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Super psyched for my first challenge! I am not quite ready for the inspired gif-stravaganza I have seen others undertake, but want to impart a simple plan here. This will be a training challenge. In the spring I laid out a plan to train for and take progressively harder hikes each month. I got to a good start but ultimatley have had a hard time sticking to the plan. I still don't have a solid plan on how I will do the actual hikes either as I don't have a current hiking buddy other than my husband. Which means I need to find someone to watch my kids. Anyways I'll dive into all those problems later. But even if I havent been able to pull off the full training and hike escalation plan I still intend to go on my penultimate hike in September anyways. It is a 10 mile hike in Glacier National Park. I have hiked it before. I am not committing to the full 10 miles but I want to do the hike even if I don't get to the summit. Because in October I turn 40. I need to do something epic-ish before the big 40. So with that said, I will be training for the hike during this challenge. Training plan is simple, get on my tread mill at least 2 times a week. I wish I could convince myself to do this more, but I think any goal higher than this is setting myself up for failure. During this treadmill time I will track my increase in elevation, distance, time, etc. I want to be able to chart it. I like charts. I have a treadmill that goes up to 15% incline and I truly believe that doing that incline walk on a tread mill is the BEST way to prepare for a hike up a mountain. I also have a Peloton bike which I intend to ride once a week. I like my bike and I would rather ride it more but I dont' think more bike time will prep me in the way I need. I need that treadmill time. When I work out I like to do what I call 'Intuitive Weightlifting' which means i set a timer to do a 10 minute minimum of movement, whatever strikes my fancy at the time. I may focus on stretching and yoga like moves, functional moves, core work, body weight strengh moves, or use some of my dumb bells. I really enjoy this method and really do notice increases in strength and ability when I do it this way. I am pondering doing a social media free challenge. I'll give that a few more days thought. I don't think I'll post daily updates here, maybe weekly, but I do want to see if i can be active in this community. I need more people on my side! Thanks for the greetings everyone! Danoria

Not exactly sure what to do, this site is a little overwhelming at the moment. But here it goes anyway! Goal 1: increase water intake Goal 2: schedule workouts so that I actually do them Goal 3: relax and play a board game once a week

My goals: 1. Do the daily win challenge every day 2. Journal at least three times a week about mindset 3. Track daily meals

Hi All! 💜 I just got home from a great afternoon at the lake. I feel calm, centered, and content and thought this might be a good time to write up my challenge. I want to try to carry this happy ease with me as I go. My mobility and stamina are improving quite a bit. I'm walking ~5000 steps a day 4-5 days a week. I'm doing the Beginner Bodyweight workout through the NF Journey app every other day. I intend to keep these two things up during this challenge. My big goal for this challenge is to figure out how to meet my daily protein macro of 130 grams. I'm getting ~70 grams most days, I think. I'm tracking haphazardly, could stand to be doing that more diligently. I'd prefer to not be supplementing with protein powder or bars more than once a day, but I know what our budget looks like and I don't have a ton of wiggle room for groceries so whey powder might be the MVP here. This major challenge comes in three parts: 1) Meal Planning: Using my extensive cookbook collection and the BudgetBytes website I am going to be planning my meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every day. I will batch cook as much as possible to ease some of the workload. Dave is away for chunks of this challenge so I have reduced the meal kits to two a week for the time he's gone to prevent me wasting food. 2) Tracking: Entering what I'm having into MFP with the sole purpose of tracking my protein macro. I can observe other macros and calories for information purposes only. If I start to get preoccupied with other numbers I need to figure out a different way to meet this objective, maybe using a pen and paper or something. 3) Eating: I need to pay attention to when I am eating so I have enough time in my day to get all my food in. I'm really bad for missing breakfast, for example and my protein macro takes a hit if I do. So I need to strategize my timing more than I currently am. I think that's it! Walk, squat, eat. Sounds doable, right? I'm going to take my measurements and weigh in tomorrow so I have that data and then check in again with that at the end of the five weeks. I haven't taken measurements in a very long time. I'm prepared to be upset by it. That said, I had two non-scale victories today: I bought jeans that were a size 22 not a 24 or larger and my bathing suit still fits well after not wearing it forever. So yay! 🎉 Looking forward to cheering you all on! 💜

My 2 fitness goals for the month: 1. Complete a 7.3 mile hike on a canyon trail near my house (0.9 miles away), starting from my house, at the end of the month. 2. Exercise weekly I put together the exercise program I'll follow to include strength training, stretching, and walking. I'll start strength training with a playground workout posted by Nerd Fitness and take it a day at a time, seeing how I feel, and adjusting my routine as needed. My objective for starting strength training is to do exercises for 15 minutes, 2x/week. I'll stretch for 20 minutes, 2-3 days/week after exercise. And, I'll choose a location one mile from my house and walk there or walk for 30 minutes 3 days/week. Oh! I'll warm up and cool down by choosing an exercise from a separate video I found on a Nerd Fitness post.

