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Hi All, My first Recruit 6 week challenge pulled up just short of completing when I injured myself in the final week - a small hernia, which was pretty painful I can tell you! Anyway, I've worked back from there to actually complete my original goals this week! 100kg Deadlift, Squat 80kg, 60kg bench press, 40kg OH press. I'm far more comfortable with those weights and far stronger than I was in Jan/Feb. I'm really, really happy about that. You have no idea. I'm 40 years old, and very very overweight. My plan two years ago was to get under 100kg (220 lbs) and to do that I needed to drop 40kg (88 pounds). In my first year I lost 10kg (22 lbs) and was on track to lose another 10kg this year, but since I injured myself in Feb, my weight has crept up 5kg - back to my weight over ten months ago. So furious with myself. So - this challenge is perfect timing. Now my Jan-Feb challenge strength goals are complete, it's time to focus on the other parts of wellbeing - fitness & weightloss. Main goal: Lose 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) a week for six weeks. I will accomplish this by completing my side goals: Continuing 5x5 Stronglifts program each week. I have no lifting goals, just focus on form and increase as it feels good. Gym twice a week for 30 minutes cardio - I'm thinking 10 minutes bike, 10 minutes cross-trainer/ellipsis thingy, 10 minutes rowing. 10,000 steps on the weekend. An hour's walking at the local park will get me across the line on Saturday and Sunday VB6 - I know Paleo is popular here, but I find sticking to Vegan Before 6pm as much easier guide for me. Essentially, no meat or dairy before 6pm, and a sensible dinner. I'm a family guy with a budget, so dinner can't be prime steak with fresh veggies every night - rice or potato has prime spots on our plates and gets eaten my all four kids. Don't injure myself. Listen to my body, back off when appropriate. I am aware 'losing weight' is considered a cop-out crap goal here at Nerd Fitness but I figure when you are as overweight as I am, it is still a valid target. I already go to the gym three days a week and have only slipped weight recently. I'm responsible of course, but I've had a dramatic shift of work hours (12 hours days locked in meetings for around six weeks), including eating work supplied in-meeting food (a grazing table, the worst kind) for lunch - and dinner - over bringing my own lunch. Plus Easter chocolate. Life side quest: Finish Practical Programming for Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe. I have obviously read Starting Strength (which led me to 5x5 Stronglifts) and now I've hit reasonable weights (at least, reasonable for me) I want to see how to keep progressing over time. In six weeks, literally two days after this challenge finishes, my wife and I are off on a cruise of some South Pacific Islands. This challenge will make sure I have get-up-and-go to play and swim and snorkel with my two eldest kids that are coming with us - and do those activities all day long. I can't wait. It's also why side goal number 5 - don't injure myself - is so important. For the last two years I've injured my shoulder, achilles heel (jogging) and had a hernia. I have no desire to mess up during the lead up. Anyway, perfect timing NF once again - here goes Recruit six week challenge number two!! Chris

Hi, my name's Quell, and I'm a long time NF blog reader, first time forum goer. I'm a graphic designer and artist who lurks at computers for too many hours a day. This morning I looked and the mirror saying "I need to do something." to myself. The universe, well Steve really, sent an email announcing this challenge. Coincidence? I think not. 1) I struggle with my weight, so weight loss is my main goal. I previously lost a bit of weight obsessively using MyFitnessPal and a low calorie count, but it wasn't sustainable and it's alll come back. I need to do some form of exercise 5 days a week, primarily walking at this point, and making sure as the weather packs up I don't give up with it. 2) I struggle with stress. It wrecks the movement in my back, wrecks my mood, wrecks my diet cravings etc etc. I've enjoyed the 21 day meditation challenges in the past, but now I need to set aside the time to meditate for at least 10 minutes a day, for my stress levels and the sanity of those around me (and for the sake of my purse, paying the osteopath all the time!). 3) I struggle with gluten. While not diagnosed with anything, the doctors said if you feel better not eating it, then don't. A couple pieces of wholegrain Vogels once every couple days is cool; bread or cake or w/e with every meal is destroying me. I aim to reduce the gluten in my diet once more, to one meal with gluten a couple times a week (and not in the same day!) 4) I don't struggle with art. Art's my hobby, and for my sideline life leveling up I want to start taking commissions through deviantArt. I've done some basic sales through there, but actual commissions is a big step. Heck, even putting myself out there to see if people want to pay me to draw things! Can anyone tell I type a lot when I'm nervous/excited as?! Let's do this!

