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Hello nerds, Are any of you near Sacramento and would like to meet up sometime? Would be happy to meet you

Hey folks, I live in SF (the mission) and I'm looking for an accountability / training partner in the area. I had been lifting and training with them 3+ days a week and it was great, but then I moved. I found that having someone to train with made me stick with it, and made me push harder during the workouts. It's hard to give 50% when you make a commitment to someone to bust ass. I train Muay Thai, which is my motivation to get into shape, but there is hardly any strength training involved. I would love to get together and lift a couple times a week, and I'd be down to get some pads and do some boxing drills if you're looking to do cardio. Anyone interested? - Eric

2017 is here, and I'm moving west ... which means wagon! or perhaps okay not really... it means I'm leaving the City I've lived in for 18 years, in the state I've lived all my life in for somewhere COMPLETELY DIFFERENT This challenge is all about change and starting over! Goal 1: Keep calm and move along! So we're moving in about 10 days and honestly its frightening! Movers are packing up things and putting them on a truck to go cross the country at the speed of modern tracker trailers. Find 1 new place per week to visit in SFO! Goal 2 : Get back to running! My love of running has waned of late but I want to get back to basics and run for the sake of running Run 2 times a week + 1 dedicated walk Goal 3 : Moderation This is my constant fight ... booze Limit myself to 6 drinks a week Goal 4 : Read more! I've picked up all the Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser books and will read them! Read on my way to and from work on the train at least 3 days a week!

INTRODUCTION: My name is Ted and this is my second challenge. I am looking forward to being a part of the assassins during during challenge 44. If you are interested, my first challenge thread can be found here. When I found Nerd Fitness, I joined the academy first. I was searching for how to build intrinsic motivation into a fitness routine and Nerd Fitness came across my path. Thanks to my first challenge, I am getting closer to my goal of intrinsically motivate fitness. My hard work and my look into essentialism has really helped me focus my efforts. I chose the assassins because I enjoy bouldering, calisthenics, and balance work done through yoga. I want to build a learner stronger frame. People I admire and look to as I train would be Kevin Poeung and Simon Park. I am a 33 year old English and History teacher and live in San Francisco, CA with my husband and our orange bob-tail cat named Cha-cha. We have been in the Bay Area for about a year. Before California, my husband and I were living in Japan (I was there for seven years and he was there for his whole life). I am a lover of science fiction and have been a fan of all the Star Gate seasons which is why my topic titles reference the dialing sequence. These challenges are a way I can take back control of my dreams by making my fitness and health a priority in my life. I am excited about doing this for myself and glad I have gained some great support and friends along the way. MAIN QUEST: I will have an active life full of movement and activities I find joy in so I can live a life of peace and adventure with my husband. CHALLENGE GOAL 1: "Be-Four Dawn" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will exercise for a least thirty minutes in the morning, at least four days a week, for a total of 24 workout sessions over the course of the challenge. REASONING: During the last challenge, I scheduled a workout everyday of the week. On any given day, I was either practicing yoga or doing the body brigade workout. This left little to no time for recovery. This challenge, I am giving myself three days for potential recovery. I also want to work towards enjoying morning workouts since I can take full advantage of the after-burn over the course of the day and be more energized. I also would like to have my evenings open in order to spend more time with my husband. Up until now, getting up early in the morning and working out has been difficult for me. I am a teacher and wake-up really early already. MEANS OF EVALUATION: I will post on my thread the details of each workout for the previous week by Sunday evening of that week. The details of my workout will include the time started, duration, and what I did to workout. If I have at least 24 workouts recorded by the end of this challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: STAMINA A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] CHALLENGE GOAL 2: "Pull It Together" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will work for 10 minutes, at least four days a week, on my training to do a complete, unassisted, pull-up for a total of 24 sessions over the course of this challenge. REASONING: I have enjoyed bouldering and have some pretty solid upper body strength. Unfortunately, I do not have the muscle strength needed to do a complete unassisted pull-up. Systematically working on my pull-ups throughout this challenge will help me build the needed strength in order to get close to doing an unassisted pull-up. MEANS OF EVAULUATION: I will post on my thread the details of each training session for the previous week by Sunday evening of that week. The details of the training session will include what I did to train and the time I started. If I have at least 24 training sessions on my thread by the end of the challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: STRENGTH A=+4 B=+3 C=+2] CHALLENGE GOAL 3: "This End Up" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will work for 10 minutes, at least four days a week, on my inverted poses foundation for a total of 24 sessions over the course of this challenge. REASONING: In my practice of yoga, I have always felt inspired by inverted poses. In the beginning, I had a fear of going into an inverted pose. I thought, if I went into an inverted pose, I would drop on my spine and break my neck. Several years back, I trampled that fear by running into a handstand. The momentum of this method got me into a wall-assisted hand-stand. I want to work toward doing an unassisted tripod headstand. To do this I will need to work on building my foundation on a consistent basis. MEANS OF EVALUATION: I will post on my thread the details of each foundation building session for the previous week by Sunday evening of that week. The details of the foundation building session will include what I did toward building the right foundation and the time I started. If I have at least 24 training sessions on my thread by the end of the challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: A=+4 B=+3 C=+2] LIFE CHALLENGE GOAL: "Write On Track" GOAL: By 14 December 2015, I will write over 40,000 words towards a new novel which I will plan with my husband. REASONING: My husband is an illustrator and a graphic designer. We have been playing around with the idea of me writing a novel and him drawing illustrations for the story. We have floated ideas and concepts around but never got anything seriously together. Since November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and this challenge covers the month of November, I thought I would inspire our project to head in the "write" direction and get my husband and I "write" on track towards completing our novel. MEANS OF EVALUATION: I will have met this goal if I have written at least 40,050 words on my novel by the end of this challenge. My word-count progress can be seen on my NaNoWriMo page. I will also give weekly updates on Sunday evening on how I am progressing towards the 40,000 word goal. [Attribute: WISDOM A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] PRE-REFLECTION: Setting new goals fills me with such great energy. I feel geared-up and ready to begin. I feel even better this time around since I have already engaged in one challenge and know my goals are challenging yet attainable. Learning what works well for me and what needs tweaking I believe will help me towards an intrinsically motivated practice. I am proud to be part of the assassins and growing stronger with everyone!