I’ve been pretty consistent with working out lately, however I’m starting a night-shift job soon and I’m worried I’ll start slipping out of my workout routine. I need to make sure to set a consistent schedule in terms of exercise as well as with sleeping. At this point I’m not sure what schedule is going to work best for me, so I’ll need to experiment with that. Also, my new job is a relatively physical job, so my appetite is definitely going to go up, and I need to make sure I keep making healthy food choices. Exercise Goal - Working towards my ideal physique Continue with Glute Lab exercise program (work out 4 days per week) Do stretches 3 days per week Food Goal - Making good choices Choose a “healthier” option at every meal (whole grain instead of white bread, grilled instead of fried, etc.) Include one serving of fruits, vegetables, or nuts with every meal Three “cheat” meals per week Avoid snacking Lifestyle Goal - Sleep Get 8 hours of sleep daily Go to sleep at a consistent time every day, even on days I don’t have work

Hail Friends, Respawning again, with one goal: Meditate for >= 2 minutes daily. Habit structure: Cue: Wake up Routine: Set 2 minute timer on watch --> focus on breath until it goes off ; repeat as desired Reward: A moment of calm before the starting the day I'm rooting for all of you on your respective journeys and am grateful to be here with you. Keep on keeping on.

So, I failed so hard at the last challenge, that I am pre-emptively failing at this one now too, starting so late as I am. So since I am starting a week and half in, and I I really struggled to just hit the basics from last time, I am just going to revisit the same goals, as follows: 1) Hydrate!! 2) Walk and Stretch every day!! >>>> Literally how I look when stretching, only less cheerful 3) Log Everything!! Win conditions and loot: Make an effort at all three items each day (doesn't have to be perfect, it's about effort and habit building), and complete at least 2 side-quests to make up for missed challenge days and I will win myself that long coveted sticker for my water bottle. Side-quests (pick two): - Tailor in the bodice on my Landsknecht gown in time for Oktoberfest - Finish cleaning out the garage to make room for the swing set kit being delivered and to make a work out space - take the kids on at least 2 more solo adventures - clean off desk in library - finish writing the fanfic chapter I have been sitting on for 2+ years - finish my embroidery project and applique it to my sleeve - pick a new first day of preschool outfit for the Red Panda Things I need to remember: - I am a battering ram when I want to be! They may be my least favorite siege weapon but the analogy is apt. Cumbersome, unwieldy, but once you get them moving that wall is going to come down. - One day at a time. Before I can even GET to "never miss two in a row", I need to focus on the step in front of me - This isn't just for me it's for my kids. I mean, it's also for me, as my kids really don't care about how I look or feel in a pair of jeans (for now). But I want better for them in their lives so I need to model the habits I want them to have. Just doing it for my own vanity or comfort is never going to be enough impetus. But them . . .they are -If it's worth doing, it's worth doing poorly. Even if I can't do it perfectly, something is better then nothing. - Spite is a perfectly acceptable motivation if it gets me moving

I currently weigh more than I've ever weighed in my life. I can't remember the last time the scale has trended down. The scale isn't everything (blah, blah...)--I know. It's also true that I am the strongest I've ever been and have more muscle mass than ever. I'm not sure what my ideal weight is; it has to do with being unhappy with my gut and waist size, not dreading clothes shopping, etc. I think I'll know it when I see/feel it. I work out pretty intensely three times a week in full Warrior mode and on the weekends I practice tai chi, but I need to make some changes in the kitchen as well. My diet isn't horrible. I don't really eat all that many processed foods, but I probably eat too much. I eat until I'm full instead of not just until I'm not hungry. This challenge I'm going to experiment with something. I have one goal: Eat full paleo every day. The last time I did this was about 10 years ago, and it worked very well for almost a year, until I just stopped. While it was working I felt great, better than great--amazing! The more I stuck to the plan the easier it was to stick to it. The more progress I saw with weight loss the more productive I became in every other aspect of my life. So my experiment is to recapture that sense of indomitable progress and productivity. I tend to make my challenges too complex and they just kind of peter out at the end. This time my goal is one day at a time with no rollover judgment or guilt, and just see how I do and how I feel afterward. I'm actually starting today, after some preparatory shopping over the weekend, but I have ideas for the next grocery run as well. Hey, I want you all to look at me when I say this... . . .

