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Whew! Where do I begin with how wild life has been lately? Some pretty major changes to our family dynamic (good changes but also difficult) have occurred recently, and I just haven't had the opportunity to be active here. However, I do have some goals I want to set for this challenge, and I hope those of you who have been patient with me will continue to be so. Also, I recently accepted a position as a Language Arts teacher at the same high school I graduated from 25 years ago. It feels surreal, but I am honored and eager to begin. Forgive me this introduction before I get to my goals: I recently joined a community called The Fifth Direction, which has reawakened my creative spirit. It is inspired by poet Robert Bly and the Mythopoetic movement. If you're not familiar with the Mythopoetic movement, fear not; I'll talk about it more in a later post. Short version: it seeks to view life through the lens of story, especially ancient stories (i.e. myths, folk tales, legends, etc.). I have really been exploring how my growing interest in poetry and myth impacts my own faith and spirituality. I was at first concerned that much of it would "debunk" it but instead have found that it has deepened it. Reading scripture through the lens of story and myth and reading stories and myths that are similar and, at times, very parallel to stories in scripture, has reminded me of the omnipresence of God's Spirit in all things. I am also writing poetry again. Robert Bly said that he was inspired by poet William Stafford to write a poem every morning, and eventually Bly published these poems in a book aptly titled Morning Poems. I plan to take similar inspiration and write a poem every day during this challenge, as well as read a poem every day (and share it here, of course). I have also transformed my morning "routine" into something more akin to a morning "ritual" that includes prayer, reading scripture and poetry and stories out loud, meditating and doing breath work. I have not done well recently with my nutrition. I think part of the issue is I have approached it more as a disciplined practice rather than a spiritual one. Fasting has deep spiritual roots and therefore should be meaningful and have reason beyond just "cutting calories." I plan to continue my workout routine, which includes three days of strength training, one day of sprints, three days to move slowly/play/rest. Which day for what is usually determined by life. So, my goals for this challenge: Write a poem of my own every day and read/share someone else's poem every day. Continue my morning ritual: scripture, meditation, breath work, etc. Fast from 7 pm to 11 am daily except on strength training days; also fast for 24 hours every Sunday and Wednesday (I may post later about why I chose those two days). And that's it. Short and sweet and simple. To the best of my ability, I plan to be here daily and hope to not only post but also visit many of your challenge post, as well. Thank you if you've sat with me this long. I hope you will continue to visit and feel welcome here.

So, I'm not entirely sure how to start this, so I'll just jump right in. Also, for those who don't feel like reading my long-winded backstory, jump down to tl;dr. About a year ago, miserable at 185 lb (5'4"), I started reading Nerd Fitness in search of tips/tricks to help me "get better" at karate. My husband is actually the one who got me into karate (he did it from about age 10-21), and I underestimate just how damn hard it is. In my search on NF, I happened upon the article about Staci and her powerlifting journey. Though there were some differences, the challenges she faced pre-lifting were similar to my own. Her story inspired me to go to the "scary" side of the gym and pick up a barbell. I was hooked from that moment. It just so happens that my husband is my gym buddy. My husband is awesome. He's always been supportive of whatever I jump into, and he's there to cheer me on whether I success, fail or just break even. But I digress. When I told him I wanted to start weightlifting, he was excited. I was pretty thrilled too because he has experience lifting and could at least show me the ropes on proper form. Cool, all is well. (tl;dr) I started getting stronger, and began increasing both weight and reps while noticeably decreasing in bodyweight (down to 162 lb currently). These are all good things. Then, it happened...one day as we were leaving the gym after one of my big PR days, he said, "You should take it easy. You just want to focus on conditioning; make sure you don't get bulky." Although I know better, I was crushed because I assumed he knew better. I even showed him the article about Staci (update included, debunking such bulking nonsense), and yet the myth persists. As recently as yesterday, the "b" word has been uttered; once again, on a PR day (215 lb deadlift). I feel like an idiot for even asking this, but I'm curious. Has anyone else encountered this with their significant other? If so, how did you enlighten them without telling them they're straight up wrong?

Hello fellow nerds ! I am an overweight student weighing at about 220 lbs (100 kgs) as of now. I am fairly new to fitness training and my goal ultimately is to become a power lifter. In this topic, I will be posting my weight,workout regimes and some remarks if necessary on a daily basis. I want to keep track of my fitness and hope to gain some inspiration from the community. Have fun reading and you are welcome to post any relevant comments, suggestions or queries down below ! Sincerely, Myth

Hi there! Ok so my routine does not really consist of muscle building but im geared to that(i still do my cardio and watch my diet). Lately though my friends and I have been arguing on this topic, with one side saying that building muscle for muscle is bs, while the other saying that fat people should build muscle to gain more metabolism=more fat loss. Im stuck at between and im confused here, so could someone help me out?