Greetings from the N[ew York]orth everyone.

[FranklyAmerican]

Evening folks, good to meet you. 

 

I'm not one for long introductions, and I'm certain you'll all eventually come to know me simply by the threads I post and the comments I write, but I'll leave a short description of myself and why I'm here below. 

 

 

Said description: 

 

My name is Frank. I live in New York, entering my Freshmen year in college majoring in International Studies, and my primary interests are history [anything about the medieval period, American history, British colonialism, arctic/general world exploration, notably Roald Amundsen, so forth], politics, and of course a number of typically geeky things. 

 

And of course I'm a huge fan of MMO's like Guild Wars 2, and an avid player of a number of other great names like Borderlands 2, Starmade, sadly/happily League of Legends [braum Support], Kerbal Space Program, and a ton of others. [Feel free to ask. My Steam library is shamefully filled.] So let me know if anyone wants to have a game of something sometime, I'm down for whatever. 

 

Aside from these vidya games, I also play Magic the Gathering with some friends. For those who know what I'm talking about: I play MTG in a very casual, fun way. I'd rather make a deck with a theme that I just like to play with for the hell of it rather than spend so much money on a guaranteed win, and feel guilty about the expense later. And for my fellow Guardsmen out there: Avid fan of Warhammer 40k here. I'll actually be involved with a Rogue Trader game within the next two-three weeks. I'll keep you guys posted on how that goes with logs or videos or whatever if you want. 

 

 

And since this is a physical wellness site, I feel it'd be counter-productive to introduce myself without explaining my physical state and usual activity. 

 

I'm very active. Honestly I'm fine with cardio~ I play ultimate frisbee with twenty to near thirty of my friends and colleagues on a daily basis for at least an hour, running non-stop. I've done fencing on and off for the past five-ish years [sabre, for those interested], and I'm a good fan of really any sort of physical combat. Paintball is damn good fun, and I'm tempted to get into airsoft, were it not for the cost, and there have been tons of times when one of my friends has had a huge stash of foam weapons and we proceed to beat the life out of each other for the whole day. 

 

My favorite thing to do is really just be outside. In the winter, it's cross-country skiing, and in the summer it's hiking. I try to go on hikes that are at least 3~4 miles long so I can get that good feel of freedom in for the day. I usually spend a week in the Adirondacks with my family during the summer, with at least one of the 46 peaks assaulted during that time [i've done 8 of 46, and have been going since I was small]. 

 

 

And here's the bit about my physical state:

 

Well, I'm pretty good with cardio and stamina. I'm fine with running, extended exercise, and the like. I think you guys called it the "scout" physique? If so, then that's me; light on my feet, good for the long haul, fast, but not too powerful. I'm lean, but not really uncomfortably thin. 

 

 

Which brings me to why I'm here:

 

Just to gain some general muscle-mass. I'd like to get into a number of things in the next few years [some more intense mountaineering, mainly, along with Dagorhir. Since I'm a fan of using shields and one-handed weapons, I need a good swinging-arm, and a steady shield-arm] and I like a lot of what's spoken about around here. It seems like it's working for a lot of people, and it's a very laid-back, but motivated, group from my perspective. 

 

My setup is rudimentary; I've got two ten pound weights that I use since getting a gym membership is out of the question, since A) I'm a poor student, and I haven't gotten my car just yet, so everything I do is at home. Here's what I've got going on: 

 

Stretching

10x pushups [2 reps]

15x curls [2 reps] 

15 second plank [1 rep]

15x squats with weights [2 reps]

20x walking lunges [1 rep]

 

I'll modify this every day based on how I feel, but I always make sure that I do at least all of this. I'm planning on getting some 15lb weights in the next week or two, if possible. Obviously as I find out new things on here/ get suggestions or advice, this will change. 

 

 

 

 

 

In short: I'm healthy, but I'd like to gain a bit more physical strength to accent my endurance and stamina. Message me for my Steam ID or League handle, and I'll be sure to send it back. 

 

 

 

Oh, and here's an important note: 

 

My father is a type II diabetic. Simply put, by simply eliminating ALL carbs and sugars from his diet, we've managed to not only keep him off medication for the 3 years he's been diagnosed with it, but hes also A) lost weight, sleeps better, C) has more energy, D) eats better, E) is happier, F) I'm not joking when I say he looks ten years younger than he actually is, G) Actually gained some muscle just passively by just keeping active. My mother, in order to keep his morale up and help him with the diet, also does it herself. She won't eat anything he can't eat, even though she's healthy as a bull moose. She's experienced the same exact effects of the diet as described above. 

 

I'll also note that he's 55 and has a deskjob, and being Italian used to eat pasta every other night, with the obligatory Sunday evening home-made tomato sauce w/ spaghetti dinner religiously with a quarter of a baguette.  

 

I'm mentioning this fact because his diet is practically paleo, just with some slight modifications. If anyone has any questions about it, I know I'm new here and I hate to be that guy, but I'll be more than happy to help some people out with dieting. Trust me, it's a TON easier than it looks. All you have to do is just READ the nutrition label and use common sense 99% of the time. 

 

 

Anyway, nice meeting you guys, and I'll see you 'round the forums. 

 

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome to the Rebellion!!!  Glad to see that your fitness and diet changes are helping your family!!! 

 

There are a couple ways to use this site.  One, you can hang out in the strength training threads below and get pointers on your workout.  You've got a good start there and just need to keep working it and pushing up the weight and reps gradually.  And you don't need a gym membership.  There's a guy named Teros who makes his own stuff ... out of crazy materials like Halloween candy buckets.  I kid you not. 

 

If you want more accountability, I do recommend the 6-week challenges.  During these challenges, you pick a few goals to work on that will help you improve your life.  6 weeks is usually enough time to let you decide if the new activities are helpful and work for you .... or not. And that's long enough to establish new habits that you can turn into a healthier lifestyle.

 

The next challenge starts June 9th.  You'd start as a Level 1 Rebel (http://rebellion.ner...level-1-rebels/) .... which is where you LEARN about all of the stats, guilds, rpg character, and so on.  You still get to adopt what works for you, and you can ignore the rest.  Some very successful NF people never bother with classes or stat points or race or so on.  They just hang out in the guild that suits their goals best.

 

Even MOAR accountability?  We have accountability groups of 6 or so people who check up on each other frequently during a challenge.  Plus lots of other, optional fun.

 

Let us know how we can help you achieve your goals.  Post here ... or you can message me with the envelope icon at the upper right of the screen.

 

Good luck!!