This wannabe mighty warrior was felled by their own brain nearly 5 years ago and is looking to get back into the fitness game! One of the symptoms of my brain disorder is fatigue, so I've been mostly housebound on a good day/bedbound on a bad day since 2018. My health has improved lately and I'm looking to do my best to make it even better! My goals: Do two workouts a week, even if you only do the warm up, or one rep. The important thing isn't consistent reps, it's not pushing myself too hard. Showing up and trying twice a week and collapsing on the floor after one wall push up is still a win-apart from maybe I'm not ready for that exercise! 1000 steps a day. Leave the village for something that isn't an an appointment once a week. Ideally I'll surpass some of these sometimes, but the goal is consistent baby steps and not beating myself up. Disability is unpredictable and that's not my fault! They/them or she/her

I found NerdFitness in my time of readiness back in May, and took the advice I found there to submit to myself the challenge of one thing within my ability. In the past I've been able to accomplish much, but I've kept no routine of exercise or diet of late, so I've put on more weight than I'm comfortable with. The action I took was my first step of just getting up and getting out. I put my alarm by the door and my shoes, and I would go out for a walk. I also had an accountability partner for three weeks while I was getting started. I was delighted to see that my own challenge was starting the same time as the Rebellion's five week challenge when I had found my way here, so I considered that to be a rewarding reinforcing alliance. By the end my accountability partner wasn't helping, but I maintained my efforts, and I'm proud of myself for consistently waking up and exercising lightly while I build up my habits from small things. This five week challenge, I'm combining my alarm and walk into a singular challenge to make room for two new things. My challenges are as follows: 1. Do morning exercise of light walk or body weight strength training when I wake up. 2. Track body weight exercise progress. 3. Floss my teeth an hour before I want to be in bed. I chose my third challenge because I acknowledge that my first steps should be in my abilities so that I can build up from them. Right now, adjusting my morning and evening routine to include exercise and consistent hygiene is a change within my abilities. As I strengthen my willpower, I will be able to accomplish more things, adding new challenges and increasing the challenge rating on the ones I already face. Thanks for reading and cheering me on. -Maerad

I'm late! I know. I was technically only a few days late but I couldn't think of a funny, gif-filled adventure. So I'm gonna let that slide and just get into it because while I've not been writing the text, at least I've been doing the challenge. Since I'm sort of starting in the middle, I'll keep it simple and stick to two very simple goals. Go to the gym three times per week. Do not order take out. I've been quite unhappy for a long time. Mental health issues coupled with a relatively recent job change, a suddenly much larger amount of free time, working from home with no friends around me, no hobbies that I wanted to do. I made the grave mistake of thinking online dating would be fun, which it very much wasn't. It did absolutely demolish any bit of confidence I had before I signed up, which led me to signing up for a gym, where I now find myself tinder-less but with a training plan and a whole lot of anger to get rid of, the least of which caused by online dating, the worst caused by the state the world is currently in. And you know what, as I should have known it would, the gym helped. I'm at the very start of my gym journey, I am so sore that I currently can't fully extend my left arm, but I am so happy. And whenever I do anything related to my physical health, I think of you guys here, and how happy this community has always made me, no matter at which point in my journey I was. Initially, I had three slightly different goals in mind. I wanted to add one about career progression. I wanted to change the gym goal to allow me to move 5 times a week instead, or additionally. And I wanted to make the food goal more complicated. But this half-challenge is for my brain more than for my body. And my brain needs to realise that making time for the gym 3 times a week is good for me (and perfectly doable) and that if I have nothing to eat at home, there are much better ways to fix it than ordering pizza for 3 people because that's the minimum amount you need to order. So there we go. Not a whole lot of flash, maybe my stretch goal will be writing up a cool and fun challenge for next time. Progress report so far: I've gone to the gym twice this week. I had a personal trainer session on tuesday and I am so sore I can hardly believe it. But I went for a very brisk 2ish km walk yesterday despite my aching legs and I went to the gym to spend a half hour on the stationary bike today, just to show my brain that "but I'm so sore" isn't an excuse to at least make the drive and go there. I also picked up groceries today and just had a lovely bulgur salad and two bananas for dinner. I suck at eating on Thursdays, so this was my first meal of the day. I might eat an egg as a snack in a bit. I'm a lot happier than I was last week on Thursday. And my happiness level is miles, miles away from what it was like on Thursday two weeks ago. We're gonna take small steps this time.

