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This is my second Nerd Fitness challenge, and I am excited to rejoin the rebellion. I first joined the Rebellion last fall. One of my fitness goals then was to join a roller derby league. I thought, "Hey it looks fun, I like to skate, and maybe it will be a fun way to get in better shape and meet new friends." I can tell you that in the past eight months, my life has changed for the better by becoming involved in women's flat track roller derby. My derby name is Tornado Allie. I feel stronger, more powerful, and far more confident than ever before. I. LOVE. DERBY! For this challenge, I am focusing mostly on establishing or improving the good life habits that I want to maintain throughout my life. I've found that it's easy for me to fall into a routine of just living day-to-day without much of a plan for what to do with my day. My family's essential needs are met, but not much else gets done. I much prefer being intentional with my days, and planning my time more carefully so that I can accomplish more creative and meaningful things in my days. It takes more work, more planning, but it is SO worth it. I'm glad for this opportunity to think about and set goals, to make a plan for achieving them, and for this forum of support and encouragement. Here are my goals: 1) Diet: Eat a full serving of fruits or veggies with every meal each day. -Plan: I try to eat mostly natural and raw foods instead of processed, and I try hard to give my family healthy food choices also. But sometimes I go in waves; I want to be more consistent with making sure I get a healthy amount of fruits and vegetables each day. I will shop for groceries once a week and get enough fresh produce to last for the entire week. I will keep a simple food journal to track fruit and veggie servings throughout the day. Weekly assessment: A=7 days of 3+ servings, B=6 days, C=5 days, D=4 days, F=3 days or less CON=3 2) Fitness/Health: Skate 30 laps in under 6 minutes -Plan: Currently I can skate 25 laps just barely under 5 minutes, and I am exhausted by the end of 25. I want to increase my stamina and endurance by increasing to 30 laps and maintaining a good pace the entire time. I will periodically test myself before or during a derby practice to gauge my time with 30 laps, and work toward being able to accomplish this goal by the end of the 6-week challenge. Final assessment: A=30 laps <6 min, B=30 laps <6:15, C=30 laps <6:30, D=30 laps <6:45, F=30 laps >6:45. STA=3, STR=2 3) Fitness/Health: Weekly partner workouts -Plan: I will plan at least one exercise routine per week that will be done with my husband. I will take time to brainstorm ideas before we meet for our workouts so that they will be fun and creative. Final assessment: A=6+, B=5, C=4, D=3, F=<2 CHA=3 4) Personal: Increase personal study -Plan: I will read at least 10 chapters per week from the scriptures, and at least one article from a Church magazine. Weekly assessment: A=10+ chapters & 1+ articles, B=8-9 chap & 1 art, etc. This goal may be more difficult to assign partial credit to, so I should just plan on hitting or surpassing my weekly benchmark of 10 &1. WIS=4 Here... We... Go...!

Hello! Hi. This is my first time here, so a bit of introduction: female, 27, originally from the US [Wisconsin!] and living in Portugal these days. Recently got involved in roller derby and will probably start actually playing in bouts starting in the fall. Getting more and more interested in weightlifting - have been doing Stronglifts on and off. Have never really been at a normal, healthy weight / body fat. Luckily, I don't hate my body or anything [most of the time!], but I know it's capable of so much more, in terms of both strength and aesthetics...so it's time to really go at it, especially now that the semester is winding down and I'll have more time. Side note: Despite being involved in roller derby and enjoying running [some days more than others...], I won't have any goals related to those because I'm trying to figure out some foot pain. I think it's extensor tendonitis, resulting from overuse [started with a lot of activity after a few months off with an injury] and/or trying to get into minimalist running [Vibrams, also after a few months off - was using C25K and taking it slow, with only a maximum of eight straight minutes of running after several weeks, but maybe my form still wasn't quite right, or trying to get into minimalist running while also skating several times a week was the problem...]