Very First Challenge with NF!

[buchaml]

Hello, fellow fitness enthusiasts!

 

My name is Mackenzie, and I am very excited to begin my first Nerd Fitness 6 Week Challenge! (Well, closer to 4 weeks by now…) To give you a little background and context for my goal, here’s my health/fitness history in a rather over-sized nutshell.

 

The daughter of a modern dance teacher, I grew up living at dance studios and in front of mirrors. In dance I found community, as sense of pride, and flow--but also a somewhat distorted view of my own body and a limited definition of beauty. I have always been slender and petite (5’4 and never more than 115 lbs), but by high school I was trying one diet after the other--south beach & weight watchers primarily--to try to eradicate any of my self-perceived and self-inflicted flaws. I never let myself resort to an eating disorder, but I remember how disgusted I was with myself, how invisible I felt, and how hopeless and far away that idealized version of myself (aka. the epic Buffy Summers) seemed.

 

Thankfully, with aging came perspective. By the end of college I had a much better sense of who I wanted to be and learned to be kinder to myself. Then after college I found running and--after a hump of demoralizing pain--completely fell in love. Seeing myself go farther, run faster, and breath more easily with each run gave me confidence in a way I had never experienced before. I loved being able to tangibly see myself grow stronger. I loved that feeling of pushing myself farther than I ever thought was possible. Because of that I became a distance runner and have just completed my second marathon in April. You could also find me dancing with my mother and sister in small modern dance company, giddly flying around the floor at ballroom competitions or social dances, or hiking in the woods and taking in the outdoors (one of my favorite things in the world).

 

Even so, I have found myself in a kind of fitness plateau. I am active, but I don’t really feel like I am getting stronger. I came to Nerd Fitness for starters because it just seemed all around AWESOME and inspiring, but also because I’ve been craving some extra motivation, accountability and guidance in how to reach the next level of strength.

 

Which brings me to my Main Quest.

 

Main Quest: To continually grow in strength and confidence, and to build/ingrain the healthy habits that will lead me there. More specifically, I would like to focus on circuit and interval training.

 

Three steps:

1.        Schedule and complete 3 circuit/interval training sessions per week (increasing weight appropriately).

2.        Schedule and complete at least one yoga and two meditation sessions per week.

3.        Incorporate paleo elements into my diet: decrease carb consumption, increase veggies and protein, and drink at least one liter of water a day.

 

Side Quest(s):

-          Set aside 45 minutes/week to write

-          Read at least 2 hours a week (non-audiobooks)

[Shakeel_R]

Ooh dancer! Lol. When I was little we had to take the spanish dances as mandatory -.- Turned out I had fun

 

Anyhow, welcome So your goals look good. And I am sure that you can make it.  

 

What do you want to write about? And what kind of books do you want to read? I have an account on goodreads.com and I get a lot of suggestions there on what to read.

[Byarni]

Hey,

 

I am also starting my  very first 6(4) week challenge. I wish you the best luck with yours! That writing side quest sounds amazing, I would love to hear more about it.

[buchaml]

Good luck to you on your first challenge, Byarni, and to you as well, Shakeel!

 

The writing quest right now is mostly journaling at this point. I've been keeping a journal since I was about 12 years old and find that it helps center me and organize my thoughts. I'd like to do this more consistently, though, so I thought I'd add it to the challenge.

 

That said, I would eventually like to actually write a book--be it a novel, short story, or even a children's book. I've always loved to write, but can sometimes be so self-critical that I avoid it. Once I ingrain consistent journal writing as a habit, I definitely want to work on pushing through my own judgments and write something besides my own stream of consciousness! I could see myself going either the sci-fi/fantasy/speculative path or a embarking on a more simplistic Wendell Berry-like reflection. 

 

Are either of you interested in writing at all?

[Shakeel_R]

Good luck to you on your first challenge, Byarni, and to you as well, Shakeel!

 

The writing quest right now is mostly journaling at this point. I've been keeping a journal since I was about 12 years old and find that it helps center me and organize my thoughts. I'd like to do this more consistently, though, so I thought I'd add it to the challenge.

 

That said, I would eventually like to actually write a book--be it a novel, short story, or even a children's book. I've always loved to write, but can sometimes be so self-critical that I avoid it. Once I ingrain consistent journal writing as a habit, I definitely want to work on pushing through my own judgments and write something besides my own stream of consciousness! I could see myself going either the sci-fi/fantasy/speculative path or a embarking on a more simplistic Wendell Berry-like reflection. 

 

Are either of you interested in writing at all?

 

Thank you. I still write with a fountain pen :/ I do like to write the reports at the end of the days. And I prefer hand written letters.

 

Did you look at the moleskine collection? I personally love their notebooks. I have like too many. How about you write something, we look it over?

[Byarni]

Good luck to you on your first challenge, Byarni, and to you as well, Shakeel!

 

The writing quest right now is mostly journaling at this point. I've been keeping a journal since I was about 12 years old and find that it helps center me and organize my thoughts. I'd like to do this more consistently, though, so I thought I'd add it to the challenge.

 

That said, I would eventually like to actually write a book--be it a novel, short story, or even a children's book. I've always loved to write, but can sometimes be so self-critical that I avoid it. Once I ingrain consistent journal writing as a habit, I definitely want to work on pushing through my own judgments and write something besides my own stream of consciousness! I could see myself going either the sci-fi/fantasy/speculative path or a embarking on a more simplistic Wendell Berry-like reflection. 

 

Are either of you interested in writing at all?

Thanks for the support

 

Journaling sounds interesting, although, I have never personally kept one. I agree with Shakeel, you should write something small and let other people look at it.

 

I have always loved writing, but haven't written anything since early 2014. I have about 30 poems in my drawer and several shot stories. I actually found myself sitting over a blank piece of paper today, pen in my hand, then the door bell rang and it was gone. For me writing is more like 'dumping' my feelings on the paper, but with all that was lately going on in my life I decided to rather 'dump' my feelings on my friends. Not a single regret though. However, I believe one day I will get back to writing, when I showed some of my pieces to my friends, they all complimented on it, so I hope they weren't just trying to make me feel better