Search the Community

Hello friends, old and new. Now that the forums have stopped being a buttface and seem to be letting me log in without resorting to incognito mode, as they have for around two years now, I thought I would try my luck again. This challenge is all about building my roots so I have a strong foundation for who I am/want to be. I've started using a new to me journal which is all about planting seeds (very small projects/steps) instead of planting trees (trying to start a huge project/task) from the beginning. My seeds this challenge will be more about deciding what I want. I am still assuredly an adventurer over all else (my one year projects include geocaching, hiking, trying new things) but I need to decide what that really looks like and set up a foundation that will support it. So, this challenge: 1. 1.8L/3 bottles of water/water with an electrolyte each day. I got hydration tested at work and was found 🌟 moderately dehydrated 🌟 and that is not a good look for a safety person. 😅 2. Move all my furniture to the new rooms and have everything set up with its own place. This might be me trying to plant a tree (a small tree!) but it's doable, there's a reason for it and I will break it down into smaller steps when it is not 4:30am in the morning. 3. Finish writing up my life planning, long term plans, and January project set up in my planner. And that's it! Small (mostly) seeds to help my garden grow. A talent I need to convert to offline gardening. Happy New Year peeps, and I'll be hanging out in your threads soon (again, when it's not 4:30am in the morning).

Right first up, yes I got through the Black Summer fires okay, so far. Wagga Wagga where I live was one of the main evacuation points for the Riverina region of NSW. The nearest fire was 47 km away and headed south east from me. It did start within 10 km from the farm I used to live on. We did cop a lot of smoke over Christmas and New Year's, one of my son's co-workers ended up in hospital due to the smoke messing up her asthma. My kids struggled to breathe, and we had P2 breathing masks available for the asthmatics. Secondly, I disappeared as Tapatalk for some reason stopped connecting to NF, and still won't let me in. My PC crashed and with a bit of depression creeping in from unemployment, forced inactivity, and a year of failed goals that I just didn't get things sorted. PC is working again. Now onto the good news. I do not need surgery on my knee. I do need to build the strength up in my muscles surrounding my knee. I am meant to attend physio, can't afford it, so that isn't happening. This challenge is about getting out and walking again. I will also research exercises that will strengthen my knee, so to speak. My weight ballooned out over the past few months and I am now 135.1 kilograms or 297.8 pounds. Food is hard, minimal money, sucks. Bluntly I am living so far below the poverty line here in Australia that I would have to hijack a QANTAS plane to even reach it. Odds of getting a job are slim with 200 applications for every job that is available. Employers here are using keyword searches to test resumes against. If you don't have the right keyword, your application doesn't even get looked at. This challenge's goals: 1, Walking Everyday 2. Start strengthening my leg muscles to support my knee and ankle better. 3. Try to move forward from this position of poverty.

Hello! I am joining the assassins for the next challenge as I am focusing on body weight work. Now let me start off by saying i am a beginner. In fact, I am lower than a beginner. I had a rough pregnancy that i couldn't exercise at all during. Everything (especially my core!) has suffered. However after being diagnosed with coeliacs I am determined not to get osteoporosis so time to stress those bones and muscles! STATS Mother of 2, wife of 1 Shift working nurse 5 elevated pushups 10 lunges (5 each leg) 20 dumbell rows with 3kg 20 squats (about the only exercise i get with my kids ha ha) 10 sec plank PLAN Meal Plan: Every week have a plan and have shopped for it by the beginning of the week Beginners Body Weight Routine: 3 times a week Yoga 3 times a week Do something I enjoy every day (gardening, sewing, knitting, play piano) Simple but effective! I found a place in my town that does aerial hoop and silks classes I wanna try out so maybe as a treat if I do well this challenge?

My parents are moving to Germany in a few weeks, and as this will be my first winter holiday without them, I have decided to pack up and celebrate what an Australian backpacker informed me was called an Orphan's Christmas and getting out of the country for two weeks (the other option is going to stay with my brother and his in-laws, but since I don't really know them... I don't want to). My issue is tickets. I know there are lots of travel hacking websites and tips out there... but honestly, they're not super helpful (throw too much information at me at once, especially numbers and financing and percentages and my brain shuts down), and based on my credit cards, I don't think I'll qualify for international flight anytime soon. I'm looking for relatively cheap tickets... and I know that I need to buy soon because the window is closing. Any advice on places to check out? I've seen a few options - kayak is my go-to, but I've also been checking out various third party websites, google flights, and skyscanner, as well as going to airlines on their own. My question - does anybody have any other advice or resources? I'm looking for better days to buy tickets, any super great third party websites, any amazing airlines based in Australia, ways to contact people with excess miles on their account, and any other strategies that people use that have been successful. Any advice helps. Thank you all so much!

