Next Challenge

[Wicked Pixie]

We're in ur base... nerding ur fitness

I just laughed so hard I snorted!

[Thilde]

Jump roping is a good idea. I might look into getting one of those too. It would help with my lack of coordination and work on my endurance (if I can get good enough coordination to challenge my endurance that is). Thanks Tonic

I just bought a jump rope on Amazon yesterday! Needed something cheap to get me to that free shipping. I am psyched to work it into my exercise rotation. Endurance is a big one for me too....I am always looking for different ways to improve that. I like Tonic's idea of progressing in numbers of straight jumps -- 25, 50, etc. I can foresee that become one of my goals in a future challenge!

[tonic]

I love jump roping! Just in case you didn't know. It is just so awesome, and its easy to keep doing while traveling, just toss the rope in your bag. I tend to warm up for five minutes jumping, trying to see how many straight jumps I get. Its just great.

Anyway, goals.

I really don't want to do a weightloss goal one... Hmmm... So far I have:

10 push ups from the ground *screams in fear*

3 minute plank *omg we are all gonna die*

and dun dun dun 100 miles of... walking/biking/rollerblading *really thats it?*

Oh and I also want to make sure that I continue going to my kung fu class after the beginners class ends in August at least 2x a week

The life was is going to be getting a job if I don't have one by the start date *fingers crossed*

Of course all of this depends on how I pretest them, if I can already do 5 pushups getting to 10 shouldn't be hard if Iam at 9 its not gonna be a challenge... So yes, this all means I have some ideas, but I am not really sure.

Hmmm.... maybe 10 burpees a day goal...

[Thilde]

I love jump roping! Just in case you didn't know. It is just so awesome, and its easy to keep doing while traveling, just toss the rope in your bag. I tend to warm up for five minutes jumping, trying to see how many straight jumps I get. Its just great.

...

Hmmm.... maybe 10 burpees a day goal...

Ooh, jump roping as a warmup, now there's a great idea. I will definitely be trying that. I was thinking of doing a 10 burpees a day goal too.... I've never tried doing burpees every day so I have no idea what kind of challenge that will be. I can currently do 10 burpees, but I've only ever done them every other day or 2-3x/wk at most so...yeah.

[tonic]

Sambie - If we both end up doing the burpee goal we will have to check up on eachother to make sure we are getting them in. =P

[Nuala]

I love jump roping! I always take mine to the gym to warm up, it's way more fun than running or cycling on a machine The others girls look at me weirdly though

[RandomWanderer]

I love jump roping! I always take mine to the gym to warm up, it's way more fun than running or cycling on a machine The others girls look at me weirdly though

I also gave up the treamill and elliptical for jump roping as part of the dynamic warm up steve posted.. the girls look at me funny, although I don't know if that has to do with me jump roping LOL!

[Anivair]

So who is thinking about the next challenge? Anyone already have some goals figured out?

I have way too many ideas for goals at the moment. I need to remember that its one small step at a time, not a giant leap.

I'm eager to get going. I wanted to start today, but I'm going to give myself till monday to relax. I'll be doing Insanity, along with keeping my diet tight and a few other things.

[RandomWanderer]

I'm eager to get going. I wanted to start today, but I'm going to give myself till monday to relax. I'll be doing Insanity, along with keeping my diet tight and a few other things.

one of my goals is to do a 10k run.. I did a 4.5 mile run today and I was very tempted to do it lol, but then I thought I'd achieve my goal before I even started! agreed, time to relax.

[Rivanariko]

I'm excited for this challenge. I'll be out of town for the first week, but then I should be home for the rest of it, so HOPEFULLY that will put me in a better place to develop good habits and actually stick with them (unlike the last challenge... which was a massive fail. Sad face.) I'm not sure on my goals yet, still need to do some thinking on them, but here's my thoughts so far.

Handstand: take 2. I will do a free-standing handstand. I will do it in my yard, because there aren't any good walls available in my house anymore since the spare bedroom was turned into my new "dryer" (dryer died, so now there is "clothes line" strung back and forth all over the spare room because I REFUSE to buy a new dryer when we're moving in 6 months.). People will be able to see me out in the yard. I will be okay with this and do it anyway. The grass being crunchy and pokey will not be an excuse, but I should probably water it more often to prevent it from even coming up.

