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After a long bout of depression really weighed be down for several years I am ready to commit 100% to getting in the best shape I can be, especially since I am inching toward 30 years old! I would not say the depression is cured but I know getting in shape will finish off the amount that is left.I will go ahead and start this challenge on the 22nd! 1. Walking 30 minutes a day 2. Body stretches every morning and night I have a list of stretches for arms, legs,neck, and body 3. Workout, each morning. I will have 2 separate sets of workouts Life Goal: Cpap use each night, I have really slacked on this so I will do better!

For those that didn't read my intro thread (although I'm sure all of you read it, because I'm such a fabulous writer; in fact, it's probably gone viral while I wasn't looking), here's where I'm at right now. I just turned 53 last month. I'm in recovery from alcohol and opiate addiction, and I take Suboxone (which causes constipation, sorry but that's important to know), along with Lexapro and Remeron for depression, Neurontin for anxiety (400 mg 3x a day), and Prilosec. The Remeron was supposed to be for sleep, but I find that it's not working, and I don't want to rely on a substance to put me to sleep on a daily basis anyway (even if it's non-narcotic), so I'm stopping that this week (gradually). I've had 3 children (sadly, my 7 year old was killed by a drunk driver while riding her bicycle last Labor Day), I'm a freelance writer so I sit at a computer pretty much all day, and I live in a house with 9 other adults. I have a very limited income. That's also important to know. Over the past year that I've been sober, I've gradually gone from 125 lbs. to 194. When I saw that number on the scale, I lost my mind (that was June 1, still haven't found it). I joined Planet Fitness and started going every day, along with restricting my calories. I've suffered from anorexia/bulimia in the past, and I was weighing myself every day, twice a day (once in the morning, once again after the gym), so I put the scale out of sight and decided to focus on how I looked and how I felt instead of the scale numbers. My workouts consisted of at least 60 minutes of cardio. After two weeks, I added the upper, lower and abdominal machines at the gym, alternating days between upper and lower/abs. I'd gotten down to 170 lbs. and was pretty freaking proud of myself, but then I weighed myself the other morning and it said 185. WUT??????? Apparently, you can't eat fatty snacks every night after starving all day and maintain weight loss. I've been getting a lot of conflicting information about what's the best way to go about losing fat and adding muscle. Obviously, since I'm like a delicate little hothouse flower, I don't want to get bulky. But I've gathered from everyone here that the best way to achieve my goal of fat loss, muscle addition and toning, is the do more weight work and maybe a little less cardio. I know that equipment like the weight machines at Planet Fitness are frowned upon in these here parts, but I don't have a clue what I'm doing with free weights and I don't want to hurt myself. My plan right now is to stack heavier weights on all the machines and do fewer reps at higher weight. I'm not cutting out my cardio, but I'm going to alternate the upper and lower/core workouts. Is that the right way to go about this? Should I be working my core every day? I'm struggling to do 10 reps with the majority of the machines stacked at 50-70 lbs., and I've been doing 3 sets of 10 reps on each machine. (Note: On the hip adductor/abductor machines I press 130 lbs.) I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give me. I dropped my cell phone in a pot of water and it's not working right now, so I can't bring video workouts with me to the gym at the moment (that's another $100 I don't have going to my phone company on the 1st of August to get a new phone. lol?) I want to really get moving here, but I'm scared of hurting myself by lifting the weights incorrectly. I already tore my left pectoral muscle just by putting too much weight on the fly machine. Thank you all for being here. This is an amazing site.

hey everyone! i have a question regarding yoga. Yoga is the only form of exercise i absolutely adore and can see myself doing for the longterm, (i also enjoy walking in the mornings and i'm hoping to eventually build up the endurance to start running). I've tried my hand at bodyweight circuits but i'm just personally not a fan of them. I've tried them countless times, but each and every time I feel exhausted both physically and mentally. Yoga, on the other hand, especially when doing vinyasa flows, keeps me calm yet invigorated. I do both vinyasa, hatha and sometimes relaxation. Most of my classes range between 30 to an hour and a half, but on average I usually go for about an hour. My general workout schedule is: vinyasa yoga - mondays, wednesdays, fridays hatha yoga - tuesdays, thursdays, saturdays relaxation yoga - sundays so this brings me to my question: is yoga enough? does it provide a sustainable amount of proper fitness? will yoga, along with a proper/clean diet give me the aesthetic i desire (slim, toned)?

