Looks like we have our first official Nerd Fitness mascot!

Meet Coda, the dog of my buddy Vic Magary (co-author of the Rebel Strength Guide).  I got a chance to meet Coda while I was in Austin last month hanging out with Vic…this pooch embodies everything Nerd Fitness stands for.  Plus, Coda can deadlift 350.  So, kind of awesome.

I’m headed back to the west coast this weekend (San Diego) to watch the Super Bowl with my brother – yes I know I was JUST there and the game is in Indianapolis.

However, I’d rather be sitting by the beach in 70 degree weather hanging out with my brother instead of dealing with chaos and cold in Indy.  Unfortunately my time out there is incredibly limited so I won’t be able to do a NF meetup, but I hope to return soon!

Let’s jump right in to what’s happening around the community today!

(and so far, “Nerd Alert” made me laugh the most and seemed the most appropriate for our Friday update name – Scotticus came up with the suggestion, so I’ll have to get in touch with him soon for his free shirt).

Blogs of the week

This entry came in like 20 minutes ago but I freaking love it.  CreativeDisco listed 5 things he’s learned since going to the gym regularly:

1. Form is everything.
There’s a good reason why the SL 5×5 program recommends starting with the empty bar and moving up by 5 lb increments. That reason is form. When I started out, I made (and am probably still making) so many ridiculous form errors that it’s a wonder why I haven’t developed tendonitis all over the place. Thankfully, I’ve had plenty of helpful people who’ve aided me in fixing many of these issues, and it shows.

2. Stretch
My workout no longer ends as soon as I rack the weight. I’ve learned, thanks in no small part to the community here, how vital mobility work, stretches, and foam rolling are to my muscles.

3. Gyms really aren’t that scary
I used to assume that gyms were full of ‘roid monkeys that took immense pleasure in tormenting regular folks like me when they weren’t lifting obnoxious piles of metal. Even when I’d visit the gym in college, I’d get nervous around some of the big guys and start having flashbacks of being in school where I would get picked on by the bigger kids.

Truth is, that’s a stereotype, and a very unfair one at that. Most of those guys don’t even notice I’m there, and to date, I’ve had only two interactions with them. I asked one guy to observe my squat form this past Wednesday, and he was kind enough to do so–even gave me a few pointers–and today, one of the guys very politely asked me if he could jump in on the squat rack in between my sets.

Thus far, in fact, the only thing slightly rude that I’ve observed is how folks will sometimes leave their crap lying around after they get finished working out.

4. Eat.
I learned this one the hard way. One does not go balls-to-the-wall on a workout after the only thing one has had in one’s belly is three cups of coffee. One also does not do so if the majority of things one has put in one’s belly has been cookies in one form or another. I might not know much about the human anatomy, but from what I’ve learned, it seems to function in many of the same ways as a car (something I do know a few things about). If you expect your car to do anything besides act as an enormous paperweight, then you need to put gas in the gas tank. You also need to make sure that you put the correct gas in the gas tank. Sugar in the gas tank, for instance, is a bad idea.

5. Working out makes me happy.
It really does. When done right, I actually enjoy spending time at the gym. Even on the crappy days, I still feel like I’ve accomplished something (even if it’s what not to do). Compare this to my job where, most days, I feel like I haven’t accomplished jack sh** no matter what I do. In fact, I’m thinking of writing Toby Keith a letter asking him to change the lyrics of his song to “Let’s hit the gym and be somebody.”

Congrats to Bondgirl311 for having the awesome success with paleo.  Extra points for the How I Met Your Mother reference in the title. 

I feel REALLY good. So good, I’m going to continue with Paleo.

Ending weight: 219.8lbs
Total Lost: 10.2lbs

Ending body fat: 35.7%
Total Lost: 2.3%

This really wasn’t as difficult as I thought it’d be. What really convinced me though, was how good I felt (okay, and the numbers helped!).

I learned a lot about myself during this process.
1. I have far more willpower than I give myself credit for.
2. I CAN stick to a diet plan
3. Fresh food is NUMMY (spaghetti squash = omnomnom)
4. Pasta? Rice? Nah, I’m good for now, but thanks!

Thanks guys!  If you’re on the boards you can start your own blog too! 

Post of the week

ETF Nerd started an awesome thread on why we make excuses and trying to be the best person possible…and received some incredibly personal responses.  I bet there are a few responses in here we can all relate to.  The one that stuck out to me though (Thanks Rosie) was this quote from some dude named Winston Churchill

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Woots of the week

If you do something awesome, congratulate yourself for being awesome.  And tell us about it!  

Who cares if it sounds like you’re bragging – we’re among friends, and we love to see our friends succeed.  So, we have a Woot Room where rebels can post their successes.

Hiimrif went Paleo and dropped 28+ pounds in 28 days.  Um, holy crap.  Plus, there are pictures…where’d his stomach go?

Nighlight went to Crossfit last week and did her workout as prescribed, not scaled.  If you’re a crossfitter, then you’ll know this as WOD rx’d.   If you’re not a crossfitter, just know its kind of a big deal.

Waldo for doing his first pistol squats and joining the fifty pounds lost club!  On top of that, excellent use of the discount double check.  If you don’t know what a pistol squat is – its a one legged squat where you go all the way down to the ground with your other leg out in front of you.  It’s freaking difficult.  Big props Waldo!

Big things coming…

So I can’t announce them yet, but just wanted to give you a heads up that things are starting to get REALLY exciting around Nerd Fitness HQ these days.  And by HQ, I mean the desk that I sit at in my apartment in Washington DC.

I hope to be able to make a few announcements next week, but we’re not quite there yet.  Just know that this community is only going to get better, and you’re only going to get more looked after.

Oh, and we’re getting some new apparel coming into the NF store soon for the NF ladies in the crowd.

Have a great weekend folks!

-Steve

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PS- NF hoodies and shirts keep selling like crazy…which means I know there are people all over the world wearing them.  Send in your pictures of you doing something epic while wearing one!  I know…being the next photo AFTER Coda is going to be tough, but we’ll allow it

You failed at something.

Maybe  you’ve already given up on your New Year’s Resolution.  Hell, maybe you don’t even remember what your New Year’s Resolution WAS.  Or maybe something else happened in your life that would be considered a fail.

Long story short: We’ve all been there. 

We all fail at something at some point in our lives – it’s what separates us from the animals.

“But Steve, that doesn’t make ANY sense, and it’s definitely not true.” you’re probably saying.

Okay you’re right.  But shut up, and go with it.

Here are five actionable steps you can take to get back on track immediately after failing.

Suck it up, sucka!

First and foremost, stick your right hand over the lower left half of your chest.

(No, your other left).

Do you feel a heart beat?  Fantastic, you are officially “NOT DEAD.”  If you don’t feel a heart beat, I’m impressed you’re reading this, so you can stay.

As I like to say: “Did you wake up this morning?  That’s a good start.  Build on that.”

I’ll give you a few hours, maybe even a day or two to feel sorry for yourself.  Hell, you can even send me an invite to your pity party.  I’m not going to attend, but thanks for thinking of me.

Do what you need to do to get your failure pity/guilt out of your system.  Put on angry music, mope, go cry in the bathroom, rage, whatever you need to do.

And then freaking SUCK IT UP.

So you failed – big deal.  Sh** happens.  What’s important is that your failure doesn’t result in a downward spiral. So, after sucking it up…

Figure out why you failed

Lion King Rafiki Quote

Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back means I’ll have to face my past. I’ve been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. [laughs]
Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the from way I see it, you can either run from it, or… learn from it.

Yup, I quoted a Disney movie…try finding that on another fitness site designed for people above the age of seven!

The mutli-colored baboon does, in fact, make a good point.  If you failed and sucked at something, CONGRATULATIONS!  You just discovered what particular method doesn’t work for you.  As Tony Robbins will tell you -“I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” (thanks Caleb!)

The ONLY way a failure is a bad thing is if you refuse to learn from it.

So figure out WHAT went wrong:

• Did you try to lose weight by running on a treadmill and starving yourself?
• Did you try to get healthy by weighing yourself daily?
• Did you try to quit smoking by going cold turkey?

Yeah, this part might be painful – but it’s so important.  Identify what your goal was, what the outcome was, and why it went wrong.  If you’re being 100% honest with yourself, identifying these issues shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.

Plan your new approach

As it has been said by people far wiser and better looking than me: “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”

It’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Nothing drives me crazier than watching people try to do the same thing over and over again without success…and expecting different results!  It’s like trying to jam a square block in a round hole and then getting pissed after the seventh try when it doesn’t work.

THAT METHOD DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU.  TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

• If eating less and running more didn’t work six times before – that probably isn’t going to be the method that sticks.
• If stepping on the scale every day causes you to freak out when it goes up half a pound – clearly daily weigh-ins have a negative affect on you.
• If setting weight loss goals make you angry – then continuing to set weight loss goals is a horrible idea!

Instead, may I suggest some alternative ideas?

Set strength training goals - When my friend Staci wanted to get in incredible shape, she realized that starving herself while spending 3 hours a day on a treadmill turned her into a weak twig.  Instead, she shifted his focus to “I wonder how strong I could get?” She tracked each of her workouts, and started making her decisions based on “will this help me or hurt me in my quest to getting stronger?”  I’d say it worked.

Adjust how you’re going to eat better - Saint went from just “eating less calories” to “eating the right kinds of food.  Eating less calories got him part of the way to his goal…but not all of the way.  Adjusting his diet allowed him to focus less on counting calories and more on just eating the right stuff.  Combined with some heavy strength training – Saint dominated his goals after two years of failing.

Build habits instead of setting goals - I love this one.  Joe weighed 310 pounds, and was afraid of stepping on the scale and getting depressed at the results.  So, instead he set different goals – never eating more than ______ number of calories, and working out 4 times a week – no excuses.  Yeah, the first month was brutal, as his body wasn’t used to exercising….but he powered through it because he REFUSED to accept any excuse as to why he’d miss a workout.  10 months and 128 pounds later…I’d say he did pretty well

What’s important with all of the goals above is that they are all SUPER SPECIFIC.  “getting in shape” doesn’t work.  “I wanna lose weight” is far too generic.

Be crystal clear with what you want - determine your level 50, and then you can start working towards it.   It might be a strength goal, it might be a “lose x% of body fat by this date” goal, it might be a habit forming goal.  Whatever it is, the more specific you are, the more you can plan on how to get that goal accomplished.

Track it.

Notice any similarities about the success stories above?