INTRODUCTION: My name is Ted and this is my first challenge. I joined the academy first. I was searching for how to build intrinsic motivation into a fitness routine and Nerd Fitness came across my path. I soon stumbled upon the Rebel Forums and have been finding my way around here. I love the positive energy and the team atmosphere. I am a 33 year old English and History teacher and live in San Francisco, CA with my husband and our orange bob-tail cat named Cha-cha. We have been in the Bay Area for about a year. Before California, my husband and I were living in Japan (I was there for seven years and he was there for his whole life). Getting settled into a new country, job, and way of life caused my fitness to not be a priority. This is my way of taking back control and making fitness and health a priority in my life. I am excited about doing this for myself and possibly gaining some friends and strong support along the way. MAIN QUEST: I will have an active life full of movement and activities I find joy in so I can live a life of peace and adventure with my husband. CHALLENGE GOAL 1: “YOU LOOK LIKE A TALL GLASS OF WATER†GOAL: During this six week challenge, 14 September 2015 to 25 October 2015, I will choose only between water and tea for my beverages. Reasoning: Drinking, in my mind, has always had a social component. When friends are having a drink, or go out for a cup of coffee, I always join them and drink as well. I found in August that I was dependent on caffeine more than I would like. I would enjoy drinking black coffee and would often get too much caffeine as I drank several cups throughout the day. Alcohol has begun to make me too tired. Even after one or two glasses of wine or beer, I would be so tired I would just need to take a nap. I do not like this after effect and feel I would be happier without alcohol. Though I am not abstaining from coffee or alcohol permanently, this challenge will help me see my life without these two liquids for an extended period of time. I will also be able to see how I can socialize without drinking the same beverage as everyone else. Means of Evaluation: My daily logs on the NF forums will have a reflection component about beverages. If all 42 of these logs show that I have only consumed water and tea as my beverage choices during the challenge, I will have met my goal. [Attribute: Constitution A=+2 B=+1 C=+.5] CHALLENGE GOAL 2: “DON’T WORRY, I’M FLEXIBLE†GOAL: During this six week challenge, 14 September 2015 to 25 October 2015, I will complete at least three yoga classes a week, from the website YogaToday, for a total of at least 18 classes during the challenge. Reasoning: I am on the quest to build a fitness routine that becomes intrinsically motivated. Yoga, along with bouldering, are one of the activities I am drawn to. Unfortunately, I have not made my practice of yoga a priority. Setting this goal will allow me to show myself that I am making yoga a priority in my life. Means of Evaluation: I will report each yoga class I take on the NF forum by posting a link to the class I did in my daily log. If I have at least 18 classes recorded, at least three a week, I will have met my goal. [Attribute: Dexterity A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] QUEST GOAL 3: “EVERY THING WILL WORK OUT!†GOAL: During this six week challenge, 14 September 2015 to 25 October 2015, I will work out at least four times a week, for a total of at least 24 workouts during the challenge. Reasoning: As with my yoga goal, I am working on building an intrinsically motivated fitness routine. Needing to build strength through self-efficacy, this goal will allow me to get closer to my ultimate goal. I want to do most of my workouts in the morning with the possibility of working out in the late afternoon. Means of Evaluation: I will log my progress on the NF forums and give the details of each workout on my NF challenge thread. If I have logged at least 24 workouts, at least four weekly, by the end of the six week challenge, I will have met this goal. [Attribute: Stamina A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] LIFE QUEST: “YOU’RE HISTORY!†GOAL: I will study world history for at least 30 minutes a day during the six week challenge which takes place from 14 September 2015 to 25 October 2015. Reasoning: I am an English and History teacher and constantly want to improve my knowledge of history to help my teacher practice as well as my own research. I am working on studying for exams in order to add specific items to my current teaching certification. Means of Evaluation: I will keep track of my studying through daily logs on NF forums detailing what subject I have studied. I will also register for a history exam by the end of the six week challenge. If I studied for at least for at least 42 session, at least 30 minutes a day, I will have met my goal. [Attribute: Wisdom A=+3 B=+2 C=+1] I am excited to get started and join everyone!

