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G'day all, I'm Dan, the new Nerd Fitness Rebel Family Correspondent, Steve has granted the very important (and very awesome) task of writing about all things family for Nerd Fitness (you can check out my first article here). I'm a father from Adelaide, South Australia with two (soon to be three) amazing kids. I work as a fatherhood specialist in a large non profit organization, where I help other dads become the best they can be. In my work I run prenatal classes, playgroups, fatherhood courses, provide counselling and opportunities for parents and their children to bond. I'm super excited to be writing for Nerd Fitness, but I really want to know what all you parents (or parents to be) would like to read, or learn more, about? Through my work, qualifications, and life experiences as a parent, I have a wide range of knowledge relating to parenting, sleeping, eating, child development, mental health, sensory issues, pregnancy, pre and postnatal health, relationships, and much more. So let me know what you Rebel Parents would really like to see on the Nerd Fitness blog. I promise I'll try to keep the dad jokes to a minimum ('Dead-lifts'? More like, 'Dad-lifts'! Amirite?!)...I'll show myself out. Also, feel free to get in touch, either just to say 'G'day!', or ask a question at any time. -'Down Under' Dan.

I'd really love to follow other women who have very young children. I have a toddler, too, but since she's at daycare and old enough to entertain herself a fair bit, she's not my challenge - it's my almost three month-old who's a challenge. She needs me 24/7, which makes it hard to fit in workouts, cooking and so on. Additionally, I tried sleeping her in the cot during the day (we co-sleep at night), but a hiccup meant that while she slept beautifully for three days, now she won't sleep in it at all ... so I have to stop trying for a few days (meaning she sleeps in a wrap or carrier with me, or in arms), and then go back. I'd love inspiration from other mothers who have managed to fit in workouts or adapt them to their babies!

Hi, I’m Daule (so obviously not my real name, just a contraction of my username). I’m 28, and I have two daughters - one two and a half years, the other two and a half months (yes, I gave birth barely three months ago!). I found nerd fitness years ago but was happy to set my own path back then … now that I have way less time, and more motivation, I decided to join the forums to track my progress and set out my goals here. Main quest: To be fit enough to at least defend myself basically in a street fight/attack, and in doing so reduce my body fat to 22% (from around 32%). ETA: My current bodyfat is about 30%, so I think 8% is a reasonable reduction to a healthy and achievable number. I currently weigh about 62.5kg, and my pre-pregnancy weight was 54kg. However, while I weighed less, I'd lost weight without really moderating my diet or exercising, so my guess is that my bodyfat percentage was just as high, maybe a smidge lower. Not that I'd be upset to have that body back I'm also 5'3" so on the shorter side. As much as I want to lose weight, it's the fat which is more important, which is why I don't have a weight goal. Also, just to be clear, I am in no way looking to fight people - I just want to have the confidence to defend myself if I ever need to. As a petite woman, I'm likely to be a pretty good target for attackers, so I want to make sure that I'm not a victim if I can help it. I hope that in training in strength and speed I can also build functional, practical fitness that not only helps in an attack but improves my well-being overall. Sub-quests: For this six week challenge, I’m going to continue on my current path (I'll detail that in a later post) 1. cook three different veg protein-filled clean meals for the first time (0/3)2. krav maga kickboxing class once a week, or if not, an extra personalised workout (0/6)3. the baby wearing workout or dauntless workout three times a week. my personalised workout. Given time restrictions a workout can be split across days, as long as all exercises are done it counts as one workout. I'll detail this workouts in a later post too, when my baby isn't about to cry! (0/18) Motivation (warning - it’s quite detailed ): There are a few elements, two of which inform my username. First, my (step)father died (two months after my mum unexpectedly passed away) in August, after a long battle with cancer. He was a huge role model for nearly twenty years and I admired him a lot. He used to be a boxer and was in many many street fights. From when I knew him he never picked fights but could easily take care of himself and was never afraid of anyone. He had a brilliant, laid-back attitude to life, always made me laugh, and always made me feel safe. I really want to be more like him. He used to call me the evil little dwarf, which then became little evil (I called him big evil), and it was a moniker I wore with pride. This part of my life is about saying goodbye to him as a person, and living on and carrying his self with me. The second source of inspiration is that when I look back on my life, all my role models have been women who could kick arse. Gabrielle from Xena, Buffy Somers, River Tam, Lisbeth Salander, Arya Stark and most recent, Tris Prior (from Divergent). I love that they could take care of themselves, as much as any man, and it's something I admire and aspire to. The third inspiration is my two girls, Arya and Aemilia (yes, I named my firstborn after a Game of Thrones character). I want to be a strong role model for them, and teach them to be able to look after themselves, too. It's the most recent inspiration - Tris - who kind of powered up my desire to really follow this goal again. In and of herself she's not the best role model in a literary sense, but I found the Dauntless approach to life, the training regime of going from Abnegation to Dauntless and just the idea of a group of people with the same approach to life really enjoyable. I actually was more disappointed with the second and third books, and was then looking for another book with a similar drive but just couldn’t get anything, so needed to create something that worked for me. I suppose it doesn't hurt I love black clothes, and already have several tattoos (including an image on my wrist which is a hidden tribute to my stepdad). In addition to this, my husband is very overweight due to the medication he takes for his mental illness, and I want him to be fit, healthy and strong too. I convinced him to attend a private Krav Maga training class (it took a LOT of convincing), but he actually ended up loving it and eager to go again (note: my husband has NEVER been eager to do anything physical - neither of us are “sporty†types), so that’s both a great motivator and something we can do together. So that feeds into things. Race: Deep dwarf - short, slightly stout and prefers the darkness Desired class: Monk (krav maga, boxing and street fighting/defence)