Hi all, Only just signed up 2 weeks ago and just got to the 'Build Your Dream Team' Quest, which means I have to start this Battle Log, or as I have dubbed it, the 'War Journal', Punisher style. Here is my Big Why, which I posted on the Facebook Group Page last week... ------ MY BIG “WHY” Hi everyone, just joined up. 40 year old from Brisbane, Australia. Glad to be here, finally. I was originally going to post an extensive list of ‘why’s’, something I had scribbled down over a year ago, but have never put it anywhere public. But this last weekend (and what prompted me to sign up to The Academy), was something as simple as stepping on the scales on the weekend. 127kg. One. Hundred. And twenty-seven. Hell, no. I’ve been flirting with fitness for 5 years now. Going to the gym a few times a week, eating well for three days, then sabotaging myself midweek, only to continue the cycle. These cycles are punctuated by 2 week stints of ‘can’t be bothered’ or ‘I’ll get healthy next week’. As an Australian, my biggest weakness is beer. Followed by the chips and snacks that I consume whilst drinking it. I’m not an alcoholic, I can go several days without wanting a beer, then BAM, smash 10 beers in one night, along with 2 packets of chips for good measure. Sabotaged for the week, I don’t eat clean or train again until the following Monday… a fresh start. Again. Again. This stop start approach has kept me hovering between 117-123kg, (280lb, for my USA friends) something I seemed to accept as my new norm. Last Saturday, I realized that I’d been turning into a slob, wearing only jeans and tee shorts for most of the week. I had a function to attend on Saturday, went to get into some ‘skinny’ jeans and a dress shirt. I was physically sweating by the time I completed this task. Hell, no. My big why, is that I am no longer happy with the man I have become. Just turned 40, I have to make a decision if this is who I will remain for the second half of my life, or become a better version of myself. I believe that The Academy, and the support of people like your good selves, will help me achieve the first option. PS. Here is the original list… - High blood pressure - I have Sleep Apnea and can’t sleep in the same bed as wife without inhaling her (even my daughters ask me ‘Daddy can you put your machine on?’). - People keep saying I look like Seth Rogan - I worry that I am setting a bad example to the kids. I’m worried that secretly, they are ashamed of me. - I’m sick of feeling uncomfortable in clothes. I am currently dressing like a slob because it’s more ‘comfortable’. This is creeping on to other areas of my life and making me lazy. - I don’t feel like I am attractive to my wife anymore - My back and other joints (knees) are getting sore in more places - I want to be able to do more stuff with the kids - People keep saying I look like Seth Rogan - I’ve had no less than 10 clients remark ‘geez, you’ve put on weight’ over the past 12 months. I’m sick of it. ------ Looking forward to sharing my battle with you all. Sincerely Brad aka Captain Fighting Machine.

I am totally stealing this from another lovely Nerd (Hi Leimanu) and wandering from the usual tracking, lifting BS, that have been in my Challenges forever. This is just for fun! Still logging workouts and other warblings and generally hanging out in the Warriors.

First NF Sydney meetup of 2015: Venue: Burger Project, World Square, 644 George St, Sydney Date: 19th Feb 2015 Time: 6.30pm Everyone welcome, especially those who haven't been to a meetup before. Expect laid back chat and a welcoming atmosphere Confirmed so far: @barefootdawsy @yuen @endor

Who am I? I'm 24, female, living in Melbourne, Australia and studying for a BA while working part time. I've tried to get into a habit of fitness and healthy eating many times but I always seem to fall off the wagon. So right now I'm focussing on doing fewer things but doing them really well. THING ONE: LIFTING I have the old Rebel Strength workout ebook and I'm working through the Barbell Battalion, rank 1. I'm focussing on hitting my workouts every time, taking time for warming up and cooling down, and great form while lifting. That's all I'm focussing on right now. Everything else will come with time.