Spartan Sprint AT&T Park

Hello fellow rebels! I was wondering if there was anyone in the SF Bay Area of California (I live in Redwood City) who would want to meet up with me at Edgewood Park and hike around some of the trails. I would like to make this a 3-4 time weeekly event. I work from 0700-1600 (7am to 4pm) M-F. If you are free, send me a PM though here or email me at docbarretta@gmail.com. Maybe if there are enough of us in the bay area, we can start a hiking club and visit various hiking sites around the bay, I know there have to be at least a few! Let me know! Let's make this happen! Later! Doc Barretta

It’s my first time. Not only is this my first challenge, it’s my first POST. I’ve been a Secret Rebel for a few months now—reading through archives, being inspired, collecting underpants, and taking some action. But I’m stepping it up. Now. Diet and Fitness 1. Do 10 perfect-form military pushups in a row without pausing. [sTR 2 / STA 2] Currently I can do one super strong pushup in very good form. I can get to 10 (iffy ones) if I do a few Child’s Poses between 1 and 10. Eventually I want to be able to do them Dark Knight-style (roll out of bed, fall straight forward, be a badass). For now, I’m aiming for 10—no falling necessary. A ANIHILATED IT. B Made it to 8. C Made it to 5. D More than 1, fewer than 5. F Not an option. 2. Do 1 unassisted pull-up. [sTR 5] I started my Rebel Journey doing the NF Beginner Body Weight exercises, and recently (see: last week) I invested in the Rebel Fitness Guide (currently a Rookie). I tried doing an inverted row a couple weeks ago to humorously disastrous results. Fortunately, only our confused cat witnessed. My husband pointed out that since (as a lady human) my center of gravity is lower, I might have a better time with a pull-up itself. I’ve been working on my dumbbell rows, but I’ve been afraid of the pull-up bar. So. CHALLENGE—ACCEPTED. A CRUSHED IT. B ALMOST there! Chin doesn’t make it above the bar. C Full assisted pull-up (with minimal assistance). D 30-second consecutive isometric holds (extended and contracted—one of each). F Grr…Umph…Hurumph…Gah. Yeah. Not even. 3. Reduce my body fat by 3% points. [CON 3 / CHA 1] Being the curvaceous gal I am, I’ve carried around at least a little extra body fat most of my life. But I’ve never known how much. Enter: THE CALIPERS. I’m overweight, so, (1) I’m going to figure out how to use these suckers, (2) in doing so, I’m going to find out how much body fat I need and want to lose, which is certainly more than 3%, and (3) I’m going to do it. As I mentioned, I’ve just started the Rebel Fitness Guide, so I’m doing good on exercise. I’ve also been progressively making small changes to the way that I eat. Not angling for full Paleo, but I’ve seriously cut back on my refined carbohydrates and liquid calories, and I upped my veggie intake. If I keep that up, I’ll get there in 6 weeks! UPDATE: To make this goal SMARTer, I'm going to implement specific weekly/daily goals to lead me to the 3% body fat reduction. The original grading system will remain in place for this goal. - Eat no more than 3 restaurant meals (or dinner party meals) per week (excluding green salads with protein for work lunches) - Eliminate deep fried foods from all but one meal per week (including chips, etc.) - Consume alcohol no more than 3 days per week - Completely eliminate store-bought or prepackaged baked goods; restrict homemade or restaurant stuff to 3 single (actual) servings per week (limit: 1 per day) A I did it! 3% lower. B Close! 