Losing my Nerd-ligion

[Random Forum Guy]

 

My apologies to REM... 

 

Does anyone else feel that the further they go along the Fitness path, the less Nerdy they become? Let me explain... I feel that the more I shift towards taking care of my Fitness (mental, physical, etc), I have less and less time to devote to "nerdy" activities. This is expected from a simple time management perspective. There's only 24 hours in a day, so spending time on new (fitness) activities means reducing time spent on non-fitness activities. 

 

I can't remember the last time I played a video game, or followed the latest TV show, or played a board game, or.... well you get the idea. I think the issue is even more severe for family folks like me who've already had to make concessions due to family/career obligations. 

 

Is it just me? I feel like I'm slowly losing my nerdiness...or maybe it's just becoming a different kind of nerd?

[I-Jo]

who says you can't be a fitness nerd??

 

I feel like you are defining your "nerd-dom" in terms of video games and TV shows.

 

I'm an uber nerd- and I don't play any games- and I don't follow a single show (with the small exception of Archer) everything else I watch whenever.  but never-the-less... I'm still a nerd.  

 

I geek out over fabric and beading- and different music.

I geek out over new exercises and new fitness clothes that make my butt look amazing.

nerd does /=/ video gamer.

Take faith young grasshopper- you aren't losing your nerd-dom- just shifting it.  

[Elastigirl]

who says you can't be a fitness nerd??

 

I feel like you are defining your "nerd-dom" in terms of video games and TV shows.

 

I'm an uber nerd- and I don't play any games- and I don't follow a single show (with the small exception of Archer) everything else I watch whenever.  but never-the-less... I'm still a nerd.  

 

I geek out over fabric and beading- and different music.

I geek out over new exercises and new fitness clothes that make my butt look amazing.

nerd does /=/ video gamer.

Take faith young grasshopper- you aren't losing your nerd-dom- just shifting it.  

This^^^^

[Kishi]

who says you can't be a fitness nerd??

 

I feel like you are defining your "nerd-dom" in terms of video games and TV shows.

 

I'm an uber nerd- and I don't play any games- and I don't follow a single show (with the small exception of Archer) everything else I watch whenever.  but never-the-less... I'm still a nerd.  

 

I geek out over fabric and beading- and different music.

I geek out over new exercises and new fitness clothes that make my butt look amazing.

nerd does /=/ video gamer.

Take faith young grasshopper- you aren't losing your nerd-dom- just shifting it.  

 

+1

[bigm141414]

What Jo said. I am a total fitness nerd now instead of a gamer. Seriously. Now my discussions in volve the finer points about weightlifting and training methodologies rather tahn the finer points of beating the final boss in the latest video game. Plenty to nerd out to in the health and fitness world.

[StunVengeance]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/H_BtmV4JRSc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

As Wil Wheaton says, being a nerd is not about what you love, it's about how you love it.

[I-Jo]

I was trying to find that video yesterday .. And couldn't. Thanks for sharing that again.

[Suited hippy]

I nerd on fitness hard. Every run I take I track, after the run I look at splits, I compare, analyze. 

 

It hit me how hard the transition has been the other day when I saw how much dust was on my PS3... Poor old thing, it just can't compete with running along the ocean. 

[RisenPhoenix]

I seem to be the odd guy out - I feel that my nerd-dom has been increased as my fitness journey has gone on.  Granted, I was never overly spastic about many nerd-things (beyond books), but I feel like I appreciate video games more now - kind of an absence makes the heart grow fonder deal.  Yes, I exercise, I like to think I know something about it, and I love spending time at the dojo, but I keep up to date on games as a past time.  That being said, I don't spend money on games every other week - I wait for something that I know will interest me and something that I want to get absorbed into.  So I don't spend a lot of time on my games (and fewer on television, but that's nothing new), but when I do I do so with passion, even if the time is short.

 

Which I think is what this boils down to - even if you don't spend ALL the time on a certain thing, if you are PASSIONATE about it you're still a nerd.

 

(And yea, Wil said it better.)

[robert da strongman]

I have found balance in my nerdiness and fitness. I savor the time I take to read a good book and enjoy a movie or TV. I prioritize what I do so I don't feel like I am giving up something. 

[Waldo]

You can't normal away the nerd.

Being a nerd isn't about what you do, its about how you do it.

My mind must at all times be collecting and analyzing data, and solving problems. I can't turn it off, it doesn't go away, it is applied to all activites I undertake. Calorie counting is the sort of activity that my mind craves.