G'day! A West-Aussie here, and massive metal-head (I endeavour to name each of my challenges after a metal band) and most certainly a nerd. I recently finished my Bachelor of Games Design and am looking forward to paving a career in video game development. I do love my movies (every sort) and my books (I will admit I haven't and don't read alot, but it is one of the things that I really wish I did) and table-top gaming is a big favourite of mine. I have lost about 20kg(~45lbs) over the last year, and am ultimately looking to lose that amount again over the next year, which is certainly negotiable as I would like to put some more muscle on, which would offset some of that weight. I discovered this wonderful community a couple of years ago, thanks to my sister Rachy87. Last year I was rather absent from the community, but I still pushed myself ahead and lost that 20kg. This year I want to be more involved, more focused and go that extra distance. At the age of 25 now, I have weight to lose and muscle to gain. These are my current goals and aim at getting my health in check. Later down the road I will look to strength, speed and aesthetic goals, but health is more important at the moment. I am still in Act I right now! Current Stats: H: 182cm (6"0') W: 90kg (200lbs) (I always do my best to include conversions, because I know that there are many fellow Rebels that are used to different units, but always keep in mind that these are rough conversions I do mentally) I bought a FitBit last year, and it's tracking certainly held me accountable for what I was doing, and as a gamer I was determined to keep getting better and earning those badges! I will incorporate my FitBit and it's tracking into my goals where appropriate and possible. Right now I have back issues, this is related to my pelvis tilt/spine curvature, and am fixing this with regular visits to the physio. I have mostly sorted this now, but I am still in pain everyday. The reason I mention this is because it will effect my goals and how I go about achieving them. Health is the priority, so goals will be down-tuned as necessitated. Main Quest: A Funeral Mist It feels as though years ago I cast off on a journey to escape Sodom, pass through the badlands and descend into the caverns of hell and further onwards to the cesspools of the deepest corners of Hell. A hard earned and tiresome journey it felt. And yet it was just my mind casting off and dreaming about it. As of late I have been doing some real travelling, been truly trying hard and have been looking to escape these walls. A funeral mist now lays upon those thoughts of escape, as I now realise the true journey ahead of me. My mind reborn into the present, I seek to pave the way out of here, and truly pass over the badlands, this time not some fantasy or dream. My pained back being the most likely source of contention out of here, an injury too easily sustained in this madhouse we call Sodom. But still taking the reigns for myself and trying my hand at a better existence is a true testament to my will and conviction. I think back to those dreams of the caverns and what felt like a dragon's force pushing me forward, this is what keeps me going and looking for a way out of here. This place is mayhem and I seek to escape it soon. I just need to get my footing and I will be out of here... Main Quest Objective Alpha: A Brick in the Wall I must journey through this city and find any gap in the walls, any lapse in the guard, any possible way out of here. Something I can aim for to escape. I will walk up and down these walls until I find it. Walking is the main focus of this goal. Keeping my fitness up while my back is injured is hard, but walking is good for it, and it helped me lose 20kg already. I can't walk for long periods of time, but if I aim to lots of shorter periods each day I can get there. I feel it might become complicated trying to track this intricately as I need to start and stop walking and sitting so much at the moment. So I think aiming for a step count on the FitBit is appropriate here. A: 9,000+ Average steps a day over the challenge period - the recommendation is 10,000 but I don't want to be needlessly pushing myself if it will make my back worse B: 7,000-8,999 Average steps a day - 7k is my current daily goal for my fit bit, so if I get it to go off every day, I know I will get a B on this one for sure C: 5,000-6,999 Average steps a day D: 3,500-4,999 Average steps a day - my current daily average is just below 3.5k, and I consider a D a less than average grade, so I feel this suits for making at least a small improvement F: <3,500 Average steps a day - this means I am actively doing less than I am now, which is the opposite of progress! Main Quest Objective Beta: Not the Rack My back causes me great pain throughout the days of searching for a way out, but I quarrel not, for it is not as though I had to suffer the rack, like many that live here. Although part of me wonders if a short time on it might just fix the issue, without going too extreme of course. As has been, and will continue to be, said, my back is causing me problems at the moment, and caused stagnation in my weight loss and fitness gain. It is under control and I have plenty of exercises to help with the pain, and to also help the problem. I am rather particular about making sure I get them done, but I am still a bit lax, and with going for a job interview today, there is a greater chance of me being distracted from doing them. So I want to spend this time focusing on getting all the exercises done every day. A: Don't miss a single day for my exercises AND do at least 2x the reps for each exercise - doing extra reps has been encouraged, and I generally do try to at least twice as much, so I feel confident about this one B: Don't miss more than 1 day over the whole challenge C: Don't miss any days during 3 or more weeks of the challenge (i.e. if I miss a single day, once a week for 3 of the weeks, it will count as a C) D: At least one full week, and no more than a total of 7 days missed over the whole challenge F: Anything outside of the D requirements Main Quest Objective Gamma: The Oncoming Thirst If there is one thing I know of the badlands, especially from my dreams before the funeral mist of my dream-self, is that it is hot and dry, and little water can be found out there. I must stock up if I am to travel to the obsidian gates. Dying of dehydration is a real threat, and a feeble way to go when I am trying so hard to escape this place. I have been getting lax in my water consumption, and in this Aussie heat you really notice it. I need to get back to a proper daily routine of drinking water, I won't lie you do feel better when you keep your fluids up (and when they aren't sugary fluids!). A: Average of 2.5L a day over this challenge - it is January and this is WA and I am expecting to get back into a fitness routine... ...if anything this may even be a bit low, but I think it foolish to consume too much B: Average of 2.1L a day C: Average of 1.8L a day - not quite to daily recommended average of 8 glasses, but a massive improvement and undoubtedly a great benchmark D: Average of 1.5L a day F: 3 or more days with less than 0.5L of water - this can fail me from an A. The point of this quest is consistency and habit, not just drinking big to make up the average Life Quest Objective: Knowledge is Power, Talk is Cheap If I am ever to get out of this place I am going to need the eyes and ears of others. But I will also need to ensure I know who I can talk to and when I can talk to them. I need everyone's knowledge, and to get that, conspicuously or not, I must talk to them. The more I chat, the more I will learn, and the better my chance at making it out of here. The more I learn about outside will be important too. I need to know what is really out there, and how to overcome what I find. Confidence is something I have always struggled with, and the desire to entire a career such as game development, especially as an indie developer, means I need to network. To network I need to talk. So I think for this challenge this will be my life goal. Communication, especially with people I don't know, don't know well, or haven't communicated with in a long time. Even it is a small amount, or even an un-reciprocated attempt on my behalf, it is something and it will work towards my confidence and ability to network. A: Small talk with someone I normally wouldn't 4+ times a week, every week B: Small talk with someone I normally wouldn't on average 2+ times a week C: Small talk with someone I normally wouldn't on average once a week D: Small talk with someone I normally wouldn't at least twice over the whole challenge F: One person over the whole challenge might be one person that I choose because I know they won't engage or some other excuse, 2 or more (for a D) means I am at least trying Time to start the real journey! The last 4 chapters were just a dream, not comes the real deal. Thanks for reading, thanks for any replies you leave, and good luck to all of you taking on challenges yourself! Cheers, -Radact

