Greetings and Salutations

[MagicianOfZeal]

Hiya Nerd Fitness *waves*,

 

Story:

I'm 25, and working in industry as an electrical engineer. I am a lifelong self-described nerd, and always proud of this :-) Firefly, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Final Fantasy... the list goes on (my favorite video game of all time is far and away Chrono Trigger; I could talk your ear off about it if you give me the opportunity :-P)

As far as physical fitness and nutrition goes, I've actually been at it for some time. I gained a considerable amount of weight in college (curse you all-you-can-eat dining halls!), which brought me from 180 pounds up to 210 pounds for a time. At the beginning of 2012, I set a resolution to reincorporate exercise into my daily life, working out 4 or more times a week. My will was strong, and I largely stuck to it (with the exception of a ~2 month hiatus in May in which I knocked out my last set of finals for grad school and transitioned to my first full time job). I was undeterred by this setback, though, and continued on for the rest of the year. The results were promising: I went from being able to run about 1.2 miles continuous to 5.6, dropped from 210 pounds down to the 190-200 range, where I held stable most of the year. I adopted the hundred pushups program in July and worked at that over the course of 2 separate 7 week periods until February 2013, and developed some noticeable upper body strength for probably the first time in my life. I renewed my commitment to fitness in 2013: I've done a great job working out 4-6 times a week every week this year (so far).

I'm joining and reading Nerd Fitness because I've had a taste of the benefits of physical fitness in life, and wish to push this further. I'm inspired by the impressive stories and physical conditions of the Nerd Fitness heroes, and aspire to count myself among them. Furthermore, life post college can be a tad solitary, and it is my hope to meet many of you, online or perhaps even in person, and feel connected to other human beings.

 

Battle Plans:

With regards to strength, I've begun working through the Beginner Bodyweight fitness routine. I plan to continue this routine every other day for 6-12 weeks, increasing the difficulty as I go. At that point, I plan to 'level up' to the advanced routine for 6-12 more weeks, and then begin more advanced strength training with freeweights.

With regards to cardio/endurance, I've reached the level where I can comfortably run 5k distances without stopping. I plan to try 1 or 2 5k races, and then move on/continue to 10k training. I plan to run one or more 10k races this year, and would potentially love to push to being able to run a half marathon sometime in the fall.

Regarding other stuff, I plan to begin hiking and developing backpacking skills this year, in preparation for an epic adventure I intend to take next year. In addition, I'm an inventor in my non-work hours, and I plan to work myself out of complacency and begin my freetime invention craft/hobby/trade anew.
 

What I'm Bringing to the Table:

I spoiled it a little in my battle plans section, but I enjoy inventing in my freetime. I know much about circuits, 3d printing, and more, and even ran a prototyping business/electronics website for a little while during my college years. I'm hear to learn, inspire, and help, in any way I can :-)

Can't wait to meet all of you :-)

[Shukar]

Welcome to Nerd Fitness Zeal! That plan looks quite solid, and it's good to see people with running goals (but I'm biased). That's some nice progress you've made already and it'll be great being there to see, and help you along the way when I can (assuming you need it), you achieve the new ones. 3D printing has always seemed cool but rather expensive to take up as a hobbyist, though perhaps I'm incorrect about that.

[Red1263]

Heya Magician of Zeal! It's FANTASTIC to see another fan of the Timeless Chrono Trigger (see what I did there?). Echoing what Shukar said, You're making excellent progress, having a plan is just the start, the hardest part is the level grinding aspect of fitness by constantly sticking to the plan regardless of whatever deviations that come on your path! It'd be great to see what sort of inventions you can come up with!

[Laureleye]

Welcome to the adventurer's guild.  I'll look for you on the next challenge.