Nervous Newbie

[Kobnach]

Hi,

 

I came here because I identify as a (software) geek, which is pretty close to a nerd. No idea if the group and methods will suit me. I believe that the sane way to good health involves an active lifestyle and real food rather than focussed gym time, calorie counting, and the fad diet of the month.

 

Unfortunately my lifestyle is nowhere near as active as would be healthy, and I somehow never "have time" to cook. Net result - a prescription for statins (cholesterol control drugs) and another for anti-depressants. Can I get myself moving in spite of sidewalk-averse suburbs, poor balance (I don't belong on a bicycle), and a moderately stressful desk job, plus a lot of sedentary hobbies (MOOCs, face-to-face games) etc.? And in particular, will this community work for me?

 

I've dropped out of 2 or 3 fitness communities so far, but had some benefit from HabitRPG, activity trackers, a personal trainer, and a dinner-delivery service. Still on the drugs though, and not managing 10K steps per day, or 7 hours sleep a night. So I'm still looking for additional ideas and motivation.

 

Any ideas for good starting goals within this challenge system?

 

--Kobnach

 

[citizenkade]

Hey, Kobnach! Welcome to the Rebellion!

 

A lot of things in your life will be greatly improved through regular exercise. You might even be able to work your way off the meds. The biggest benefit, though, will be your sleep. You're going to sleep so much better, more soundly, more restoritively. That alone will impact everything in your life. I promise you! I'm living proof of this.

 

You're a gamer, and that's a good thing here! Check out the blog section, there are some suggestions there about making your workout part of a game, you're the character, and your increased health is how you level up. It's addicting, fun, and works like a charm. Everyone wants to level up, right?

 

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/05/10/real-life-role-playing-what-is-your-profession/

 

Healing yourself and re-directing your life is a lot of work, but you're worth it!

[Kobnach]

Thanks for the encoragement, citizenkade. I'm hoping this community will help me deal with the team-of-one problem. Most fitness sites seem to target one of two things:

- people whose issue is excess weight (I'd happily keep my current weight, if more of it were muscle).

- budding athletes, whose idea of a warmup might be appropriate for my 6 month goal :-(

It's not lack of will power that has me dropping out of communities like that ;-)

 

My RL character class is probably wizard ;-) I think my race is probably half-elf, perhaps dark elf (for the tendency to nocturnal habits). With wizard irrelevant to nerdfitness, I figure scout - or maybe just adventurer.

 

So far my team of one has made it back up to 5000 steps per day, most days, and enough strength to handle 30 pound bags, but I fear it will take community to get me farther. I've had 6000 steps as a daily goal for several weeks, and I'm hitting it maybe 3 days a week after an initial bout of enthusiasm.

 

How long is it likely to be until the next challenge starts? Somehow I suspect it won't start until after the holidays.

[Basement Cat]

Hey Kobnach!

 

Welcome to the rebellion!  I believe the next challenge is the Christmas challenge, so it's really soon. Check the challenge subforums to find more information. Anyway, finding motivation can be difficult, but there are a few ways to build it:

 

1- What is your goal?

2- What is the best way to reach your goal?

3- How will you keep yourself accountable?

 

You say you want to be fit, but that is a little vague. Try to find a more specific goal, like "I want to do a pull-up" or "I want to run 5k" or "I want to cook my own meals". When you have a goal in mind, it's easier to devise a strategy to reach that goal. You can check the training forums for more info. The last one is accountability. There has to be some sort of consequence if you do not train or follow you diet (as in, way of eating in general. Not a temporary fix). Make a mark on the calendar each time you train, or deny yourself something you enjoy if you do not train.

 

It's little things like that that really make a difference.

 

Good luck with your training! Keep us posted!

[vengefulpear]

Hi Kobnach! I certainly hope this community will work for you!

 

The next challenge will be a short challenge for people to do over the Christmas period And then a full one in the New Year, so it could be perfect for you to test the waters with some goals and see how you like us (Hopefully a lot! We're a friendly  bunch!) 

And there's so many different levels of fitness here as well as so many different kinds of goals, so you needn't worry about someone's warm up being your work out, or people having different goals. The different guilds have wildly different goals and a lot of people jump to and fro depending on what they want to do  

 

I would say that a good goal for you would be your steps Trying to get up to 6000 a day sounds like an excellent plan, have you seen this article about a morning mile? http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/11/01/morning-mile/

 

If you're finding it hard to get all the steps in, maybe in the morning you could just do a quick walk around the block before you get ready for work? 

 

Also I think sleep sounds good (as well as in general ) it's going to be one of my goals for some of the next challenges, making sure I can get the proper amount of sleep. As citizenkade mentioned, it'll all fall together and sleep can definitely help me feel a whole lot better  

SilverRapier is also right that specific goals help you get there. So you know how to plan. So if we start with 6000 steps a day, you could add in the walk, maybe walk somewhere you would usually drive? 

And then you can expand that to doing a 5km run without stopping There's a good beginners programme called Couch To 5k when you're feeling up for it  
 

But take it as slow or as fast as you want, and we'll all be here to help you along! 

[Kobnach]

I've joined the Christmas challenge with a goal of 6000 steps every day. Food and sleep need attention too, but my theory is that exercise will tend to help with both of those, whereas the reverse doesn't work.

 

That said, while I did my 6000 steps yesterday, I foolishly tried to mix too much running with my walking, made myself sore, then followed up by staying up late *and* getting up early. Looks like my "wisdom" stat needs some work. And no running for me today or tomorrow; just walking.

 

How broad a goal makes sense in the main challenge? E.g.

level 1) get fit enough to not be creating health challenges for myself

level 2) basic core fitness + adequate daily walking + sane eating + enough sleep

level 3) do specific core fitness exercises + 10K steps per day + at least 5 servings of fruit and/or veggies + at least 7 hours sleep

 

I see level 1 as my motivation for doing any/all of this, but completely unmeasurable. Level 3 looks like challenge goals - except I'm taking small steps towards them, given where I'm at today. So what would an apppropriate main quest look like? My first inclination would have been to pick one of the items at level 2 (the walking, in particular), but that doesn't break into 3 actions.

[vengefulpear]

Level 2 sounds good You should pick maybe 2 or three goals within basic core fitness that you feel will be achievable within the 6 weeks. Maybe expanding it to basic 'health'? 

 

But honestly, it's all up to you and remember they're not set in stone, if you start the challenge and you feel like you're getting swamped you can always pull back and not do so much, or vice versa