Joining a few days late but still working towards goals. Things I want to do better on: 1) Listening to my body. I am 5 weeks post surgery and now feel like I can actually ease into weightlifting. I have dreamed of doing this and I know I just have to commit and do it. 2) Taking up space at the gym at least twice a week. I have imposter syndrome here. I do fine at home but at the gym I feel rushed and like everyone is looking at me. I have been working with dumbbells but at some point the squat rack and bench press are going to be my buddies when the dumbbells become too light. I need to realize that I am paying for the right to the gym as everyone else. 3) Lunch….this one still evades me. I getting better but it still requires planning and forethought. I didn’t have this issue when I worked in the office but now that I have been home over 7 years I struggle with this.

Rookie here with a first time post! My epic quest is to re-set my nervous system which is currently stuck in fight/flight/freeze mode and wreaking havoc on all sort of aspects of my health. I plan on tackling this by following the path of the Druid. This first 5 week challenge will be focused on getting set up for success. By the end of the 5 weeks I hope to have accomplished: 1. Setting up my bedroom (I just moved) to be safe, comfortable, and promote relaxation 2. Experiment with some new dinner recipes and establish a healthy 2 week dinner plan (with shopping list) with family approved meals 3. Find 3 stretches that feel good, and use them regularly when I am feeling stiff and crunchy 4. Finish reading "The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" to help inform next steps Looking forward to journeying alongside you all!

I want to get back into strength training. I have been out now for about a month and a half. I want to do this by training 3* week before work. This would be on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and would be give me 15 training sessions by the end of the challenge. My routine is a modified 5*5 routine and includes stretching before and afterwards. A training session is 45min. To do this I would have to be in bed by 21:30, up by 04:15 🥺, start training by 05:15.

Heyo! Returning rebel here! Its been a LOOOOOOOONG time since i've done a challenge. Bit of a background story: Couple of years back i did a lot of challenges here on the forums and they helped me IMMENSELY with getting into fitness, hobbies & nutrition. And at some i stopped doing the challenges cause they kept being the same and for me i was disciplined enough to keep track of them. Then COVID happened and like for everyone else i fell off everything. BUT!! its (for the most part) under control now and thus a good time for me to get back in the game! Goals! 1) Read when i wake up & read before i head to sleep (atleast 4x a week) I used to read every morning when i woke up with a cup of coffee and read in bed before i would sleep (i have those fancy philips hue lights so i would read until they dimmed and then sleep). I want to read more again, i want to read atleast 4x a week. Doesnt matter how long, it can be 5 minutes, 5 pages doesnt matter. Its all about getting back in the rhythm. 2) Exercise in some form every day aka Move My Body I used to exercise a fair amount back in the day. Bodyweight stuff 3 times a week, running 3 times a week and mobility work every day. Now that all is gone, so to get back on track im gonna exercise every day. BUT very open. So it can be a bit of mobility, it can be one set of push-ups, it can be a couple of squats, it can even be getting a sweat with a VR game. So "move my body every day", whether its one stretch movement, one set of exercise or move with a vr game. Its all about getting back in daily movement. Thats all the goals for now! I have a semi-grip on my nutrition currently. Next challenge i plan to upgrade that.