Well it's a week late, but 5 weeks is still better than none! Hi I'm HighwayNoisemaker. I'm a 23 year old female, 5'5", and currently weighing in at 215. While I definitely need to lose weight, mostly I want to get stronger. I'm a 3d and 2d artist with a focus on creating things for game design, 3d printing, and illustration, though I'm currently working an office job to pay the bills. I've got the time to work out, I just need to keep myself motivated! Main Quest: Be able to do a muscle up by the end of the year, and drop at least 30 lbs Challenge One: Work out 3 times a week, every week. Challenge Two: Cut out soda completely, drink more water. Challenge Three: Take at least a 15 minute walk everyday. Not even rain is an excuse, I can still use the indoor track at the university >:V Motivation: Roommate weighs 120, I could just pick him up and put him outside when he's annoying Potential weight loss is helpful for the cosplays I want to do, and I'm sure it would be even more enjoyable to cosplay kick ass warrior ladies if I can actually feel like a kick ass warrior lady lmao

Hi All, I have been a religious Nerd Fitness follower for years now and I may or may not have a secret crush on Steve I am super excited to start this 6 week challenge...my biggest flaw is falling off the wagon, so I am really looking forward to being accountable this time around and sticking it out through the 6 weeks, I hope I can get as much support in this endeavor as possible from all you awesome people on this forum! Ok now down to the deets: Main Quest: Be able to fit into clothes in any store I want (even if its the largest size they have). So approximately becoming a size 8-10 US by end of the year. 4 Main goals for this 6 week: - Hit the gym 5x (bootcamp, boxing and strength training) a week and do yoga 1x a week - Track all my meals atleast 6 days a week for the next 6 weeks - Fast for 24 hrs one day a week for the next 6 weeks - Follow Tim Ferriss' slow carb diet for the next 6 weeks Stats: Starting Size: 16 Starting weight: 238.8 Starting BF%: 43.8% Side Goals (I have 2, I'm a LEO over achieving, or atleast trying to, is part of my horoscopic makeup!) 1. Update this post weekly (thats only 6 posts!) 2. Make a to-do list at work daily and ensure that I finish my list everyday before finishing up for the day... I'm not super clear on the points or grade yet, but hopefully I can figure that out by next week and will update my post accordingly! Alrightey, here we go...wish me luck!!

Well, joining NF for the first time and getting into this 6 week challenge. My goal is to get from 105kg(231 pounds) to 75-80kg(165-175 pounds) by my wedding anniversary in late september. So far, i have dropped to 96.8(213 pounds) as of this morning by making a few diet changes, but haven't yet added exercise to the effort. I like the idea of heavy lifting as i run a farm as well as being a teacher, and am always having trouble due to a bulging discs in my lower back, so when i add exercise i want to focus on strengthening my lower back and building my ability to cart around 40kg(88 pound) bags of feed without grunt and groaning so much. So to recap my quests - 1 - under 1750 calories per day. 2 - switch to Coke Life, keep intake under 1L (34oz) 3 - reduce carbs to 150g per day. Todays results from MFP; 1 - 1570 calories 2 - Coke Life - 1L exactly (close call) 3 - carbs 145g (another close call!) most of the carbs are sweet potato and the sugar in the coke. i can probably get a bit better control of the carbs by more closely looking at the veggies, though i think of all the carby veggies, sweet potato is probably the best choice from what i understand. check in with y'all tomorrow.

