Search the Community

Alternately titled, “Let’s Try This Again, Shall We?” Apparently, attempting to join a new community of cool fitness friends while also getting a master’s degree AND battling a pandemic is just doing one thing too many. So now I’m back again to see if I can make this nifty Forum thing work! First things first: hi! I’m Sparkle, a 24-year-old lady in the piney forests and concrete canyons of Seattle, WA. I spent the pandemic finishing my bachelor’s in graphic design, then earning my MBA (Fighting Irish, twice over!), driving cross-country back to the family home, and getting my first Real-Deal Adult Job as the Creative Director for a small engineering firm. Now I’m getting my mental feet back under me after the chaos of moving and readjusting, and this challenge has landed in my lap like a perfectly-timed kick in the pants. My goal for this challenge is simple: be brave. Enough of running scared and wishing for more courage, it’s time I made myself some courage of my own. Be brave at work, by daring to engage playfully with my grouchy-bear boss and proposing innovative designs that push his conventional envelope rather than just keeping my head down. Be brave in my workouts, by pushing myself to hit 80 lbs for all sets of my upper body lifts and adding rear deltoid rows to my existing routine. Be brave personally, daring to carve out time for myself and spending at least two concerted, focused hours on personal development/enjoyment each weekend. Charisma: +1 each weekday for engaging playfully and teasingly with my boss (possible total: 5 points per week) Strength: +1 each workout (goal of 4 per week) that I add in shoulder work, bonus point for each new lifting set I push to hit 80 lbs (possible total: 4 points per week, more with bonuses) Intelligence: +1 for each solid, focused hour spent working on sewing projects or learning to design mobile-first websites via my Skillcrush course (possible total: 2 points per week) I’m not gonna start my challenge until November 1, for tidy timekeeping reasons, so this weekend will be a good time to get some practice in. So, without further ado, let’s go! HUZZAH!

I'm still here, still putting in the work. Just time to redouble the efforts and keep moving forward. Not going to lie I'm not thrilled with my own lack of interactions of late so I'll be focusing on that with the new challenge. Running remains my main activity cause I've love it. quest 1 - going the distance Didn't get to double digits in the last two challenges but will keep pushing. Running is a high point of my day 90% of the time, so getting to run more is a good thing. quest 2 - limit the booze Still keeping this going - I've been doing a bit too much boozing thanks to the year long lock down. quest 3 - can't run then walk Morning walks are the other main activity in my life, I'll try to be more present with my wife during our strolls through the city and be mindful of what she's saying as well as having ideas to add of my own. quest 4 - get more social Feeling the distance between myself and friends growing all the time - will try to do one ping a week to friends to just try and catch up.

First off: *g8ggle gif* Ahem. Now that we’ve got that out of the way .... It looks like #lockdownlightlife is not evaporating where I live any time soon. Things are mostly back to normal - with a few exceptions. Masks, temperature checks and green status health apps are required everywhere but running outdoors Restaurants are still limited to parties of 5; with varying capacity Gyms are strictly limited to something like 3m of space around each goer Entrance to the country - even for residents - is highly limited and is a dodgy proposition at best, with strict quarantine protocols upon re-entry for those lucky enough to gain permission to enter. It’s a far from guaranteed thing. I’m sure there are more things, but those are the ones that affect me directly I’m still fairing pretty well with things as they are. It looks like this challenge will encapsulate Thanksgiving - let’s see if I get to do my big to-do for that, or if I’m running packaged plates to friends individually. I’ve promised that hell or high water it’s happening this year. Goals - Of Consistency, no less Nutrition. Continue on the trajectory from last challenge by: Not eating like an asshole (meaning not eating things I know are going to cause me pain or too damn much or all junk in a day) Keeping a loose eye on my macros on a weekly level and seeing how closely they resemble My Fitness Pal’s gentle weight loss guidelines by tracking my food daily with an eye toward accuracy but not Nazi-ism Making sure to eat at least 2 servings of vegetables a day even if I don’t wanna Try to get enough water. What’s enough? An amount so I don’t wake up dehydrated feeling Movement. Continue on my 4 - 5x a week yoga schedule via Zoom or in-person if desirable/available; add in some sort of accessory work on Saturdays. Either a 5th yoga class or something in the gym in my building - even if that’s just treadmill & a podcast Social Habits. Continue on with my Zoom Tuesday Coffee with friends for as long as that lasts; continue supporting my Herd as daily as possible; continue trying to expand my social network through this new D&D group; try to interact with other humans in the world at least once a week Stoke That Creative Flame. Keep my running crafts going. Currently, I’m still into clothes sewing and embroidery. Keep that up. Maybe add other things in as they catch my fancy - but, and this is a biggie: use up the supplies I have on hand before delving into a new thing that requires a bunch of specialty tools. Yeah. I know. This is the bane of all handicrafts peoples. And I used to have bins and bins of supplies from all the different things I’ve done over the years - but I don’t have that here, and to re-build that level of stash is ridiculous. I also don’t have storage space for that shit. So: use what you’ve got and then move on Also tied to #4: Exercise Your Brain. I’ve got a year of Skillshare, and while that’s not learning on the level I feel comfortable with, bite sized info is fine. And it’s better than the plague of listicles that has taken the rest of the godsdamn Internet over. Pick a “class”, complete it, take with it what I can, move on. Not every instance of learning needs structure or metrics. Or papers. Certainly not dissertations. And I almost forgot: Get out of my comfort zone. We all know how much I love a photo challenge. I’ve been stagnant in my photography for months and months and wanted to grow my skills. I haaaaaaaate people in my pictures and my selfies are abominable. I’m also never satisfied with my face in them. Which seems like a psychological bear that needs poking. Hell, I bailed on my 365 days of yoga for Year 40 challenge - let’s fuck around with some insecurities. Shake some trees and see what falls. As such, work on improving my people photography game through selfies - and post the best one in a week. Phone or “real” camera, it doesn’t matter. Face in the shot or hidden - whatever. Just create something and get it somewhere decent. Doesn’t have to be magazine worthy. And that’s pretty much it, at least thus far. Not a deviation from previous Cycles, but more a continuation of that solid foundation I’ve built with a look toward at least gathering the supplies for a second level.

