Leg 60cm, Chest (under breast) 88cm, Upper Arm (relaxed) 31cm 24Feb14: 70.3kg Assassins Guild 6 week Bridge Challenge - participating! Starting point, unable to do a bridge. (Cannot support my weight on my arms/hands/wrists and cannot push up high enough) Week 1 Workouts 5/5 Skill Practices 7/5 BodieBoost: AAAAADD Lifegoal: ACBBABB Mini Challenge #1: Monday: pigeon pose galore! Tuesday: Pigeon Pose, Deep Lunges, Cobra, Bridge (trying). Wednesday: cobra, pigeon, shoulder dislocations. Week 2 Workouts 1/5 Skill practice 1/5 BodieBoost: DDA Life Goal: CFB DID NOT TRACK ALL Week 3 Bodieboost: A B A A A B C Life goal:A B A C C B B Workouts: 3 Skill practices: 1 Week 4 BodieBoost: ABAAABA Life goal: BBBCAFA Workouts:2 Skill practices: 3

Lilith Level 2 Kitten (definitely not yet a Cat, or Tiger, or...) Main quest: Kitteh wants to climb higher and higher! Lilith, the chubby little kitten puts her claws into a new adventure, quite literally! She, and her brother and sister kittens are growing fast! So fast mommy cat can't always keep up with all their little tricks and adventures. Lilith is especially great at happily pouncing out of sight - just a little longer each and every time. Her slightly bigger brother, Ravi, challenges Lilith ever so often. They are the two oldest, boldest, most adventurous of the bunch and there's a constant struggle to be better! Lilith hisses at Ravi, as he's prowling after her. "Leave me alone! I have lots of stuff to do - ALONE!" and off she was. She had discovered a love for climbing things, as she's not quite the jumper yet. Whenever she was on a new high object, higher than the last, she felt like a fierce Tiger, or no, Lion! RAAAAAAAWRRRRR. There it was, a new obstacle! .... THE FLUFFY PILLOW! Lilith squints her eyes in concentration, and... Meow. *sadface* Didn't go quite as expected. Ravi, of course, parades just a bit higher than her, on a big soft chair. Grrrrrrr. (Lilith is getting quite the growling practice!) She has a plan, though. What if she got so good at climbing she could feed herself... Instead of waiting to be fed.... She would be the litter's heroine! I have to keep on trying, Lilith thought. Practice makes purrrrfect! In order to help my alter ego Lilith, I will have to work on my climbing skills, and get better! In order to do that I have three goals. Goal 1: Workout - Kitteh loves being busy! Workout 5 times a week, of which one should be actual climbing (bouldering or toprope). Workout can be anything: strenght training, Insanity, ZWOWs, other bodyweight circuits, HIIT, running, pilates. Mostly it will be bodyweight training, or with some of the makeshift weights I have, because I only workout at home. Why not climb more often than once a week? Simple, I simply don't have the money to do that. This is already stretching my budget (usually I go every other week). Goal 2: Climbing Skill Practice - Little kittens want to grow skills! Work on various skills that help with climbing - 4 times a week. This can be: - Working on grip strength - Working on pullups - Working on mobility - Working on flexibility/yoga - Working on balance (slackline, indoboard, anything) - Working on pistol squats Goal 3: Walking - Wanderlust, and adventure seeking! Walk as much as possible! This will help with the epic quest, which is stated further down below. I challenge myself to walk at least 100km during the challenge. I will track this with gps and I will not map my 'normal' walking throughout the day, only hikes in the forest or otherwise purposefully going on a walk. If I happen to exceed my expectations I will just add another 100km bar! Lets see how many I get to fill up 100%100% 3.3%3.3% Week 1 Workouts 5/5 Skill practice 4/4 Week 2 Workouts 5/5 Skill practice 4/4 Week 3 Workouts 4/5 Skill practice 4/4 Week 4 Workouts 4/5 Skill practice 4/4 Week 5 Workouts 5/5 Skill practice 5/4 Week 6 Workouts 5/5 Skill practice 4/4 Grading All three goals count equally. Goal 1: No workout missed is A, for every 2 workouts missed I lose 1 grade. Goal 2: No skill practice missed is A, for every 1 skill practice missed I lose 1 grade. Goal 3: Complete the 100km = A, every 10km less I lose 1 grade. Epic quest: From 73kg to 54kg This is definitely the ultimate motive behind all these challenges. However, I choose not to focus on weightloss or food right now. I'm recovering from binge eating disorder, and tracking those on the challenges, I noticed last time, was very triggering for me. I would rather challenge myself on what my body can DO rather than how it looks. I'm not going to post weigh-ins, but in my signature you can follow my journey to a healthy weight. Looking forward to smashing this challenge with all of you! Lilith's Catty Story part 1: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/39452-lilith-a-chubby-kitten-looking-to-lose-weight/ (conclusion of the story at the end with the challenge summary)