2% lower. C Not bad. 1% lower. D Maintained. No change. F Gained fat. Boo. Level Up My Life 4. Get up in the morning with my alarm without snoozing, every day. Including weekends. [WIS 2] I am a TERRIBLE snoozer. I mean, we’re talking every 9 minutes for over an hour bad. And I’m a bad influence. (My husband USED to get up with his alarm. Now he snoozes as much as me.) Since I started exercising in the mornings before work a few months ago, I’ve hit snooze an increasing number of times each morning. To the extent that two weeks ago I was in my workout clothes, waiting for the subway, when I realized that I only had enough time to get to the gym, shower, and change before I had to leave for work. It is time. Ha. Literally. A SNOOZE FREE (The way to be!). B 90% snoozeless. C 75% D 50% F You snooze, you lose. (Obvs.) I will update my starting point stats soon (by Monday). [iNSERT WARCRY HERE] Starting Stats—June 2, 2013 PUSHUPS: 1 Strong military pushup PULL-UPS: Hang extended 15 seconds, contracted .5 seconds BODY FAT %: 33.08% SNOOZE: Uh, I snooze? Week 1 Recap (Top Numbers, pre injury)—June 9, 2013 PUSHUPS: 4 solid pushups; 7 without pause PULL-UPS: Hang extended 35 seconds, contracted .5 seconds, 2 negative pull-ups BODY FAT %: (didn't measure) SNOOZE: No snooze! 7/7 Week 2 Recap (Top Numbers for the Week)—June 16, 2013 PUSHUPS: 6 solid pushups; 7 without pause PULL-UPS: Hang extended 40 seconds, contracted .5 seconds, 3 negative pull-ups BODY FAT %: 32.49% (.59% reduction) REST. MEALS: 3 meal / 3 week FRIED FOOD: 1 / 1 ALCOHOL: 4 / 3 (oops...) DESSERTS: 3 / 3 SNOOZE: No snooze! 14/14 Week 3 Recap (Top Numbers for the Week)—June 23, 2013 PUSHUPS: 8 solid pushups; 10 without pause PULL-UPS: Hang extended 43 seconds, contracted .5 seconds, 4 negative pull-ups BODY FAT %: (not measured) REST. MEALS: 5 meals / 3 week FRIED FOOD: 3 / 1 ALCOHOL: 6 / 3 DESSERTS: 6 / 3 SNOOZE: One snooze 20/21 Week 4 Recap—June 30, 2013 PUSHUPS: 9 solid pushups; 11 without pause PULL-UPS: Hang extended 45 seconds, 4 negative pull-ups BODY FAT %: (not measured) SNOOZE: No snooze! 27/28 Week 5—Holiday week... no update Finishing Stats—July 14, 2013 PUSHUPS: 11 solid pushups; 12 without pause [sTR 2 / STA 2] Goal: 10 / 10 – Surpassed PULL-UPS: Hang extended 45 seconds, contracted 3.5 seconds, 5 negative pull-ups [sTR 1] Goal: 1 pull-up – Not quite BODY FAT %: 31.84% (-1.24%) [CON 1 / CHA .5] Goal: -3% – Made progress! SNOOZE: One snooze—41/42 No snooze! [WIS 1.5] Goal: No snooze. ALMOST made 100%. Mini-challenge 1: Make friends [CHA .5] Final thoughts Okay, well other than falling off the face of NF for the last two weeks of the challenge, I am really pleased with my challenge results. I kept up my work on the goals and continued to be inspired by my fellow Bats and other friends during my (and their) absence. Even though I didn't hit any of my metrics on the Pull-up challenge, I awarded myself a point because it was WAY HARDER than I expected and I made measurable progress, even if it wasn't as much as I had hoped. I'm already looking forward to the next challenge! My goals are laid out in a spreadsheet, ready to go. See you over there!