Hello. It's been a while.I'm a mama of a spirited (read stubborn, bossy, impossible) almost 3 year old and soon to be mama (read due any day now) to a little boy. My pregnancy with my daughter was pretty straight forward and I was pretty active the whole time. This one, however, has been very difficult with a range of issues that have kept me from really being able to exercise or even eat properly. Now most of that has resolved an I'm on leave until the end of January and the weather is clearing up I figure its time to get into some better habits. This is NOT about losing weight, looking a certain way or doing a certain amount of anything. I'm not risking breastfeeding or injury just because celebrities put post partum pictures of their perfect bodies online weeks after having a baby. This is about kindness and love. Towards my body, my bank balance and my family. GOAL: Be a healthy and positive influence on my family. Food Plan lunches and dinners in time to get my orders in by the previous Thursday so my meat etc. arrives on the Saturday. Food diary. I'll use MFP but not interested in calories as much as food groups. Exercise Get some form of movement in every day either the wiifit or a walk Wear my samsung gear fit everyday to monitor my activityPersonal Start documenting everything we spend via an app on my phone so we can prepare a budget for when we have to return to work Make sure once a week I spend one on one time with my little girl. There we have it. No weights or measurements ( it would be cheating to weigh myself now any way ha ha ha). Just making sure I have good habits for when I am a little more human again.

Background: Okay, as explained in my challenge thread (linked in my sig), I'm a newbie, aspiring monk. I'm also a mum of a toddler and a 3 month old baby. My toddler is in daycare, but my baby is with me, and has taken a dislike to the cot, giving me very little time to exercise. I've also started krav maga classes, and since my husband and I can't both have the time to practice at home, I'd love workouts I can do on the bag. We have a heavy punching bag (not a full body one) in our garage that I can use. I used to do bench presses and barbell squats before I got pregnant with my toddler, but haven't done any heavy exercise since then. Since my baby was born, I've been doing basic bodyweight exercises - lunges, tricep dips, squats, dumbbell curls (3kg) - really light stuff. But I'd like to increase my strength and power, along with speed, for krav. Looking for: I basically just want a few basic things I can practice on the bag that are going to be useful for my krav training, that will help increase my strength. I don't have gloves or wraps for my hands or anything - thus far I've been doing wimpy elbow strikes (using the back of my upper arm more than my elbow due to the pain factor), kneeing the bottom of the bag (which is about my waist level), and sort of side striking the bag with the back side of my forearm. I am sure these are probably all pretty crappy or useless exercises, so I'd love to get suggestions as to what I can do instead. I think three or maybe four different exercises would be good. Additionally, if there are any bodyweight workouts that would strengthen me for krav (I'm guessing mainly core?), please feel free to suggest them to me! I'm happy to google for instructions for different things, I just don't know where to start. Thanks in advance!