Hello Nerd Fitness! I have never posted on a forum before, so this is all pretty new to me, but here goes. I grew up in Alaska as one of the fat kids in school. Started getting overweight at the end of elementary school and only got worse as I got older. By the end of my freshman year of college, I was 225lbs at 5'10''. I was determined not to gain the dreaded freshman 15 and succeeded, but for all the work I put into it, did not lose any weight either. One of my friends and I tried all sorts of homemade diets, one of them lasting a grand total of about two hours! That summer I had a moment of clarity and decided enough was enough and I did not want to be this way anymore. I joined Weight Watchers and started tracking my points. I loved it! I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted as long as I stayed within my points allowance and lost 10lbs my first week on the program! I had a lot of ups and downs, but finally made it to my goal weight (the maximum BMI before being considered overweight) after two years and kept it off for six weeks, resulting in my "lifetime member" status, meaning I do not have to weigh in every week and as long as I am within 2lbs over my goal weight, I do not have to pay anymore. I have kept this weight off now for 5.5 years and when I was at my lowest weight, I had lost 65lbs. Two years ago, I started the P90X program and finished it just before going on a cruise! I lost weight and gained a lot of muscle. I was able to feel confident in my swimming trunks without a shirt on really for the first time in my life. As soon as I got home, I did the Insanity program then repeated both programs two more times. At my 10 year high school reunion, where most of these people have not seen me since high school when I was 225lbs, I got a lot of excited responses and some friends didnt even recognize me! It felt great! When I got home though, I did not get back on the program and have done small workouts here and there, but they are few and far between. I tried to start P90X again twice in this time, and failed to make it past the first few days both times. A little over a year ago I found an adult beginners gymnastics class offered twice a week and fell in love. I am getting my body to do things I had only imagined doing, but never actually thought possible for me! After about a year, I have been able to do back handsprings and move them from the tumble track (long, skinny trampoline) to the floor! Since stopping working out though, I can tell that I am losing the strength and stamina I had and the workout before class and the actual gymnastics is getting much harder. The number on the scale is going up, I am losing the muscle mass I had worked so hard to gain. I am ready to make a change. I am very excited to get started with the six week challenge coming up and am starting to put it all together! I feel that the nerdy basis will help me stay motivated to stick to it! Wow! That was a lot more wordy than I had planned on! Sorry bout that to whoever actually reads through it!! Good luck everyone!

So, before I get to my question, here's a little background on how I got to this point: I started eating paleo about a year ago, but I have had a lot of issues with slipping back into my old SAD ways for stretches of time. When I was younger, I lost a lot of weight by restricting my calories to 1200/day but my diet mostly consisted of lite and fit yogurts, kashi go lean cereal, salad with salsa and sliced lunch meat. Thinking about that now makes me cringe. Needless to say, that didn't last and I gained the weight back. One thing that did stick with me from that time in my life however, was a fear of/obsession with calories. I also have a history of binge eating and compulsive overeating. When I started Paleo, I struggled for a while because I was trying to count calories and that left me hungry all the time. Eventually I figured out that calorie counting is a major issue for me because it makes me obsessive, and plagued with guilt when I eat "too much". Last summer I completed the Insanity workout while maintaining an estimated 80/20 paleo diet. I lost about 30 lbs and gained a little muscle tone. Then I slipped into a month long episode of steady overeating and a SAD diet (don't look at me! I'm hideous!) Since then, I've completed two very successful whole30's but each time I completed one, I came barreling out into another month or more of aggressive SAD eating that basically undid all of my hard work on whole30. I enjoy completing whole30's and I love eating paleo. However, I've found that while I can be restrictive in my diet, the second I give myself any leeway, I crash hard. I am about two weeks into my second round of insanity, and I am trying very hard to keep my diet at least mostly paleo. What I am struggling with now, and what I am look for advice on, is how to find a healthy balance in my diet and my life. I am trying to lose another 15ish pounds, but since I have been doing insanity and cleaning up my diet, I haven't seen/felt any real progress. I know that some people count calories on paleo, and I am wondering if I should consider it despite my past calorie counting issues. In addition, I will admit that I could stand to tighten up my diet quite a bit, as I am still drinking and indulging in non-paleo foods occasionally, including one bad night when I binged on half a bag of sun chips, two cookies, several handfuls of cookie crisp cereal and some paleo things. But I am having a hard time finding a balance between paleo and non-paleo indulgences. I have guilt when I eat non-paleo foods, but I also feel like it is unrealistic for me to think I am going to be able to eat all paleo, all the time.