Hi All! I did up a brief (re)introduction to myself a few weeks ago over at respawn point a few weeks ago, but always feel weird about starting a challenge late, so didn't do much else, but I'm still in time for the new challenge, so here I am doing the things . . . A very wise (video game) woman once complained about people that "stand in a fire and complain that it is hot". And that is what I have been doing. I complain about how I look. I complain about how I feel. I complain about not being able to keep up with my little hoodlum children. And yet at the end of the day, what do I do but plonk myself down on the inferno of my couch, and add the lighter fluid of ice cream to make the flames just that little bit hotter. So these are my first steps to get out of the damned fire. They may be small, but at least they are something. So, without further exposition .. . my challenges; Goal is to drink at least one of my big bottles of water every day. I know, I know! minimum should be two. But one is better then none, and honestly, once I start drinking water, I always end up drinking more, so better to set my goal to "some" and exceed then to set my goal to "correct" and balk and fail at doing it. Doesn't matter when I do it - I can chug the whole dang thing at 11:59 pm and it will still count. Loot: sticker for my sad, un-adorned water bottle. Why do I want to achieve this goal: hydrate or diedrate, amirite? Feel better, feel less hungry, less headaches, more bathroom breaks, and set a good example for the hoodlums Obstacles in my way: water is gross, tea is delicious Actions needed to achieve my goal; become "that" person and carry water bottle everywhere. Make sure to fill the bottle at the start of the day with tap water from home, which is slightly less awful tasting then water from tap at work. Goal is to stretch and walk at least once every day. I sit too much and everything hurts. I'd love to commit to regular multiple work outs a week. I am not there yet. I want to be, but it took me months to work up to that before. I think I keep failing at my attempts to respawn cause I am trying to jump in whole hog. So lets work on the incremental change. Walks can be any time, anywhere - I lose momentum when I try to "schedule" it for early in the morning, then feel bad about not being able to get out of bed. Bonus points if I take the kids or the dog with me. Streching can be morning or night, or even at desk during the day. Loot: fake hair scrunchie (not at all related to the challenge, but really want one, so yah motivation!!) Why do I want to achieve this goal: More movement, less ouchie. More calories out. Get body ready to eventually start work outs again. Set a good example Obstacles in my way: Sleeping in, refusing to get up from my desk at work, stretches that don't suit my needs, Actions needed to achieve this goal: keep experimenting with stretches till I find some that I really like, remember I've got the world's cutest dog who deserves walkies, set alarms on my phone to remind me to take my breaks Goal is to track all the things. It may seem low-tech and harder to do then keeping it in an app, but for now, track it in my paper planner, just so it's all in one place. If I need to, I can log it in various apps in my phone and then mark it off in my planner. But I should be at least trying to log it all in once a day. This includes tracking meals (which will be put into an app, but then checkmarked off in the paper planner) Loot: order my new planner early (my year resets in September) and include some "splurge" features in it. Why do I want to acheive this goal: There is no point drinking water and stretching/walking if I don't see that I am doing it. If I forget to log it a day, I eventually spiral into not doing it. And if I physically see how much I have eaten, it's easier for me to make the decision to not eat more. I can't argue with cold hard data. Obstacles in my way: taking time to put everything in the planner, data spread across too many apps. Actions needed to achieve this goal: keep planner on hand at all times. swap out current watch that I love but that I don't like the app, with one of my old fitbits I will try to post here regularly-ish with updates. Expect Gifs, anecdotes of the offspring, and maybe even pictures of the dog for she is cute and needs a bigger fan club

Hi Everyone! I am very excited to be here and have this challenge in front of me. I have been struggling with apathy towards my body for a long time and I feel like I am in a place to work on that. A bit about me: I am Canadian and live in the Prairies now. I grew up near the mountains and miss them a lot. I am currently working as a manager of a little nerd store and do fantasy cartography in my free time. I love to play D&D and run two weekly games. I really enjoy Critical Role. I used to love to cook but that has fallen by the wayside in recent years. My partner is military and we have a wonderful four year old German Shepard named Saxon. I deal with Bipolar Disorder and PCOS, both of which make weight loss more challenging. I used to power lift a few years ago but I wasn't able to feel comfortable in the base gym once we moved to our new posting location and the town we are in doesn't have another gym option. My proudest lifting achievement was my 300 lb squat, which was 50 lbs over my bodyweight at the time. I felt so powerful that day and I miss that feeling of confidence in my body's capabilities. I am far from where I was though. This challenge will be first steps towards getting back to that. My three goals are simple but will hopefully become foundational: Eat Breakfast Every Day: I can have coffee as well, but I must have something that is food and preferably high protein. Walk 5,000+ steps a day: I have been so sedentary in the past five years that this feels like a huge challenge on its own, but I am going to make it happen. Bought a new FitBit and everything. Write 3 pages a day exploring topics related to my weight: This can be planning, exploring links to past difficulties, doing some nitty gritty work to understand why I sabotage myself once I hit a certain level of success. My three cautions will be: No weighing or measuring myself for the five weeks of the challenge. I will focus on what I am doing and practice mindfulness about my actions rather than fixating on results. No food restrictions that feel unnatural or rushed. I sometimes get too whole hog when I am starting something and do too much too fast. Slow and steady this time. No two in a row. I can make less ideal choices based on my own judgement, but not two bad decisions in a row. Looking forward to cheering everyone on! Let's do this!