Hi Nerdfitness! I'm very excited to begin my first 6 week challenge. I'm a little late, but alas, I'm still here. Better than pretending like my current habits are fine, right? Anyways, to introduce myself: I consider myself a hobbit: short, stout, loves to eat, but loyal, stubborn, and determined. Don't worry, I'm actually not that hairy! My goal is to be a wood elf: nimble, agile, strong and stealthy. I've never been "delicate" or "thin" my whole life, so that change will be difficult. But, I'm stubborn so I know I can get there! I'm a noob, which is why I'm posting to the Recruit guild. I'm still not sure where I'd fit in best, guild wise. My main quest is to loose approximately 30 lbs, to my goal weight of 170lbs. My current weight is hovering around 200lbs, give or take a pound or two in either direction. I've kind of stalled lately. I've been trying to prioritize fitness for the past two years and so far I've achieved a lot. I've already lost 30lbs, 7.5" since I've started measuring, I've gone down a pants size, and I'm starting to gain back some strength and stamina that I used to have 8 years ago. I don't mean to brag, but I find it very helpful to focus on what I have achieved, instead of feeling like a failure because I couldn't maintain a food diary or I caved and made a pizza. I have to remember that I'm not perfect, that this is a journey, not a race. As long as I do better than the day before, I've made progress. So, for my first challenge, here are my SMART goals: 1. Stop eating in the car: This means getting up even earlier to make breakfast and eat it at the table, instead of over my lap in a rush to get out the door by 6:30 am. This also means not getting fast food on the way home from work because my lunch was tiny and I'm starving. I've been doing this already, for the most part. Getting up early and making a better lunch is what I primarily need to do to achieve this goal. 2. Workout 1x/week: I should be able to make time for this, easy peasy. I'm focused on proper form instead of a number of reps and I will go to exertion on the strength exercises and record my stats. My workout will consist of a. 5 min warm-up/20 min breath-focused cardio/5 min cool-down -Breath focused cardio just means jogging until I hear my breath, then walking until I catch my breath back b. Body weight strength training: -Push: Knees on the ground push ups -Pull: Bent over rows -Headstand: Over head press -Legs: Body weight squats -Core: Plank holds 3. Hold myself accountable by journaling my progress: I will update my forum once a week, but I need to record my progress at the gym and meal prep on a daily basis to keep track of what I've achieved. I will upload photos of my journal to prove progress and be accountable. I'm very excited to do the challenge and I think my goals are pretty SMART. If you have suggestions for improving my goals, or tips on how to achieve them, let me know! I really appreciate your support! <3

Hello, everyone! I've been following Nerd Fitness for a couple years, but I only created a forum account a couple days ago, when I noticed the start of a 6-week-challenge. I must have seen several challenges go by, and I'm not really sure what made me take notice of this particular one. But I suddenly decided that I would go for it. I actually started the challenge on the first day - two days ago. I'm just a bit late posting. ^-^' Now, I'm not in bad shape. I'm not noticably fat, and I'm strong and fast and flexible. But at the same time, I would like to lose some excess fat. There are some shirts I have that fit, but aren't flattering for my mid-section, if you know what I mean. - - So I generally stick to wearing looser shirts. Plus, there's always room to get stronger. I've been vaguely trying to get in shape for a while now, with little success. So this time, I'm going to try to keep a record of what I do each day - my excersize, and what I eat. I'd like to start by losing about ten pounds, and see where that gets me. So for this six weeks, I'm going to try to get as close to that as I can. Once I hit that goal, I'll see if I want to doible the amount. The three steps I want to take are as follows: 1. Less sugar. This might be one of my biggest problems. I want to stop snacking on sugary stuff throughout the day, and eat less for dessert. So, I'm going to allow myself only 1 piece of candy during the day, and then 1 dessert (though I may do that backwards, depending on circumstances). 2. More veggies. I like veggies, and there are plenty of ways in which I'd be happy to eat a lot of them. But sometimes I just don't... So I want to eat veggies with every lunch and dinner (or an extra lot during one meal, if I have to miss one). I may also include fruit with every breakfast. 3. Be more active. I'm fairly active already, and pretty strong. But some days I completely forget to do some kind of exercise (or I make some excuse not to do it). So this time, I want to do some form of exercise at least six days out of the week. I'm getting pretty good at running and biking, and I'll also do some body-weight workouts from this site (and possible try a few of their other workouts). I would like to get better at push-ups and pull-ups. And I'm also working to fix my posture. Though I've gotten pretty far on that already. As my extra goal, I want to write some every day. At least a paragraph, but I can sometimes do an entire chapter in an evening. (It's a story I'm writing as my graduate project - I'm actually editing. My first draft is done, so I'm mostly re-writing everything). Does this sound like a good beginning for a 6-week-challenge? I do have a question though. When I updats on my challenge, do I reply to my own post? And of course, good luck to all the rest of you!