Each nerd tracked their progress to make sure they were on the right path.  Saint tracked his body fat percentage and workouts.  Staci tracked her workouts.  Joe tracked his calories and made sure he worked out 4 times a week.  They all took before and after pictures to see how their bodies changed.

It’s quite tough to know how you’re doing unless you have bench marks to know if you’re progressing:

• If your goal is strength - track your workouts!  I use a simple excel sheet to see exactly how much I’m lifting and how much I need to lift next time to show that I’m stronger.  If you did three sets of five reps of 135 pound deadlifts, then next time aim for 3 sets of five reps of 140 pound deadlifts.  If you can do 8 push ups in a row, next week go for 9.
• If your goal is eating better - track your calories for a few days and determine what you’re normally eating.  Want to lose weight?  500 less calories per day (roughly) will result in one pound loss per week.  Maybe you set a goal of eating 18 good meals per week and 3 cheat meals.  Track it!
• If your goal is consistently working out - put your workouts into your calendar, and refuse to budge on missing them.  Set an alert for 5:30PM every other day to work out.

WRITE IT DOWN.  I’ve covered how to properly track your progress extensively here, so I won’t go into it too much…

Above all else, I recommend one thing:

TAKE PICTURES. 

Take a picture of yourself from the front, the side, and the back.

Repeat this process on the same day, every two weeks, once a month…whatever works for you.  I like every two weeks.

If you’re strength training and eating clean, your scale might not move nearly as much as you think it should.  Hell, depending on your genetics and how hard you’re training, your weight might even go up at some point…but the scale does NOT tell the whole story.  On a month to month basis, if your body is changing for the better (by comparing your pictures side by side), it should be clear to tell if what you’re doing is working or not!

If your body composition isn’t changing in the way you want it to…then it’s time to repeat steps 2-4.  Figure out what you’re doing and what’s not working, adjust, and then start tracking again.

Shut up and start

I need a commitment from you.

A commitment to shut your face, look yourself in the mirror, and hold yourself accountable.

I can’t come to your house and drag you out of bed in the morning and tell you to exercise.  I can’t sit on your shoulder while wearing angel wings, playing a harp, and tell you not to eat that donut.  That would be really creepy.

You have to WANT this for yourself.

If you failed at your New Years’ Resolution already, good – glad we got that out of the way.  As Rafiki told us, the past is in the past…all we can do is learn from it.

After work today, go home and make a change.  There are 29 days in the month of February – what positive changes or habits are you going to make?  If you need to pump yourself up, start here.

In the next 29 days, I vow to not miss a workout.  3 intense strength-building workouts per week for the next two weeks, and then five workouts per week for the final two weeks (I’m trying to get in the best shape possible before cruising on The Rock Boat with my friends on March 1st!)

What’s ONE change you hope to make over these next 29 days?  

How are you going to start TODAY after work?

-Steve

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photo, photo, photo, photo, photo

This is a guest post from my friend and cycling fanatic Jim Hodgson

Hello and welcome to cycling, friend!

We are glad to have you, even if you haven’t actually bought a bike yet. Like becoming a real estate salesman or web designer, literally anyone can become a cyclist merely by declaring that they are one.

Congratulations on taking that step! Your life just got better.

Of course, eventually you will likely want to get yourself a physical bicycle. Riding an imaginary bicycle around your neighborhood is generally frowned upon these days.  So let’s get started, shall we?

Who the hell is Jim?

“Biking may be great,” you’re probably thinking, “But who the hell might you be to tell me so?” A question well-asked, hypothetical reader.

My name is James C. Hodgson, Jr.. My friends call me Jim, but you can call me James C. Hodgson, Jr.. I’m a former 320+ pounds male person (that’s a picture of me back then) who now hovers in the 220 range depending on season (Winter is beer season). I rode bikes as a kid and always liked it, but gave it up after middle school in favor of a policy of becoming profoundly overweight and out of shape.

Sometime around the year 2000 or so, at the age of 26, I stepped on a scale, and the needle wheezed its way around the dial so far it simultaneously shrugged its little shoulders and screamed in pain.  Realizing that something had to be done and remembering my childhood enjoyment of riding my BMX bike (a Torker II) everywhere I wanted to go, I bought a BMX bike (a dk S.O.B.) off of eBay and began riding it to work.

I dropped 60lbs pretty much effortlessly doing this, which was pretty sweet.

Not long after that, a work buddy of mine recognized that I owned and rode a mountain bike now and again. He asked me out of the blue if I’d like to do a triathlon.

I said “Okay, let’s do a triathlon, whatever that is.” I bought an entry-level road bike (a Specialized Allez Elite), and started riding farther and farther. I signed up for a sprint distance triathlon in August of 2008, figuring that would prepare me for the Olympic distance Nation’s triathlon in September.

While doing the sprint triathlon, I overhead some other riders talking about Ironmans.  I don’t know what it is about me or my mental state at the time that made this happen, but right then and there, without having set so much as a toe or a jiggly love handle in the water on my first race, I said out loud “I would do an Ironman.”

The other racers regarded me, my love handles wrapped tightly in a triathlon skinsuit, looking exactly like a multi-colored modern art representation of a lumpy sausage, and kindly reserved comment.

In fact, I ended up doing the Nation’s tri in september of 08, a Half Ironman in Florida in May of 09, and finishing Ironman Louisville in August of 2009.

In the fall of 2008, I bought a cyclocross bike (a Surly Crosschek) and raced in my local cyclocross series, finishing 24th of 60 for the season.

At 6’1” 220lbs I still consider myself to be a little overweight, and it’s something I struggle with every day, but I remember how much it sucked to be so huge. Plus I really enjoy athletics, my favorites being cycling and sex. I don’t claim to be particularly talented at either, mind you. I’m just glad to be there in both cases.

But enough about that – let’s get back to biking.  If I can do it, you can too.

Just remember: the big round parts go down on the street.

Why should I ride a bike?

There are a lot of excellent reason to take up riding bikes:

• It’s a great and healthy way to move from point A to point B.
• It’s free – no gas to put in, no parking spaces to pay for.
• It’s low impact on your body.  There are no jarring-impact moments like with running.
• It’s a great place to start with exercise.  Sit on bike. Pedal. Done.
• It’s fun!

Cycling has a magical ability to be whatever the rider wants it to be. Fun, challenging, scary, romantic, social, silly… you name it and there’s a type of cycling for it. You can even change what type you are doing to suit your mood on any given day, which is why most avid cyclists end up with several different bikes.

Having done a bunch of different styles of racing and bought and sold a few different bikes, I’m increasingly sure that I’m most interested in road riding. There’s just something beautiful about riding with, and, in my case, ultimately being dropped off the back of, a peloton, though I struggle to put it into words.

What kind of biker should I be?

Whew! Ok, let’s forget what kind of rider I am (slow) and spend a few minutes thinking about what type of rider you’d like to be.

The below list is not mutually exclusive, mind you. You can flip back and forth, contradict yourself, or mix and match them to suit your own needs just like our government leaders do every day.

Mountain Biker - No one loves the outdoors as much as these guys do. That’s why they don’t mind skidding to a stop in gravel using only their faces or rebounding off of boulders during their rides.

Roadie - Have you ever driven up a hill in a car and thought, “This would be a lot better if I were crying and trying not to vomit?” If so, road riding may be for you. You also get a sweet superhero costume to wear!

Track - Track racing is like the freebase version of road racing. It even rhymes with “crack” to make this easy to remember. Do it if you want to be in a bunch sprint without all the climbing beforehand.

Triathlete - This type of riding is only for sociopaths for whom the idea of human contact is abhorrent. If you only ever want to ride alone and you dislike going uphill or turning, you could be a triathlete someday!

Casual Rider - This is, in my opinion, the best kind of riding, where you do whatever you want to on a bike and enjoy yourself in the process. Sounds simple, right? It is!

Imaginary – We already went over this.  Not in public.

How to buy a bike

Truth be told, the best bike for you to buy is whatever one you like the best.

I think it’s wise to get a bike shop’s help in buying a bike that fits you, but other than that, go nuts.  Yeah, suck it up and go find a bike shop in your area here.

Now, bikes do cost money. Expect to spend a few hundred bucks minimum at your bike shop. You don’t have to spend thousands, but you’ll have more fun on a decent bike than a heavy, crappy one from a department store.

If you must buy as cheaply as possible, in my opinion, most people are best served with a steel-framed 80’s road bike. They’re cheap, nearly indestructible, and easy to find on Cragslist.

My beloved home of Atlanta has a great Craigslist, but other cities don’t. People are usually asking way more than their bikes are really worth, so don’t be afraid to make counter offers and negotiate a bit.

If you do buy a used road bike, steer away from 27” wheels and from friction shifters mounted on the stem. Friction shifters are fine, but Sheldon prefers downtube-mounted shifters, and thus, so should we.  A little Googling should clear up these terms if need be.

As long as we’re on the subject, let’s turn once again to the inimitable Sheldon Brown for some thoughts on saddle choice, and cycling comfort in general.

There’s also a web site called bikeforums.net where any question that pops into your mind can be asked. Prepare to be amazed at the infinitesimal levels of bicycle minutiae over which flame wars can start. Still, they have some great guides and tons upon tons of info.

You can also check out the newly formed Biker’s Guild on the Nerd Fitness Forums. 

Lots of people get mountain bikes for their first bike, and I think it’s a mistake. They are heavy and slow because they’re meant for trail riding on mountains. I don’t know about you, but I don’t use a mountain to get places often. My house is on a “road,” and so is my local bar. Road bikes are perfect for getting around, and they can take all the abuse you can dish out.  Yes, “all the abuse you can dish out.”  Remember: I used to weigh 320lbs and I’ve never once broken a bike component. Worn out, sure, but not broken.

There’s also a cheaper bike option called bikesdirect.com. They sell off-brand frames with name brand components, and seem to have good customer service from what I can tell. Even so, I prefer to do business with my bike shop. It costs a little more on the front end, but you get better service overall. A cheap bike with no service support is false economy in my opinion, but many people disagree.

Remember: get the bike you like. If you like it you’ll ride it. Keep that in mind as you’re reading the flame wars and conflicting advice. After all, it’s just bikes. It ain’t rocket surgery.

Other Stuff to buy

Now, once you buy a bike, there are a few other things you should consider. 

Helmet – In my opinion, it is imperative to own and wear a helmet when cycling. I don’t think it should be a law that everyone has to, but I think everyone should of his own volition anyway.