Hellloooo everybody. Ummm. Where do i begin.. A little bit about myself. I'm 18 years old living in Sheffield, UK. I'm currently working as an Administrator at a University. I've just moved out of my parent's house and I've bought my own place in Sheffield (formally lived in Rotherham). So, new town, new people.. meeting new people is not my forte.. eek. Okay okay. I've been on and off dietting and exercising for quite some time. Did what most girls do, exercise a lot and eat less. But of course, it can't be kept up forever and all the weight i lost went back on afer about a year. Back in March 2013.. I was at my heaviest weight of 150lbs (well, from what I'd measured anyway.. I was a lot worse a few years back!).. So because of this, me and my boyfriend (now ex) decided to try out Insanity together. I managed about 2 and a half weeks then I quit. Again, I piled on all the weight and never went back to it. Onto the pole dancing aspect of my life. I think it was about a year ago that I decided to give it a go.. Absolutely no idea why it just sprung to my mind to try it but it did and it was perhaps the best decision of my life! I've gotten stronger, used muscles I didn't even know I had, lost weight and met some great people along the way. Then came June 2013... I had a pole photoshoot booked in for the 8th June.. It gets to the 1st June and I'm like holy s***... I look terrible and I have a photoshoot in a week. So that was the start of the turning point for me I think. I started poling frantically and went full paleo for the whole week. I think I lost about 4-5lbs in that week. So anyway, the photoshoot went brill and then came through the photos. Belly hanging out everywhere, not looking fab in the slightest. not happy!! This one to be exact! So that brought on round 2 of Insanity and the REAL beginning of my weight loss journey. After going full pelt into Paleo for that week. I really did find it hard to want to go back to eating carbs. I slowly started to introduce good carbs back into my diet.. brown rice + sweet potatoes etc. And for me.. the week of paleo is really what sorted my nutrition out. Ooooh and I'm also stocked up on protein shakes! mmmmmm chocolate smooth. As for Insanity, I completed a month and then I went on holiday and didn't get back into it oops. Then I started talking to a friend of mine who body builds. He helped me a hell of a lot with nutrition and even though he was male and I female.. it seriously game me the need and motivation to get strong and fit. I decided from that point that I wanted to start weight lifting. AND THAT'S WHEN I CAME ACROSS NERDFITNESS!!!!!!! I was searching online for techniques for a deadlift and NerdFitness was the first thing I clicked on. From that point I was HOOKED. Spending my days and nights reading article after article on nutrition and exercise and lifting and got my head around a plan of action. Especially loved the article about Spezzy! A massive inspiration for me! So.. last week began my weight training. Starting small. 3 strength days (with a bit of cardio) a week then of course a few pole classes a week (and my pole at home). Starting squatting 30kg and deadlifting 25kg (Terrible I know, but I need to get the technique right before I think about going up in weight). Nutrition.. Very protein based. I tend to stick to a protein brekky, a protein bar for morning snack, a good carby thingy for lunch, meat for afternoon snack, meat for dinner. Plenty of water, limiting sodas as much as I can. (even then I only have diet sodas). I have a cheat day most fridays (it's cake friday in the office.. how can i resist ). So in summary, I feel up to now, I'm on my way.. getting there.. no turning back for me. As of today, I am currently 132lbs. So that's an 18lb loss since March 2013.. (more impressively.. when i really started my programme in June I was 146lbs so let's go with that..) 14lbs loss in less than 2 months! This is me yesterday: I do feel like I've forgotten plenty but I won't bore you...... Yours truely Gemma "getting stronger and bendier every day" Taylor

I am normally a warrior I lift and lift and lift, but what i am trying this time is slightly out of context I weigh in at 125kg and my previous challenges have all been about muscles. For the next 6 weeks challenge I will be sticking to the Insanity workout program (I hope i can mention this in here without a backlash) with 2 friends. I will be stripping fat and getting fitter. I have done 2 days so far, it will be six days a week. Two days in and i have been able to wring sweat out of my tee both days. So for this challenge I will be awarding my points as follows DEX: 5 STA:5 CON:2 CHA:3 I have a total of 60 days to complete and 15 points, so each 4 days gets me a point. I know this will take me over my challenge time but i want to see if i can do it. This is on top of my 4 lifting days. (Back and abs, Chest and biceps, Shoulders and Triceps, Legs) Simple enough Don't you think? Or just crazy? All feed back welcome!