Hello everyone! I'm looking to get abs, and I found 2 videos that seem to contradict each other - may I have your opinions please? Which should I follow? Should I be doing these exercises to get abs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxjKZcOT17E or Should I be working out the rest of my body? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WQNuWwWQX4 It's really confusing! Thank you! xx Stef

Hey all! I'm just starting to get into fitness, and was curious about the workout structure. I did the test to see what workout series I needed to start out with, and I got 3A and 3B. My question is, when I work out do I start with 3A, and when I'm done with that do 3B, and then after that do the boss battle in the same workout? It seems like that's the case, and I'm sorry if this has been asked already, but I looked around and didn't see an explanation. Thanks! OA

Hello everyone! My name is Sora, and I'll be joining the Rangers this time around if you'll have me (previously a scout). The last challenge was my first in a very long time; I rejoined after a long hiatus, and semi-successfully completed my challenge with the scouts. I'm hoping to join the Rangers as I begin to explore different types of workouts. I have historically been a distance runner (cross country and track team in middle and high school). In about a month, I'll be a Freshman at the University of Michigan, and I'm hoping to try out something new. For this challenge, I want to explore different types of workouts and begin to find something I might like to do in the future. For this challenge, I will be centering around a theme from the Anime "Magi: Adventure of Sinbad" which recently finished airing. I'm currently studying abroad in Japan until August 12, so I appreciate the idea of adventure. Goal 1: Workout! Workout 5 days a week, including some mix of running and non-running exercises. One of the main ideas behind what I am trying to accomplish is based in working out. Like Sinbad, I want to try to live like other people do and experience different ways of life. Through this, I hope to find the best fit for me. I will continue running as it's what I know I am capable of. Otherwise, I will try to find new workouts to incorporate. I don't have access to a gym or anything, so body weight workouts will probably be in store. If you have any ideas for what I should try out, please let me know! Goal 2: Try Paleo! Have 6 paleo meals a week (try new recipes or make good choices out). I am currently living on my own and cooking for myself, so I would like to try to learn some new recipes and eat in a new way. I like the philosophy behind paleo, and I've wanted to give it a go for a while. This will be a little difficult due to being in a small apartment in Japan (limited kitchen and living in a country that eats a lot of rice). However, I will give it my best shot! Let me know if there is a recipe I must try! Goal 3: Smile! Brush teeth every morning and night (bonus points for mid day). Smile more. Over the past year I've become less consistent with my oral hygiene due to a wacky schedule. It's time for this to stop. Sinbad is known for his charm, and a big part of that comes from his smile, so I want to have a smile that I am confident in! Life Goal: Study the world around you! Study Japanese 7 days a week (at least 5 days of two hours a day [consisting of grammar, vocabulary, and kanji], and another 2 days of review and practice). I am in Japan, after all, so it's about time I become better at studying Japanese. I've taken a few years of classes, but I have a lot of review that I need to do. In the last challenge I improved, but now it's really time to step it up. Part of Sinbad's travels is him learning about new places and other ways of life, so what better way to do this? Overall Goal: Look Good Naked I'm hoping to cosplay Sinbad at Youmacon (the first week of November). In order to do this character justice, I want to improve my overall figure and become more confident in my appearance. Rather than having a goal like "lose X amount of weight/bf/etc", I'm simply trying to make habits that will result in that on their own. I don't want to worry about the numbers, only the work. I will have this as my overall goal for the next few challenges leading up to November! Thanks for having me, Rangers! I look forward to working among you.

I've recently started making The Five Tibetans a part of my daily routine, and my lower back is loving me for it. This looks pretty easy, and the first exercise looks silly, but don't let it fool you. The twirling in the first Tibetan works your balance, ankle muscles and recovery from dizziness. Good stuff. Also, If you haven't read any of Hugh Howey's stuff I highly recommend the Wool series and Beacon 23, which are available on that giant bookseller website that rhymes with Shazamathon. Anyone know how to embed youtube vids? The Five Tibetan Rites: https://youtu.be/Qq-5v9NbhNM

So I'm 5'1", 109 pounds and have polyarthralgia. Though the doctor suspects it may be rheumatoid arthritis or fibro. Typically my weight fluctuates +/- 3 pounds but I'm not looking to lose any weight. My main concern is preserving and then improving on my joint health and mobility. Then, hopefully improve my muscle tone. I'm not a strong swimmer so water aerobics might be out as part of a potential workout plan. (Though I plan on correcting that.) So... any ideas? Equipment I have 1 pair of 5-lb weights A Roku 1 My own bodyweight

Hey all! I'm looking for one or more workout buddies in the Portland, OR area. I am terrible at staying motivated by myself, but having someone to keep me accountable helps tremendously. Currently I have a gym membership at Crunch Division, and I'm frequently at PCC Cascade. I can meet at the gym or at a park or something in those areas. My fitness level is beginner. I like weightlifting, and don't like but need to work on jogging. I'd really like to train for a 5k or fun run or something. I also have a bike and enjoy hiking and kayaking.