Ok, here we go! Hobbit Adventurer Looking to Become an Assassin with some Druid and Monk capabilities This is a big transition period in my life. In less than three weeks, I'm moving to a different country. Last week, I graduated college. In the last six months, I've incurred and dealt with (both healthily and unhealthily... well, mostly unhealthily) a broken heart. In the last year, I had major knee surgery. I was with my ex so long (six years) that I hadn't really done any "adult" dating before them, and now I'm in my late 20s without a clue. It's been a real ride, and I've discovered two things: I want to be more flexible and able-bodied so that I can do fun physical things with new potential partners (yes, this includes sex), and I need to do some serious self-loving and learn to find and appreciate and really love my body (and my brain, but I don't have as far to go with that aspect). I want to know and love and use my body for myself AND for others. I injured my knee about ten years ago, and since then it's been several operations and lots of declining physical activity. Now my knee isn't perfect but it's much, much better than before. I tried to start running and hurt my heel (whoops), so I have to learn to have patience with myself and just lay off the legs a bit more. I need to be kind to myself, and think things through, and not stress or worry about making myself look active or evaluating myself harshly against others who don't have the same profile I do. I need to have fun and celebrate and explore myself (which is the purpose of this challenge, for me). If my goals don't seem attainable or would realistically need to be tweaked somehow, please mention it! I am (obviously) new to this. · 100 Breath Meditation - 4 times a week o http://kevinrose.com/100-breath-meditation Grading Scale A - 4 times a week B - 3 times a week C - 2 times a week D - 1 time a week F - 0 times a week Average A gains STA 3, B gains 2, C gains 1 · Flexibility Training - 4 times a week o Yoga - Surya Namaskara A & B (Ashtanga Primary Series) o Six Weeks to Splits § http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com/splits.html Everything I look at is for the front/back splits, but I was hoping to do straddle/center splits. Someone should tell me if there’s a program out there for this! Grading Scale A - 4 times a week B - 3 times a week C - 2 times a week D - 1 time a week F - 0 times a week Average A gains DEX 5, B gains 4, C gains 3, D gains 2, F gains 0 · Pushup Progression – 3 days a week o Right now I can do zero. By the end of this challenge, I would like to be able to do five perfect pushups. I think this is attainable, right? Grading Scale A - 3 times a week B - 2 times a week C - 1 time a week D - 0 times a week F - 0 times a week Average A gains STR 4, B gains 3, C gains 2, D gains 1 · 64 ounces of water intake - 7 days a week o Simple. Drink it. It makes your skin nice and your joints move and your throat not hurt! Grading Scale A - 7 times a week B - 5 times a week C - 3 times a week D - 1 time a week F - 0 times a week Average A gains CON 3, B gains 2, C gains 1 Beginning Stats (STR): 1 (DEX): 1 (STA): 1 (CON): 2 (WIS): 4 (CHA): 6 --- Useful links that have been posted in this thread! http://gymnastics.about.com/od/trainingadvice/ss/centersplit.htm'> about.com’s How to Do a Center Split http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com/splits.html'> A kind of terribly put together site for stretches that help get you to the (front) splits http://www.goldmedalbodies.com/crow-pose/'> Gold Medal Bodies’ Mastering the Crow Pose (yoga) http://www.thesecretsofyoga.com/ashtanga/Dristhi.html'> Explanation of dristhi (yoga) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t46jMhp6pjQ'> Demonstration of the knees-chest-chin progression for chaturanga (yoga) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caSIo6Rw0Bg'> Chaturanga alignment video (yoga) http://kevinrose.com/100-breath-meditation'> Kevin Rose’s 100 breath meditation http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/02/15/proper-push-up/'> Steve’s article on how to do a proper pushup http://phraktured.net/molding-mobility.html'>Phraktured.net’s Molding Mobility guide for warming up to and helping with pushups Inclune pushups guide Pushup Technique Improvement Demonstration of good arm form for pushups (you don’t need the product they’re showing) Gold Medal Bodies’ Mastering the basic pushup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K7rv_vFOWM/ Spiderman Crawl