This is my 14th challenge here at Nerd Fitness. You would think I'd have it all together by now and not need to continue to plan my life around every 6 week period of the year. However I know damn well that the moment I stop gamifying my life by participating in these challenges will be the moment I drop everything and revert back to the fast-food loving, couch-surfing lump of flesh I was nearly two years ago. Quick recap for those of you who haven't seen me around - I am a 24 year old human of the female variety living on the southern coast of Western Australia (that's in Australia!) working in hospitality in a locally owned small cafe in the "city" of Albany. I am currently stumbling my way through minimum skills training for Roller Derby, which despite being pidgeon-holed my entire life as the unfit & uncoordinated child of my family, am loving to death! Therefore any of my fitness and nutrition decisions are currently revolving around whether or not it will benefit my skating career. It is giving me something to hold onto for motivation when I have none left and need to decide on things like what to eat or whether to stay up all night playing The Sims. SO! Without Further Ado, Challenge Number 14 shall proceed as follows; Teagarden is Subtle, Like a Brick. or will be, once she learns how to hit people on wheels! Main Goal Enjoy Every Day of 2015 Current Goals: Become combat-ready for roller derby Become good enough to be an awesome jammer (get faster, hit stronger) Keep feeling healthy and happy like I have been the last 3 months Prepare for the next period of my adult life (purchasing a house!) Quest #1 - Do Physio-prescribed exercises daily (6 / 14) Getting stronger entirely will have to wait until I can rehab my knee to be completely trustworthy and so I can skate again. Quest #2 - Keep Breathing (2 / 6) Do 1 HIIT session every week. My lungs need to get used to hard and fast movement in short bursts, because that's mostly what ends up happening while I'm skating. I would do more then one session but as I'm already skating 5 hours a week for derby training I can't afford to burn myself out. Bonus points for cycling daily to rehab my bung knee. Quest #3 - Feed the Demon (9.5 / 42) Eat 140g 100g of protein daily. no point working out if I am just burning any muscle away instead of building it up onto my skeleton. I am not the biggest or the fastest skater so I need to work harder to make my presence known, and to do this I need to eat the right stuff! like, chicken, and steak. And protein shakes. Quest #4 - Farm the Gold ($625 / $1,500) Drop $250 into my savings weekly. I have a budget written out which takes into account the rent / mortgage payments I don't currently pay (because we rent from my mother-in-law and I pay all the bills while Mr. Tea pays the rent; it works out even in terms of paying our living expenses) but $250 is almost what I will be paying once we buy our house and start having to pay it off. If I can put $250 into my savings every week until April (when the tenant moves out of the house we intend to buy) I should have around $30,000 I can use as a deposit to make our overall home-loan smaller. I've also slacked on this a bit lately and this last week especially has seen me haemorrhaging money as all my objects reach their used-by dates. Bonus Quest - Save money to update items EDIT 19/11/2015: Donate extra money to worthy causes that you would otherwise waste on inanimate objects $50 donated so far. Ranger's Gonna Ranger: Star Wars Mini Challenge! Week 1, General Movement: Cycle 30kms (30 / 30) - complete! Week 2, Stealth and Tracking: Sneak around the bird watching walk, sneak up on birds (0 / 1) failed due to sickness Week 3, Rangerly Hobbies: Find a Geocache! (3 / 1) complete Week 4, Rangerly Showcase: create food using leftovers, photograph Week 5, Week 6.

Placeholder. Teagarden's 13th Challenge Stubborn Like a Rock Current Quests Pass Fresh Meat Beat the 27/5 Motivation Spring & summer's arrival More Strength = Better Derby More Protein = More Strength Less Sugar = More Energy to Exercise (1) Nutrition Eat my bodyweight in Protein. Or, just about. 140g a day should do the trick (0.9g*my bodyweight in lbs) Cut 1tsp of sugar out of somewhere in my life every week. Use 1 day a week to prep food to make life easier. (2) Mind Meditate. Whenever, just do it. xD Post a gratitude / reflection weekly on the past week or whatever needs reflecting on. (3) Fitness Go to all mandatory derby training sessions (Mon, Wed) 1 HIIT session or 30min run p/week (Between derby sessions, skating sessions also count) 1 Body Weight routine p/week (Thurs/Fri) 1 Yoga session p/week (Thurs/Fri, can be done w BW session) I'm feeling very calm about this challenge; like I know I can achieve these things and I have reason to do all the things planned; I just need to prove to myself how consistent I can be.

Hi all! I'm an Aussie living in NZ and new to the forums. Ive been a NF fan for quite some time, but in finding out about the 6 week challenges have decided to dig a little deeper in the hopes that I can chat to others and stay motivated. My current goals to complete by the end of the year is to be able to do at least 1 chin up, and decrease my 10k time. So please say hi and let me know if you've got similar goals

