[MaeradCase]

I found NerdFitness in my time of readiness back in May, and took the advice I found there to submit to myself the challenge of one thing within my ability. In the past I've been able to accomplish much, but I've kept no routine of exercise or diet of late, so I've put on more weight than I'm comfortable with. The action I took was my first step of just getting up and getting out. I put my alarm by the door and my shoes, and I would go out for a walk. I also had an accountability partner for three weeks while I was getting started.

 

I was delighted to see that my own challenge was starting the same time as the Rebellion's five week challenge when I had found my way here, so I considered that to be a rewarding reinforcing alliance. By the end my accountability partner wasn't helping, but I maintained my efforts, and I'm proud of myself for consistently waking up and exercising lightly while I build up my habits from small things.

 

This five week challenge, I'm combining my alarm and walk into a singular challenge to make room for two new things. My challenges are as follows:

 

1. Do morning exercise of light walk or body weight strength training when I wake up.

2. Track body weight exercise progress.

3. Floss my teeth an hour before I want to be in bed.

 

I chose my third challenge because I acknowledge that my first steps should be in my abilities so that I can build up from them. Right now, adjusting my morning and evening routine to include exercise and consistent hygiene is a change within my abilities. As I strengthen my willpower, I will be able to accomplish more things, adding new challenges and increasing the challenge rating on the ones I already face.

 

Thanks for reading and cheering me on.

-Maerad

[Elastigirl]

This is a great plan! Here to cheer you on!

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

[Rookie]

I think your challenge looks great! You got this

[MaeradCase]

2 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

This is a great plan! Here to cheer you on!

Thank you! I appreciate the cheering! 😍

 

1 hour ago, Rookie said:

I think your challenge looks great! You got this

Thank you! I've even made an alarm with good music for my task reminder! 😍

[Shello]

This looks like a great challenge!  Great job building on your earlier successes.  Good luck this challenge! 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Building on earlier success is how success happens. I'll be following along  

[MaeradCase]

2 hours ago, Shello said:

This looks like a great challenge!  Great job building on your earlier successes.  Good luck this challenge! 

Thank you! I'll be sure to keep the luck handy for when I need it! 😅

 

29 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Building on earlier success is how success happens. I'll be following along  

Thank you! I appreciate your support! 😃

[Ann of Owlshire]

Looks simple and effective. Good luck with your challenge! 

[MaeradCase]

3 hours ago, Ann of Owlshire said:

Looks simple and effective. Good luck with your challenge! 

Thank you!

 

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for showing interest in my posts. I saw someone say that it being week 0 didn't mean the challenge couldn't begin, so I've already started! Oh, except I have to get that exercise tracker printed. 😅

 

Yeah! I did a set of NF's "Beginner's Body Weight Exercise Routine." I'm going to use the tracking to improve from there, and see if I can improve reps and sets by the end of the five weeks. 😎

 

I've also flossed the last two nights when I noticed it was 9. I'm considering adjusting my alarm to be a reminder if I were to miss my flossing, such as 9:15, and give myself a chance to act based on observance of time in addition to having a reminder just in case.

 

Thanks for cheering me on. 😃

Maerad

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

2 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

I saw someone say that it being week 0 didn't mean the challenge couldn't begin,

 

Absolutely!!  Sometimes, I use it as a soft opening to see if anything needs to be adjusted.  

[shaar]

I'll generally start a challenge right away too because I'm usually just real ready to go, but it's nice to have a week to kind of ease into it and see how you feel about things.

 

I love that you are building solid starting habits!  I'm huge on habit-building and consistency is also a big part of good habits - stay the course, friend! You got this!

[Ann of Owlshire]

1 hour ago, MaeradCase said:

being week 0 didn't mean the challenge couldn't begin

 

I always start on Zero Week! It’s like a beta test.

[Harriet]

Exactly, zero week is the new week one. Good luck on your journey!

[Shello]

I'm a week 0 starter too.  I usually end my challenges on the last Friday and take a zero weekend when everyone is still finishing the last challenge.  

[MaeradCase]

On 6/14/2022 at 6:58 AM, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

 

Absolutely!!  Sometimes, I use it as a soft opening to see if anything needs to be adjusted.  

So far no adjustments needed.

 

On 6/14/2022 at 8:06 AM, shaar said:

I'll generally start a challenge right away too because I'm usually just real ready to go, but it's nice to have a week to kind of ease into it and see how you feel about things.

 

I love that you are building solid starting habits!  I'm huge on habit-building and consistency is also a big part of good habits - stay the course, friend! You got this!

Thank you! I'm really glad I found a community that encourages starting small, since everyone I know wants to go big or ho home.

 

On 6/14/2022 at 8:20 AM, Ann of Owlshire said:

I always start on Zero Week! It’s like a beta test.

🐠 (closest emoji I had to a beta fish)

 

On 6/14/2022 at 10:07 AM, Harriet said:

Exactly, zero week is the new week one. Good luck on your journey!

Thank you!

 

23 hours ago, Shello said:

I'm a week 0 starter too.  I usually end my challenges on the last Friday and take a zero weekend when everyone is still finishing the last challenge.  

Hmm! Clever!

 

Thanks, everyone, for being so supportive! I took decisive action yesterday to get my NF Beginner's Body Weight Exercise tracking sheet printed off. And then I had it laminated so I can use it in future challenges, too! 😎

 

I added Monday's numbers to my new poster, and used it as a visual motivation to get today's exercise in. I was achy yesterday, but not in bad pain, and I expect the same tomorrow. I did manage to add a couple reps to four of the six exercises, and my current plan is to stick to one set for weeks 0-1 to allow myself room to work up to doubling the sets on weeks 2-3, and hopefully finishing the challenge with the recommended three sets for the last two weeks. 

