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Hello Nerd Friends. Tl;dr: my first step back is to get steps up. Since this is a cross guild challenge, here's my backstory in case anyone new shows up. I'm an old dude (52). Wife and kids (9 & 11, all of them are better than I deserve). I teach middle school science remote-style in Minneapolis. Don't get me started on American health insurance. I've been here almost as long as Elastigirl. If we weren't in lockdown I'd spend all my money on bike stuff, restaurants, and going to see music. I'm comprised of 100% slow twitch, hence the name. I like biking and throwing kettlebells around. All my fitnessing is aimed at making me a passable endurance mountain biker - anything from 40 miles to 24 hours is my jam. I was finally starting to get some fitness (10th in a 24 hr race in 2018 and a team 3rd in 2019) when 2020 happened. During the weeks after GeorgeFloyd I broke quarantine (protest, community meetings, vigils, neighborhood clean ups, community food drives, neighborhood watches - note, this doesn't make me special, literally every one of my neighbors was living like this). I also spent a week breathing tear gas and smoke because of where I live. Once things settled down I started playing the allergies-or-Covid game and thought maybe the tear gas made me develop asthma, it got worse and I spent a couple of weeks feeling like I had a fat man was sitting on my chest. It's been months and I still have weeks where I'm constantly fatigued. Walking across a room can randomly get me out of breath. I'm starting at a low point. First goal is simply to get moving again. I used to average 10-12,000 steps a day. I'm maybe at 4,000 right now. That's my goal. I'm going to get my step count up. Thanks for reading. Peace out. This gonna be me.

I suppose my signature says it all, doesn't it? For a TL;DR, I was losing weight and feeling great, then I wasn't, then I was hiding from the world, then I spent a lot of time with doctors, finding out that I have diabetes, MS, and at least one heart condition. FUN So I am rebooting and keeping it simple, going from a newbie's standpoint. I just want to re-establish healthy habits and get my brain back into the swing of things. Level One Challenge Eat a vegetable with one meal every day Complete the NF bodyweight workout at least 1x a week Pick up the house every morning, and do the dishes I think this is a great place to start. I'll see you in the forums.

Hey y'all I've been a member of NF since 2013 but I usually stick to the Facebook group. Well, I introduced a friend to NF last night and we decided we're going to rock the next challenge together. Since I've hardly ever been active on the boards over the past four years, and because people change over time, I figure I might as well reintroduce myself. I used to be "salambander" but I've been using that name since I was 14 and I'm a little tired of it. I'm a kindergarten teacher in China, and I review books on my blog in my free time so that I can read for free. I'm into scifi (these days the Expanse, Legion and Black Mirror are my favourites although I'm pretty happy with the new season of Doctor Who). My non-NF Texan fiance is a gamer, and I dabble in a bit of Stardew Valley and some Lego games but never very seriously. I do counted cross stitch, knitted a 14ft Doctor Who (Tom Baker) scarf, and I have been an expat since I was 3 years old so home is... somewhere. I like art and making stuff. I was born in Johannesburg, grew up in Mauritius, lived in South Korea where I met my Texan (on a trip to Japan) and we moved to China together so he could teach music. He proposed last spring in Malaysia. I've eaten a lot of really weird food (including bullfrog, live sea urchin, dog, duck intestine, cow butt, silkworm pupae, mopani worms, warthog (YUM), and crocodile). I speak English, French, basic Korean and toddler Chinese. Working on my Texan metaphors, and sweating for the wedding dress (date to be determined).

Hey ya'll! First time on the challenges, long time lurker of these amazing forums. Just gotta say you all are super motivating and the way people encourage others to do cool stuff around here is really uplifting. Ok, enough of that, Its time for a challenge! In 4 weeks, I'd like to get some things DONE: I want to do 5 towel pullups. Done, and now I guess I can crush things with my super hands. I thought I was decent at pullups, but I like, can't hold onto a towel. I want to get strong and do that. I will fast til noon every weekday. When I eat, the real hunger starts, and the floodgates open. Lets keep busy and focus on food for later in the day, yeah? I want to run 5k. Not a 5k mind you. 5k distance. This is mostly contingent on my leg fully healing, as I'm still feeling the aftereffects of overuse from last fall. I want to run again. I will finish at least two books. Easy and done. Moved on to more. Fahrenheit 451 anyone? I've got a stack of books by my bed, and they need to be devoured. Between the bus and bedtime, I am going to crush this. I will talk to my boss about the future. Done, and now the future is less murky, yay! I have a contract job. That contract will end this year. I am scared of the future, and of talking to my boss. I have to get strong and talk about the future. I'm going to deadlift 315. Done, now to do it again with even better form. I've been chasing this for years, stymied by leg injuries and poor form. I'm going to get there in 4 weeks . I will finish my 3d environment. I fancy myself an artist, or at least, my art school degree tells me I am. I still do some 3d art on the side, and I've been noodling on an environment piece. I'm going to finish it in 4 weeks and its going to look awesome. I got a bullet journal and aim to plan out every week and be all productive and stuff. Its gonna be great. Heres to progress! Go forth and reap the gains.

The ThenMorbidly obese, full-time nerd, soft creative artist type with a penchant for food and videogames. Little to no relationship with exercise until I had a health scare senior year of college, weighed in at 333 pounds and told me to consider surgery. Joined a gym, but didn't get around learning to eat properly until maybe two years later, when I started keto. Keto taught me to log and track, lost much weight, began some barbell 5x5 work and fuckarounditis at a local gym.The NowFormerly obese, part-time (ok still more or less full time) nerd, slightly hardened creative artist type with a penchant for food and not enough time for videogames. As I lost the weight, I became enthralled by what my body could do, learned to love exercise in various forms. Did some starting strength, did a bulk on ice cream fitness, did some calisthenics. Currently at a happy medium with calisthenics twice a week and barbell training twice a week with at least one active rest day in between somewhere.GoalsStay lean, see if I can reach a normal BMI without crash dieting and still kicking butt in the gym. Picking up the running I put down when winter started, by years end I want to run the 16.5 miles from my house down to Pike Place Market. Working on muscle ups and levers, maybe get a floor L sit this year? Basically stay active, enjoy life, don't settle, blah blah. Anyway, What follows next, will likely be a play by play of the last days training or nonsense, as often as I can provide it. Maybe the occasional food porn. Start!