Starting afresh!

[Sunny]

Hello! I'm been a reader of the Nerd Fitness blog for a year or so, and thought it was high time I joined the forums... I'm a 21 year old film student from Scotland, and whilst I'm not totally new to this whole fitness thing, I've been backsliding a lot over the past few months, so hopefully becoming a Rebel will give me the kick up the backside I need!

 

I'm 5'6"ish and at my heaviest, I weighted nearly 12 stone, but through diet and exercise I managed to get to my lowest weight of 10st 8lb over last summer. I spent most of last year training for a 10K, and went from barely being able to run for a minute back in April, to completing the Great Scottish Run in October (on my 21st birthday!). After that though, I almost immediately went back to my lazy ways, and I was horrified when I weighed myself last week to find I was back at 11st 2lb. Luckily, my general fitness levels haven't suffered terribly - I've been a few runs in the last couple of weeks and my stamina hasn't gone down too badly.

 

...BUT (and here's the terrifying part) - a few of my friends and I decided way back in August that we'd sign up for Tough Mudder this June. At the time it seemed ages away, and I figured I'd be strong enough by then to ace it (Wishful thinking...). So that's my goal for the next few months. I'm not expecting miracles, but at the moment I couldn't fight my way out of a wet paper bag, and I'd like to have enough strength to have a good go at it, so that it's enjoyably tough and not just a miserable experience. I'm also doing the Great Scottish Run again in October, this time with my brother, and we're aiming to complete the 10K in under an hour. My time last year was 1.10.15, so I've got a bit of work to do there.

 

(And in case anyone was wondering about the username, Sunny is one of my dogs; a freakishly strong Blenheim Cavalier. He's 9 kilos of pure muscle, I swear... So I thought it seemed fitting!)

 

Anyways, that's me I guess! Looking forward to getting to know my fellow Rebels, and good luck to us all!

[Mr_Willes]

Sounds like you have some work. Do you already have some sort of battle plan?

[Sunny]

Right now I'm trying to get myself back into a routine where I go to the gym at least 3/4 times a week. Then by the time the next 6 week challenges open I'll have an idea of what I most want to work on. 

[Mr_Willes]

Sounds like a decent pre challenge. Try to make goals for the upcoming challenge and get the habit started. Good luck!

[Miw_Sher]

Sounds like you set yourself up for a tough challenge, but I fully believe you can do that!

Maybe start doing bodyweight workouts as well? I don't know much about the tough mudder, but it seems like doing actually calisthenics rather than lifting weights or machines would be more apt for this kind of challenge. I am sure some people with more knowledge than me will be able to give you a few pointers on that.

I also know I saw a Tough Mudder thread somewhere in the forums, maybe you can poke around in there and see if anyone has some tips.

Also looking forward to seeing you at the next 6 Week-Challenge!

[Barfly]

Work on endurance and upper body strength, primarily.

[Sunny]

Thanks for all the advice guys! The bodyweight exercises are a good shout, I know my gym offers some guided classes so I'll need to check those out. I also really like yoga, used to go three times a week but I've been neglecting it lately, so I'll step that back up too.