Introduction: Hi I am Moss and this is my first challenge. I weigh about 105 kg and am at about 22-25% body fat (I still haven't gotten the calipers out!). I've been steadily losing weight and getting fitter for the past 16 months but there is a long way to go. I currently run about 3-4 km twice a week with a running buddy and from December to the beginning of March I was doing weights regularly at home. I've been getting the blog updates from Nerd Fitness for a while and decided to join this six week challenge because we've just moved house and it is the best time to start forming some new habits. I live in Sydney, Australia. Main Quest: Get down to 15% body fat by the end of the year. Quest 1: Ween myself off coffee. When I'm off caffeine I get much better sleep and actually need an hour less sleep a night. Better sleep is important for health, and a bit less sleep means there is more time to get stuff done! I'm currently drinking 4-7 shots (yes shots) of coffee a day. My aim is to drop it by 2 cups a day per week and then maintain no coffee for the last couple of weeks of the challenge. Quest 2: Increase my running from 2 to 3 times per week and increase the distance from 3.5km per run to 5km per run. Quest 3: Switch back to the Perfect Health Diet which I was following in October and November last year (it's similar to the paleo diet). I was losing a kilo a week, feeling better and getting better sleep. I'm picking one item a week to drop out of my diet over the six weeks. I'm hoping that the increased exercise and being more mindful on my diet will allow me to lose 2% body fat over the 6 weeks. Life Quest: I want to get one scientific paper written and submitted to a scientific journal for peer review before the end of the 6 weeks. That nerdy enough for this forum ? Motivation: I'm over 35 years old and I have 2 kids. I want to be in good shape so I have the energy I need to be a good Dad and a good husband and to provide a good example of being healthy to my kids.

Hey, I'm 22, I live in Melbourne, Australia and I'm trying to get fit and look good naked. I want to run a marathon by the end of next year, but my short term goals are to sleep better and feel better in my skin, along with hopefully getting to a size eight jeans without muffin tops. What can I say, I like flat tummies. I'm currently moving my diet towards paleo. I had been vegetarian for 8.5 years and I found that I was letting myself eat all this unhealthy food because it was vegetarian, and not taking charge of what I ate. I ate what I wanted, whenever I wanted. I want to change that. I've tried restricting calories, I've run a 14 km fun run, I've tried bodyweight and hot yoga and nothing seems to stick. I love the six week challenges but I always drop out halfway. I need a slow, long term healthy lifestyle change. I'm counting on you guys to help me out.

Hi guys, Time for our 3rd meetup (this year) in beautiful Sydney, Australia, home of many more meetups than Melbourne ever manage Everyone is welcome to attend. Date: Tuesday 12th August Time: 6:30pm Venue: Hurricane's Grill, Darling Harbor Confirmed so far: Endor, Yuen, BarefootDawsy Witness the marvel of our very own HufflePuff Warrior @Yuen eating a whole cow and 2 sets of pork ribs! Witness the majesty of the fabled scout leader @BarefootDawsy running away from a plate of prawns in sheer terror But most of all come and enjoy some good food and the company of fellow Nerds for an evening. Hope to see you there. @suguru