I have had the displeasure of bouncing my head roughly on concrete twice in over ten years of daily riding, and both times I distinctly heard the sharp crack of my helmet on the pavement. I’m super glad it wasn’t my precious melon. Thanks, helmets!

What kind of helmet should you buy? Giro, Bell, and Specialized all make good helmets. Try a few on and get a bike shop’s help with how it should fit.

U-Lock – One of the most awesome things about riding bikes to get places is that you don’t have to park a car. You can just ride right up to the place, lock your bike, and go inside. You will need a lock if you’d like your bike to be there when you come out, though. Read up on locking strategy here.

Blinky Lights – Get yourself a good set of blinky lights for your bike. I like the Blackburn Flea set, but also own the Spok LED light set, and the Planet Bike Superflash rear light.  All are fine choices.

Outside has the unmitigated gaul of getting dark without my consent every single day. It will do it to you, too. It’s wise to have lights in these cases, so that you can be as visible as possible on the roadway.

Clippy Shoes – If you’re going to ride often, eventually it’s wise to switch to clipless pedals and shoes. If you’re worried that they’ll make you fall over, rest assured. You will definitely fall over in them at least once. It’s called a zero mile per hour fall, and it’s a rite of passage. It’s also completely worth it.

Lycra – If you’re doing any amount of riding at all, I recommend getting yourself a pair of bibs. Cycling shorts are nice too (they both have a chamois) but bib shorts are the ultimate in comfort.

What else do I need?

When I set off on a ride, I carry these things: A spare tube, tire levers, a CO2 inflater, a master link, a spare cylinder of CO2, and $20. Everything except the tube fits nicely into a little canvas bag that I slip into my center jersey pocket, which eliminates the need for a seat bag.

I dislike seat bags. The velcro on one side invariably wears out within a few hundred miles, giving the seat bag the appearance of a monkey swinging one-armed from a tree branch. Did I mention I also hate monkeys? Fling poo at me will you? Bastards!

Don’t buy an expensive bike tool to carry on your rides. Any repair you can’t do with the above kit is a ride ender. Take a cab with the $20 instead and spend your tool budget on nice tools to keep at home if you want to wrench on your bike.

Also don’t buy a frame pump or mini pump – they don’t work well at all.  Get a floor pump for home and carry CO2 with you.

How To Ride Your Bike (By Request)

1. Turn pedals.
2. Don’t hit anything or fall off.

Getting started is that simple. There are a few tips to remember after that that can help out, though:

For instance, use your rear brake to check your speed and your front one only if you really want to stop. If you grab a handful of front brake on a modern bike it might become a catapult.

Remember when I said clippy shoes were worth it? It’s because they allow you to apply power throughout the whole revolution of the pedal, and to use your whole leg and butt to do apply said power. They’re awesome.

Keep in mind also that it’s more efficient to spin than to mash. This means that you’ll be able to deliver more power for longer if you ride in a smaller, easier gear at higher cadence (RPM) than in a bigger, harder gear at slower cadence. Ideal cadence is said to be 90rpm or so, which is the exact tempo of Cake’s song The Distance. One foot should make a revolution for each beat of the song, or in other words, your foot is a quarter note. Your other foot will be offset, of course, so as a pair your feet will play eighth notes. And you didn’t even know you were a musician!

Cycling is a beautiful sport because it is a sport about suffering, style and smoothness, or as the French call it, souplesse. If you watch the pros ride, you’ll notice that their movements are smooth and controlled even when they’re outputting near the same wattage as the Boulder Dam.

Your body should be pretty much still when you’re riding. Your knees should be in line between your hip and ankle, not out as if you’re trying to climb a pole.

Keep it smooth and supple on the pedals, like the well-oiled machine that you are! Ideally you’ll never be told by a legend of track cycling that your pedal stroke resembles a monkey attempting to get romantic with a football… which is what happened to me!

How can I get better?

Cycling is beautiful and amazing, but the best cycling is also social.

Having some friends who are into it will help keep you into it. Mind you, it is ten buh-jillion times easier to meet people who already like things you want to do than to convert people you already like into doing something new. So, you should go do your local group ride. There’s guaranteed to be a beginner one near you that is run out of a bike shop.  Ask at the bike shop.  Yay for socializing!

If you’re interested in being a little more athletic on the bike — and I encourage it — the more advanced group rides help let you know where you stand with regards to the rest of your local area. There’s guaranteed to be a ride in your town made up of all the local cat p/1/2 and master’s riders. They’ll happily wring every ounce of strength from your body and then drop you ten miles from town, wheezing like an accordion with a hole in it.

Pedaling home on a summer’s eve at 10mph half blind from trying to force my body to stay on the pack is among my favorite feelings. What can I say? I’m a cyclist. I love it.

Riding Etiquette

There’s a tendency for new riders to want to express their liberation from the metal cage of the automobile through a certain free-spirited attitude toward traffic laws.

Please don’t do this.

Whatever we do while riding in traffic will be remembered by every driver who sees us and counted either for or against cycling as a whole in that driver’s mind.

When I was a new rider in traffic, I adopted a Me-Vs-Cars attitude, and it was a mistake. I was in a lot more danger with that philosophy than I am now with my current zen-inspired sense of calm and one-ness with the traffic around me.

Figure out what the laws regarding cyclists on the road are in your area and follow them always!  Google “bicycling laws + [ your state ]“

You’ll also have a much easier time in traffic when you ride like traffic. Don’t hop on and off the sidewalk like a meth-addled cat. Changing states willy nilly from vehicle to pedestrian is only going to create confusion and danger for you.

(Public service announcement: Please don’t do meth or give it to your cat. It’s not good for either of you. The more you know…)

Hit the road, Jack.

Above all, remember that cycling is a fun, social activity.

Wave to other riders. Say hello to them when you pass them. They’re nice folks! Well, except “serious” roadies, of course, but only other roadies listen to them!

If you have any questions on getting started with cycling, leave a comment and Jim will answer those questions for ya.

Have fun out there, and ride safe, cycling friend!

Jim Hodgson is the author of Jack Dick and Other Stories, and the Editor-in-Chief of The Atlanta Banana, Atlanta, Georgia’s local unofficial version of The Onion. He rides bikes for fun and fat management, and is doing a century this year to raise money for Team in Training.

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 Greetings from San Francisco!

I’m headed back to DC tomorrow, but so far my time out here has been fantastic.  Yesterday I had a chance to meet up with Scott of Live Your Legend and Maria from Fitness Reloaded, and today I’m gonna be hanging out with Leo from Zen Habits and Amber from Epic Self.  I wanna give a big shout-out to all my new friends over at Facebook for hosting me for my talk on Wednesday!  I had so much fun and it was great to talk about not sucking at goal setting and travel hacking with those guys.  Thanks Jen and company!

Let’s jump right in to see what the Rebellion looks like this week!

More moderators!

In news that will surprise nobody, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion is growing rather quickly.

We’re up to 4,200 members with more than 105,000 posts and growth is rapidly accelerating.  To make sure everybody has the best possible experience on the boards, we’re looking to add a few moderators to the mix – these volunteers will just keep an eye on things, help out when people have questions, keep the place SPAM-free, track down the best stuff for these Friday articles, and help sort out any arguments (which are still surprisingly minimal).

So we’re looking for people who are interested in becoming Mods!  However, rather than just ASK (come on, this is Nerd Fitness), we want you to fill out a quick fun “application” complete with questions like “if you could have any super power, what would it be and why?”  Feel free to have some fun with it and get creative.

If you have interest in becoming a moderator, please fill out this form and we’ll start digging through them.

Posts of the Week

1) Earlier this week, our resident power-lifting hero Staci started a thread about what she was struggling with, and encouraged others to jump in and share what they were struggling with…we’re already up to over 75 responses, but this one made me smile the most:

bigm141414: “And lastly, I am struggling with the fact that I am an awesome jar of awesomeness. All thanks to NF.”

2) Awsd00 asked what changes people have made since joining the NF community:

These are her changes:

• Hating the gym -> going to the gym 3-4 times a week
• Thinking lifting weights was for men -> lifting weights WITH the men
• Eating pasta once or twice a DAY -> not eating pasta at all unless I have literally no other choice
• Eating other grains such as bread and rice every day -> eating rice once this month and eating as little bread or cookies as possible
• Not understanding ANYTHING about lifting or working out/the evils of machines -> knowing a lot (more than before) about working out and how machines can be bad
• Not knowing proper form for almost anything -> knowing proper form for more things than probably almost anyone I know
• Eating lots of microwavable food -> not eating any at all
• Thinking that I wanted to be super thin just to be thin -> wanting to be super fit and healthy

3) Dawsy and the Runner’s Guild (killer band name, by the way) are going to be (virtually) running to the South Pole.  I freaking love this.   Join them!

4) I desperately need to do more of this – mobility!  Join Bprime and get limber, people! 

Woots of the Week

If you do something awesome, congratulate yourself for being awesome.  And tell us about it!  

Who cares if it sounds like you’re bragging – we’re among friends, and we love to see our friends succeed.  So, we have a Woot Room where rebels can post their successes.

Like these heroes:

MattewD went for his first run and his neighbors didn’t attack him with pitchforks and torches.  Win.

JediGirlPHX ran her first half marathon last Sunday!  It was less than 6 months ago she ran her first mile without stopping.  We call this “progress.”

Where’s Waldo? Atlanta.  And he needs to buy a new belt, for the first time in like seven years old, because he’s getting thinner.  Peace out BELT!

Syndey Australia Meet up

Dawsy, who’s runs (ha!) Beginning Barefoot, is organizing a SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Nerd Fitness meetup for Thursday, Feb 2nd, at 5:45 PM at the Sydney Opera House.  You can join the discussion here.

This makes me happy for so many reasons:

• Dawsy is the man.  I met up with him in Sydney last spring when I was in Syndey.
• NF is apparently big enough in Sydney to actually have a meetup!  How cool is that!!!
• This is something I want to do MORE of – I can’t be everywhere I once, but I know there are Rebels ALL over the world looking to meet each other, so we’re working on coordinating easy ways for meetups to happen in cities and towns all over on a regular basis.  Thanks for getting the ball rolling Dawsy!

More pictures!

I know we have rebels around the world, like our girl Mama T here   I want your pictures of doing awesome things to put up in these Friday updates!

So send in your awesome photos to steve@nerdfitness.com and we’ll get them added to these Friday updates.

Speaking of Fridays…what the heck do I call these Friday updates?