Hi! Intro: I'm Owen. I'm 20 and hail from Ireland! I'm studying Occupational Therapy in University and might enjoy the odd video game here and there. This is my first challenge so I'm not too sure about the set up but I'll give it a go. I've been pretty active throughout school and but since I've started Uni I haven't been near as active as I would like. I play Hurling (Irish sport, it's a mixture between hockey and murder apparently) about 1-2 times a week. Back last September I was going to the gym regularly until November time and felt good about myself and felt that I was becoming stronger. Then I just stopped going and lost all interest, I have no idea why. So I suppose with this challenge I'm trying to jumpstart myself and find that motivation and excitement that I had back in September! Main Quest: Drop to 13 stone before I turn 21. (Next February) (Currently 16 stone) Quest #1: Meditate for 10 minutes every morning. I currently feel that I have a lot going on and want to be able to get a handle on my thoughts. Measurement: A = 10 mins for 30 days. B = 10 mins for 25 days. C = 10 mins for 20 days Quest #2: Do 100m sprint training every second day for 30 mins. In Hurling there is a lot of sprinting that happens throughout the match so I want to improve my ability to sprint. Measurement: A = 30 mins for 15 days. B = 30 mins for 10 days. C = 30 mins for 5 days. Quest #3: Squat and do Pushups every morning. I can't access a gym for the next 4-6 weeks as I'm not home so this will have to do. I'm going to start at 10 squats and 10 pushups for the first day and then add 1 of each everyday. Measurement: A = 45 squats and pressups on May 24. B = 35 squats and pressups on May 24. C = 25 squats and pressups on May 24. Sidequest: Starting to develop an app idea that I have. So that's me anyways, not sure what else to do now only to give it a shot! P.S. I know I'm about a week late but it's the time difference in Ireland, we get everything about a week late or so! Except The Avengers next week, wooopp! Slan (Goodbye in Irish), Owen

Hi all, I have been receiving the Nerd Fitness blog updates for a while now, but never really wanted to get actively involved until now! I have recently started working out at the gym again. In the past 5-6 years I have always been active, mostly in the gym, doing all sorts of workouts. I even exercised with a personal trainer for a while. However, as life goes, in April of last year, my husband and I have started bulding a house. That lasted for 6 months and then we moved in (huraaaaay:). The nex logical step was decorating and where I come from, receiving people in my home who came to see the new place we live in. Then we officialy got married and then another round of family celebrations. So now, after everything is settled and calm I have decided to dedicate some time to myself again. I must emphasize that I come from the Balkans (specifically a country called Montenegro) so some of the things mentioned in the blogs are just not doable for me but I will do my best. I have decided to try the six week challenge. Can anyone help me with the structure of these trainiings particularly in terms of how often do I need to exercise to reach my goals, and which exercises are best to reach my goals. General Goal Get a tighter body!! - I am not overweight, my current weight is 54kg but there are places on my body I would to be tigher. Specific goals 1. Lose 2 kg - I always think I look better when by weight is down 2. Lose as much cellulite as possible 3. Plan 90% of my meals - I do this but maybe every other day which is not enough I think. 4. Avoid sugar completely - apart from natural sugars in fruit - I know for a fact than more than 2 small pieces of dark chocolate upset mz stomach but I still eat it - talk about addiction ) In terms of some other goals Be less stressed or become calmer

Hi, Im getting married August 15, 2015, and my bachelorette to Cancun is May 29, 2015 OMG, ive got 6.5 weeks, and this is my challenge: 1. To lose the most of fat that I can doing kickboxing 3 days a week and step for 2 days a week for an hour each, and rest 2 days for cardio. 2. For muscle building Im going to do The lower body 2 - 3 days a week and for upper body 2 days. 3. Kind of a paleo way of eating (no refined sugars, no flours, no bread or pasta, no cakes or pastries) Im saying kind of beacuse sometimes maybe I will eat a corn (mazorca), and maybe beans, but I will try my best to not eat them. 4. Continue with the process of New skin in my face with the treatment. (As I have one week since I started) This involves taking care of my skin and my face. 5. Get done as much as I can with my Wedding, because the days are counting (124 days until wedding day) Thats it, I guess im a recruit or something like that because is my first time in this challenge