Howdy! Big metalhead here (which is where I get the inspiration for my challenge titles from \m/ ), hailing from West-'straya I am currently studying games design and looking for a career in the video game industry. Having gone from an extremely active childhood, to an extremely chillaxed adulthood, it would be a lie if I didn't say I have some weight to lose. I carry most of it in my rum-belly, which as far as I know, is one of the unhealthiest ways to carry weight. I used to play footy (AFL) and spent a little bit of time in the gym focusing on general strength. Having reached the ripe age of 24 exactly one week ago, my focus is on getting my health back in check, rather than purely cosmetic goals. With a good 20 odd kilos to lose, this is really the prime focus for me. Drop the weight and get fit, as these are two very different things, and I understand that, but they are both important to be as healthy as possible. I would like to focus on my strength at the same time, as it is something I would like to get back, after years of pushing keys rather than weights. Current Stats: H: 6'00" W: 105kg BF: ~33% MAIN QUEST: RISE SON OF SODOM Chapter 4: Mayhem within the Trinity I know very little of the time I have spent here of late. Hellspawn overwhelmed me again, and left me here to rot. I still remember travelling from Sodom, through the outlands and battling my way down the tunnels into the outer cesspools of Hell. The large obsidian gates were a sight to see and that memory certainly has not faded from my mind. But the long string of battles and skirmishes I had as I descended those tunnels has blurred into one blurred, sprawling mess. I let the rabble of this shadowed halls get the best of me, but I have pulled a second wind and must dust myself off, find some food, something to drink, a way to traverse this unlit tunnels and ultimately reach those cesspools. My journey was staggered and pulled to a halt, but it has not come to an end. Their voices linger against these barren walls, and their stories lay locked within the brimstone itself. From what I have gathered there is a trio of Hellspawn rabble that call themselves the Trinity. They keep the weaker beasts of these tunnels in line. It sounds as though they control them with an iron fist and an image of strength, inciting fear within those scattered out here. However there is another story that seems to line these walls. It sounds as though the three of them have gotten into squabbles over who should look after what artifacts, loot, food and who gets first go at unsuspecting wanderers of this place. These stories are old and newer stories seem to layer on slower and slower. When they do they tell a tale of increased decay and hate between the Trinity, and although they still reign over this place, some of the other rabble are whispering rumours of a desire to try and over-throw them. I see no need to get involved with the politics of the bottom feeders, but maybe taking out the trio will give me a better chance at escaping this place and reaching those outer cesspools. Maps, artifacts, tools and less resistance would all be beneficial to me now, weak and on the back foot. I fell off the trail with the last challenge and I didn't participate in 3 challenges since then (I think it was 3...). I do want to change my lifestyle and get my health in check. I want to continue to be involved in the NF community. I apologise for my absence from NF, and I hope to get back into the rhythm of things again with this challenge. I have really put myself on the back foot since I stopped my participation with the NF community and I am looking forward to getting back on the road to a healthier future. I haven't been focusing on or maintaining my fitness, so this challenge I will go back to basics and really try to get into real, hard-set habits. Food and water consumption, cardio workouts, weights workouts and trying to reduce my weight will be the main focus here and now. The reason behind including the word trinity in the title for this quest is because I want to focus on setting up the foundations to getting healthy and maintaining habits, and I want to represent this by being successful and even just partaking in 3 consecutive 6 week challenges and building them on top of one another. A want to focus on a more long term attempt, and I think 3 is a good number to do this. MAIN QUEST OBJECTIVE KAPPA: FEAST ON THE CADAVERS OF THE WEAK I am weak, disoriented and running off the back foot. I need to eat and drink, and the only way to do that in these desolate halls of barren brimstone is kill the Hellspawn and to feed off them. Their blood will restore the power I have lost over these passed... However long it has been. I must find and defeat at least a couple of these rabble in order to restore myself to health and carry on with my journey. If I am to take on any of the Trinity, I will need my strength and power at full force. Watching what I eat and drink is, I think, one of the most integral things in getting healthy. I have been good ever since I first started here on NF, and have almost completely foregone with the large consumption of energy drinks I once used to consume. However I could wrangle in my consumption a bit more. Food is the most important aspect here, and it is definitely something I could improve on. I don't frequently eat excessive amounts of food, or unnecessarily unhealthy foods, but I do every now and again, and if I can get this in line I should be able to make things easier in the losing of weight department. I also feel that observing, monitoring and reflecting on everything I intake is good way to understand myself, my body, my habits and my health. -Every day I will give myself a grade out of 5 for how healthy and appropriately portioned the meals are that I have. -Every day I will give myself a grade out of 5 for how much water I have consumed, offset by any unhealthy beverages I have during the day -Every week I will give myself a grade out of 15 for how appropriately timed my meals were. This is to do with the fact that I often (97-99% of the time) skip breakfast altogether and/or sometimes have a late lunch. This gives me a score out of 500 (510 to be exact), which is a good way to gauge, monitor and reflect on how I am eating and drinking every day. A: 425+ (4.2/5 every day for both water and meals and 12.0/15 every week for meal timing as a minimum to get this grade) B: 385+ C: 350+ (3.4/5 every day and 10.8 weekly as a minimum) D: 290+ F: <290 (2.8/5 every day and 9.2 weekly or less is a fail) Water Scoring: 1.0L = 0; 2.0L = 5; :. Every 1/5 is equal to 200ml over 1 litre. Probably the simplest scoring for my water intake I have done so far, and I like it Soft drinks will deduct from my score of water by 50% of the amount I consume, i.e. a 375ml can of coke would reduce that days score by ~200ml. This is because I personally feel that these sorts of drinks are quite dehydrating and I should have a least 1 glass of water just to counteract them. Energy drinks will deduct at a rate of 100%. So a 500ml can would reduce the daily score by 500ml, as the caffeine in this is much more dehydrating. Alcoholic beverages will be the same as energy drinks. I don't have a lot of these beverages so it isn't going to be a hard thing to monitor and score and everything like that. I have gotten into the habit when I am at gigs, where I have 2 rums then 2 waters, 2 rums then 2 waters, etc etc, throughout the night. So, as long as I stay with that (which I should now, it is a habit I have been building for probably a year now), I can just disregard the alcohol and water from any gig night. This may sound like it will complicate things, but as I said, softies and energy drinks aren't things that I have often, and given that I will just ignore what I drink at gigs, there will be very little adjustments I will have to make along the way. MAIN QUEST OBJECTIVE LAMBDA: RACING THE SHADOWS These tunnels are blacker than I remember. Being disoriented certainly doesn't help either. The blast of fire through the tunnels cast strange shadows and create illusions on every turn. The stories that have filtered into these walls can only lead me so far, and describe where I might find one of the trinity, however to get out of here and bridge the gaps I will have to follow the light of the burning wreaths and race the shadows that follow them. Cardio. It is important and I don't partake in this sort of exercise anywhere near enough. I am about to go back to uni, however I maybe changing to a different campus soon, so I have to develop habits outside of the walks I would take to and from the train station. My previous challenge saw me try and get out and go jogging. Ultimately I didn't, and so I think I will try and really focus on this one again, but with a bit more emphasis. This is all an effort to focus on health, not about how I feel about jogging. A: 3+ hours of jogging AND 6+ hours of walking AND 1+ hours of other cardio exercising (e.g. exercise bike) AND 2+ dedicated exercises every week B: 2+ hours of jogging AND 4.75+ hours of walking AND 30+ minutes of other cardio exercising AND at least 1 dedicated exercise every week C: 1+ minutes of jogging AND 3.25+ hours of walking AND 10+ minutes of other cardio exercising every week D: 15+ minutes of jogging AND 2+ hours of walking every week F: Anything less than D. Any workouts that I do with Nim or Rachy will boost my grade up for that week. The aim is to drop down the grades as I fail rather than build them up and cut them off the second I fail. I feel that that would be conducive to a less motivating environment and restrict overall success. MAIN QUEST OBJECTIVE MU: MINI-BOSS BATTLE 1: FIGHT THE FIRST OF THE TRINITY If I am to escape these wretched tunnels I must find the Trinity, defeat them and use whatever benefits I can get from doing so to get out of here. Those outer cesspools are within reach, but I need the strength to get out of here. Fighting and defeating the first of the Trinity will take all my strength, hopefully I have enough, but it will also allow me to build it up too. This is going to be one tough battle. Strength is something that will help me on my way to get healthy, and I want to build it up again anyway. I feel that if I can get into a routine with both cardio and weight exercies then I can form a synergy and help myself out in that respect. A: 9+ weights workouts every fortnight (+/- 1) B: 7+ weights workouts every fortnight (+/- 1) C: 6+ weights workouts every fortnight (+/- 2) D: 4+ weights workouts every fortnight (+/- 2) F: Failing a D once and gaining a D once or worse. Much like the cardio, this will be a matter of downgrading my grades for each fortnight I don't do as well, rather than cutting off all better grades as a result of an early failure, which won't motivate me to get out there and push harder. LIFE QUEST OBJECTIVE: SHED THE NEEDLESS DEBRIS Ancient halls of brimstone and blackened stone decays and crumbles over time. The debris litters the ground in the tunnels down here and slowly the dust lifts and falls on me, as I rub against a wall it crumbles a little bit on to me and it ultimately collects up a decent amount of mass. This added baggage drags me down and makes progression slower. I need to clean my self, dust away the debris, traverse more efficiently and try and reduce the weight I am carrying around with me. I want to keep this challenge simple and I want to focus on trying to lose weight. So this life quest is about a personal health milestone. For a few months now I have been hovering around 104-106kgs while I have sort of trying to watch what I consume. Which is a decrease since I started here on NF (109 was where I was at the start). So my goal here is to get out of the triple digits and into the doubles. Realistic and healthy weight loss is considered to be between about 0.5 and 1.5 kilos a week. So 6 weeks at 5 kilos means about 0.85kgs a week, which is within that range. So I think it is doable! The challenges are all about having a go, so I shall! A: <99kgs B: <=100kgs C: <101.5 kgs D: <103.5 kgs F: 103.5+ kgs Reasonable, possible and a good foundation, let's hope I can do it! Thank you so much for taking the time and reading this, it means that you are supporting me and it really means alot, thankyou