. Anyone have experience with this? I could babble on plenty more, but I have six whole weeks for that... #1: Consistent strength training Joining a powerlifting gym tomorrow! I want to follow a consistent program and see where that gets me. Will either continue with Stronglifts or see whether the owner has any particular suggestions or programming that he thinks would be good for me [at first, this may be more about working on form than a set program, since that's what we focused on when I went there to check it out]. He'll be busy with a week-long meet this week, so I'll probably just do a few Stronglifts-style workouts to see where I'm at after taking some time off, but hopefully I'll have something concrete figured out by the week after next. The main point here is to do strength training at least three times a week, preferably with some kind of consistent programming. #2: Mobility/"pre-hab"/flexibility I usually do a bit of stretching after workouts, but I could be doing much more. I want to do at least two hours of yoga and two sessions of foam rolling each week. #3: Nobody likes cookies, anyway I've been eating a lot more salads and vegetables in general lately, but some delicious cookies have been my downfall - I open a package and go a little wild. So...no packaged/processed desserts / dessert-y snacks! And I'm really referring to things like store-bought cookies, not, say, Greek yogurt, even though of course it comes in a package, too. Dark chocolate is okay. I bake occasionally and go a little wild then, too, but it happens much less often than reaching for a package from the pantry, so it's not a focus this time around. #4: Do it nooooooow My procrastination just seems to be getting worse and worse, and it's one of the things I like least about myself. Aren't I supposed to be an adult who doesn't do that sort of thing now? It'll be a long, tough struggle to work on this aspect, but I'm trying to make more of an effort to apply the "do it now!" principle to my life. The end of last semester was miserable for me because I put off my term papers so long that I had to do all of them in just a week or two and I had no time to relax. It was awful and I don't want it to happen again this semester. I have four papers to write, so I'm going to give myself a week to do *each* of them, with one each "due" on June 9th, June 16th, June 23rd, and June 30th. And they need to be done in a relaxed way, not entirely in the two days before each deadline! Ideally, they'll all be done just in time to have a completely relaxed week in Italy the first week of July. When I get back from that, I plan to apply "do it now!" more to keeping the house in a reasonable state. Some aspects of these goals are still a bit vague, but since it's my first time doing this, I want to see how it goes and what I'm capable of. I'll grade each goal on a weekly basis and average it all out at the end. And like I mentioned, there'll be one week of vacation - I don't plan to get out of control or anything, but I'll be suspending the challenge for that week. I'll also be spending a long weekend in England to cheer on my team [and spend a little time in a country where I understand (almost) everything going on around me - that'll be nice!] in a couple of weeks, but it shouldn't disrupt things too much. Sorry, I get wordy sometimes! Any feedback/input/etc. is definitely welcome. I'm ohnonebraska on Fitocracy, as well. I'll try to keep up with a few other threads, too, but hopefully not to the extent that it gets in the way of my fourth goal!

Hi Everyone!! I'm very new to Nerd Fitness and I'm a day late but I'm so down for this 6 week challenge. I play roller derby in Northern Colorado and I'm doing this because I really want to step up my game. I broke my collarbone 3 years ago at derby practice and it took a long time to heal, but I started playing again at the beginning of the year. I've been lifting weights and doing circuits focusing on my lower body, I have derby practice 3x a week, and I eat pretty clean (85%ish paleo) My goals: 1) Climb 14,000' up Mount Bierstadt. I'm doing it with a group and the date is set for June 30th - so there's no backing out. 2) Become a skating ninja! I want to skate fast and hard, be agile, solid and balanced. I plan on doing this by kicking up the strength training. 3) Do 5 pull-ups. I can't even do a complete one now... we shall see! 4) I want to be more assertive and confident. As a human resource generalist, these are 2 important qualities to have - which I lack. I will no longer be a door mat!!! So this is what I have ~ Finkzilla #51

Last challenge was awesomesauce. This one is going to be better. Goal One: Getting closer to 100. Add 15kg to Deadlifts. My last challenge got my deadlifts to 70kg. This challenge I want to increase to at least 85kg (187lb). This is in order to move toward 100kg for my NEXT challenge. I so want to hit triple digits. Ideally I want to be hitting 1x5 at 85kg by the end of the challenge. But if I really struggle I might accept fewer reps, and will just minus some points from grade. Will grade by: A+ - Above 85kg A - At 85kg B+ - 83kg B - 80kg C+ - 77kg C - 75kg Goal Two: Use that booty, properly. Add 10kg to squats WITH GOOD FORM. Current squats are at 60kg (132lb). I want to take this to 70kg this challenge, but it MUST be with good form. This will probably include lots of videos of my form, and may include a session with a personal