 

In a way I'm also taking it easy on myself because I haven't used a gallon jug for the rows (but I do have a full 20 oz bottle of water for some resistance), and I'm using inclined push-ups at the moment. But I'm still looking forward to seeing my growth through the course of the challenge.

 

Also, I've got a new accountability buddy! He's a pretty good cheerleader for me even though his own health journey has been more diet than exercise (the inverse of where I'm starting). He liked the laminated idea, and added that when I finish this challenge I should take a picture to see my growth through the challenge, but also to see my growth when I've erased it and grown again! 😍 

 

Anyway, I'm feeling good about this, and I'm looking forward to doing this challenge with your support. 😃

 

Thank you for cheering me on!

Maerad

[Elastigirl]

Cool that you have an accountability buddy! And  you will probably help balance each other out, so you have different focus areas

[MaeradCase]

End of Week Zero Update:

 

This week was a resounding success of what my exercise routine will look like for the five-week challenge. I did my exercises on Mon, Wed, and Fri. I used the spreadsheet to track my careful progress. And I walked on my off-days to limber up my muscles to move again while recovering. I even walked today despite my preference being focused on weekdays - since my workout was yesterday, I figured it may be necessarily to limber up today as well.

 

As for my third challenge, I've done really well. I was helped by my husband on Tues not to skip despite our movie keeping us up a little past 10. The only night I missed was last night. I was busy prepping a D&D character sheet, and though I recognized the time, I didn't interrupt my work, and didn't follow up finishing with flossing either. I'll stick to the tenet "don't mess up twice in a row," and be sure to get in tonight's. 

 

I appreciate the support!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Well done, ride that momentum into the next week.

[Jarric]

On 6/15/2022 at 6:17 PM, MaeradCase said:

In a way I'm also taking it easy on myself because I haven't used a gallon jug for the rows (but I do have a full 20 oz bottle of water for some resistance), and I'm using inclined push-ups at the moment. But I'm still looking forward to seeing my growth through the course of the challenge.

 

This is the way to go - keep consistent and the progress will come on all those exercises. The main thing is that you do the thing, it doesn't matter what scaling options you need to use as long as you're doing it.

[Sovalis]

You're setting yourself up for excellence and I'm so excited to follow along! 😁

[shaar]

I love the "never twice in a row" rule.  It makes sense and SUPER helps build consistency and good sustainable habits!!  YAYYYYY for an awesome start, keep it up, we got this!!

[Shello]

Great first week!  

[MaeradCase]

On 6/18/2022 at 7:48 AM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Well done, ride that momentum into the next week.

Gonna do my best, and see if I can get myself ready for doubling the sets by the end of the week!

 

On 6/18/2022 at 10:24 AM, Jarric said:

 

This is the way to go - keep consistent and the progress will come on all those exercises. The main thing is that you do the thing, it doesn't matter what scaling options you need to use as long as you're doing it.

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm sure as I get better, I'll be able to advance my technique!

 

On 6/18/2022 at 11:36 PM, Sovalis said:

You're setting yourself up for excellence and I'm so excited to follow along! 😁

Glad to have you along!

 

1 hour ago, shaar said:

I love the "never twice in a row" rule.  It makes sense and SUPER helps build consistency and good sustainable habits!!  YAYYYYY for an awesome start, keep it up, we got this!!

Let me tell you I needed it this weekend! I'm proud for making sure I flossed Saturday before bed.

 

54 minutes ago, Shello said:

Great first week!  

Thank you! Update incoming!

[MaeradCase]

Week 1 Day 1 - Monday Update

 

Hey guys! Thanks for the encouraging comments! This weekend was crazy fun. Saturday evening, my husband and I visited a new friend's house to get to meet her husband, play, talk, eat, talk more, compare media, and overall talk for hours. We ended up finally leaving at midnight, still excited to get to hang out more, but obviously needing to go home for rest. (And I still flossed my teeth because I'd missed Friday night. Yeah!)

 

Sunday was fun, too. 😃 My husband and I spent the morning and lunch with my parents to celebrate Father's Day. We even treated my parents for lunch despite their saying we didn't need to.

Earlier in the week, we were reached out to by a friend in Tulsa to see if we could play D&D this weekend. I knew of our two plans already, but my husband was excited to play with them again, so we drove to Tulsa directly from lunch.

For my friend's birthday, we all played mice seeking the legendary cake the giants had obtained. We fought the eldritch feline monstrosity, and escaped the danger of the cake that bites back, and ended up creating so much wild lore that we ended up saving the marriage of the giants by turning the cat into a monster and preventing the cake from being used to attack the other spouse. 🤣

 

Anyway, after the session, we had some real cake, chatted about games, and we left at a reasonable hour to get home earlier than we did Saturday... and somehow got turned around and went half an hour out of our way. Needless to say, I'm pretty distraught about it because it feels like every time I'm in a great mood from being with friends, I make some mistake that feels like an emotional car wreck. 

 

But, I didn't let that interfere with the exercise due today! I slept until I felt awake (9) rather than to my alarm, since I'm off for Juneteenth, and I went to a public park nearby to do my exercises outside for a change. I've just had a late breakfast, and have a grocery store run to make. I'm satisfied with my workout today. 😃

 

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Maerad