Some sort of cooking/diet goal. I'm not sure where to go with this. I have failed at every attempt I've made at meal planning, but if I don't plan I don't cook and just eat a lot of toast and burritos. Maybe a scaled down version, plan and execute 3 meals a week?

I need another fitness goal, I'm kind of liking the idea of the 10 burpees a day, though I'm pretty sure I'll be cursing myself and whoever came up with it after a day or two (because burpees are evil). I'd also like to keep working on my chin-ups. Maybe try to stretch my planks to 2 minutes. Consistency is really my biggest dragon though, so some sort of "every day" challenge is probably a good idea, because I found if I did "3 days a week" I ended up rushing them Thursday, Friday and Saturday, or just not getting it done because the week seems really long on Monday!

For a life goal, I'm thinking some sort of cleaning/decluttering goal. Not sure what though. I've gotten really lax about cleaning in general, and we need to declutter in a desperate way. Or maybe something relating to starting a microbusiness, as I've been wanting to do that for a bit. Selling stuff on Etsy or something similar. Or just finding a viable means to not actually work and continue to save money to buy a house next year.

WHEW. I think I need to spend some more time thinking on these and iron them out. I want them specific and measurable!

[The Barefoot Ninja]

I also gave up the treamill and elliptical for jump roping as part of the dynamic warm up steve posted.. the girls look at me funny, although I don't know if that has to do with me jump roping LOL!

I'm not entirely sure what the fascination with jump roping is and I'm being serious here, it literally does not make sense to me. Now, I can jump rope. The actually activity is not an issue. If you tell me to do X number of jump ropes or for X amount of time, I'll do it. What I want to know is, why? What does it do, other than get your heart rate up? If there's a result I can achieve by jumping rope, then I may add it to my warm-up. If not, then there's a good chance I won't be inducted into the Jump Rope Hall of Fame.

[Nuala]

It's not a fascination for me, I just think it's fun

Probably because it remind me when I was a kid when I had some jump rope challenge with my neighbour, the one who could jump the more, the one who could jump backward, the one who could cross arms. Sometimes we tried to jump rope together, that was difficult. ^^ But good memories! Now I also like it because it's a good warm up exercise, it make the legs and the arms work, makes me work on my rhythm too (believe me or not, I have absolutely no sense of rhythm that's a problem because I really want to learn how to play violin) but really, fun is my first choice.

[Bean]

Hello

I’m new to Nerd Fitness and this will be my first challenge. I was wondering if someone could give me some advice regarding a realistic body fat goal: at the moment, my body fat is pretty high (31%) – in an ideal world I’d like to be around the 20-22% range. Obviously, that is a very long term goal – my question is, what would be a realistic six-week goal, assuming I work out 5-6 days a week and eat sensibly? Is aiming for a 2% reduction realistic? Is that not ambitious enough? I’d usually gauge this kind of thing in terms of weight loss (eg aim for 2lbs a week), but I don’t really want to do a weight loss goal as I’d like to stay off the scales for the time being.

thanks

My thoughts, based on the last couple of challenges, is actually not to set a six-week goal for a BF% loss. It can be totally demoralising if you don't make the goal for whatever reason. (In particular, a number of the lady warriors complain about water retention etc due to monthly cycles which plays havoc with BF% measurements.)

I would suggest you rather set goals around the changes you want to see - and use before and after photos. Set goals around eating and the exercise you want to do and the body composition should take care of itself. That being said, there is no reason you shouldn't have a BF% as a long term goal. I personally measure my BF% every six months or so with a biokineticist.

Hope this helps and doesn't put a damper on your challenge plans.

[Sambalina]

I'm all over next challenge's goals! It'll be my 3rd challenge - And this time it has a zombie theme and everything

One of my goals includes doing the 6 week '100 pushups' program.

I've been complaining about my pushup weakness for, literally, months, and Steve's article about 'making it a priority' was certainly timely.