Hi everyone, time for an overdue meetup in Sydney! It's open to anyone and I encourage you to come along and meet some fellow NF'ers, we're friendly folks Venue: Red Oak Boutique Beer Cafe, 201 Clarence Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000 Date: Thursday 5th June Time: From 6:30pm Cheers Dominic Attending: @Endor @barefootdawsy @Yuen

Hey everyone, I'm a new one here who was hoping to get a lot fitter and better in a good way. I'm about 5'11 and 92 kg (about 200lbs) and wanted to get healthier and fitter after not playing sport and gaining weight after starting uni. I'm pretty new to some aspects of fitness after playing football (AFL) for about 7 years and having a couple years off. I've just started doing some bodyweight circuits due to local gyms here being pretty expensive (though hoping to get signed to one some time), I've written up a small circuit that I'm doing and was hoping to get some tips for it (will post in another thread) Always happy for critique and to learn some tips and tricks along the way. Cheers, RobNuts

Time for another NF meetup in sunny Sydney! Date: Tuesday 4th March 2014 Time: 6pm drinks for 7pm dinner Venue: Belgian Bier Cafe, 135 Harrington St, The Rocks NSW 2000...looks like it rebranded, anyway this is the one: http://www.heritageb...taurant.com.au/ Attending: Dominic BarefootDawsy Yuen viciousred Suguru

Hey guys, I'm 26 years old from Australia (a big shout out to all fellow Aussies on NF!) I am an avid listener of Jonathan Bailor's 'Smarter Science of Slim' podcast and heard Steve Kamb on one of the many bonus podcasts on the show and thought that I should check out NF and see what it's all about - and I like what I see, so here I am! Over the course of last year, as you could probably tell from me listening to Smarter Science of Slim, I ate (and am continuing to eat) paleo whenever I can - lost 5-8kgs just from eating right, went down 1-2 dress sizes and I feel quite good with myself - so much so, I went to the US over my Dec-January holiday break and splashed out on a new wardobe! (And so good value too!) This year, I am focusing on going to the gym, building some muscle and reduce my body fat percentage. I will need some advice on the best exercises/routines to do so I hope that I have come to the right place! I also do soccer refereeing during the winter season and want to get much fitter for it (imagine doing 3-4 games, literally non-stop on a Saturday morning!) so I am looking forward to getting some tips on both endurance running AND sprinting. That's all from me. Cheers

G'day folks, time for our second Sydney meetup, a time of celebration as it's the holiday season and we've only a few challenge weeks of the year left. Sadly also a time of commiseration as we will be saying a fond farewell to our very own Swedish darling, The Mad Hatter! Now Dawsey and I never drink beer but Hatter insisted so we're doing a mini pub crawl cultural tour of the oldest area of Sydney, "The Rocks". Date: Tuesday 26th November Time: 6pm Venue: The Lord Nelson pub We'll stay in here for about 45 mins then head to: Venue 2: The Argyle We'll stay here another 45 mins then head to: 7:30pm Dinner at: The Lowenbrau I'll book a table at the Lowenbrau for 6 people, I think at this stage there's 4 of us but we'll have a couple extra spots if anyone else wants to join last minute. Attending so far: Dawsey Mad Hatter Yuen Dominic