Hello Nerd Fitness Community, My name is Mike. My race is elf and my guild/profession is Scout. This is my first challenge, and could not be more excited. I have been wanting to get in to better shape, build some lean muscle, and be healthier overall for awhile now. The problem was I never knew where to start. Recently, I was introduced to Nerd Fitness and immediately knew this was the community to help me achieve my goals. That being said, here are my goals for my first six-week challenge: 1. Go to the gym a minimum of 3 days a week. 2. Eat Paleo six days a week. (Pick one day on the weekend as a non-Paleo day - mainly because I love cheese and pasta too much and need to ease into this way of eating lol) 3. I am running a triathlon in June. I will follow the prescribed training routine a coworker is providing me to condition for the event. Thanks for letting me be a part of this awesome community. - Mike

Hi All, I have been reading the blog and the newsletters for over a year now, but I've never joined a challenge. Today, the newsletter popped up in my inbox right after I got done having a conversation with a friend about getting back into my workout routine. So here I go. I'm joining the nerd fitness rebellion My main quest: Be about 20 lbs lighter with a balanced workout routine that involves Yoga, Lifting Heavy, and some fun movement. 3 sub goals for the next 6 weeks: 1. lift 2x a week 2. yoga at least 1x a week (and handstand practice) 3. walk or do a workout video of choice 1x a week Life goal: meditate at least 3 times a week I am a mother of 2 and a full time teacher. The past year I have taught myself web development and I will be switching careers in June. While I have been busy geeking out on my computer, I have lost my routine of working out. It's time to get that back. The next 6 weeks will be crazy busy while I balance teaching as well as projects for my new employer. I'm hoping joining the "rebellion" will keep me motivated and accountable. Rhoda

This is not the first time I have been in this forum. I have attempted challenges before but haven't quite made it to the end. My goal over the next 6 weeks is to finish this challenge!! My name is Amber, I'm a 36 year old Mom to 2 boys and mostly fit in with the Ranger guild. In fairness since I haven't actually completed a challenge I felt I should be here in Recruits. I am signed up for 2 mud runs this year but need to get back into the groove of training. I have been dealing with some seasonal depression and am wanting to get over that hump and back into regular training. Main quest for this challenge: Lose Weight/Get back into the habit of exercise again. I don't feel comfortable putting a number on how much I would like to lose in 6 weeks as I try to stay away from the scale. Still I would like to come out lighter on the other side of this challenge. 3 Specific Goals - 1. Track Food, ideally daily. At the minimum 6 days a week. 2. 5 workouts a week. By the end of the challenge I want to be lifting 3 times and running twice a week. To start with I am just focusing on almost daily exercise be it long walks, weights, or yoga. 3. Water. Hit daily water intake through Water Your Body app. 6 days a week at least. Motivation: I was feeling so much better last year when I was exercising regularly. It helps me out so much mentally. I won't lie and say I have vanity reasons for wanting to get back to working out regularly and eating better but the mental benefits really help me out. I generally stay away from the scale but I do need to get lighter. It will help me during my races and help my hips and joint pain I have been dealing with. So that is pretty much me. I found this really cool HabitRPG app through the Nerd Fitness Academy gals on Facebook. Someone was mentioning the upcoming 6 week challenge and I thought that was something I could really benefit from. Can't wait to get to know other people and see us all reach our goals!

Greetings and Salutations all!! I've heard so many great things about Nerd Fitness in such a short time that I've known about it so I'm deciding to jump in and take my first challenge. Just had a birthday at the beginning of the month and I'm determined that this year for me will be a great year!! Main Quest To be 20 lbs 10 lbs lighter at the end of the challenge Questing Goals 1. To do bodyweight exercises 3 times per week I have never done a regular exercise program ever. The closest thing I would have done would be either classes in college or all the marching band classes back in high school. To help lose weight and build up my body, I plan to make exercising 3 times a week a focus. 2. Drink less than 42 ounces of soda on a daily basis Soda has been a staple of my life for far too long. I need to equip some better fluids going into me. The immediate goal is to drop my soda intake by roughly a third of what I was used to. It's way too easy to drink soda at work so that is my biggest hurdle. And no diet either, seriously limiting the sugar water consumption. 3. Prepare a minimum of 1 complete meal at home It's way too easy to get stuff carryout or prepacked. I need to be more aware of what I'm putting into my body and help make it better than it was. I'm not picking any kind of specific food plan or ideal, just to be more mindful and be able to provide for myself in a better way.