Is anyone else interested in this program? I'm pretty weak, so will be doing knee bench pushups (you know, where you pushup on an incline, not off the ground) because I'm seriously weak. I'm not sure how PVP challenges work, but if anyone'd maybe like to join me in some friendly pushup competition?

[inara]

Sambalina, the assassins are looking for help defeating the pushup king jpryan in an epic 10v1 (!) challenge

http://www.nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?15472-10v1-Seriously

[Blaidd]

Spend 30 minutes a day in meaningful conversation with my wife. (Barring days I'm out of town)

Surely you could still do this over skype or similar when you're outta town??

[Blaidd]

I have my goals and have mapped out how i plan on getting there. Now if Spezzy or someone could just post the challenge so we can sign up already

Also welcome Newbies, we love having more rebels to wage war with us!!

[AmySilver]

My thoughts, based on the last couple of challenges, is actually not to set a six-week goal for a BF% loss. It can be totally demoralising if you don't make the goal for whatever reason. (In particular, a number of the lady warriors complain about water retention etc due to monthly cycles which plays havoc with BF% measurements.)

I would suggest you rather set goals around the changes you want to see - and use before and after photos. Set goals around eating and the exercise you want to do and the body composition should take care of itself. That being said, there is no reason you shouldn't have a BF% as a long term goal. I personally measure my BF% every six months or so with a biokineticist.

Hope this helps and doesn't put a damper on your challenge plans.

Hi

Thanks for your advice. I think you're probably right, since this is my first challenge it might be best to focus strictly on fitness and diet goals, and leave the weight / body fat stuff to take care of itself for now. Particularly as I'm measuring my BF% myself with callipers, so there is considerable room for error...

[PhoenixRising]

I'm all over next challenge's goals! It'll be my 3rd challenge - And this time it has a zombie theme and everything

One of my goals includes doing the 6 week '100 pushups' program.

I've been complaining about my pushup weakness for, literally, months, and Steve's article about 'making it a priority' was certainly timely.

Is anyone else interested in this program? I'm pretty weak, so will be doing knee bench pushups (you know, where you pushup on an incline, not off the ground) because I'm seriously weak. I'm not sure how PVP challenges work, but if anyone'd maybe like to join me in some friendly pushup competition?

One of my goals is to do 20 push ups by the end of the next six weeks. I would love to have someone to "compete" against! Maybe we could post the total number of pushups we complete through the week? So Monday through Sunday I would tally all of my pushups. We could have a thread in the adventurer challenge to see who does the most pushups for the week? Anyone could post their stats! A lot of adventurers have pushup goals, too.

[PhoenixRising]

Some sort of cooking/diet goal. I'm not sure where to go with this. I have failed at every attempt I've made at meal planning, but if I don't plan I don't cook and just eat a lot of toast and burritos. Maybe a scaled down version, plan and execute 3 meals a week? !

If I were you, I'd go to the grocery store and just buy a few days worth of veggies and fruit. Grab frozen veggies (like green beans) and frozen fruit (strawberries). Fish of any kind thaws really fast, so grab some frozen fish filets. Also grab chicken cutlets, ground beef, and thin pork chops. When you get home, make thin burger patties. Freeze all the meat individually (take a sheet pan, place wax paper on it, put all of the chicken/beef/pork on the sheet pan without the pieces touching, freeze). When the meat is frozen, pop the pieces into ziplock bags. When it's dinner time, the thin cuts of meat can be cooked from frozen! Fish can be cooked from frozen, too... Or you can thaw it out on the counter in half an hour. Add veg and fruit to the meal and you are set. This is the no plan meal planning that I do sometimes, but for a family of four. You have options, but only one day of prep is needed. You could take this up a notch and do all of your cooking on Sunday for the entire week. Then it's reheat and eat. This is how I do it. I do all my major cooking on Sunday and small prep stuff during the week.

Hope this helps!

[twilson.spqr]

First things first:

@Wicked Pixie: Congrats on the smoke free life. I hope you hear that as often as you deserve. I've had many friends go through that struggle and am immensely proud of anyone that manages to stop smoking and stay there.