Futureheroes in Training?

State of the Rebellion?

Rebellion Update?

I’m taking suggestions – if you come up with a great name that we go with…free NF shirt for you!

Have a great weekend!

-Steve

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“Mutation.

It is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years.

But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.”

For your entire life, you’ve been told to hide your differences.

You’ve been told to fit in, and be like everybody else.  After all, the kids that fit in don’t get picked on.  The kids that fit in don’t cause trouble.  The kids that fit in go on to become fine upstanding citizens.

What if I told you that it’s okay to be different?

That there’s a group of people who are waiting for you to embrace your differences?

That those who make fun of you for being different are the very people who will need your help?

My dear nerd fitness rebel, there is a war coming.

Are you sure you’re on the right side?

You’re a mutant, embrace it

Let’s be honest – you’re a mutant.

Yeah, you might not have blue skin, adamantium running through your body (yeah, not a power but bear with me), or the ability to change shapes at will, but you are still vastly different than everybody around you:

• You’re the ONE person in your group of friends who wants a better future.
• You’re the ONE person in your office who wants to get in shape and eat better.
• You’re the ONE person in your family who believes you deserve a better life.

It’s tough, I know.  After all, being different makes you an easy target.  You’ll hear it from everybody – “why do you have to be so weird?” or “come on, join us!”  After hearing this day in, day out, for so many years…you might even start to believe them.  You might start to wonder if it would be easier to just conform and go with the flow.

And then you take a closer look at the people who you are considering trying to be more like:

• Overweight
• Out of shape
• Have a litany of healthy problems
• Up to their eyeballs in consumer debt
• Living a life that leaves them unfulfilled
• Generally unhappy.

SCREW THAT. Yeah, you ARE different from those people.

Be thankful!

Identify your differences

Are you the girl with superhuman strength?  Are you the guy who has iron willpower and can say yes or no to ANYTHING?  Maybe you can transform at a moment’s notice for any skill required.  Maybe you run more marathons than should be humanly possible. 

What makes you different?

If you’re not different yet…HOW do you want to be different?  What skill do you possess that makes you stand out from the crowd?

Me personally? I have an unique ability to synthesize boring, intimidating information in the nerdiest, most accessible way possible.

I don’t quite fit into most nerd circles.  Yeah, I’ve read all of the Harry Potter books multiple times.  I’ve built my own computer.  I’ve devoted years of my life to Everquest and Everquest 2, and the first thing I bought after coming back from my 14 month trip was a Playstation 3.

I enjoy being a nerd, but that’s not all I am.

I also love exercising, but I don’t quite fit into that conventional demo either.  I get weird looks every time I set foot in a normal gym.  I wear funky shoes on my feet.  My ripped t-shirt and shorts I bought a decade ago aren’t going to win any fashion awards.  While everybody around me is running on a treadmill like a hamster or doing their 47th bicep curl exercise…I hanging plates off a weight belt to do weighted chin ups.  I’m usually foaming at the mouth and jumping around with my eyes closed in between heavy deadlift sets.

And don’t even get me started on how I don’t fit most entrepreneur/businessman molds either.  I’m sure I do most things counter to how you SHOULD run a business, and I don’t care…hell, I rarely put pants on these days! (too much info?)

I don’t quite fit in anywhere, and I love it. 

They’ll shun you til they need you

As it has been said in the X-men movies, “Mankind has always feared what it doesn’t understand.”

And this quote from Nightcrawler (my personal favorite X-men) sums up my thoughts about our less evolved neighbors: “You know, outside the circus, most people were afraid of me. But I didn’t hate them. I pitied them. Do you know why? Because most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes.”

I’m not going to lie to you – it’s going to be tough to be different:

• You’ll get made fun of when you say no to birthday cake at the office today.
• Your friends will goad you into skipping your next workout to play video games
• You’ll get funny looks the next time you’re in the gym doing your workout.
• Your family will ask you to be normal when you tell them how you’re eating.

These are people who are afraid of being left behind and/or afraid of what they don’t know.  Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do for them yet – trying to force them to adapt to your point of view is a recipe for disaster…for they are not ready.

Instead, wear their snide comments and insults like a badge of honor.  You are the one who is mutating and evolving.  You cannot force motivation on others – you can only inspire with your actions.

Days, months, or years from now, when you are operating at a higher level of existence and health, the questions will start to show up:

• “hey, so what was that site you told me about three years ago?”
• “hey, I’m thinking of getting in shape – what do you think of this workout plan?”
• “can you help me with this?”

This is not the time to gloat – but rather the time to help and support.  Remember, it took years before the switch flipped in YOUR head.  Everybody operates on their own timetable, so when its their turn to change, they’ll let you know.

Focus on evolving yourself.

Your friends, families, and loved ones will come around eventually.

Until then…

Understand you are not alone

Every day, the evil forces of obesity, laziness, and apathy grow. 

Fortunately, every day its resistance grows even stronger. 

I’m talking about a group of people who work hard to embrace their differences and help out their fellow mutants.

No, not the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.  (But that would be sweet if it actually existed.)

I’m talking about the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

We understand that being different is the only way that we will progress as a species.  We understand that being different will provide us with unique perspectives that could lead us to breakthrough revelations and new solutions.

So bring your differences, bring your unique perspective, but check your biases and reservations at the door.  We’re all learning from each other every day, and we’re all feeding off the successes of each other.

There’s a war coming…

Professor Charles Xavier said it best: “When an individual acquires great power, the use or misuse of that power is everything, will it be used for the greater good or will it be used for personal or destructive ends? Now this is a question we must all ask ourselves.

Why, because we are mutants.”

Thanks for being part of this funky group of mutants over here at Nerd Fitness.

So let’s hear it: What’s your unique ability?

-Steve

###

PS – NF San Fran Meetup Tonight - Harry’s Bar around 7PM – Come grab a beer (or whatever) and meet your fellow San Fran rebels!

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With today being the first day of the Chinese New Year, I figured it’d be a perfect opportunity to post this incredibly in-depth guest post on why Kung Fu is perfect for nerds, written by NF community member Anna Spysz.

“If you want to learn how to change positions, throw a catfish in the bathtub and try to catch it.”

This pearl of wisdom, spoken by my sifu (master, or the kung fu version of a sensei) during a recent class, is a fairly typical thing to hear at my kung fu training. Nearly two years ago, I walked into my first Wing Chun Kung Fu class one cold March evening, equally nervous and curious. In the weeks before I had come to two realizations:

• I needed to start working out, as the long winter had turned my body into mush
• gyms bored the ever-loving crap out of me.

I wanted an alternative that would keep me in shape while teaching me new skills that would train my mind as well as my body, so when I saw a poster for a local kung fu class advertising a free lesson for beginners, I signed up.

I had always thought martial arts were cool in movies, but never expected to find myself not only practicing one, but diving headfirst into it. Now that I have some experience with Wing Chun (one of the many branches of kung fu out there), I realized why I took to it so quickly: kung fu, and specifically Wing Chun, is perfect for nerds. If your impression of kung fu is all about Jackie Chan flying through the air with fists of death, you might be a bit disillusioned.

But if you’re interested in a form of training that emphasizes speed over strength, brains over brawn, bodyweight and simple tools over expensive gym equipment – in essence, most of the principles of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion – read on.

It’s all about physics

Looking around my kung fu class, I realized that if you took all of the guys and girls there you could easily put together a decent IT department. Most of the guys are pretty skinny, a few look like they could front a metal band, and all of them are decidedly nerdy. As for the girls, I’m the tallest at 5’ 7”. And yet, any one of the students in my intermediate class could hold their own in a dark alley. Why?

Because of Newton.

Ok, specifically, because of Newtonian kinetic energy: Ek=(1/2)mv^2.

Or in English: the energy of an object in motion increases with the square of its velocity. Or in even simpler English: when you’re hitting something, speed is more important than mass. If you double your mass, you’ll hit with twice the force. But if you double your speed, you’ll hit with four times the force, and so on. Quite handy to know when you only weigh 140 pounds.

Wing Chun Kung Fu is all about using speed to your advantage. Our sifu usually places as much emphasis on improving our speed as on helping us get stronger, and with good reason. A lot of us on Nerd Fitness tend to side with the underdog – the smaller, but usually faster guy in a battle. I know I do. With kung fu, the underdog gains all the tools he needs to beat the bad guy (as for getting the girl, you’re probably still on your own there).

There are no flashy acrobatic leaps or flowery techniques in Wing Chun; every move is necessary and based on scientific concepts of human movement rather than animal forms, as in many other martial arts. One of my favorite parts of the class is when our instructor explains the physics of any given move, and why it’s more efficient than doing it another way. Most moves aren’t taught because they’re part of a tradition; rather, they’ve been proven to be the most effective attack or counterattack in a given situation.

But don’t listen to me when Bruce Lee said it best: “Wing Chun Kung Fu is a very sophisticated weapon, nothing else. It is a science of combat, the intent of which is the total incapacitation of an opponent. It is straightforward, efficient and deadly. If you’re looking to learn self-defense, don’t study Wing Chun. It would be better for you to master the art of invisibility.”

Girl power

According to legend, Wing Chun Kung Fu was invented by a woman, which is why it’s designed to rely on speed and efficiency rather than brute strength.

The history of Wing Chun goes back to the famous Shaolin Temple in China, where a group of rebel fighters gathered to train and plan attacks against a much stronger invading force (sound familiar…?), but it was burned to the ground in the 17th century. One of the survivors of the fire, a nun, fled to a village where she met a beautiful young woman named Yim Wing Chun, who was being threatened by a brutal landowner demanding her hand in marriage. Using a combination of the techniques she knew, the nun taught the young woman a modified form of kung fu that was tailored specifically for her size and relied more on speed and agility than muscular strength.

Yim Wing Chun then took the skills she had learned from the nun, challenged and defeated the brutal landowner and married the man she had chosen as her husband, and he then passed on the system that carried her name to the next generation.

Today, Wing Chun continues to be a system that can give women and smaller men the advantage in a fight. But next to speed, smarts are also essential.

Brain strain

When making a move in Wing Chun, you’re always simultaneously defending and attacking.

While the system is relatively simple, there are still a few forms to memorize and perfect, and certain ways of moving that must be followed. All of that concentration can occasionally hurt your head – in a good way. Often after practice, my brain is the sorest part of my body. I might complain at the time, but then I think – would I rather be mindlessly punching a dummy for an hour (or worse yet, running on a treadmill), or concentrating on coordinating both arms while maintaining the proper footwork so that my punch is as powerful as it can be?