Hello everyone! I'm excited to join in time for the challenge start. Here are my goals: 1) Morning routine: I'm going to wash and moisturize my face every morning. I suffer from a minor skin condition linked to an auto-immune disease, which causes skin dryness and flaking, mostly on my face and scalp. I use a special medicinal shampoo for the latter, but it's easy to forget about the former when it's not flaring up. I want to change this and make sure that every morning when I wake up, I wash my face with cleansing soap and apply moisturizer. 2) Take a walk: I'm going to go out for a walk every day. I'm also struggling a bit with depression, which is another reason why I want to establish the morning face care routine and start the day with some self care and something small I can achieve early on to feel good about myself. Towards this end, I want to make sure I push myself to take a walk outside the house every day. I am currently unemployed, so it's easy to just stay in and sleep or play videogames. Quick trips like taking out the trash don't count, but if I have to go out for, say, groceries or some other task, I'll count it as long as I walk there and back again. 3) Single-minded focus: I'm going to choose a single task to accomplish every day Wallowing in self pity or vegging with videogames is one of my default modes these days, the other is trying to do anything and instantly remembering I have a ton of things left to do. When this happens, I feel like I'm pulled towards a million different directions and decision paralysis sets in. Even if I do start with something, I either feel bad because I'd rather be doing something easier or more pleasing (as in, I'd rather play videogames than look up job postings) or I feel guilty because I should be doing something better (as in, I feel guilty playing videogames because I should probably look up job postings instead). To overcome this, I want to choose a single task every day and focus all my effort towards achieving it, regardless of how unpleasant it might be. It just has to be done. Hopefully this will break things down into more manageable chunks and I can feel good about accomplishing something, anything.