I have been away from the site for a little while now, although thats not to say I have been completely idle. (Gained my green belt in Filipino Martial Arts, completed a couple of 10Ks, working on forming better eating habits.) I have also been trying to work out why I struggle so much to stick to exercise programs I set myself, (have bunked out of You Are Your Own Gym and Beginner Body Weight Workouts.) I know that my self motivation can be a stumbling block for me, and this is not helped by working out on my own. A friend at work has lent me the Insanity program, and I have quite a few friends who rave about it. It instantly appeals to me having someone on the screen talking you through it, and having the schedule laid out for you and ticked off each day does good things for the part of my brain in love with planning and making lists!! I have also had a good look at the nutrition guide which comes with it and am going to be following that as closely as I can, about 3,200 calories a day as I am looking to start gaining a bit of healthy weight. So... Starting in July I am going to be giving this a serious attempt and using this log to document it. I'm not expecting it to be easy, I'm fully expecting to have to work my ass off and make a big self motivation change to my life. The question is, anyone else out there who is looking to start this program? Would love to hook up with a training buddy doing it at the same time who I can email and stay accountable to. Also anyone who has done the program in the past and has comments or tips? Anyway, I will be back in a couple of weeks to get the party started properly!

Hello Everyone! My name is Sarah and this is my first 6 week challenge. Here are my goals: 1. To stop drinking Coke. I have been trying to do this for quite some time and have failed each time. This time will be different because I am putting this goal out there in the public for accountability. 2. To follow the Insanity program as much as possible. I teach Turbo Kick two nights a week and take Taekwondo so I have to work around those days. I am also going for certification to teach Insanity at the end of this month so it is more important than ever to dig deep and work hard. 3. To cook 3 nights a week. I admit it, I am a horrible cook. But I know that making an actual home-cooked meal is the best thing for me and my family. Now, my level up goal. I make jewelry as a hobby. I am currently taking a jewelry class and have been putting off my Unit 2 project work for some time so that I can make simple beaded pieces as gifts and to match all my outfits. However, if I finish my class I can move on to bigger and better things. So, my level up goal is to finish and submit for grade my Unit 2 project work.