Hi Fellow Nerds, I'm a Level 6 Warrior, and I'm not like I used to be. But I'm also not like I want to be. I'm in the middle on this journey, and this is about my journey from Madness to Sanity. Looking back I see how crazy my views of myself and health really were, and I am slowly replacing that insane thinking with sane thinking. I'm going to be the kind of guy who logs what he eats and how he exercises for 90 days so that I have accountability and encouragement in what I am doing. The BROAD goals for me in these next 90 days (starting July 1st): Level up my Nutrition from NF Diet-style Level 3 to 7 - This is a reasonable goal for me, because I have been eating more and more healthfully over the last 10 months, with the last month here moving to a more NF diet-style. I'm also going to work on logging what I eat on a daily basis and make it available to accountability partners. If you'd like to see what I'm eating, go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/mawnstroe. Level up my Workouts from Level 3 to Level 4 - I'm currently doing NF Level 3 Bodyweight workouts and they are just the right amount of butt-kicking I need, so I think a good goal is to move up to Level 4 BW workouts. I have injured myself in the past too often by aiming too high, only to strain or tear something, so I am going to take the NF Mindset to heart and work on small, long term changes rather than try to change everything at once. As for where I am right now: Mindset: I have my Big Why (posted in my intro post on these forums). I've been hacking my sleep and it's really improved over the last month, I use the Sleep Cycle app for iPhone and Android. I get 6-7 hours of sleep a night and that is plenty. I can't sleep more than 7 (or 8 at the absolute max) no matter how hard I try. I'm just one of those guys who needs less sleep than others. I have accountability with a friend, and this thread is another version of that to widen my circle of friends and accountability partners I have set up some Loot! rewards for myself when I reach my goals, which I will post another time I am working on getting my Batcave customized, though I have the things I'd like to do, I haven't yet implemented them Nutrition: I'm on level 3 of the NF Diet-style, working on high protein breakfasts, eating vegetables with every lunch and dinner, and replacing normal carbohydrate or starch for 10 days out of a 2 week period. I've already conquered not eating pasta, and things like eating broccoli instead of French fries or asparagus instead of white bread, that sort of thing. I am working on limiting my bread consumption as well as carbohydrates in general. My goals right now are keeping carbs under 150 g a day. Workout: I'm currently on Level 3 Bodyweight workouts, and defeated the Widowmaker last week. w00t! I have had 3 weeks of regular workouts without missing one. I walk 10,000-12,000 steps a day and track it using my Misfit. I use "Zombies, Run!" app to make my walking more fun for me, and I like to also go hiking with my kids on weekends. If it's not fun, I'm not going to be doing it for long! I am paying close attention to my knees and shoulders because in the past I usually ended up injuring one or both of them and I am not going to do that this time around. I will pay attention to my body and I will not be afraid to modify my workouts so that I will not miss a workout. So I think that's about it for now. My goal for tomorrow is to report that I did my bodyweight workout today and also to go over my short-term goals and their subsequent Loot! as well as complete any other details I need to fill in. This is me living and leveling up one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace and health. Rawr! - Mawnstroe Level 6 Warrior

Hello! I'm quite new to this forum so excuse me if this is not the right topic to post such a thing. My name is Slavi Todorov and I am 18 years old from Bulgaria. This is my transformation video in which I present my physique progress throughout the years. I have started doing this, because I was bullied at school. Further information about my progress in the video:

Hi, buddies, I want to ask you something. Can anyone help me to build a workout? I need something harder than just push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and lunges. I need to develop explosiveness, to improve my parkour skills, we can even aport something each of us, and build something great.

Hello folks, Let me introduce myself. My name is Daniel, I'm 19 years old and I'm from Mexico. I'm glad to be here because I'd really like to add some kind of excercise to my daily life. I spend most of my time in a chair and I have some diseases because of that. So, it's time to move my ass and and I need your help and advices for that. Therefore, my principal question is simple, Which kind of work out should I do? Bearing in mind that I've never done excercise and I don't want to obtain a sculptural body or an extraordinary super-strenght, I only want to be healthy and feel good about myself, and for that reason I think that I won't need to pay and spend 30 hours in a gym. I've been watching some rutines/excercises/fitness videos on YouTube but I don't know how to start. I hope that you can help me with your experience and your point of view. An apology If my text have grammar mistakes, as I said, English isn't my native language. Regards!