Main Quest(s): by the end of this year I want to have... Cut down to 10% body fat or less, built back up to 155 lbs keeping same bodyfat Gotten rid of the lower back pain that has bothered me for 2 years (herniated disc) Improved my body weight skills (100 continuous push ups and 25 continuous pull ups). SMART Quests: Doing a scaled version of Advanced Body Weight workout every other day Doing yoga/stretching everyday Doing something active on off days (swim, rock climbing wall) Sticking to a Paleo diet (I hate counting calories) Life quests: Get 3.5 GPA or higher this semester. Be less stressed Ken, 20 LVL 0 Race: human (?), Currently 5'11", 145lbs, 12-15%BF Class: Potential Assassin (love of bodyweight exercises and movement)

Yellow!!! I'm YooperGirl Ok, so for my first challenge I want to lose a bit of weight and more importantly reduce my pant and bra size. My starting: - weight is 155 lbs - chest is: ~ 39 1/2" across the breasts ~ 37" under my arms - waist is 35 1/4" My Main Goal is to: - Reduce my waist by 5" and - Reduce my chest by ~ 3" under my arms ~ 4" across my breasts My Plan to do this is: 1. Drink only water (at least 3.5/23 oz bottles per day) ~ Pass / Fail 2. Do the Angry Birds Workout 3 times per week ~ A (3x week); B (2x week); C (1x week); F (1< week) 3. Do Zumba 2 times per week ~ A (2x week); C (1x week); F (1< week) I also have a Life Goal, and that is to read a chapter of my Bible every day. This stems from years of going to church, but never actually reading anything in my bible. Its time to change that!

Background: I am 39, am married, and have a 19-month-old little boy (his name is Arlo). For as long as I can remember, I have had a problem with overeating (and not exercising enough). This includes eating when I am not hungry and secretive eating. Currently I am right around 230 pounds (227 as of this morning), and would like to be around 180-190. Nerdy Pursuits: Back in the day, I played D&D and collected comics (favorite titles: Spiderman, Wolverine, Punisher, Daredevil). In my old age (39), I still love these things and reading fantasy novels. I have picked up another non-traditional nerdy pursuit: playing banjo! I love to do it, plus I make a little side cash for playing out with my band and sitting in with others. Main Quest: Lose 50 pound by the end of the year. I would like to lose 7 pounds during the 6-week challenge. I want to be more fit to play with my son, and want to feel comfortable with my shirt off. Sweating less would be nice too. Subquest 1: Walk 10 minutes a day A = 40/42 days B = 35/42 days C = 30/42 days A = +2 STA, 0.5 CON; B = +2 STA; C = +1 STA Subquest 2: Body Weight Strength Training 3x/week-Do a pullup! A = 18/18 days B = 15/18 days C = 12/18 days A = +2 STR; B = +1.5 STR; C = +1 STR BONUS +1 STR to do a pullup by end of 6 weeks Subquest 3: Cut out processed foods (nothing with refined grains or added sugar (honey ok)) A = 40/42 days B = 35/42 days C = 30/42 days A = +2 CON, 0.5 CHA; B = +2 CON; C = +1 CON Life Side Quest 1: I am a banjo player (if you want to hear my band, check us out at tanglersbluegrass.com), but haven’t been able to play as much with the baby. So, I will play music at least 15 minutes/day. A = 40/42 days B = 35/42 days C = 30/42 days A = +2 WIS; B = +1.5 WIS; C = +1 WIS Motiviation: Be healthy for my son. Feel good without a shirt. Feel healthy. Looking forward to this!