If you’re looking for something easy, then kung fu is probably not for you. But if you like the challenge of straining over an equation or piece of code for an hour followed by the immense satisfaction that comes from finally figuring it out, you’ll find a similar rush with kung fu.

Bodyweight for the win

While there are hundreds of styles of martial arts out there, Wing Chun Kung Fu’s advantage is its simplicity and efficiency. You don’t have to memorize hundreds of forms; rather, you spend most of your time discovering the natural movements of your body and how to make them more effective. And to get your body to its most effective state, you train using the same methods Steve advocates on Nerd Fitness: bodyweight techniques.

Our typical strength training consists of jumping jacks, sprints, squats, push-ups, burpees, side-to-side push-ups, and several other techniques also found in the Rebel Strength Guide. On days when we’re working our arms we’ll do hundreds of push-ups of all kinds, while leg days include squats and lunges in addition to various kicks. As far as equipment goes, the only thing we use in class is a wooden dummy to practice forms and occasionally punching bags, because they’re fun (and useful, of course, but not necessary). There isn’t a single barbell or piece of gym equipment to be found in our school – because the only thing that’s necessary is your body and someone to teach you how to use it effectively.

And finally: Bruce Lee did it. ‘Nuff said.

Kung Fu Training

But what does a typical kung fu training session look like? Of course, it depends on your school and the type of kung fu, so I can only give an example of my particular style, Wing Chun, as taught by my sifu, Andrzej Szuszkiewicz.

First of all, we begin with a dynamic warm-up – and when I say dynamic, I mean you will be soaked in sweat within 7 minutes, though it typically lasts about 15-20. Since as a writer I’m a fan of showing, not telling, I’ve included it at the bottom so you can use it before your own training sessions of any kind, whether it’s another martial art or just running or lifting weights.

Then we’ll do continue with intensive drills for the first hour, either working on kicks or punches depending on the day. Typically, that means throwing some 500 punches or kicks per session, with either push-ups (on arm days) or intensive stretching (on leg days) in between.

The last hour or so is spent on technique – this is when we learn proper forms and usually practice sparring with a partner. This is also the most educational and brain-intensive part of the training, because you’re often learning new movements and practicing them right away, so getting the technique right is crucial.

Of course, there are days when technique is pretty much all we do, and days when it’s mostly strength training (punching bag days are my favorite), and there are also seminars several times a year where either our sifu or a visiting one will focus on one aspect of Wing Chun, such as forms, wooden dummies, butterfly swords or even strength training with kettlebells, as we did recently. We practice three times per week for two hours usually, though the advanced class has extra sessions on top of that.

This all may sound tough now (and it sure as hell seemed that way back when I started), but of course when you’re starting out in the beginner class you won’t be expected or forced to do any more than you are capable of at the moment – the goal is to gradually get you stronger and faster, not to try to force it and have you end up either injured or disillusioned or both. When I first started, I could barely do two sets of 10 push-ups. That was fine (and I definitely wasn’t the only one), and our sifu encouraged me to do knee push-ups until I got stronger. And I did. Now I do 7 or 8 sets per session, usually on my fists.

In the end, kung fu, much like Nerd Fitness, is a way of life rather than a quick weight-loss fad, and it’s as much philosophy as it is training, both of which should prove quite valuable in life.

As Bruce Lee said, “‘Being’ is more valued than ‘doing’.”

Kung Fu resources

If you’re not yet convinced, check out these awesome uses of kung fu in movies:

Ip Man (2008)

One of my absolute favorite martial arts films is the excellent Ip Man starring Donnie Yen, as well as the sequel, Ip Man 2 (the later prequel is decent as well). It’s well-made, with a fantastic story as well as amazing fight scenes, and best of all, it’s based on the life of Wing Chun legend and Bruce Lee mentor Ip Man himself.

Ip Man Video

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

A very fit Robert Downy Jr. takes down his much bigger opponent with what seems like minimal effort. The secret? He’s using Wing Chun techniques.

And who can forget the Green Hornet, both old:

Green Hornet (Old) Video

and new:

Green Hornet New Video

Best of all, you’ll always be able to say in your best Keanu monotone, “I know kung fu”:

Keanu Knows Kung Fu

Convinced? Then the next step is to find a class near you and try it out – usually the first couple of sessions are free!  If you’d like to read more before diving in, here are some resources I found interesting and helpful:

• Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense by Bruce Lee
• Books and DVDs on Wing Chun Kung Fu by Sifu Randy Williams
• Complete Wing Chun: The Definitive Guide to Wing Chun’s History and Traditions

The Kung Fu Warm-up

Note: this is an advanced warm up suited for Kung Fu – just looking at it might make you exhausted.  Do the best you can and work up to a full warm up!  Don’t forget why warm ups are so important.

First 8-10 minutes: a round of basic dynamic exercises to get your heart racing. During this time you never stop moving, even between exercises, when the default “rest” position is to lightly jog in place while loosening your muscles. In class, the sifu actually calls out the exercise and everyone switches, but it usually goes something like this:

• 100 jumping jacks
• 10 squat jumps (start in a squat position and jump with your arms up, like the first half of a burpee without the push-up)
• 30 seconds jumping oblique twist (kind of like this, but we hold our fists up to our faces when we do it)
• 30 seconds jumping jacks (or seal jumps)
• 10 squat jumps
• 30 seconds jumping jacks (or seal jumps)
• 20 jumping windmills – forwards
• 10 knee jumps (jump from a standing position, bringing your knees as close to your elbows as possible)
• 30 seconds jumping oblique twist
• 20 jumping windmills – backwards
• 10 knee jumps
• 30 seconds jumping oblique twist
• 10 quick position changes (start with left foot forward like a normal kung fu/boxer stance, lightly jumping forwards and backwards, and then very quickly switch so now your right foot is forward – that’s one)
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 10 triple position changes (same as the position change, but change three times really quickly for each count)
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 10 punches from the left (start the same as for the position change, but this time punch with your left arm each time you jump forward, like a boxing move)
• 30 seconds jumping oblique twist
• 10 punches from the right
• repeat until you hit about 10 minutes

This part of the warm-up ends with what I call a “burpee ladder”, though I’m sure it has a proper name, probably in Chinese. Basically, you’re starting with the basic squat jump like during the first part of the warm-up and building up with several varieties of burpee:

• 10 jump squats
• 10 crunch burpees (jump squat, then drop to your back and quickly do three crunches and get right back up, repeat)
• 10 crunch + push-up burpees (jump squat, drop to your back and quickly do three crunches, from that position change quickly to a push-up position by moving your feet under your body, do one push-up and get right back up like from a normal burpee, repeat)
• 10 crunch + push-up + back bridge burpees (jump squat, three crunches, one push-up and from there move your feet under you to get in position on your back and do one full back bridge and get right back up, repeat)

If you can’t do 10 yet, start with 5 or however many you can do.

Finally, about 5 minutes of kicks and stretches, focusing not on strength or speed but on stretching your legs and kicking as high as possible:

• standing hamstring stretch, 10 seconds each leg
• 10 straight kicks, right leg
• 10 straight kicks, left leg
• (repeat 5 more times)
• standing calf stretch, 10 seconds each leg
• 10 side to side kicks, right leg
• 10 side to side kicks, left leg
• (repeat 5 more times)
• hip flex stretch, 10 seconds each leg
• mix of neck rotations, arm circles, waist rotations and finish with seated leg stretches

If you’re still alive after that (and I really hope so, I can’t afford the lawsuits), your body is completely warmed-up, well stretched and ready for just about any workout you can throw at it!

So, do we have any future Bruce Lee’s in the community? 

What type of martial arts do you practice or would you LIKE to practice? 

Sound off in the comments! 

Anna Spysz is a freelance writer and translator currently living and kung fu fighting in Krakow, Poland. When not strength training, playing with her band or blogging at Saving Ink, she’s busy looking for freelance writing gigs to pay the bills.

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NF rebel Caleb (of PocketChanged) in Glacier National Park, Montana.  It’s tough to see due to the flexing and the NF t-shirt, but there are MOUNTAINS behind him. Actual mountains.

Hello and welcome to another Friday edition of Futureheroes in Training!

In case you missed the announcement last week, every Friday I’ll be highlighting the awesomeness of the NF community.  With almost 13,000 subscribers and over 4,000 members on the message boards (now up over 100,000 posts), this small rag-tag group of underdogs is starting to make some serious waves worldwide.

I have to give another shout out to Joe, the rebel I featured on Wednesday who lost 128 pounds in 10 months.   Joe’s story attracted thousands upon thousands of new visitors and hundreds and hundreds of new subscribers.

If you happen to be one of those newbies, we’re glad to have you! 

Challenge Winners

Two years ago, we started holding 4-week (now 6-week) challenges to see who could make the most positive changes to themselves in that time.  Well, I was also kind of busy doing a wee bit of traveling last year, so I’ve been slacking on the whole “announcing winners” thing.  You have to understand, I might be the least organized person in the world, and I have the attention span of a toddler watching….ooh look a butterfly!

Where was I?

Oh right! Contest winners!  So, here are ALL of the winners in these contests for the past YEAR.   Big thanks to Staci for organizing this and keeping me in line.  I promise future winners now have a place to be announced

January 31st, 2011 Winner: LyneeLee for establishing some new kickass habits – she tracked all of her meals, strength-trained twice a week, stretched twice a week, and managed to regain control of her messy house.

March 7th, 2011 Winner: clawedbear for going primal and losing almost 17 pounds in the four weeks, dropping a pant size, and kicking butt on his kettlebell workouts.

April 11, 2011 Winner: Citabean for pretty much dominating every single physical challenge she put in front of herself.  Seriously, read what she accomplished.

May 30th, 2011 Winner: Crooked for learning how to do a kipping pull up, went 90% paleo, worked out 3 times a week, and deadlifted 210 lbs!  She’s winning.

July 18th, 2011 Winner: LorenWade for losing 16 pounds, dropping 5% of his body fat, cranking out 10 pull ups, and completing a 10 minute (!) plank!  Damn dude!

September 5th, 2011 Winner: Catspaw for losing 3 pounds of fat, gaining 3 pounds of muscle, running a half marathon, taking circus school classes, knitting classes, skydiving, and turning down a six-figure job because she knew it wouldn’t make her happy.  Just typing this made me exhausted.