Hello everyone! I'm going to do an extended summer challenge in this thread that will run for roughly 7 weeks. This will include prep week, the four week challenge, and the two week summer vacation that the nerd fitness forums have planned. It feels a bit nostalgic for the old days of nerd fitness when we did six week challenges on these forums. I'm a thirty something single woman with a cat named Dragon. There's a lot going on in my life currently in terms of my mental health and recovery, and it can all feel pretty intense and heavy. I've decided to make my next challenged centered on something that I can always use more of in my life... PLAY! I don't intend to have any rigid goals, but will post regularly with my experiences and experiments in several domains of life. More may open up as we go along, but currently I'm thinking about these areas. Annyshay plays with her movement, food, friends, and imagination. Music, gifs, and other shenanigans as well as really intense and/or nerdy discussion is always encouraged and appreciated. Let's play!

Keeping it simple. 1) Time to Cut: Drop to an average of 2600 calories per day by the end of the challenge I haven't been on a (major) cut since I left for Camp back in September. By and large, I've figured out that at 3,000 calories a day my body is pretty content to hover around 210 pounds, with a gut measurement of 36.5 inches. I'm less concerned about the weight this time, but I'm not feeling that gut measurement. At my thinnest I was measuring a hair under 35.5", and ideally I'd be slightly under 35" and in the 15% bodyfat range. I'm just feeling doughy around the middle more than I'd like. Add in the fact that mid-June I have a wedding I want to look extra spiffy at, and I think now is a good time to see how my body handles a cut. Also I now understand why cuts are terrible, because I'm ravenous at 2500 calories usually these days, so this is going to go a bit on the slow side. Week 1 I want to angle for about 2800-2900 calories a day. Week 2 I want to angle for 2700-2800 calories a day. Week three I should be hitting between 2600-2700 calories. And that last week I should be more around 2600 pretty consistently or lower. Going to measure my weight twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday) for tracking purposes, and also my gut measurement once a week. Nothing too crazy. 2) Back to the Grind: Three Non-aikido workouts a week The last month and a half has been not exactly ideal for me in terms of my regularly scheduled life. I was injured, then traveling, then sick, then training for the exam, then sick again. Today marks the first time I've lifted in almost 2 weeks. Prior to that I had lifted only once about two weeks before then. But we are also getting really nice weather now, so I may start rucking again through the woods instead of lifting on Monday and Friday like I normally would. Still aiming for 5-7 aikido classes, but that's been constant for the last 5 years, so I don't exactly see that changing any time soon. 3) Getting Deep: Squat mobility every day Jonathon Mead is one of the Headmasters I met at Camp NF. Awesome guy, and very big on getting people outside and moving and being natural. Very MoveNat-like. He recently posted a Primal Squat mobility guide for free. I've always felt my squat and my depth were the weakest part of my lifts, so I figured I'd sign up and give it a whirl. Goal is to do this every morning of the challenge, probably just before my coffee/while the kettle is heating up. I figure that should give me plenty of time to do the routine and then I get the coffee after the fact as a reward. Mmmm. Coffee. 4) Anti-Hermit: Stop Hermiting as much Okay, doing something super different and challenging for me. My anxiety has been through the roof (shocking, I know). It has mostly impacted my sleeping in terms of insomnia and really obnoxious amounts of sleep to be a functional human. I also am aware that I hermit pretty hard in the best of times. One shocking thing I've noticed is that now and again, I actually like being able to see my friends. I guess I'll credit @Big_Show with the revelation, since this dawned on me while I was having a skype chat with him not long ago. So my goal is to be social and/or have two skype chats/hangouts with people a week. The skype hangouts are pretty low key even for me, and shockingly seem to do a large amount of good for my introvert mental state. Weird. Also I'm not allowed to count going to aikido as being social, unless I actually go out with people afterwards. Driving people home does not count in this regard. So yea. Something simultaneously not crazy AND crazy for me this time around. Imagine that. Doing a challenge properly. Weird.