Hello, I am Jkiley and this is my first 6-week challenge. I have been overweight most of my adult life. Two years ago I started the Paleo Diet with exercising and I was able to go from 248lbs to 198lbs. It was amazing and I felt great. Last year my job got more stressful, and I fell off the wagon. I am back to 235.8lbs. I have joined the rebellion to get my life back, and to start feeling and looking great. Main Quest: Weigh < 200lbs in 6 months. 32.96%32.96% Start: 235.8lbs | Current = 224.0lbs. | Progress: 11.8 of 35.8lbs Starting Stats Weight: 235.8 Waist: 46" Hip: 40.5" Neck: 17.5" Chest: 45.5" Biceps: 14" Thigh: 25" Calf: 15" Goal 1: Exercise Start by doing cardio 3 days a week for the first half and add strength training to increase to 5 days for the second half. I have been able to manage 3 days a week in the past and hopefully after 3 weeks I will have the stamina and motivation to increase to 5 Days a week. 95.83%95.83% Progress: 23 of 24 Measurement: Exercise Days A = 24 days B = 20 days C = 16 days D = 13 days F = 9 days Attributes: +2 STR, +2 STA, +1DEX Goal 2: Diet I will eat Paleo at least 4 days a week and eat health consciously on the rest of the week. I will also limit drinking alcohol to 1 day a week in moderation if social occasions arise. 91.66%%91.66%% Progress: 22 of 24 Measurement: Paleo Days A = 24 days B = 20 days C = 16 days D = 13 days F = 9 days Attributes: +3 Con Goal 3: Reduce Stress When I get stressed out I seek comfort in food. I will focus on getting a full nights rest (7.5 hours) each work night to be recharged and ready for each new day. I will identify when things are causing me stress and I will figure out ways to prevent them from occurring again. 100.00%100.00% Progress: 30 of 30 Measurement: Sleep on work nights A = 30 days B = 26 days C = 22 days D = 18 days F = 12 days Attributes: +2 WIS Life Goal: I have always wanted to write scripts and I have worked on small projects with friends but have lacked the confidence to do it on my own. I will write a script for one video short that is 5-10mins in length. Treasure: Fitbit Decided to make things a little more interesting. If all goals are completed with a A grade I will award myself by purchasing a Fitbit. I have wanted to buy one for awhile but I have been waiting until I have had a routine in place to make it worth tracking. Motivation: I’ve always loved the outdoors. Right now I am in such bad shape that it is hard to enjoy the outdoors. I need to get into shape so I can have enough energy to enjoy the outdoors while I am still young. Last Updated: 04/5/15 9:08am

Intro: This is my first challenge, I created an account around this time last year but wasn't very active and I rediscovered it today, so I might as well give it a go Main Quest: To improve my overall health to improve my focus for school Goals: To get 8 hours sleep every night, at the moment I tend to get about 6 hours a night and then oversleep at the weekends (Level 1: + 1 STR, +2 CON) (Level 2: +1 CON) To start drinking at least 1 glass of water a day, this isn't a particularly hard goal, but I don't drink any water at the moment, and once I've started the habit I'll increase the amount (Level 1: +1 STR, +2 CON) (Level 2: +1 CON) To complete the 200 squats challenge, this is the only fitness goal I've got, as this challenge I plan to focus on the other areas of improving my health (Level 1: +2 STR) (Level 2: +1 STR)Life Quest: to stay a lot more on top of school work and get all my revision sorted, by the end of the challenge I want to be on track to get all the grades I plan to get in my exams (Level 1: +2 WIS) (Level 2: +1 WIS)

Hey everyone I was wondering how you were all keeping track of your goals as you go through this challenge? I am personally going to be using a calendar with check boxes for what I need to do for the day and at the end of this week I am going to set up some progress bars in my signature.

Main Quest: to lose 10 pounds Goals: Nutrisystem, Keep up learning spinning, pray more Side Quest: Stick to paying off debt according to our budget plans Guild: Recruit I am a 49 yr old career mom of 3 sons. I lost myself along the way of raising my boys to men and packed on 50 pounds. I have all kinds of health issues now… high cholesterol, pre diabetic, obesity… I want to be back to my 125 and my healthy lifestyle. I used to be an aerobics instructor and I have always been athletic. I want this to be the beginning of my healthy me journey. I want to be off all meds that are fat related and I do not want to see “ obese†category ever again. This is going to be a very long hard journey for me. I am a shorty and the weight will not come off as fast as I want. I tore my piri formis muscle so most of the high impact work outs I like will not be available to me. So I got creative. I can ride a bike without killing my spine, so I took it to the next level. Spinning. It’s fast becoming my new thing so I want to learn how to do it the correct way and build on the foundation. Spin to be slim!