October 24th, 2011 Winner: Matilda1117 (aka Mama T) for gaining strength, speed, building confidence, becoming less shy (something we can all relate to )

Thanks to all of you guys who are now winners – we’ll be in touch with you shortly and send you your prize – a NF t-shirt and ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH (I’m 100% lying about the cash, but not about the t-shirt).

From here on out, we’ll be able to announce winners in a timely manner, thanks to these nifty Friday posts.

Thanks for your understanding!

Caption contest winner

James AE – Ostrich: “hmm… I wonder what a nerd burger tastes like …”

I spit out my coffee when I read “nerd burger,” and I don’t even drink coffee.  That’s how funny this was.  Congrats James, I’ll be in touch shortly!

Woots of the Week

If you do something awesome, congratulate yourself for being awesome.  And tell us about it!  

Who cares if it sounds like you’re bragging – we’re among friends, and we love to see our friends succeed.  So, we have a Woot Room where rebels can post their successes.

Like these heroes:

Tatpunk for going paleo and dropping 6 pounds in her first week – as an added bonus, she’s been able to decrease how much arthritis medication she needs to take, has more energy, and all around feels much better.

Weirdquark for doing a wide grip pull up for the first time ever!  Is there any better exercise to make you feel like a badass?  Okay maybe heavy deadlifts but pull ups are my favorite.

Manveru for running a mile without stopping for the first time in his life.  Congrats Manveru!

Sharky for flipping a 500 pound tire twice this week.  Um, holy crap.

Atalan for seeing great changes in under a month.  Looks like we might have the next Joe on our hands if he can keep it up!

ShinigamiPUNCH who no longer needs plus size clothing.  WOOT!

Austin NF Meetup

Big thanks to the rebels of Austin, TX for hanging out at the NF meetup this past week!  And yes, that is Chuck Norris himself on the wall behind us.  Not quite sure how a freaking Runyon shirt showed up…and yes we look like zombies, and I know you’re jealous.

Funniest Facebook Photo

Renato with a pork leg in his mouth, hailing all the way from São Caetano do Sul, Brazil!  NF is HUGE in South America!

San Fransisco!

 On Monday, I’ll be flying out to San Francisco.  On Wednesday, I’ll be speaking to the fine folks at Facebook on how to not suck at setting goals!  Who’s in town on Thursday evening, the 26th?  Considering trying to put together a Nerd Fitness meetup – here’s the event page for it if we can make it happen.

How You Doin?

And that’s all we have for today - I have quite a few other ideas for awesome things that we can add into these Friday articles…but if you have suggestions please don’t be afraid to share them.  This is your article

What’s new in your world?

-Steve

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Move over Optimus Prime, I have a new favorite transformer.

His name is Joe, and he has the best Nerd Fitness success story I have EVER seen. 

In 10 months of following Nerd Fitness, Joe has lost 128 pounds.

This picture is from Joe’s first day – wait til you see what he looks like now. Fortunately, we not only have an interview with Joe today on how he succeeded, but also pictures of him and old emails from every month along the way too!

Although Joe followed the workout plans and diet advice in the Rebel Fitness Guide and Rebel Strength Guide to help him get these results, it’s no secret why he was successful.  He exercised regularly, cleaned up his diet, and established new habits that kept him on track.

Hopefully this inspires you as much as it did me.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I had tears in my eyes when I got an email from Joe saying he had lost 100 pounds (now all the way up to 128 pounds lost!).  He not only looks like a completely different person, but he now gets to be an inspiration to thousands upon thousands of people as well.

I have honestly never been more excited to post an article than I am today.  If you are (really) overweight, out of shape, and worried that it’s too late to get started – stop.

It will take time, and it won’t be easy, but it IS possible.

Let’s meet Joe, my new hero.

The First Few Months…

Although Joe didn’t email me until after month 4, these are the pictures he took of himself at the end of months 1, 2, and 3:

Four Months In

I got my first email from Joe back on July 4th, 2011, exactly four months after he started his journey to  a better life.  Below I’ll be sharing the emails that he sent me along with the photo for that month.

This is the first email:

Hey Steve!

Since March 4th I have been following your Rebel Fitness Guide.  I’m the kind of guy who dives into things with both feet, so starting March 4th I changed things for the better.  I’m very much still a work in progress but here is where I stand:  I went from a 3XL shirt to a solid 2XL/1XL (depending).  And pants size I went from a 54″ waist to a 46/44″ (again depending).  Not too bad for 4 months I’d say!

I’ve taken a pic every 4th of the month, and yah that’s been helpful

I travel A LOT for work and I like that many exercises from the Rebel Fitness Guide I can do in a hotel room (I just make sure to bring resistance bands with me).  I also loved the Road Warrior Guides that came as bonuses with the Strength Guide, those definitely helped too!

I remember one thing in particular I read in the guide that came true for me.  I was in a small town with some coworkers and there was this bakery.  I just got some water and everyone else got these sweet breads (evil sprinkled with more evil) and they were like “why aren’t you getting one?”  “Come on, have one with us”  One guy even had the nerve to say he felt sorry for me!!  I almost had a fight on my hands, but I kept calm.

-Joe

Five Months In

Hey Steve!

I’m doing well with my progress I’d say, (slow and steady wins the race! (woot for sticking with it for 5 months!))

I am currently out of town on business (as usual) and of course last night we all had some fun and I didn’t eat great.  I’ve been pretty dedicated before then so I figured a break would be okay, but I was feeling kinda bad.  Fortunately, I read the last NF email that went out and was glad it was about taking breaks and how things happen but to get right back on the horse, and of course that perked me up!  And your email today was a good boost as well!  I am getting ready to work out (clothes are fitting better and better every week, wanna keep it that way!)

-Joe

Six Months In

Hey Steve!

It has now been six months, yay!!!

Things are progressing with me still.  I am definitely out of the 2XL shirts and into a solid XL (and L in hoodie size!)  Pants wise i’m a 40/42 (quite a ways away from that ole 54).  I recently went on vacation to PAX in Seattle and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do my typical workouts due to the video game convention-ing.  As it turns out one does very little sitting at conventions and I was walking around most of that time, lol.  That and Seattle is hilly…very hilly, so needless to say I got a different type of workout in as the day progressed!

Today is my rest day so video games most of the day for me.  This month will be a challenge for me as I’ll be on travel for work 90% of this month instead of 50%.  I’m sure I’ll stay on track and get my alternate hotel workouts in!  As far as eating, counting calories and eating healthy is second nature to me now.  Me and pals went to pancake house and looking at the menu the only thing that was okay to eat was the fruit bowl, and thus that was my breakfast

-Joe

Seven Months

Hey Steve,

So now we are into month 7 and still kickin.

September was hard as I was out of town all but 4 days!  I stuck with it as much as possible and I did very good I think.  October will definitely be good as I’m only gone one week instead of the normal two.  My pants are now 40/38, and I must say it was pretty awesome fitting into those 38s.  Shirt size are now XL/L with L slowly becoming the norm!

I did actually weigh myself a week ago, which I was scared to do, but I was like ‘sure what the heck’.  Turns out I now weigh 210, so I’ve lost about 100lbs so far.  As my friend put it “you lost two of my little girls!”  I’ve started adding about an additional 20 minutes of exercises focusing on my abs each session because I don’t want that extra skin stuff to get out of hand as I lose more.  I’ve noticed a difference and I know it’ll take time to firm that all up, so things are on the up swing there.  I’ve included a couple more pics, can’t wait to see what this month yields!

Recently, I had to run from my car to the post office cause it was raining and I gotta say, making it there and not being out of breath was pretty cool

-Joe

Eight Months

Hey there!

I didn’t forget its been a month already!  Yah, time is flying, and I’m still traveling and staying on track!

I’m continuing to do well, I’m mainly a Large now and I am a 36/38 in pants, so woohoo!

I did weight myself again, and I’m down to 200, so a total of 110 lost after 8 months

-Joe

Nine Months

Heyo!

We are now on month 9!

Thanksgiving was a trial to be sure, but it was moderated for the most part, heh.

I am now in a Medium/Large, so that’s rather cool.  I think Medium is a happy place, so we’ll see.  I am a solid 36 waist, so that is a triumph unto itself I think!  34 would be ideal, so I’ll still be trucking on!

I weight 195, which is pretty awesome and things go well!  I’m slowly raising my calorie intake while still sticking to a mostly Paleo style of eating.  I am still working out a consistent 4/5 times a week and things are tightening up, slowly but surely!

-Joe

Ten Months

Hey Steve!

Month 10!!!  Two more months and that makes a whole year of eating healthy and working out

I’ll preface my update by saying ‘Thank You’!  Your website and guides really really helped me this year.  I honestly never thought I’d be able to get down to the size I am now.  I’ve been a heavy guy my whole life, and going to a store and being able to find clothes that fit is a new experience for me!  Going from a size 54 waist and size XXXL shirts to now is full of awesome!  So again, THANKS!!!!

December was quite tough to get through, and I did cheat a bit!  But I did minimize the junk as much as possible and managed to get in 4/5 workouts a week, so I’m still on track!  I’m more Medium than Large, but it all depends on the fit of the shirt, those darn fitted shirts still work best in a Large.  I actually fit into a 34, but it is a bit snug, so I imagine I’ll be good soon.  My goal is definitely to fit in a size 34 waist by the time my 1 year comes up.  I’m 182, so lost 3lbs since I last wrote ya, but I think that’s partially due to the fact that December was full of holiday parties, lol.  128lbs lost so far.  Diet is still mainly paleo style (mainly…ha) and I can’t wait for the nice weather to return so I can start running!!  New side pic included!

-Joe

How it happened

Steve: Thanks for answering these questions man – I know a LOT of readers will be interested to hear how you were so dang successful.  So let’s start at the beginning – describe a typical day for you before you decided to make a change.

Joe: My typical day when I’m at home usually involved going to work in the morning, eating lunch at one of the surrounding fast food places, and grabbing snacks and soda during breaks. Once I got home I would sometimes order pizza for dinner or warm up some sort of frozen food I had in the fridge. I would then just game the night away. On days I was on travel I would head out to work, and the rest of my day was filled with eating out and hanging out back at the hotel.

Steve: I’d guess that lifestyle sounds incredibly familiar to a huge portion of NF readers.  How many times prior to this had you tried to lose weight?

Joe: Only once seriously, but that didn’t last long. I had other minor attempts that, looking back now, could hardly be qualified as a serious attempt, haha.

Steve: Fair enough.  Looking back, was there a specific game-changing moment that you decided to make changes? What inspired you to get started?