This challenge I want to focus on agility and stamina for my workouts. I finished a program today that was a mix of P90x strength videos and running, with some yoga/core thrown in on days I felt like it. Yeah, a real scientific program. I've also been doing a 100 pushups training program which got me from 5 pushups at the beginning of the challenge to 20 by the end. I want to continue that. My husband has suggested his Insanity videos and I've been wanting to try those for a while. I have also signed up for a couple 5k's (fun runs) and I am trying to get a team together for the Tough Rhino race - which is a mud/obstacle 5k. I really want to do it, so if I can't get a team together I'm going to just use my 20 seconds and sign up as a single. I have found (in the last challenge) that I can stick to a 5 workout days per week program really well, but 6 or 7 days gets iffy. Insanity is a 6 day a week program. They are shorter workouts than the P90x, so I'm hoping I'll be better at getting them in since that hour or 1.5 hour workout was really intimidating on my work days. Goal 1: Workout. Insanity 6 days per week, run at least 3 miles on Sat/Sun. 100 pushups training 3 days per week (takes 10 minutes). I will be re-evaluating my program at 4 weeks (the 1st half of the Insanity workouts) to see if I miss the weightlifting too much. And to see if it's helping or hurting my strength gains (gotta be able to pull myself up for some of the obstacles!) +1STR, +3DEX, +2STA, +2CHA I am one of those people who would love to read all day. Or play Skyrim all day. My days off can really get away from me, before I know it it's dinnertime and I haven't even poked my head out of the house (not very Rangery, I know). I want to change that. For me and for my 6 yr old, who is the same way. The weather is starting to get nicer, so it's time to start. Goal 2: Get outside every weekend. I plan to do my runs outside (it's been all treadmill so far this year). The yard needs work. I have to get my veggie garden ready to plant. My kid needs to practice throwing/catching balls and riding his bike. I need to ride my bike. I'm going to spend at least 2 hours outside every weekend. Doesn't sound like much, I know. If it becomes too easy, I'll increase it. +2WIS, +1CHA I have been trying to eat better at my work lunches and have been making some progress, buying salads at the deli most days. But that's getting expensive, and they are mostly lettuce with a tiny amount of meat. I should be able to make my own. I need more protein and better greens than that. I've seen lots of websites and blogs where people are making up salads in mason jars on the weekends for their lunches during the week. I can do that. I want to try making my own protein/snack bars instead of buying. It will mean planning ahead (which I am bad at - major procrastinator here) and searching for some new recipes. Goal 3: New foods. I will find a new recipe to try on Wednesday and make it on the weekend (gives me 2 days to get any ingredients I don't already have). I will make my own lunch at least 2 days per week (I work 4 10hr days). New recipes can be for any meal. Or a new protein drink. Whatever. But healthy. Vegetables, protein, fruit. I'm not paleo, skim milk, greek yogurt and cheese is ok. Vinagrette for the salads. +1WIS, +1CON I'm a slob. A total slob. My husband is wonderful to put up with the state of our bathroom (stuff, not gross. I do clean the utilities!). I have piles of clothes on the bathtub and my stuff is all over the counter. I keep his sink clear and that's about all he gets. I had a cleaning goal last challenge which I utterly failed. So I'm making it easier. Goal 4: Tidy up. Before dinner every day I will go through the house and put anything that's mine back where it belongs. Where it belongs, and not just tossed on our bed to get it out of the way. I am going to organize our bathroom (my crap in our bathroom) by the end of the 2nd week of the challenge and keep that tidy too. +2WIS Edited to add Attribute points. Current: STR 7, DEX, 4.5, STA 9, CON 8.5, WIS 8, CHA 4.5. Hmmm. Next challenge I need to pick a goal to help my charisma it seems. Ah well.

I did it. I finished Insanity. Two months of sweat, spit, and cursing done. At the beginning of February I spontaneously choose to start Insanity, having sat on the videos lent to me by my sister-in-law for a couple of months. After the first week I was ready to see this through. Also, after the first week I was disturbed by how much it kicked my ass. A lot of people say 'it gets better' but in reality you just end up coping with it. In fact, by the beginning of the second month it just gets HARDER. Looking back, I'd give myself a 'B' grade for completing this. I did all the workouts from start to finish and some days, in an effort to stay on track with my calendar, I'd do two workouts in a day. Through a couple of out of town weekends and a minor illness, I ended up finishing about a week and a half past my projected date. Within the work outs there were times where I could not keep up with Shaun T and the gang. I had to either extend the water breaks or straight up give myself my own breaks through the pause button. But I think the most important part was sticking with it from start to finish. The amount of sweat and, sometimes, spit on the floor and the general saturation of my workout shirt AND towel was a pretty good indicator that was doing at least something right. Am I glad I did it? Yes. Would I recommend it to anyone? Sure. It's not for everyone, though. It’s a bit repetitious too and within the past two weeks I found myself feeling like this was more of a chore. I was ready to move onto something new, but for the sake of completion, I stuck it out. I do recommend, for first timers, to have some sort of baseline physical activity. This is definitely not for people starting from scratch. This coming weekend I'll post my updated measurements, but in terms of straight weight loss, today I weigh 222 lbs. When I started I had been stuck on 232 lbs. All my pants fit a bit more loosely now, and I can see a difference visually. I’m looking forward to a week of taking it easy with alternating some runs with going back to the videos and doing the Core Cardio and Balance workouts, and getting back to swimming.

I recently started Insanity! and have been making steady progress. Currently I'm on Day 14, and today is my second Fit Test, which I'll post the results later this evening. WHY I'm doing Insanity is because my sister-in-law recently completed it and more or less dared me to try it. Of course I wasn't going to wuss out or make excuses- but I also was not ready for this. Going from steady running type cardio to this stuff was a shock and I'm still trying to get used to some of these exercises. My goal is to see it through to the end, though, and give it all I got and in the meantime, with what I've learned from the articles on NF, I'm going to re-evaluate my workout regimen and tailor it to the Ranger class - Daniel