Can anybody recommend a book set in San Francisco (that is not Armistead Maupin) or Northern California ? I kind of fell in love with the area when I visited last year and would love to get it to know better from afar. ;-)

To the San Francisco Bay Area Rebels: I scored an internship in Alameda for this summer, so I will be out in the Bay Area for all of June, all of July, and a very brief part of August. Yay me! But I know no one in California. No friends, no acquaintances, not even a good enemy to graciously welcome me with an easily foiled attempt on my life. This makes me sad. I would love to meet some Californian rebels while I'm out West. Any takers?

Hey all! So I'm looking to trek further out west to the San Fran/bay area. I'm hoping to start an MA in Asian Pacific studies at the University of San Francisco in August. That being said, my lease for my current apartment in Utah is over the end of March. I'd like to be able to move out to the bay area sometime mid month, if at all a possibility. I have to find a job first. Is there anyone that has some extra space they'd like to rent out? I'm eating mostly paleo now, so I've tried my hand at some pretty mouthwatering delicacies (jalapeno popper stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon - okay not entirely paleo, but I'm sure I could make it so. It's pretty healthy already, save the cheese). I have one cat, a Russian Blue, named Luna. She's very sweet(sleeps all day, literally), doesn't shed nearly as much as any other cat I've had, is very clean, and can be kept only in my room if needed. She's not like any other cat, I assure you. Both of my previous roommates have stated that they dislike cats, but she is different. I, and my two other roommates, are allergic to cats, but she does not aggravate allergies. I rescued her from the Human Society last year, so I cannot keep a healthy conscious if I cannot keep her with me. Let me know if you, or if you know, anyone who would be interested in making some sort of arrangement. I'm thinking 500$/month, max, but I have to find a job first to have a better estimate of what I may be able to pay. I have skype or google talk for video/voice sessions if needed. Message me for more details, or add me: jessicalynnehansen@gmail.com ** Sorry for the double post =(