Joe: I think the real moment I decided to make a change was when my clothes were starting to fit too tightly. I was already in a 3XL and size 54 pants, and even though that was pretty big, I really didn’t want to get bigger clothes. Clothes shopping was tough enough, heh.

Steve: You started following the Rebel Fitness Guide, and then moved on to the Rebel Strength Guide. Were most of your workouts done at home – body weight? Or did you do free weights?

Joe: Yup, all of my workouts were done at home. I did start off with just using my body weight against me, but then I invested in some free weights too. My current ‘home gym’ includes a pull up bar, dumbbells, a rubber balance ball, and resistance bands.

Steve: The first time I had heard from you was after four months and you had already succeeded; how tough were those first four months?

Joe: They were pretty tough. Although I was committed to this and had focus, it was still tough sticking to working out on a regular basis and eating healthy. It got easier after about month 3 or 4, at that point healthy was more of a habit for me. My friends made it easier though, they didn’t make a fuss or anything when I started eating healthy when we all went out to eat. Even my MMO pals encouraged my workouts!! Of course there are always those other ‘friends’ who do make a fuss and put down my healthy eating habits, but all that did was let me see them for who they really were.

Steve: That’s so great Joe, congratulations man.  Looking back, what was the toughest change for you to make?

Joe: I think at first the toughest change was finding time to workout. I just looked at my schedule and realized that there was more than enough time to workout, I was just looking for excuses. Now I can’t imagine more than two days going by without working out.

Steve: What was the BEST thing you did for yourself through all of this? A cleaned-up diet? A workout habit?

Joe: Yes and yes! Cleaning up my diet and developing a workout habit were two of the best things I did for myself. I watch my calories everyday and now I work out at least four times a week.

Steve: I know you took pictures once a month. How often did you weigh yourself? Did you take any other measurements?

Joe: I basically just took pictures once a month and that was it. I weighed myself when I started, but I didn’t weigh myself again until about 6 months later. I tracked my progress by those pictures and how my clothes fit me. Fitting into smaller sized clothes was really a great motivation!

I tend to buy one outfit that fits a size too small, then when I fit into it I know I made progress.

Steve: I freaking LOVE that idea – you then always know exactly how you’re progressing and have something to work towards.  Now, you have a pretty interesting job that requires you to travel a LOT for work.  You’re traveling two weeks out of every month, right?  How did you maintain your momentum despite traveling and eating out?

Joe: I travel quite a bit for work. I’m an Information Analyst, and I travel to different organizations and evaluate their operations. I think traveling actually helped me out a bit. Traveling allowed me to have a variety in my workouts. Obviously when I’m on the road I don’t have access to my home gym, and I suppose I’m still not quite a ‘public gym’ person just yet so hotel gyms aren’t for me.

But I do have a variety of workouts I do in my hotel room and I always travel with my resistance bands. Your hotel workout is definitely a big help when there isn’t a lot of time for me to dedicate to working out! I do eat out quite a bit when I travel, but knowing this I had to look up the nutritional information for a lot of restaurants. I always watch what I eat and order the healthiest things on the menu. In situations where there is no healthy options I go to a grocery store and stick to fruits and nuts. A lot of convenience stores even have hard boiled eggs for sale, so those are a big help too!

Steve: The fact that you had this success while traveling two weeks a month is what impresses me the most.  Your physical appearance has changed…what else has changed about you?

Joe: My energy levels have increase and in general I feel a lot better. I live on the third floor of a building with no elevator so getting up those stairs is a breeze now! I go on long walks without breaking a sweat and that makes going to comic-cons more enjoyable!

Steve: I think you just gave up with the new tagline for Nerd Fitness: “It makes going to Comic-cons more enjoyable.” So what about these days – describe a typical day for you now.

Joe: My days now involve eating a healthy breakfast, and going to work. If I snack at work I snack on cashews, then I go grab a good healthy lunch. I get home, maybe have some more nuts then get to working out! After a good workout and a protein shake I usually eat a chicken breast, or fish, with spinach and some fruit and then game the rest of the night away. When I travel I make sure I know where to go to eat healthy, I bring nuts with me to snack on if I get a little hungry. When I’m finished with work I get a hotel workout in, grab a healthy dinner and then game the rest of the night away!

Steve: It’s good to hear that even though you’re a different person, you still do what makes you happy – play video games like a boss.  What are your goals moving forward? What kind of awesomeness do you want to do in your new body?

Joe: I do have a little more weight I want to lose. Ideally I’d love to have a size 32 waist and once I hit that I think I’ll  focus on maintaining my weight and working out. I do want to take up running when Spring arrives and maybe some other physical activities (maybe something gymnastics related?). But right now building my running skills has really caught my eye!

Steve: I know there are TONS of Nerd Fitness readers right now who are at your “Day 1″ (or heavier).  Do you have any words of advice for those folks? What can you say to those people to help themselves make changes?

Joe: I suppose I would say to anyone starting out that it may seem tough or impossible, but take it one week at a time. Time flies and the YOU that exists one year from now will thank the current you for all the good you’re doing for yourself. I never in my life imagined that I could make the lifestyle changes I made, but here I am today proving my old self wrong.

Never be afraid to ask for help, because no one is an island.

Don’t let nay-sayers get you down and don’t pay any attention to people who try to belittle your efforts, even if they say they are doing it playfully. You can make changes in your life for the better, just always keep in mind what your goal is.

Two great sayings I keep with me are: “Don’t sacrifice what you really want for what you want right now.” and “I may not be there yet, but I’m one step closer than I was yesterday.”

Steve: Love those quotes.  Let’s get all introspective here – Is there anything about the new you that the old you would be surprised to learn?

Joe: I think the old me would be surprised to find out that I find working out kinda addicting! Old me would also find it odd that I offhand know how many calories are in a majority of foods and that I look at the nutrition label of everything I buy at the grocery store!

Steve: What’s been your diet strategy? Healthy eating? Paleo?

Joe: I am definitely a calorie counter! I found there are plenty of free apps and websites that help with keeping track of calorie intake, so I take advantage of that. When I grocery shop I always look at nutrition labels, always! A majority of what I eat does follow the Paleo style of eating. I almost exclusively eat meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Once in a great while processed foods find its way into what I eat, but I minimize that as much as possible. I also drink water almost exclusively….except for the occasional adult beverage, haha!

Steve: Do you have a favorite healthy meal?

Joe: I like cooking lots of chicken breasts early in the week cause I’m just that lazy. My favorite healthy meal includes chicken breasts with spinach or asparagus. I also love having berries as dessert, blueberries being my favorite!

Steve: You’re still gaming the night away.  What are you currently playing, and what kind of games do you love?

Joe: Right now I’m playing tons of Skyrim, though in general I love RPGs and anything Dynasty Warriors.

Steve: Star Wars or Lord of the Rings?

Joe: Star Wars!

Steve: Do you have any other nerdy passions or pursuits?

Joe: Aside from video games I love comic books. I’m definitely a fan of the new Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Teen Titans and the Green Arrow. I think what draws me to the Green Arrow is that he doesn’t have super powers, he just got as good as he is by training.

Steve: Any famous last words?

Joe: I buried my fortune underneath the….

Steve: Haha! Thanks Joe!

Why was Joe successful?

He took pictures!  In my opinion, the best way to track your progress when it comes to getting healthy is taking pictures.  Sure, I’m guessing Joe didn’t like what he saw in the first picture of himself on that first day, but it showed him his starting point.  Each month, he could compare his new pictures to his old one to make sure he was heading down the right path.  Because you live with yourself every day, it’s often tough to see changes – pictures can certainly put things into perspective.  If you’re getting started, take that before picture!

He didn’t care about the scale.  Some people step on the scale every day, and it works for them.  Joe didn’t step on a scale for six months, and by that point he had already lost 100 pounds.  This will depend on your personality, but the scale might not be for you – your weight fluctuates daily, and some days/weeks it might even go up.  If you’re building muscle and eating right, the scale might not move at all…but your body composition CAN change.  So, try to have another metric along with stepping on a scale, or hell…don’t even worry about the scale!  Just put healthy habits in place, put your focus on getting stronger, and have pictures or measurements to track your progress. 

He educated himself.  Joe now knows the calorie content of every single thing he eats.  He researched restaurants he was going to eat at while traveling for work.  He knows how many calories he needs to consume on a daily basis to have enough energy for his workouts and still promote fat loss.  Yeah, some of these things probably took quite a bit of work up front…but I’d say it’s been worth it, eh?

He refused to accept an excuse to miss a workout.  When starting out, Joe didn’t think he had enough time to work out.  And then he realized that he DID have the time, he was just making excuses and telling himself he was too busy so that he could skip workouts guilty free.  Once he stopped accepting excuses and told himself that missing a workout wasn’t an option…all of a sudden he found time in his busy schedule to work out!

He stayed consistent while traveling.  Joe travels two weeks a month for work; so, he had to find a way to stay in shape while traveling.  Although the hotels and restaurants might be different with each trip, he still had his “constant:” hotel room workouts, healthy snacks, and the healthiest option on any menu in any restaurant in the country.  Like the previous reason, he refused to accept “I’m traveling” as an excuse to skip workouts and eat poorly…and all of a sudden he found that he could both exercise and eat healthy no matter where he was.

He rewarded himself with things that rewarded him back.  This might be my favorite thing Joe does.  When Joe buys new clothes, he buys one outfit or pair of pants that smaller than the others, as a goal to look forward to.  When he can fit into the smaller stuff comfortably, he knows he’s made progress, and it’s time to repeat the process. 

He put his focus on establishing good habits.  Joe took his life one day at a time.  During his first few months, there were plenty of instances where eating right and exercising was the LAST thing he wanted to do…but he did it anyways.  As we all know, an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion – so Joe forced himself into motion and built up momentum.  Now, exercising and eating right aren’t even thoughts in his mind…it’s just what he does!

He had a plan.  I’d like to tell you that there’s some magical formula in the Rebel Fitness Guide and the Rebel Strength Guide that gave Joe the power to succeed, but then I’d be lying.  Here’s the big secret: they’re quality programs with specific workout routines and diet advice presented in a nerdy fashion that happened to resonate with Joe and his philosophy.  Because he made a financial investment in his well-being, it was an easier decision to say “I should really follow through with this.”

Personally, I don’t care WHAT plan you follow, as long as you follow something and work towards improving with each workout.  Get started with the free Angry Birds Workout or Beginner Bodyweight Routine if you’re not looking to spend money and start building your own healthy habits and momentum TODAY.