trainer if I get to a point where I can't pinpoint what's going wrong. I THINK I'm pretty close to getting my form to a good place, after focussing on it a lot last challenge. But as I increase the weight, keeping the form is going to be hard. Will grade by: A+ - Above 70kg A - At 70kg B+ - 67kg B - 65kg C+ - 63kg C - 62kg Goal Three: Take a bitch out. This is my derby goal, as part of my bigger picture goal for the year of "be the best blocker on my team". At this stage of my derby-career, I'm a pretty good blocker. I am good as a positional blocker, but I'm not a massive hitter. I'm more fast and agile than I am big and smashy. But I've realised recently that a big part of why I don't hit more comes down to confidence. There are a group of girls in my derby league who have been skating for about a year longer than me - they started our league. They are all really strong skaters and really strong players. I want to take one of them out (ie knock one of them down). This must occur during a scrimmage (ie a practice game), not during drills. We have a game coming up during this challenge against another team, which also has some star players on it from our national team - taking one of THEM out would also be a 'win' for this goal. This goal is not, as it may seem, about hitting as much as it is about upping my own confidence and pushing myself to be more aggressive on the track when needed. (If you don't know what I'm talking about with all this roller derby stuff, check out this clip from about 35 seconds. At 132lb and 5'6" I'm probably not going to be able to take someone out this way, but I can do it. I hope. This goal is either win or lose, though I may add/subtract points depending on what happens. Every derby practice I MUST work on my confidence in a mindful way if I want to complete this goal. It's not just going to magically happen one game, I am going to need to try new things, be prepared to screw them up at first and NOT beat myself up or let my confidence drop. Then I'll have to get back up from the ground (where I inevitably will end up a lot while attempting this goal) and try, try and try again. Goal Four: Save the MnMs. Sob. I love sugar, so much. But I've got a very, very bad habbit of snacking on little bits (ie 2 MnMs). I will never eat a whole packet of chocolate in one go, I'll stretch it out for 1-2 weeks. But this is BAD for my teeth. And let's face it, I do NOT need little sugary snacks all the time. I just really, really, REALLY like them (my office has a giant MnM jar even!!!). So, this challenge my aim is to have zero sugar (which means none in tea/coffee, no chocolate or lollies) Monday - Thursday each week. Fridays I'm allowing because I'm often bloody tired by Friday and Saturday and Sunday I'm generally pretty relaxed about food so sugar is okay then too. I'm going to monitor this goal by the number of MnMs I AVOID eating (the MnMs at my office are by far my worst habit right now). I probably eat about 5 MnMs a day at the moment, plus at least 2 teaspoons of sugar in coffees. A - Saved 120 MnMs from certain death! (No MnMs at all Mon-Thurs all challenge) B - Saved 90 MnMs! (Six days during the challenge I eat MnMs) C - Saved 60 MnMs (Twelve days during the challenge I eat MnMs) Goal Five: Puppy love. Life goal - was planning something around quality time here, but I'm currently feeling very guilty about my dog. I used to run a lot (did a half marathon then a marathon a few years back) so did lots of running with her. We also used to live by the beach so I had somewhere beautiful to run. Then I got pregnant, and we moved house, and I started roller derby and now weights....all of those things mean my lovely dog gets far less exercise than she should. So, this goal is around spending more time with my dog. I can take her for a run, or just throw a ball for her at the dog park, or take her for a walk to the reserve. Anything, so long as it is just me and her (ie no kid, as when we got out with kid it means dog doesn't get quite the same attention). Goal is one outing per week with just me and the dog. I'm tired, and it's late, so I'm going to work out the grading for this last goal LATER. EDIT: I'm adding goals. I don't know why, since I've already got five, but I feel like I will really benefit from doing these two. And I like having goals, so why not. Eat at the numbers - the sequel. This goal from last challenge is going to make a second appearance, but with my new increased numbers of 1900. Must eat at least 1900 calories per day, use MFP for tracking. Will grade each week according to any days with not enough calories, and then average my grade out at the end. Roll that ass out. I must roll, or stretch (or both) after EVERY exercise session. I currently stretch a grand total of NEVER. Which is BAD. And is probably causing some of my knee pain right now. I've always found stretching "boring" (yes I know it sounds dumb). If it doesn't feel like it hurts and makes me sweat, I don't want to do it (general mindset I tend to have). But that's stupid, and I need to get over it and stretch my legs, hips and ass. Grading: Stretch on all exercise days AND add in some stretching on rest days - A+ Stretch after all 36 exercise sessions of the challenge - A Stretch after 30 exercise sessions - B Stretch after 20 exercise sessions - C