I've never personally found playing video games to be a nerdy activity, except for the games made for nerds (Civ/TTD/etc).

[Metalhead]

I had the same shift when I started devoting time to fitness. I used to be an avid MMO player (WoW, GW2, Rift, etc.). Once I started focusing on getting in better shape it started out as just a time shift where instead of playing every night it was just on raid nights or when I had time on my off days. After more than a year since I started getting in shape, I find I am nerding out on fitness related things. Whether it be gear, technique, crunching numbers, spreadsheets (oh the spreadsheets), or just working out in general. It's gotten to the point where I only play video games in 30-minute spurts at the most.

[kruser]

My nerdiness has shifted as well, but I'm still a big time nerd.  I am now a big time runnerd.  I love reading about training theory, checking out technology in running shoes (I now have 6 or 7 pairs of running shoes and 2 "casual").  I don't get to play video games as much as I would like (i.e. Skyrim, Halo) but I blame that on work and needing to make money to pay for life.

 

I still geek out big time about anything related to the Elder Scrolls, Halo, gaming consoles, fantasy novels, etc...  I just know that spending more time on the fitness side of things will give me a longer life to enjoy everything else too!

[splatterU]

ya my ps3 has turned into a paper weight and my computer is basically an over powered bill paying machine.

 

Although I always find time to catch my favorite TV shows.  Breaking Bad is back!!!

[TheMightyMinotaur]

I don't know. While I've been getting totally nerdy about fitness, I seem to just be more passionate about everything because I'm happier now. Though, if I didn't have the insane amounts of free time that I do, something would probably get put on the wayside. Working out and most of my fitness stuff has become a part of my morning routine, so I still read a lot and dedicate what is probably too much time to gaming. 

 

I'll admit, I do have a tendency to Bro-out when I do things that are pretty physical. I get pumped. Stoked even.

[alice.x]

Whether it be gear, technique, crunching numbers, spreadsheets (oh the spreadsheets), or just working out in general. It's gotten to the point where I only play video games in 30-minute spurts at the most.

 

^this.

 

i love a good spreadsheet.

[Gobnait]

Nerd = pursuing passion while disregarding social expectations?

 

Of course, it assumes that jock versus nerd means that the jocks are just doing it for the adoration and or fear of being perceived as intellectual.

 

And then  assuming that some stereotypical nerds are just being fans of  a thing so they fit in with something other than the sports-fans.  (Don't quiz nerd-girls in costume just to feel superior to the fake-geek chick.)

 

I don't care because now I can't get the Cat/Dog theme-song out of my head.

[MsFitz]

I am a big weight lifting nerd now. I want to know the proper technique for everything I do. I research, read, and watch videos any chance I get. I talk about lifting too much and no one else really seems to "get" it. It is the same with Paleo. I don't eat it 100% of the time, but I love looking up new recipes and trying them out. I love tweaking them or coming up with my own recipes. I am finding new things to geek out about every day!

[Minty Keen]

I felt this way at first... simply because between cooking healthy meals, making sure I got enough sleep and exercising regularly, I have very little time left for video games.

 

But lately I've found my nerd again. It hasn't really disappeared, it's just learning new ways to express itself.

 

I'm more passionate about things now that I feel better and have more energy. I looove when I actually have time to play video games. It's super exciting!

 

I'm a huge foodie nerd now. The majority of my RSS reader contains paleo recipe blogs and primal health blogs, and fitness guides. Sprinkled with tech, video game, science news and a couple comics.

 

My main motivation for exercise is because I want to be balance, precision, and justice incarnate. You know, like a superhero. Being sexy enough to cosplay is a bonus, even though I can almost never afford actually going to a con.

 

Being able to do cool stuff with my body is what's really awesome to me, though. Now, I'm nowhere near the physical form I have in mind... I don't think I eat enough calories or work out often enough to support that yet, nor do I have the time. But I'm doing my best, I keep my meals nutrient dense and focus on balancing protein, fats and carbs... and I exercise my core and stability muscles, in order to build an excellent foundation for raw strength I want in the future.

 

I'd say I'm still just as much a nerd as before... it's just my priorities have changed. Or rather... now I actually HAVE priorities. Before I was a zombie with no direction or purpose. I went to work, came home, lived vicariously through video games, and mostly hated my real life. Now I live vicariously, have goals to meet, and sometimes I even have time to play video games.

 

And watch TV. And anime. And read. And play tabletop games.

 

Sometimes.

 

But I'm passionate about my health, fitness and tech life. I love gaining new knowledge in these things. I like to make sure I'm doing my best and have accurate information. I don't see what isn't nerdy about that.

