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After a bit over a year in Korea, I'm back in Colorado. The move was, as usual, discombobulated. I have things in storage scattered across the country, and need to find a permanent residence in a stupidly hot housing market. Darn you Denverites, invading Colorado Springs! Well, I can't control some of that, what I can control is: Tai Chi - I got the bare bones down of the 42 form before I left Korea. Time to start doing that again. Lets aim for 5x days a week for the 9 and 24 form, and 3x days a week for the full 42. I went to Korea trying to lose 30 lbs, now I'm working on 60 lbs. Good news is I can afford food prep delivery (cheaper than eating out) and am executing on that. Goal is to stick with the food prep plan and not arbitrarily deviate. 15 meals (3 meals for Mon thru Friday) and then the weekend to do with as I will. Lastly, I went from a stressful job, to a very stressful job. The difference is, I now have the mountains to escape to. Goal: 3 nights a month in the mountains. Car camping, camping, even a hotel room, just getting away from the grind. This is a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Long term goals are to do the Bataan Memorial Death March again, start overlanding, figure out where to live, find a Tai Chi group locally, and maybe grow a few more active hobbies. - Murphy's Roommate

I skipped out on the last challenge. Perversely, I got a ton of stuff done. I installed a deadlift pad in my garage (the really glorifies the act of flopping down a horse stall mat), got enough free weights to deadlift, got all my radio stuff and activated my first summit (Mt. Herman out here in Colorado Springs). Been re-staining my back deck and doing other random household admin work. I also threw a shindig for some work related stuff and ended up with a house full of food and beer, with the predictable results. My goals get simpler every time through, as I realize that when you don't have the basics, the rest doesn't matter as much. Eating - gotta get that back under control. I have a tri-tip to get going, and then I have a few culinary experiments to attempt. Cooking more is better. Less fast food is better. Routine - walk the dog 2x a day, deadlift 2x a week, go to bed on time and get up on time. Summits On The Air - activate as often as possible - min of 2 times this challenge. Yes, there will be pictures. My side quest is clearing my garage. It has gotten chaotic. - Murphy's Roommate

[Dr. Nick voice] Hi, everybody! [/Dr. Nick] I've been an NF lurker for over a year and a half and am finally joining what is surely one of the coolest communities around. I've always considered myself to be some degree of fat/pudgy, and to have man boobs more than pecs. I'd rather be strong than skinny though, and since November I've been slowly but surely working my way up to 4 days/week of working out or skiing. I'm enjoying weightlifting for the numerical progress I can track and seeing muscles pop out for the first time in years, and my 2-3 days/week of skiing lets me utilize those gains to have a lot of fun. I've had my share of chronic and acute injuries in the past, hence my thread title to keep my progress going for the whole 6 week stretch. MAIN QUEST: Ski better than I ever have before and shred at a mountain I've never skied. Once the snow melts, backpack 20 miles/day through any terrain with a full pack load (9 days of food, but still only 30 pounds). SIDE QUEST 1: Eat 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. I've cut a lot of empty calories out of my diet, but I don't want to limit my muscle growth potential. Because eating is easier than writing for me, I need to keep track of it too. Measurement: A = 40 days, B = 30 days, C = 20 days SIDE QUEST 2: Do at least 1 lower body and 2 upper body workouts each week. I can mentally stay dedicated to a cause or goal, but I'm too good at giving up or letting things get in the way of my own desires. This will also be a barometer for staying injury-free. Measurement: A = 6 weeks, B = 5 weeks, C = 4 weeks SIDE QUEST 3: Ski as often as possible. I can claim the drought afflicting my local mountain town can justify skipping out on skiing because conditions aren't perfect, but I really shouldn't when summer is fast approaching. Measurement: A = 16 days, B = 12 days, C = 10 days LIFE QUESTS: Finish 1 nonfiction, 1 fiction, and 1 technical book. Meditate 3 times a week. MOTIVATION: I've never really committed to myself before - I don't know what I'm fully capable of. I have decent genetics and am pretty good at sports, but I want to actually experience the payoff of working toward goals and accomplishing things I never knew I could before. Due to a long history of injuries and being a playing catcher for a dozen years, I won't be surprised if something finally goes and I find out that I need knee or ankle surgery (the last time I had an ankle x-ray after a ski crash, the physician pointed out bone spurs starting to grow). I don't want to hold myself back with excuses any longer.

Alright rangers, hikers and other awesome people who roam around this section of the world. My wife and I are thinking of gearing up for doing smallish portions of the Appalachian Trail (aka the AT) probably starting in the early spring/later winter time of 2014. We are in Atlanta so will obvious start from this end and hike/camp on up. Currently we're thinking of doing a couple of weekend hikes and camping over the fall/winter to get use to the idea and really see if we WANT to do a week long excursion. We both have completed 2-marathons and over a half-dozen half marathons so I think our base fitness is good for hiking though it has been a while since either of us has tromped through the wilderness. A friend suggested looking at doing Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or High Sierras as alternatives as they're more "manageable in terms of off-work time and much more scenery bang for the buck" ... so yeah I'm also thinking a week off to do one of those instead of hitting the AT might be a good plan too. Anyone here have any experience with the AT (or other multi-day hikes) that they'd like to share?

As part of accomplishing my top Big Mission on my Bucket List, climbing Pikes Peak, I would like to see if there are any other like-minded individuals out there that look up at Pikes Peak and think, "someday." Or possibly you have already conquered this particular moutain or another in the area and would like to do it again. Well I would like to formally invite anyone out there that would like to join me in this particular quest and bask in the glory and claim the bragging rights that goes along with it. I challenge my fellow Nerds to take on the famous Peak with me. I know it's not going to be easy, but it's not Everest either. don't worry I am not going today or tomorrow, but I plan on accomplishing this before my 33 birthday this coming September, so that leaves us a little over 5 months to prepare. If all goes well, I would like to make this an anual adventure, whether it be Pikes Peak each year or a similar challenge. What I am hoping to get out of this club is a chance to get to know my fellow NF'ers in the area, accomplish a goal that I have been dreaming about for too long, and have good fun companionship in the process. Some of my training plans include tackling the Manitou Incline at least every other week or so in addition to my regularly scheduled workouts. Also any other fun and challenging hiking trails in the area will be tackled as much as possible. So Please, leave a comment below and let me know who might be interested in joining me. I look forward to hearing from you all.

Oh hey Rebellion, I have been reading NerdFitness for a little bit of time now, and I have loved it! I actually have loved it so much that I have decided to just join the community and see what happens. Just as a quick intro, I'm a nerd who is graduating from my master's program like, in three weeks. I have a pretty decent workout routine and I am starting P90X for the third time, hopefully the second time I actually finish it I am looking into getting into trail running and I have a feeling the rebellion will have some tips for me. I would like to be able to continue to do strength training as I prep for trail running. Any tips on trail running prep? I figure this is a good starting place to get such advice Thanks guys, cannot wait to get more involved with the community. Eric Pete!