Name: Kingclumsy Class: Ranger Strength (STR) - 2 Dexterity (DEX) - 1 A ranger without dexterity? Its in the name. I'm clumsy, I'm awkward Stamina (STA) - 3 Given enough focus, no power in the universe can stop me... hopefully. Constitution (CON) - 3 Wisdom (WIS) - 2 I'm smart? Yes. I'm wise? No Charisma (CHA) - 4 I set myself these tasks over the next six weeks. Fitness Goals Skate Like the Wind: I'm not ashamed to say I've fallen in love with the sport of Roller Derby. I started their last frsh meat back in february but stopped due to lack of confidence and a fractured rib (mostly the latter) their next intake will probably be not long after this challenge finishes and I really want to take part with the eventual aim of being a referee. I suck royally at skating but absolutely love it. Currently the only place to skate is outdoors so I've purchased outdoor wheels. My Goal: 24 Hours of total Skate time over 6 weeks. Even if for fifteen minutes, it all helps. (weather permitting) (+3 STA, +1Str) Start with myself and the world will follow hart what I eat: Using Myfitnesspal . keep track of what I eat. aim for 100g of protein a day (especially on excercise days) and to hit the correct no. of calories (+2 Wisdom +1Constitution) Go to the Gym twice a week: This is a minimum. If the weather sucks and I cannot skate, I should go more often. I walk past it on the way home from work, I have no reason not to. +2 STR, +1 WIS Derby Stance!: If there is one excercise that helps me skate, its squats. So I've set myself the challenge of squatting 70kilos for five reps by the end of the challenge. I can currentl comfortably squat 50kg so this isn't too much of a challenge. +3STR Life Goals: Keep the House tidier: Clean up after myself around the house, simple enough. +2 WIS. I'll need help for this, this is my fourth attempt. follow me on twitter @king_clumsy and if you're on myfitnesspal I'm kingclumsy. Onwarrrrdd!

Well, hello friends! I have a familiar story... overweight most of my life, didn't play sports, wasn't very active (though, I could play the heck out of the playground!), battled self-image issues, tried a few things with no success, and was genuinely unhappy when it came to all things body-related. It's not all depressing though - I have learn to compensate in other areas of my life - a strong sense of self, a dark and twisted sense of humour, and a huge amount of creativity being the primary ones. A little bit more about my story... about three years ago, I discovered roller derby and fell IN LOVE. Coming from my background, it has been a huge physical and emotional challenge (still is most days). Now I am going into my second year on skates. I skate about four hours a week (mostly on the weekends). I haven't lost any weight - though, I know I have increased muscle mass - especially in my legs. I have started to morph into a T-Rex. I have this MASSIVE LEGS AND THIGHS... and itty-bitty arms. I am not well-rounded at all. Plus, add in the fact, that my energy is almost non-existent and I feel really slow compared to a lot of my team mates. After having a less than stellar rookie season, I have decided that this year will be different. After 38 years, I wanna drive my own evolution. My issue lays mostly with my diet. It's crap. I have portion control issues and emotional eating issues. I know that diet has been and will always be my biggest struggle. I am analyzing my plan of action. I was a terrible vegetarian for a number of years (substituted meat with pasta) and I don't have the fortitude (or inclination, frankly) to adopt the Paleo lifestyle (a number of my team mates have with great success though). I want to try an maintain a balanced diet (perhaps using the Canadian Food Guide - maybe?). But it will be tricky because I can talk myself out of anything. I'm a jerk sometimes. Battling the voices will be my toughest challenge! I have decided to focus on small steps and small goals instead of a magic number that comes off the scale. Small goals like maintaining a consistent food log and exercise log. And then creating a bigger goal for ever six month - the current one being participating in a Spartan race in August. It will help me to keep focused with something concrete and something that will happen instead of some obscure number. If I don't train or eat better, that Spartan race is going to kick my butt and I really don't want that to happen. And if a side effect is some weight-loss, feeling better when I play roller derby, and improving my game, then THUMBS UP! At any rate, I'm excited to be here. I dig the site and this forum seems to be a pretty fantastic place too!