I was supposed to start this challenge with excitement and strength and good news. Instead my heart has been broken again. I’ve lost another baby and am feeling utterly defeated. As well as this Next year hold much uncertainty about my job. I will still have a job but where and doing what is out of my hands and in those of upper management because of huge structural changes going on. So I’ve come to the druids for nourishment and recuperation. Motivation: My daughter. Always my daughter. To be a good role model for her and be able to give her an awesome childhood. Goal: to increase my energy and decrease my migraines. To find joy in my body again (vague I know but I can’t put my finger on it more than that) Quest one: Read Gods word. Every day. No exception. Write down what he is telling me. I feel most alive when I am with Him. I feel connected, loved and whole. I need to work on this connection so much. I have a diary by my bed I can write in all ready and the bible on my phone so no excuses. Quest two: write a meal plan and stick to it. I do this but I don’t stick to it and eat out way too much (I’ve been using a budget app recently that has highlighted this to me). At the moment the quality of food I have isn’t the focus but making a plan and sticking to it. Better food can come later. Quest three: Move every day. I love yoga with adriene. It’s getting hot here in Australia and I’m very pale and there are snakes around here so going outside won’t always be an option but a 20min yoga video is doable. Bonus for getting my daughter in on it with me. Quest four: work towards getting my landscaping finished THREE DAMN YEARS!! We got ripped off and money stolen from us a few years ago and then we had a baby so no money anymore! I need to find the steps to do this Order more dirt, fill in in retaining wall Another layer of stones Front retaining wall Fill in with dirt Set up vege patch Set up chicken runIf I can get 1 and 2 done I’ll be so happy. Quest five: do something fun with Wilhelmina every week. I do full time shift work as a nurse and am not always a very fun mum. I am tired or need to get the housework done (my awesome husband tries but he isn’t very organised). I need to take the time to focus solely on her and I at least once a week. Go out, do something, enjoy it. I know this seems like a lot but they are tiny goals really. Things I already do but not with any focus.

Hello adventurers! I hope I am welcome in your guild. I promise to bring honour to all adventurers My names Tiffany and I'm a full time nurse (assistant ward manager) with a gorgeous but spirited 2 year old and a very laid back house husband living in Australia. This last year has brought me some of the biggest heartbreaks and challenges I have ever faced. However through my last (and first completed) 6 week challenege I found love for my body and myself. I'm quite shy and coming on the forums was actually a huge deal for me! My main goals is to get back down to my pre-nursing-pre-husband weight of 65kg and to build up enough body strength to do regular push ups and pull ups! That's a long way off though. This challenge I want to get under 75kg (and fit into a nice dress for a wedding I have!). I also want to get into good habits for my daughters sake as we eat way too much take out because I'm tired and busy and my husband is a terrible cook So my actions are....... Food: There is a national nutrition week in Australia in october. They are challeneging everyone to cook every meal with no take aways for a week. I want to see if I can stretch that out! So take aways once a fortnight only for the 6 weeks. that means only 3 time. T.T I want to give up already! ha ha Fitness: to walk my dog 3 times a week and body weight exercise 3 times a week Life: read the bible everyday seems pretty easy but when I have night shift I become a tad of a psycho! Monday is my birthday (26 years old) and I finish a night shift at 730 in the morning. Not the best start ha ha ha

MY MAIN QUEST: I will be a stronger person - physically, financially, and mentally.I will lift weights following the Nerd Fitness plan 3 xs a week. I will eat paleo 80% of the time, EVERY day. I will do cardio using the interval training method 2 - 3 xs a week. MY SIDE QUESTS 1. Become credit- card debt free in the next two years 2. Travel abroad MY MOTIVATION I am competing in my FIRST challenge to commit 100% to both Nerd Fitness and to the Paleo lifestyle SO I can be happier, live longer, and be a better role model to my two baby nerds.

YOUR MAIN QUEST: I will be a stronger person - physically, financially, and mentally.I will lift weights following the Nerd Fitness plan 3 xs a week. I will eat paleo 80% of the time, EVERY day. I will do cardio using the interval training method 2 - 3 xs a week. SIDE QUESTS 1. Become credit- card debt free in the next two year 2. Travel abroad DECLARE YOUR MOTIVATION I am competing in my FIRST challenge to commit 100% to both Nerd Fitness and to the Paleo lifestyle SO I can be happier, live longer, and be a better role model to my two baby nerds.

Epic Quest = Enrich relationships with the people I love. 1. Run a 5k in less than 45 minutes with my husband. My parents-in-law are also training to run a 5k for this challenge, so we can encourage each other and share ideas about training. My husband and I will train together, and we plan to run 2-3 times per week to build up our stamina and increase our distance to be able to run a 5k race before this challenge is over. (2 STA, 2 STR) 2. Complete a 6-week Marriage Fitness Program designed by my husband BigBen. We are happy, but are always looking for ways to enrich our marriage by learning new skills, having new adventures, and learning new ways to show our love for each other. (3 CHA, 1 WIS) 3. Learn to play three songs with my electric guitar by the end of this six week challenge. My husband is working on the same three songs, and is learning the bass parts for each song, and my father-in-law is working on the drum parts for each song. In six weeks, we should be able to jam! (3 DEX) Life Quest = Change TV time to workout time. Anytime I watch a TV show or movie at home during this challenge, I will spend at least half of the air time doing bodyweight workouts. (3 STR, 1 WIS) **I'm in the off-season for roller derby now, so I'm trying to find other ways to stay fit during the break. This is my third NF challenge. Bring it on!