Joining up!

[cmfarms]

Hey all, I'm Cody. I'm a 28 year old urban farmer in Denver, and I'm looking to improve my overall health -- strength, stamina, diet, mental health. I've done some fitness training in the past, and I know the paleo diet inside and out, but I seem to always have trouble making these changes stick long-term. I think I just get excited and try to change everything all at once and get overwhelmed. When I came across NF and read more about the philosophy here and approach to gradual changes, it just clicked for me so I thought I would join up. I also really dig the focus on choosing a "class" and taking steps to reach that goal. I'm realizing that my desire to get "healthier" but never having a clear picture of what that might look like has probably been holding me back.

 

My main challenges right now are strength, resilience, and finding inner peace. Like I said, I'm a farmer, so I need to be able to lift, pull, push, dig, carry, etc. all day long. I also need to be able to avoid injury and bounce back from physically challenging situations. I recently injured my knee in a really silly way (literally running in a straight line!) and it's been bothering me for a couple months now. I attribute this in part to not putting a priority on fitness for most of my life. I'd like to be a little more "unbreakable." I think starting to work on all this over the winter is perfect timing, so I can be a little more fit by planting time!

 

My other main concern at the moment is addressing my anxiety. In the last couple years, as I've worked on and improved some other mental health challenges, I've seen my anxiety levels increase. In the past year I've even had a few panic attacks here and there -- something I have never experienced before. So in addition to getting more regular exercise and improving my diet as ways to help my moods, I would also like to incorporate a more contemplative practice to build inner peace. If anyone has resources for methods that have helped with anxiety -- meditation, yoga, qigong...? -- I would be very appreciative.

 

Based on all that, I think some combination of Druid/Ranger would be my aim. I'd like to join the 6 week challenge starting in January. As my mental health is my highest priority right now, I'll probably start by joining the Druid guild and build from there over time.

 

Here are some things I'm working on/would like to start addressing:

• Regular (at least 2x/week) contemplative practice -- your advice is welcome!
• Regular strength training -- I'm starting with the beginner's body weight circuit. Started last week with a 2-3x/week goal, and it's going well!
• Swimming or other low-impact/cardio at least 1x/week
• Small changes to improve my diet -- right now, that's trying to incorporate more veggies, and not eat so much ice cream and pizza!

Thanks, all! I look forward to learning more, getting to know you, and improving our health together.

[Basement Cat]

Welcome to the rebellion!

 

Those are some excellent goals! Good luck and keep us posted!