...and I'm back. Keys McGee, otherwise known as TheFlyingAccountant otherwise known as... eh...I think that's pretty much been it. Believe it or not, this is my third try at making this post. Let's see if I actually hit the submit button this time around. So, first, let's dispense with the challenge details and then we'll get everyone caught up on what's been going on. The challenge will play out as follows: 1. Starting Strength workouts 3 days out of the week to begin this Saturday*. It's the same A Day / B Day setup that I had the last time. Same workouts and all. Squats, Bench, Overhead Press, Deadlift. 2. NF update at least every other day. Copy pasta screenshots from my task management application are strongly encouraged**. (beginning tomorrow) 3. 15 minutes of piano practice each day. (Beginning tomorrow.) 4. Workday begins at 8 am and ends at 6 pm***. (beginning tomorrow) 5. One cookbook meal at least once per week****. (beginning this weekend) 6. And whatever else happens to be on my daily task list in click up in the screenshot*****. ---------------------- So, what's been going on all this time? Well... First, I'm proud to announce that I succeeded in my "No alcohol for all of 2021" challenge from last year. My wife very nearly persuaded me to cut it off an hour or two early for New Years Eve (because no one would know, right?), but thanks to some timely intervention from my best buds who reminded me just how far I'd come, I made it the full year--Midnight Jan 1, 2021 all the way to Midnight Jan 1, 2022. Of course, at 12:01 am, all bets were off and I poured myself a beer, that, tbh, didn't even really taste that great. I still have a beer every now and then, but now it's more of an "eh, I can take it or leave it" kind of thing. Second, Mrs. Keys McGee got herself a new job, so our financial situation is a little better than when I last left you all. Sure, inflationary economy, we're at the brink of WWIII, never a dull moment, we all know how that goes...but still. It's been nice going back to two incomes. And what else...I've learned a little bit of coding. I can make some rudimentary CRUD applications (another reason why I'm not starting my workouts until Sat is that buys me time to put some sort of basic workout tracker together, but hell, if I need to, I'll just do it old school on pen and paper.) Also, whole new lease on my piano life. After some hangouts and deep talks with one of my best friends (also a very talented musician), I learned that I'd been approaching the instrument all wrong. Or at least, mostly wrong. He gave me some coaching and let me borrow one of his best piano books, How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons by Ward Cannel and Fred Marx. Without getting too much into it, the basic idea is that you play music using a sort of skeleton pattern. Left hand plays a bass note on the 1 and 3, plays chord tones on the 2 and 4 (the backbeat), and right hand is playing the melody. And you build from there with all sorts of variations and whatnot. It's re-kindled my love for the instrument for sure, and has made it feel less like drudgery. So that's about it. Hope all y'all have been holding it down. Sorry I've been gone so long but...eh...what's my excuse...hm...I know...let's go with this one: I'm a Sagittarius and this is just a thing we do sometimes. Yep, that works. ---------------------- *I'm starting it on Saturday as a compromise to myself. Part of me is not really feeling like putting together this challenge. For one, I'm kind of not in the mood for it, and for another, well, flip through my post history and you'll probably find more than a few "respawns." Intellectually, I think that's a good thing. It means that no matter how many times I get knocked the hell down, I keep getting the hell back up. But there's what it is and then there's what it feels. And right now, I don't feel like doing anything that smells remotely close to self improvement. So, I compromise with myself. You don't have to take it all the way, not right now, but you're at least going to take the first step. You can manage that much. **One of the things that led to my falling out of the challenge the last time was having too many task trackers in too many places. Right around my last few challenges was around the same time I started picking up a new task manager. I won't say I "love" it. I'll say that I like it a lot. Problem is that I was keeping track of my daily tasks there, also keeping track of my tasks in my work stuff. Also a paper journal where I would log workout progress. And then updating stuff in NF. As important as I think participating these challenges are for my mental health (hence why I keep coming back to this wonderful and supportive community time after time ), I was experiencing task tracker overload... ...and then I discovered that I can copy and paste screen clips directly into these posts. Problem solved. ***I think it's a holdover from my teaching days where I would mercilessly try to cram my entire workday into 4 hours of non-stop work, then one hour for lunch, and then another 4 hours of non-stop work because I ABSOLUTELY MUST BE DONE WITH MY WORKDAY AT 5 PM!!!!!@@#!@#!#$!. It adds a lot of stress to me and makes me rather unpleasant to be around, especially if something interrupts my workday. I don't even schedule doctor's appointments unless absolutely necessary because OMG I can't take the hit to my workday! Can't get much work done when you're sick or dead, dude. I need to be okay with clocking out an hour later than I usually do, especially if it means that I spread my work out a little more and end the day a little less frayed than I would be otherwise. ****My name is Keys McGee, and I hoard cookbooks without actually cooking anything from most of them. AMA. *****Usually, just "update the budget" and "clean out the inbox."

Excited for my SIXTH CHALLENGE! 🥳🥳🥳 I'll be continuing my journey from my fifth challenge:

Hello to the Rebellion! I'm Vedge - a 36 year old nerd working in IT/Security. I am trying to get my butt back on track after a few years in the wild. I am trying to keep this simple so I can build this habit and at the same time begin to immerse myself in this community (Have followed NF for a long time and used to read the blog regularly - looking forward to picking up the torch again!). I really enjoyed the book "The Power of Habit" and like the idea of keystone habits. So my goal/experiment for this challenge will be entirely on getting to bed and getting up early and building up my sleep habit. The Goal GO TO BED! in bed by 11pm Eastern every night. Weekends and special occasions to be assessed case by case, but the stated goal here will be to be fully ready and in bed by 2300 at least 20 of the 25 non weekend days in the next 5 weeks. GET OUT OF BED! My first alarm is set for 5:50am. I go on a daily walk and when I get up in time to get a decent walk in and have some alone time before my family starts to wake up, it is usually the best possible start for a good and productive day and really helps my mental health when it happens for an extended period. The stated goal here is to get up at this time AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. Would love to hit a streak here and continue it as long as possible. Side Quest Type Shit Lose 10lb +1xp Finish an audio / print book +1xp Fully paint a Necromunda Miniature +1xp Walk 11k or more at once +2xp Do some sort of workout +2xp Okay. That's it! Really excited to be here and to push forward alongside fellow travelers! Go get it everyone!