[Cr33g]

In a sense, yeah I did.

 

When I was overweight and not into any fitness, I used to draw all the time, play video games all the time and had fun with my friends. Despite being unhealthy, unfit and very overweight, I was very happy. That was about five years ago?

 

Don't get me wrong, when I lost my weight and got into judo and fitness, I became much happier... but the more I got into fitness, the less happier I became. Basically, the more time I spent on fitness (judo, gym etc.) the less time I spent on my nerdy activities... video games, drawing, gadgets, writing, reading etc. I honestly felt like I was losing a part of myself... I felt like I was losing my identity. I feel stupid now for feeling that way. This feeling was about two years ago. In all honesty, I was losing "nerd time" because of full time work and my training.

 

At the end of last year, I've decided to re-embrace my nerdy side and get back into the things that I love and am passionate about. I still regularly go to the gym and go to Judo, but I play video games often now and I draw a lot and am once again trying to get back on track with my drawing to hopefully one day turn it into a career. I'm basically getting back into my creative nerdy activities and endeavours.

 

Here in Australia (I dunno about other places in the world), people often go out on a Sunday for a "Sunday session" and go drink somewhere like a pub or whatever... "Sunday sesh" they call it. My "Sunday sesh" is either drawing, or playing a new video game. Recently, it's been Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

 

Unfortunately my social life has taken a little bit of a nose dive but to be brutally honest - my closest friends are my friends at work, at the gym and at Judo plus I still live with my family... it is nice to see my other friends every now and then outside of these things but the people I am closest to the most and care about the most? I see them almost everyday and that's enough to keep me happy. So if I do see my other friends in social occasions, it feels like a bonus. I'm also still single but again, I haven't found the right person to sacrifice my time for... also, those who I have briefly dated who dislike my nerdy side tend to stop speaking to me. It is sad, but the way I see it is it's their problem, not mine... because I certainly feel a lot happier with myself than I did two years ago that's for sure.

[Guest asdf]

For myself when I was working out regularly (fell of the horse for a while and just starting to get back into the groove), I found that I didn't have as much time to do my nerdy things like playing my guitar or throwing my yo-yo's around. So I started relishing those awkward 10 minute periods of time where you don't have to leave to be somewhere just yet, but you can't start doing anything that is going to take a long time to do either. That is when I played my guitar or played with my yo-yo's, and I was happy during most every day because I still got to do the nerdy things I loved even when I didn't seem to have much time at all for anything else beyond working out, cooking my food and attending to college coursework. I would even venture to say that I improved in both activities a lot during that time because I didn't have the time mess around, so I always focused on improving at things that were going to push my skills forward during that 10 minute window.

 

And this scenario is probably about to happen again as I get back into the groove of working out regularly, going to school, etc. It's far from ideal, but I know it will help keep me sane, too.

[LuckyMunky]

Personally, I find I'm actually more nerdy now than I was before. I've always been a geek/nerd in regards to things. I love sci fi, games, books, etc. I still love to cosplay. I still run a DnD campaign on a weekly basis (even with 2 kids running around!) I've found that counting calories and keeping track of my workouts is a fantastic way to channel my nerdiness. I love mathematics and numbers, so anything related to that is like a game to me. I've found it extremely easy to keep track of what I eat. I now own several kitchen scales and regularly weigh my food. Some people look at me with pity when they discover that, but they have no idea just how much joy I get out of doing it!

 

I love how a PP said you can't normal the nerd away It's so true. You're a nerd at heart, don't worry, you're just a nerd about other things.

[Batgirl]

This is one of the things I struggled with when I first jumped on the fitness bandwagon years ago.  It drove my family nuts.  Now that I'm back on the bandwagon, I'm determined to find balance in the force.  Getting up and working out before going to work seems to really help.  I've been able to work on costumes after dinner and read comics before bed.  I haven't been able to find much time to play video games since the early 2000s but I've been able to squeeze in an hour or so of xbox from time to time. 

[Raxie]

I've had to limit myself to playing video games on my days off work as opposed to every day... though luckily for me my close friends are huge nerds so whenever I am being social I inevitably end up playing D&D or video games or board games or something of that nature as well.  As long as I get in my workouts during the week, I can have the best of both worlds. 

[cline]

I recently suggested I was insufficiently nerdy.

 

Someone posted back that anyone with 7000+ posts on a fitness forum is, in fact, sufficiently nerdy.

 

Nerd on my brothers and sisters.