Hi Nerd Fitness, Well, I suppose it should read, ‘Hello Again NF!’ I left a few years ago, when life threw a few speedballs that had me thrown to the ground, crying, and lamenting the losses of my physical abilities. Most especially, I lost my ability to run. So, no more trail runs and working toward a good 5k time result. I also lost the ability to do Olympic lifts like deadlifts, squats, and presses. With these major changes came the depression and anxiety that kept me in a dark and hopeless place. I gained back 65 of the 96 pounds that I lost during my past challenges, between Feb 2013 and June 2015. I turned 50 years old with a new and worsened set of physical limitations. I have degenerative disc disease which includes: osteoarthritis throughout my spine and SI joints (along with my hands), one bulging disc, and mild to moderate facet disease in my neck, low back, and some in my mid-back spine. I am left with a small ability list. As I’m sure you can imagine ‘complaining’ and ‘giving up’ came easily with these physical changes. I find myself at a crossroads today. I can give up on trying to maintain the positive changes that I’ve been working on for the last year or so. I can continue to rely on ‘woe is me’ and ‘I can’t do ANY of that anymore.’ Or… as I am working on now, thankfully, is attempting to juggle the priorities in my life. I want to be consistent with my: at-home physical therapy routine, cooking at home, limiting sugar junk food intake, and creating art for expression, healing, and sharing. To succeed on my journey, I want to use all the avenues available and known to me. Hence, coming back to Nerd Fitness is essential to my journey. So, Hi NF!! I’m Back!! Cheers, Terinatum

If any of you followed my last challenge, thanks! I haven't lost any weight since then, but I have started weight lifting so I don't expect too for a few months since I am building muscles. This time around I am looking more to dropping inches as a minor goal. My main goal this challenge is to socialize. Which is a big challenge for me as an introvert. I have become more active in our chat room, but I want something more than that. Totally clueless on how to do that. I tried social Apps, even dating Apps with more of a networking feel, I got scared and deleted all my accounts. Maybe I am afraid of judgement. I originally didn't want to socialize until I was at a lower weight, but I decided to take a chance. Lets hope this goes well.....

I'm tossing this in here to get started. Never fear, I will expand upon the concept throughout the thread. LAST CHALLENGE of the year - how did that happen?? It was rollercoaster for me. At the beginning of the year, I had some definite plans. And some indefinite ideas that I thought I would be able to work through during the year as the Hunt for the Mojo. It didn't exactly play out as envisioned. I didn't lose weight -- but I didn't gain weight either. Body composition is about the same. I did one fun run. My online coding job ended up being such a disaster that I quit and ended up working retail. Self-loathing .... and yet another move .... derailed plans to cook nutritious foods. And ultimately, I did not find my mojo. I suspect it is like Dorothy finding her way home. I have the power within me .... I just have to realize it. So, it is time to save what I can of the year and adjust my mental orientation. If it is going to happen .... weight loss, new job, fitness, social life .... it is up to me to make it so. This thread seems to be developing a shoe fetish. So ... goals ...... +3 CON: eat a rainbow daily +3 STA: finish C25K again and do a fun run +3 STR: Chinups @ 115 lbs of assistance (24 reps) +3 DEX: Yoga or mobility work 3 times per week +3 CHA: See someone (other than my husband) every day Some are progress goals and some are endpoint goals. I think the mix helps keep me focused. I'll be running 3 times per week, doing strength training 3 times per week, and doing yoga class three times per week. Since I'm not currently working or taking care of my mom, that's reasonable - the yoga will help with stretching and mobility. Tracking will be done publicly on ...... Tracking spreadsheet of badassdom AND, I am hoping to really participate in the guild mini-challenge this time. I know nearly nothing about Mario (shocking considering my research field), but it looks fun.