Alright all, as you can see from my join date, I'm another newbie. Here's what I'm looking at and where I'm coming from with these goals.

Fitness 1: One armed row, 15 reps in 3 sets with 1/2 body weight (Currently 90#). Current weight 45#. +3 Strength

Fitness 2: Join a Nothern Shaolin Kung Fu academy and attend 1 class/week. +2 Wisdom, +2 Stnregth, +2 Dex

Fitness 3: Drop below 12.1% BF (currently 14.2). +3 Con

Life: Rearrange financial situation to allow for redecorating of apartment. Save at least $300 for new furniture. Get rid of couch or love seat and replace with Sumo Lounge Chairs.+3 Wisdom

[Inksplat]

Fitness 1: Stick to the You Are Your Own Gym Basic course. (+4 STR, +1 STA)

Fitness 2: Make stretching a regular exercise to increase flexibility. (+4 DEX)

Diet 1: Complete a Whole30 (will likely take it through the entire challenge, but whatever. (+2 CON, +2 WIS)

Life Goal: Get my house/life ready for my soon-to-be-arriving son. (+2 WIS)

All of that should be pretty easy to accomplish..at least up until my son is born. That's going to make the end of the challenge a real...well.. challenge.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Fitness/Diet

Increase big 3 lift maxes by 60 lb. I hit the 1000 lb club, with my total likely around 1050 (didn't test squats) and I want 1200 by the end of the year. There are about 3 challenges left, so I figure if I can do 60 lb a challenge across ther 3, I'll be there.

Run 1 mile in under 8 minutes. I failed epic at running last challenge, so trying again this time with 1 mile because my legs aren't in the shape for 2 right now. I have some kind of strain in my ankle that is kicking my ass, so I have to figure that out before I attempt this.

Increase lat pulldown 5x5 from 190 to 230. I'm working toward pull ups and increasing my lat pulldowns until I get to my bodyweight.

Lose 2% BF. I'm been lifting MOAR and eating MOAR and am having a hard time fitting into my cloths. Need to lose a few lbs or spend a bunch of money on pants.

Life

-More progress toward a house. We have a realtor, saved up the down payment, and have narrowed down the neighborhoods. I want to look at at least 10 houses over the challenge.

[Ulsted]

I'm not entirely sure what the fascination with jump roping is and I'm being serious here, it literally does not make sense to me. Now, I can jump rope. The actually activity is not an issue. If you tell me to do X number of jump ropes or for X amount of time, I'll do it. What I want to know is, why? What does it do, other than get your heart rate up? If there's a result I can achieve by jumping rope, then I may add it to my warm-up. If not, then there's a good chance I won't be inducted into the Jump Rope Hall of Fame.

Hey Barefoot Ninja,

The best summary I can give is that it is a great source of cardio training. It is utilized a lot more by boxers and other combative athletes that focus on striking. A strong part of a striking fighting style is good footwork and jumping rope helps train oneself to be light on their feet and develop rhythm. There are a lot of other sports that utilize rope jumping like football, basketball, and soccer. I'd say overall it is an inexpensive, but highly effective way of building up your cardiovascular system that strengthens the joints in your legs. I'm sure if you add it to a workout you'll get some benefits. Here are some articles discussing rope jumping:

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/skipping-rope-doesnt-skip-workout

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/rossboxing4.htm

p.s. I tried training once with a heavy leather jump rope with weights in the handles. My arms were on fire by the end of it.

[DylanAilDon]

Glad to know I'm not the only first-timer and newbie doing this challenge. It makes it less intimidating.

As for my goals:

-Add 10lbs to each of the eight exercises in my strength training routine [Current weight range: 55-70lbs, barbells]

-Run 3k without stopping [Current pace: 2.5k with stops]

-Reduce my 25m freestyle sprint time to 15s [Current average sprint time: ~18s]

-Follow a consistent and organized diet and health schedule/routine [Need more self control and less falling off the wagon]

-Get out of the house more and improve my social life

So it's a "Little Bit of Everything" Challenge.

And seeing how I'm going to adjust once the school year/water polo season starts up should be interesting.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's end results.