Just want to let everyone know I have started putting up instructional videos on my youtube channel so everyone can benefit from getting detailed information on performing all different types of exercises in the gym. I have put up quite a bit now and will be filming more to put up very soon (today hopefully). They are organized in playlists by body part. If you want go check it out search Hodgeapp on youtube and subscribe. I am also available to answer any training or diet questions for you guys in here if you want so just message me or reply to this post and I'll be happy to offer what I can. Thanks guys!!!!!

Title With it being friends and familly and work.. when do you do it? i'd love to hear your solutions, im a bit lost on this.

I now have a fairly stable workout routine I do 3 times every week on average, and I'd love some criticism on it. I usually work out after a 15+ hour fast, which seems to have increased my performance compared to before. Here's the workout routine: I always do 5 repetitions per set. 1: 5 sets overhead press, 3 minutes rest, some form of squat between sets (split squat at the moment for example), since my gym has no rack. 2: 5 sets pullups, 3 minutes rest, dips between sets 3: 5 sets thigh abductor machine (I'm convinced they'll help my triangle choke in jujitsu!),2 minutes rest, 10 second planks (very high tension) between sets. 4: hangs on the pullup bar for 10-20 long breaths, sets and duration depend on how long I can hold on. Once a week I do deadlifts and on off-days I use a gripper with only my left, weaker hand whenever I feel like it. I just started doing the left-hand only thing because my left hand's grip is significantly weaker than my right, and I hurt myself a bit doing deadlifts and almost dropped the weight. Be ruthless with the criticism! I'm trying to make this as optimal as possible since I have plenty of time for once on vacation.

The summer is the perfect time to really get going and make progress in achieving better health. The main thing that has always held me back is how my body feels, I genetically have lower muscle tone and I believe I have hypothyroidism even though no test has came up positive. I have many symptoms plus all my parents, aunts, and uncles have it. 1. Fasting; no food or drink till 8:00 pm. I will be able to eat something for breakfast by waking up just before 4:00 am. I will log what I eat as well 2. Workout every other night 3. Cpap; wear cpap each night

Every Doll has to begin somewhere. I begin with the three things that every Doll is, strong, peaceful, and wise, but it all begins with routine. For 5 week challenge that is where it all begins, with the development of my routine. Week 1: The beginning-- 25 XP: Wake up before 6:30 am 3/5 work days. -- 10XP Meditate 2/7 days -- 5XP Work out 3/7 days -- 10XP Week 2: Find your Arrow -- 25 XP Wake up before 6:30 am 4/5 work days -- 5XP Meditate 4/7 days --5XP Work out 4/7 days -- 7XP Complete 2 quest from any group -- 8XP Week 3: Never Give up -- 25XP Wake up before 6:30 am 5/5 work days -- 5XP Meditate 5/7 days --5XP Work out 5/7 days -- 7XP Complete 4 quest from any group -- 8XP Week 4: Maintain your Stamina -- 25XP Meditate 20 minutes -- 5XP Maintain Work out days -- 7XP Practice guitar 15 min 2/7 days -- 5 XP Complete any quest from any guild worth 25+ -- 8XP This is what I want my routine to be from now on, so this is where I choose to begin.

I'm 5'5, 120lb (maybe, I could be more or less. I don't own a scale) female, 21 years old. I've always fluctuated between 105-130lbs, and I generally eat pretty healthily. I have 7 autoimmune disorders, and have been diagnosed with 5 chronic pain illnesses. One of my chronic pain illnesses is JIA - idiopathic arthritis. I have been diagnosed with JIA since I was 8 months old. Because of the arthritis, I have permanent joint damage in both elbows, both knees, and my left ankle. I cannot fully extend or bend my elbows and my knees. I've been on prednisone for most of my life, and relied on it whenever I would exercise, because it helped manage swelling and pain. But I cannot take it anymore because it had negative effects. Anyways, I would like to focus on strength training. I've been tracking my calories for the past week and found that I was only getting about 900-1100 calories (I'm an engineer, and we don't usually get much exercise in the office), usually because I forget breakfast, then eat a handful of nuts during the day, and have a bowl of rice for dinner when I get home. So, I've been increasing my calorie count and started trying to remember to eat a lot of protein. I do not want to lose weight, I want to gain muscle and strength. I have been going to the gym for about a month, about 5 times each week. Mostly I do 10 minutes of the elliptical, then stretch, and then I work through the machines for a full body work out on M/W/F, on my off days I usually just go and do 20 minutes on the elliptical and some ab exercises. I can lift from 20lbs-40lbs, but only using the machines. But I have only lost more weight, and I do not feel like I am gaining much muscle at all. There are not a lot of resources available for someone my age with arthritis on how to work out safely. The few resources that are available, do not recommend strength training and usually tell us to "maintain a healthy weight so daily activities aren't difficult." I would like to be capable of much more than just existing! I do not have access to a pool, so those exercises are not possible. Sorry, this post is all over the place. What are the best *beginner* strength training exercises I could do that won't damage my joints further? I would like to eventually work my way up to the dumbbell, but it seems like that's a long way away.