HI folks If there are anymore Garmin Connect users out there i have started a Nerd Fitness Group (Steve and Gang, hope I'm not stepping on any toes - Will close if you let me know!). I have set as request to join, so just drop me a PM here to let me know your real life name and ill look out for you.

Name: Aminarra, aka "MegsFitness" Before pic: http://i.imgur.com/WBx6RqI.jpg Before Measurements: Occupation: Corporate Fleet Management Resolution Previous Fitness Experience: 2 years on SparkPeople, 3 years with Weight Loss Warriors, 3 attempts at Weight Watchers, 1 attempt at Herbalife; 4 years high school strength training, 1 obstacle 5k, 10+ regular 5k Races, greatest weight loss 42lbs. Current Level of Fitness: Sedentary. It's been 2 years since I've worked out consistently due to a severe back injury after the Warrior Dash. "End Game" Goal: Working out 4+x/week, Settling at a healthy weight, ideally ~180, but more importantly having functional strength and physical health. Short-term Goal: Begin working out 1-3x/week, at a beginner level to become re-acclimated to the fitness world. Begin reintegrating Paleo Lifestyle into eating plan Plan of Action: Use Nerd Fitness to launch new fitness goals; integrate fitness guild with gamer guild for inspiration. Generate weekly goals in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and personal. Update status on goals at least weekly. Outside of NF: https://megsfitness.wordpress.com/

This challenge is Batman themed, in honor of Batty's 75th. Overarching Goal: Building A Better Bat My continuing and overarching goal for this entire NF journey has been to build a better/more healthy/more fit/whathaveyou version of me. What does that look like? I don't know. There's the image in my head and then there's the more modest and realistic goal - and I'm guessing reality is going to lie somewhere in-between. (vaguely - 15% body fat & guns ala Linda Hamilton in T2) To achieve this goal, I've leveled up my food (mostly and some cycles better than others), I've participated in a couple of muddy obstacle courses (and plan to do more), "run" a "real" 5k (also plan to do more), followed a few fitness-oriented programs, and have made working out a priority 4-5 times a week. I still have a ways to go, but I think I'm on the right track - I just need to keep this trajectory going + add some more specific challenges into the mix. Goal 1: Fitness - aka be capable enough to escape the Joker whenever Always fitness. I like my 4-5 days a week workout schedule, so I'm sticking to that. The Spartan WODs seem to be working well for me so far, so I think I'll continue down that path with yoga worked in on the days I don't want to do the WOD/can't because it's raining or something. This is dangerously close to one of those pick your own adventure plans that I suck so horribly at, but since I've been able to keep it up for a week, maybe I can keep it going? I would also, ideally, like to work in one of my other side goals here - like being able to do an unassisted pull-up - but we will see how drained this kinda intense workout plan makes me. Goal 2: Metrics - aka Sciiiience! Like Poison Ivy? (go with it) Metrics make me happy and they work for me, so I'm sticking with them. As a refresher, my metrics are: 100 grams or under of carbs, 70 grams or over of protein, under 100 grams of fat and around 1500 calories. Water is the recommended by FitBit 64 ounces, and on the weekends I like my step count to be over FitBit’s recommended 10,000. I track food with My Fitness Pal and exercise, sleep and water with the FitBit Flex. Weight and BF are tracked with my FitBit Aria scale. Although I don't eat cow dairy any more, this was too great not to share Moving on. Goal 3: Socials - Like With Superfriends & Shit Ok, so I'm not really talking about social media here, but stick with me I feel the need to force myself to be more social. Mostly because my comfort zone is warm and snuggly … also because I realize that snuggling in my comfort zone doesn't really get me what I want in life. I'm not 100% sure what that is, mind you, but it most likely involves someone paying me for doing something I find more fulfilling than what I'm currently doing. So I should probably speak to humans. In meatspace. Life Side Goal - Get My Wardrobe Dialed-in Like Harley Quinn Wardrobe restructure. I've been really into building a minimalist wardrobe lately and think I might be ready to make the jump. Sites like this and Pinterest are fueling this current obsession. My need to purge crap from my house is also driving this desire. Diet Side Goal - NaNa NaNa NaNa NaNa I'm pretty dialed in here. More 'Batman Does Not Eat' shenanigans here. More Bats And More Bats Starting Measurements Neck: 11.5 inches Under Bust: 29.5 inches Waist: 26.5 inches Hips: 38.5 inches Arm (left): 9.5 inches Thigh (left): 19 inches Body fat (calipers): 19.6% Weight (at wake up): 119.3 lbs