Hey guys! I'm generally crap at intros (usually very shy in nature) but here we go I'm Chris, im keen on getting fit in a fun way, and reading what each of the classes have to offer, the ranger fits what i want to achieve. so here i am. playing the game called real life Im currently doing my first 6 week challenge. i want to try and lose a few kilos before my girlfriend's sisters wedding in mid april. the timing was so good i couldnt miss it im doing something different with my challenge, as in write a small block of RP content, based on how i went for the week. I type up what ive done over a couple days as normal, and compile it into a weekly RP and log. if you like to follow it, theres a link in my sig. i hope you enjoy reading it as i enjoy writing it otherwise i hope to meet some of the fine rangers that reside these forums (and anyone else that roams into different boards ) and hope to learn from those who have been through what im attempting

Hi Everyone, Long time reader, first time challenger! So in May 2013 I realised I was 80 weeks away from turning 40, and I didn't like where I was. I decided to lose 40 kilos (88 lbs) in 80 weeks - around 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) a week. This would get me to double digit kilos (less than 99 kilos (218 lbs). Just like magic, the Nerd Fitness emails at the time were all about getting the diet right - so I started there. I made improvements in my diet and for twenty weeks I made the cut - I lost 10kg (22 lbs)! Easy, hey! But then it stopped working. I felt great, but no weight was coming off. Since then, I've only lost an additional 5kg (11 lbs). Last year (2015) was all about setbacks. First, when I was doing bodyweight exercises I injured my shoulder. My physio said it was a 'desk injury' - years of bad posture coming back to bite me. So I started jogging - the couch to 5K program (via Zombie Run 5K app). Unfortunately, I went too hard and injured my Achilles heel. Physio fixed both issues, but then I re-injured my heel. The advice was - lose weight, then run! *heads desk in frustration* I'm determined to work around my weaknesses and find things I love doing. And it turns out - I love lifting. I've been back at the gym since September last year and did the regular 8 weeks machine based program they must give to everyone who starts. It was dull and the second program needed me to visit five days a week! It would be days between upper body workouts - my progress just stalled. But both The Art of Manliness and Nerd Fitness mentioned Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe and the 5x5 Stronglift program. The wonderful Staci even sent out concise and condensed versions of the major lifts over a few months late last year! I started the Stronglifts 5x5 program on December 18 with the minimum 20kg bar (30kg rows, 40kg deadlift). Goals:1) Continue 5x5 Stronglifts program 2) By 15 Feb, success will beBench 50kg (110 pounds)Squat 80kg (176 pounds)Deadlift 100kg (220 pounds) A pass will be not meeting these weights, but still have done the program - three workouts a week. These weights are less than what I should be lifting if I continue to follow the program and don't miss an increase. For example, I should be squating 90kg by Feb 15th. This allows me to fail a little (which is part of the program) but but not a lot. No weight loss goal - I'm gaining, [insert cuss word] - but shirts are fitting looser, so I won't fixate on that. Get strong. That's it. Wish me luck!

Hi Recruits, I just wanted to put out a quick thank you. I came to the first challenge a bit late, started Jan 23. But the energy and accountability really kept me at it. In 22 days, I lost 7.8 pounds, worked out 16 times, and just feel a heck of a lot better. I gave myself a B for the challenge and I am very pleased with it. Even more surprising, this week between challenges, I have worked out 5 times! The start of the journey has been great! I truly appreciate this community and the positive energy it produces. For the next phase, I am going to head to Adventurers. I wish you all well in your own personal journeys. May you have fair winds and following seas.

Main quest: Know katas 1-4 for IATC in May. Goals: 1. Attend class 2:3 days per week; every week. [STR:1; DEX:0; STA:2; CON:0 ;WIS:1; CHA:1] 2. Lose 10 lbs (270 --> 260) by April 1, 2015. [sTR:0; DEX:2; STA:2; CON:0 ;WIS:0; CHA:1] 3. Achieve 10,000 steps 2 days during the 6-week challenge. [STR:1; DEX:0; STA:4; CON:0 ;WIS:0; CHA:0] Strength (STR) - physical strength Dexterity (DEX) - agility and speed Stamina (STA) - Endurance and Energy Constitution (CON) - ability to resist damage and disease Wisdom (WIS) - intuition and sense of things around himself Charisma (CHA) - force of personality and physical attractiveness Sylvia Race: Hobbit (5'3" 270lbs) Strategy: Plan for travel to IATC. Discard oversized clothes. Bring lunch to work. Eat 1 pack of ramen per week, max. Eat out 1 per week, max.Use S Health to track meals.