Hello, I've created a small site that generates a Tabata (intervals for 4 minutes) workout (based on the equipment you've selected), and then allows you to execute it with a synchronized timer (+ videos of the different exercises).Perfect for home workout with limited equipment. Check it out:http://tabatagenerator.net/

Character Name: Arcelas Feristorm Race: Nord (Tall fair humanoid) Class: Ranger Day One: Just woke up from a drunken stupor. The creature lying next to me barely looks human let alone female. Well, that barkeep was right, that drink will knock you on your ass. I sneak out of the motel room, leaving my +8 pants and Dagger of Danging. Gods help me, I mutter as I jump out the window.

Hi I'm Dave and I'm looking to carpool to a gym in my town of Lincoln, NE. I also would like a spotter/motivator, and I'm sure I can provide the same. PM me if you think this could work out

Hello. I am new to the site and the entire regular workout thing but I am determined to make it stick this time. I have alternated my workout between Steve's Beginner Body Weight Workout and the 7-minute workout app. I categorized the 7-minute workout app as the interval training and the Beginner Body Weight (BBW) Workout as the strength training. Am I correct in doing this? So far I do it every other day i.e. Sundays - 7-min app, Mondays-BBW, Tuesday - 7-min app, and so on. The first week I did it, I felt tired and had to rest on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Now I am back to repeating the cycle but noticed that my reps became fewer. I'm not sure if I am doing anything wrong? My goal is to lose weight (I am around 140 lbs at 5 feet) and in the process build muscle. Eventually I want to look as good as Staci. We roughly have the same body type from her first photo. Thank you for your advice and help.

"The Road to Success is not a Path you Find, but a Trail you Blaze." -Robert Brault- Tired of falling backward when it's Spring and I should be leaping forward! I see there've been some changes around here since the last Challenge I attempted, so let's see if I can get back into the swing of things with you guys. I'm really glad Adventurer is its own guild now and not just a place for people who don't know what other guild to be in. Adventurers are awesome! I love hiking and climbing so I feel like this is where I belong. Let's start with the basics. I really need to develop some GOOD habits to counter all the bad ones I've got. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to gain altitude this year, and another is to lose weight. How does that translate? Spring Quest - Hike at Lapham Peak and climb to the top! Summer Quest - Participate in the Dirty Girl Mud Run in August! Diet Goal #1 Eat at least two servings of vegetables every day, including weekends! Diet Goal #2 No food after 8 pm, at least 5 days every week. Fitness Goal Workout three times per week. Choices are: -Kettlebell Workout -Bodyweight Workout -Climb at Adventure Rock -Others? Life Goal Eliminate Clutter - Remove 200 things from my home. Since I'm having some troubler with my computer right now, and it's getting late, I'll sort out the grading and what-not tomorrow. But it's good to have a start on this at least.

New Challenge! HUZZAH! I'm breaking it down into a transition program: I'm 20 pounds from my first weight oriented goal, and I haven't decided what I want to do when I get there yet... SO, this challenge will focus on maintaining the good lifestyle changes I've made, while the next challenge will address what I actually decide to do! 1: Ranging. I will walk/jog/hike for an hour at least 6 days a week, with extra credit for a 7th day. The walks have been really good for keeping my head clear, and that's helping me keep the nutritive goals steady! This works out to 25 miles per week, which also helps me stay on track for 100 miles per month, something I've been able to do each month of 2016 so far! 2: Foraging. Continue to maintain daily tracking on My Fitness Pal (citizenkade23 if you wanna be pals!). I am aiming for a daily caloric deficit, and I'm down almost 60 pounds since I got started. The other key component is following the Nutritarian lifestyle, so no processed foods. THIS HAS BEEN A LIFE CHANGER. 3: Fortification. I will work out with a series of body weight exercises at least 3 days a week. This is my least favorite part, but I have been able to drop body fat and build some decent tone, and I know that this is the only way to keep the weight loss healthy. 4: Communion. I need to work on my hobbies, since I enjoy them, right?