Happy to join the rebellion, I am a bodyweight extremist who is starting medical school in the fall and looking for a place to converse with other fitness freaks. I'm excited to use this forum to connect with others, ask questions, and especially share my two-cents about the physiology of the body, medicine, life, nutrition, and support. One of my biggest curiosities is motivation?!? I am fascinated by what motivates people to start working out, continue working out, and live a healthy life in general. Support is our greatest strength, Jay

Heres my tumblr http://dandyandyillustration.tumblr.com/ (btw I messed up I accidentally put are there is anyone instead of is there anyone)

GOAL 1 Pep in your step Start timing your workout, do workout with purpose/focus DEX-3 STA-2 Reasoning: I tend to get distracted while doing workouts. I start to overanalyze what I'm doing, and will actually just stand there in the middle of the floor thinking. No bueno! I'm going to start timing my workout in an effort to combat this. GOAL 2 Push 10 push ups, with good form STR-3 STA-1 Reasoning: upper body strength is kinda on the low side GOAL 3 …and pull 1 real pull up STR-3 Reasoning: Ditto on push GOAL 4 Keep in touch Talk to 1 person that you’re not going to see today. 3x’s/week. CHA-3 Reasoning: This is probably going to be the hardest one for me. I tend to be very out of sight out of mind with people. Even when I am thinking about someone I'm away from, I don't contact them because I think they'll probably be busy, or I'm busy and I forget. Rules: I have to initiate the conversation, and even if they don't respond, I still get points for trying. Alright, let's do this y'all!

Hello all After reading several of your challenges I feel inspired and infused with enthusiasm, enough to detail my own very first challenge, so here goes! STARTING MEASUREMENTS Age: 24 Height : 178cm/5' 10" Weight: 78.7kg/12st 5lb Body Fat %: 12.8 Jimmies: Unrustled 1) Cycle to work at least 12 times in the 6-week challenge ||Reward: +2 STA|| I've been cycling to work on and off for a couple months now, at 11 miles each way, 78kg weight, and avg speed of 14mph, that's about 500 cal each way, 1000 cal total. A great way to get closer to my fat loss goal! If I can do this more than 12 times in the challenge time I'll award +0.1 STA for each return journey If you want to calculate calories burnt by cycling for yourself, I used http://www.bikemetro.com/calculators/calorie.asp 2) Drop BF% from 12.8% to 12.3% ||Reward: +1 STR, +1 CON|| As my BMI has always been well out of wack due to being extremely physically dense, I figure that BF% is a better way of measuring my fitness! Today's reading was 12.8%, my initial thought was to aim for 12%, but given that I actually really enjoy eating, albeit healthily, I think a drop of 0.5% to 12.3% is more realistic. 3) Attend 4 social events to meet new people (and maintain contact with said people!) ||Reward: +1 CHA, +1 INT|| Inspired by several fellow NFers' social/confidence goals. If my stats are anything to go by this is the most important, while I do have a few amazing friends, sometimes I'm a little shorthanded for local friends to hang with, this is an attempt to remedy this. If any UK Nerds want to help me achieve this goal, I'd be over the moon! 4) Limit confectionery intake to one small portion of dark chocolate a week ||Reward: +1 DEX, +1 WIS|| No explanation needed really! Just a good idea. I'm a bit of a fiend when it comes to chocolate and so demonstrating some self control will help my BF% goal, and demonstrate some real willpower, I'm sure many of you can empathise haha 5) =Super bonus core strength goal!= Be able to hold an L-Seat on the parallel bars for 10 seconds (inspired by Steve's muscle up goal) ||Reward: +2 STR|| I'm lucky enough to have some fairly low steel parallel bars on the roof of my apartment, I use them for knee lifts, lawnmower extensions, archer pushups, and recently straight leg lifts, and tougher than that, the L-Seat position. For me this is particularly tough as I have very heavy muscular legs, so this is a REAL punishment for my core. Currently I can hold it for about 3 seconds if that, so in the interest of having a rock solid core that a truck could drive over, I'm going to aim for 10 seconds of straight legs at 90 degrees! If you've given this a look through and you're thinking "this sounds a lot like my goals!" drop me a reply, it'd be great to share ideas and compare progress! Take it easy!-JakeItEasy