Gidday everyone (Yes we really say that sometimes). Neitzschecat here from Sydney, Australia. I am an intellectually and physically hyperexcited and curious inner city girl. I am a Ranger because there are just way too many great physical activities and I don't want to miss out on any of them! My race is Undead because I am just too cool to be human and I am probably older than everyone else here (So I might look a bit slow and dodgy but I can still clear trash and kick boss ass!). The bad side of being a ranger is that as well as all the great food I stick to most of the time, I am a sucker for sugar and red wine. Wanting to try everything leads to trying a few too many things! I have good muscle but a wee bit too much flesh to get visible credit for it! I have discovered fitness rather late at 43, and have been training and I am super keen to make up for lost time! My first love was strength training, which has progressed to Crossfit and kettlebells, but I don't want to miss out on anything else - I even did my first ever run in (sort of) the Sydney City2Surf last year, 14km from Hyde Park in Sydney City to glorious Bondi Beach (I was exactly on the 50th percentile as a female and for my age). I will try anything in any area of my life after discovering that being a nerd didn't mean I couldn't get off my ass and adventure! I love fitness gadgets (read Fitbit) and I also love gaming, WOW is dear to my heart and soul (I am an Undead Priest). I like to intellectualise and know the details of everything so I am also just about to finish my Cert III in Fitness and commence the Cert IV to make me a qualified fitness trainer. That doesn't mean I intend ever being a trainer - in fact my interest is in developing and marketing fitness programs for education and corporate institutions. So to sum it up I'm a semi-self-taught amateur who knows some of what she should be doing but needs a bit more discipline. Hence I am here to learn all I can before hopefully being accepted as a mature age entrant to the Fitness Academy on Jan 1. Looking forward to meeting people on here! Cheers Neit

Whenever I meet new people I get nervous and start talking nonstop about myself so that after a 10 minute conversation I've usually learned nothing more than their name. So, let's try that shall we? I'm normally called Andrea and I live in Melbourne, Australia with my husband, two kids, a cat and a large amount of yarn. When my daughter was six weeks old (August 2011) I joined Weight Watchers (again) and lost 18kg, 30kg in total from the day I had my baby. It took me 33 weeks, and I started working for the company as a leader almost straight away. My weight was 63kg, I weighed almost 15kg less than when I got married and the same as I did at 16! Life was pretty sweet. In February of this year our son (currently four) was diagnosed as severely autistic and my neatly placed house of cards came crashing down. I didn't plan meals, I didn't shop properly, I ate everything in sight in between crying fits. To add insult to injury our daughter was also diagnosed as autistic, albeit a milder varient that her brothers. I just want to make clear that I don't plan to use my childrens conditions as an excuse to wallow in pity and booze and Tim Tams. I don't even like Tim Tams. I'm currently 67.9kg (that was this morning's weigh in) and not particularly impressed with myself. I'm coming to the Rebellion as someone who knows what she has to do and know that there's no reason she can't succeed. My biggest problem has always been motivation, and a deep abiding loathing of exercise. However, I have on my side the greatest partner in crime in my husband who I sent to Nerd Fitness with the proviso "Read up on this and tell me we can do it". His enthusiasm was fantastic, with the result that we've both started a paleo based diet today (I'll eventually wean myself off my coffee addiction) and the two of us getting up early to exercise - me off and sprinting with the 20 minute interval training and my poor husband trying to execute the beginner body weight workout with a very interested two-year old trying to assist. What do I want from here? I want to be able to run 5km with my dad. I want to be less tired and more active. I want to wake up without a feeling of dread each morning. I want to be awe inspiring. What am I bringing to this? Stubbornness. Personal knowledge of success. The ability to quote Princess Bride from the opening computer game noises to the closing music. A mind so flexible I can pull it out of my ears and tie it under my chin. Oh, and a Sonic Screwdriver toothbrush. Bring. It.

It sounds like we are on for a meetup in Sydney. This is what's been proposed, post if date/time/venue is ok and if you will attend, if we get a few confirmed we can book a table. Venue: The Australian Hotel 100 Cumberland Street The Rocks, Sydney 2000 Date: Thursday 12th September (TBC) Time: 6pm - 8pm+ (TBC) Attending: Mad Hatter BarefootDawsy Dominic TerraNik

Motivation: I want to be healthy, to be able to walk around all day at conventions without having to try and find a space to sit down. I want to be damn sexy for my boyfriend. I want to feel like throwing all my clothes off and dancing around in the nude because why not? I want to be able to go to the beach in a bikini without shorts and not even think about whether people are staring at my jiggly-bits. Main quest: To fit into my graduation dress. I am determined to rock this awesome dress with an awesome bod (and dance the funky chicken without wussing out). Goals: ~ I will ride my bike to uni four times/week A= Four times or more B= Three times C= Two times D= One time F= Wimped out and got a lift every single day ~ I will drink no more than one fizzy/week A= One or less fizzies B= Two fizzies C= Three fizzies D= Four fizzies F= More than four fizzies ~ I will have three Paleo dinners/ week (totally 18 p-ds in 6 weeks) A= 18 or more p-ds B= 15-17 p-ds C= 11-14 p-d D= 7-10 F= Less than 6 Pictures: Dress doesn’t do up!! D: Front before pic Side before pic. Clearly the problem with doing the dress up is a combination of belly and those weird back pudgy things just under the bra line (upper love handles???). Also it would seem that I need some new underthings, seeing them in a photo really points out how daggy they are I made a nice shiny spreadsheet to fill in to keep me on track/ help with my maths, but I can't figure out how to link it yet, learning slowly bit by bit.