Hello friends. It’s been a while. My last challenge was with the rangers, ending in October. Mere days, in fact, before I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t spin up another challenge, as I spent the first trimester napping and trying to work and dealing with some difficult family stuff. Come second trimester, I was walking more and doing some yoga, and thinking about what my post-partum challenge might look like and how once I’ve recovered from childbirth I might take up kickboxing for a few months until I’m ready to have another baby. But those idle daydreams, along with pretty much every other dream I had, ended suddenly in an early stillbirth. I delivered my poor baby, perfectly formed and inexplicably lifeless, at 24 weeks. My doctor cleared me for exercise about two weeks ago, and I’ve done physical therapy for my core muscles maybe 10 times so far (didn’t see my chiro/PT until about a week and a half ago), plus a couple yoga routines and walking. I want to run for the psychological benefits, so I need to build up some strength and flexibility so I can do that safely. Really, I haven’t been this out of shape for years. (Hence the Rookie/Rebels guild this time — in a lot of ways, I'm starting from scratch.) I'm up 13lb (11% of my pre-pregnancy bodyweight of 115lb) and spent my 6 weeks of post-partum disability leave crying on the couch, playing video games, and eating chocolate and takeout (we had many people bring us home cooked meals as well as GrubHub gift cards, but since cooking let alone grocery shopping was far outside our capacity, we still ate a lot of takeout). So what weight I lost by delivering, I gained back in sadness. Given hormonal changes and the effects on my body overall I don't expect to return to pre-baby weight nor do I expect to fit into most of my jeans ever again. But the sheer dread of trying to find and buy a new work wardrobe when I was hoping to be taking care of a baby instead of working suddenly kicked in last week and I decided to at least try losing weight and see if I can keep my button shirts. So my goals are twofold: Regain enough strength and flexibility to run Weigh in at 120lbs OR trim enough waist inches to wear my work shirts again I intermittently remember how it feels to want to be strong and physically capable. I’ll channel that when I have it. But most of the time I just feel like broken glass inside. There’s no fixing this. I just have to keep going, and the fact I have to keep going feels like a cruel joke half the time. I know from past experience that running helps when all I want to do is scream, so that’s what we’ll do. And breathe. We’ll do that too. I played Kena Bridge of Spirits while I was home on disability. It was comforting.

Hello Nerdfitness community! I'm starting my first challenge with three ambitious but doable goals. 1. Lift 3x/ week. This should be easier since we a rack and bench etc. in the garage. 2. Eat mostly meat and veggies on work days. I work 12 hour nights and I used to do steamed veggies and chicken / eggs/ shrimp every night. Its not hard to keep my diet clean at work if I meal prep, but I've gotten out of the habit lately. 3. Cut up and split 3 trees before the end of the challenge. We have a lot of trees, which means a lot of wood to cut this summer as some of the dead ones need to be cut down before they fall on something (or someone). Cutting them down can be labor intensive, but splitting them with an axe and carting them across our lot is exhausting. While it sounds more like a chore, I believe it is probably a great workout as long as I am careful with how I pick things up and carry them. Planning to use habitica to track this

So it has been a while since I have posted to one of the challenges here. I joined Prime last fall but have been around the rebellion for a while now (checked my profile and it says I have been around since 2013!). A couple weeks ago was deadlifting and hurt my back. Many chiropractor visits, lots of pain, lots of stretching, and taking it easy for a few weeks have helped. However, I am still not 100%. On top of being out of commission, Spartan (the obstacle course peeps) decided to post the location and date of a race near me, so of course I signed up. I could barely walk upright when I signed up but hey, motivation right?!?! I posted on Discord but will put it here as well. I don't care how long you have been lifting, have someone check your form every once in a while. It could have saved me a lot of pain and hopefully it will save you some too. Goals for this challenge: 1. Back bends - Well more generally stretching/getting back to normal range of motion. Goal is to get 2 yoga sessions and 3 days of foam rolling/Lacrosse ball/tissue work in per week. 2. Back to running - I would like to get back to 3-4 days a week of running. I started testing out running last week since the back was feeling better. I can, but lungs weren't that happy and hips were really tight. 3. Back to 190lbs - I am not an unhealthy weight right now but I would like to lose a little weight. I also have historically high cholesterol so I am tracking food like mad right now to see what sources of junk might be present. My dad has high cholesterol as well so genetics has some to do with it but I am guessing there is a large part that is what I eat as well. So working with a coach through work to help get me on track there. Since I have started on this already and seen some weight loss from cutting out pop mostly (I am guessing) I expect more weight loss to come but that is not necessarily the focus. I look forward to chatting with all the Rebels I have met in the past and meeting some new ones on this journey as well!