Questions for Joe?

Remember that there is ALWAYS hope. 

A better life is waiting for you if you are willing to put in the time necessary to make it happen.  And yeah, Joe has been busting his butt for 10 months to get these results…but he now has 60 years worth of living to enjoy his new life.  In the business world I believe they call that a good investment.

I hope you are as fired up now as I am after reading this article.  Although I haven’t asked him about it, I’m sure Joe can chime in with answers to any other questions you might have about his tremendous success!

So, if you have any questions for Joe, leave a comment and we’ll make it happen!

-Steve

PS – Obviously, these results aren’t typical - Joe worked his ass off to transform. On top of that, we all have different genetics, metabolisms, and lifestyles that can affect how our bodies react to diet and exercise, both positively and negatively….

That being said, he’s a normal dude, with a normal job, a normal life, and he travels frequently for work.  If he can do it, so can you.

PPS - SOPA blows.

Today, you’re going to learn how to stretch.

This particular article might be light on the nerdiness (hope you don’t mind), and maybe even a little boring, but fear not!  It’s going to keep you safe and healthy on your quest to living a better life.  On top of that, if you’re big into strength training, stretching is so freaking important that if you are tight on time, cut the workout short but not the warm-up before or cool down after.

Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.

Why should you stretch after a workout?

Now, there are conflicting stories and reports and studies on the benefits of stretching before/after workouts.  In this nerd’s humble opinion and experience, along with the opinion and experience of those that I personally respect, static stretching BEFORE a workout isn’t beneficial and can actually decrease your strength.

However, stretching AFTER a workout can help kickstart the recovery process, loosen up your joints and muscles, and keep you feeling like a normal person rather than a robot.  Not that having the flexibility of a steel girder ISN’T fun, but it’s not my thing

This is why I find stretching AFTER a workout to be so beneficial (as it’s so eloquently explained in this great article):

“When you lift a weight your muscles contract. And after the workout the muscles remain contracted for some time. The following restoration of the muscles’ length is what recovery is. Until the muscle has restored its length, it has not recovered. Hence he who does not stretch his muscles slows down the recuperation process and retards his gains.” Besides, tension and relaxation are the two sides of the same coin, “if the muscle forgets how to lengthen, it will contract more poorly. And that is stagnation of strength.”

When you go through a great stretch routine after a heavy weight lifting day, your muscles are already starting to recover and expand, which will allow to you get back to “normal” more quickly than if you didn’t stretch.

And with improved flexibility comes improved performance in almost all areas of life (yup, even THAT).

Also, as you get older, your flexibility and mobility start to go…making you FEEL older.  If you can stay flexible, you’re more likely to stay happy and healthy for far longer.  Staying flexible keeps you active, and staying active keeps you young.

Beginner Stretching Routine

Now, after working out, HOW should you stretch depends on a few factors:  Your particular fitness level, your level of flexibility, how hard you worked out, and which muscles have been stretched.

Here’s a beginner stretching routine to complete after your workouts, created by my buddy and co-author of the Rebel Strength Guide, Vic Magary.

What’s important is to try your best, don’t stretch beyond the point where the movements are actually painful.  Slight discomfort (from stretching, duh) is what we’re aiming for.

Now, how far you stretch is up to you – You know your body best, and it’s the only one you got – so please take care of it!

Beginner Stretching Routine Video

Advanced Stretching Routine

Here’s a video of a more advanced stretching routine that I adapted from my fitness yoda/friend Mike Rickett.  It’s a mix of yoga, stretching, tai-chi, pilates, and awesome.  This is relatively advanced, so don’t do any of these movements that are too much of a reach (get it?!) for you.

The video explains everything, so pay attention to both the movement and number of repetitions.  Although I move quickly through the movements (sorry about that), don’t confuse my movements with bouncing – stretch as far as you can, hold it for a few seconds without bouncing, and then repeat the process:

Advanced Stretching Routine Video

Questions?

Depending on how you’re feeling, where you’re sore, and so on – you can throw in some additional stretches like the ballet stretch, full body stretch, or back stretch.

This should hopefully get you started – if you have more questions on what to do or when to do it – leave a comment and I’ll figure it out.

And speaking of stretching, keep an eye on NF in the upcoming weeks, as I plan on having a nerd’s guide to yoga for ya.  Stretching, mobility, and flexibility for the win!

-Steve

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Welcome to the first ever edition of “Superheroes in Training!”

Recently, I published an article on Nerd Fitness that discussed the three keys to success: education, inspiration, and support.  Starting this week, I’m going to attempt to have three articles per week published on Nerd Fitness.  Yup, you guessed it:

• Monday – Education
• Wednesday – Inspiration
• Friday - Support

Hopefully you’re already aware of this, but Nerd Fitness is way more than just a blog – there’s also a rapidly growing group of 4,000 superheroes-in-training all working together to building better bodies and better lives.  This community is FULL of folks from all walks of life: those just getting started on their journey, others who are well on their way, and even people who have already had tremendous success and are eager to share their wisdom, struggles, adventures.

Each Friday, I want to highlight all of the great stuff that’s happening in the NF community around the world.

I have a hunch this is going to evolve drastically over the weeks, so please share your input with what you’d like to see in your Friday articles.  I know weekends are a very tough time to stay dedicated, so hopefully these bursts of support and stories of success will keep you firing on all cylinders.

Oh, and by the way…the guy in the picture above sporting the NF t-shirt?  That’s Mike Bridgman, the guy who DESIGNED Nerd Fitness – the picture was taken while he was biking across the country.  No big deal.

Post of the Week

In this thread, Rhino was looking tips on “how to stay strong when you are feeling like you will go to the dark side?.”

The best response came from awsd00:

1. Stop caring what other people think.
Example: I used to be all self-conscious about going to the gym, but now I’m like “…why do I care so much? I’m off my ass, off the couch and not at home being lazy!

2. Go into the gym, keep your head down, do your thing and get out as quickly as possible. Being there for 2 hours means nothing if you didn’t get a good work out if you could be there for 30 minutes and get a better one.
Example: I used to think a good work out meant being there for an hour or more. Nope. I can get in and out in 30-45 minutes and feel just as tired and well-worn.

3. Do not listen to everything everyone tells you. Take advice from strangers with a grain of salt.
Example: First day at my new gym I was doing the seated calf press machine. At my school I can do 210 almost with ease while this one was giving me trouble. Little did I know I was just doing it wrong and the machine was set up differently. He showed me how to do it properly but then told me there was NO way I could do it at 210lbs – absolutely NO way. Well guess what, once I figured out how to do it properly I can do that machine at 190 to 210 so HA!

4. Give yourself more credit for what you’re doing.
Example: I used to get mad that I wasn’t seeing INSTANT results. But guess what – it took more than a week to put on the weight and it sure as hell is going to take more than a week to get it off! Just be proud of the fact that you’re making progress. Don’t give up on yourself!

5. Learn when to say “no!”
Example: Foods. More specifically BAD foods. Junk food? No! Fast food? No! Deep fried foods? No! Extremely processed foods? No! TV Dinners? No!

6. Learn to cook!
Example: I’ve been learning new ways to cook, new things to cook and new recipe ideas. No excuses. I don’t care how crappy your pots or pans are – find a way around it and make it work for you. Be resourceful! And most of all – cook your own damn food!

7. Congratulate yourself for being awesome.
Why? Because you are. Human beings are amazing. We can do so many things, make so many choices and basically have the world in our hands. You need to start thinking like that!

8. Last tip of awesomeness: ONLY DO THINGS YOU LIKE!
Example: I thought working out had to be like 20 minutes of cardio THEN doing the rest of my work out. Nope. Wrong. Sitting on a machine isn’t doing anything but making me abso-fucking-lutely miserable. If doing the cardio machines is not your thing, don’t punish yourself by doing them. Do the work out YOU want to do or else you’re just going to stop working out all together. That was my issue in the past. I was MISERABLE working out because I didn’t bother to try new things to see what I liked. Don’t do this!

Woots of the Week

If you do something awesome, congratulate yourself for being awesome.  And tell us about it!  

Who cares if it sounds like you’re bragging – we’re among friends, and we love to see our friends succeed.  So, we have a Woot Room where rebels can post their successes.

Like these:

Congrats to Strickland and his wife for running the Donald Duck half-marathon!  Despite it being his first half-marathon, he was able to finish with an average mile time of 10 minutes and 5 seconds.  Dang!

Thanks to Nutmeg for starting this epic thread on Before/After pictures.   It’s awesome to see how much progress has been made in such a short amount of time.

Congrats to Wildross for benching 315 lbs.  Um, holy crap!

Brian Bigelow for getting accepted (and dominating) the Fire Academy.  Sounds like an all around life-transformation to me…Optimus Prime would be so proud!

Blogs of the Week

We have some awesome writers in the NF community, and since we just added some blogging capabilities to the boards, let’s feature the week’s best blogs as well:

Supervitali’s incredibly inspiring post about how much he’s changed over the past two years.  Overweight to a 6-pack?  Yup.  It’s awesome.

John’s post about getting picked last to play ice hockey, a sport he just picked up since moving to Canada.  We’ve all been there in gym class – here’s what Josh went through, and how he dealt with it.  One of my favorite reads on the boards.

Rebel of the Week

 Charlotte from Georgia, reppin her NF Hoodie at her first ever 5k!

True story: Charlotte ran the 5k in four minutes, saved an orphaned puppy from a burning building, rescued an orphaned kitty stuck up in a tree, and then worked out a plan to balance the US Government’s 2012 budget in fifteen minutes on a cocktail napkin (just for fun).  Now, I’m not going to say that crazy things happen when you wear a Nerd Fitness Hoodie, but they TOTALLY DO!

Own a NF hoodie or NF t-shirt?  Take a picture of yourself doing something epic and send it in to steve@nerdfitness.com so we can feature you on the site!

Are you not entertained!?

So, thanks for being a part of the first ever Friday community post…what else belongs in here?

More full articles? 

More links to awesome message board posts?

More pictures?

Yes, I know we have like 25 contest winners to announce (sorry about that), we’ll announce them all next Friday!

Oh, and I know we have some success stories here in today’s post…but wait til Wednesday of next week – I’ll be featuring easily the most incredible Nerd Fitness transformation I’ve ever seen.  I guarantee your jaw will drop.

Tomorrow, I head down to Austin for five days, and I’m damn excited.  If you’re going to be around Tuesday night in the city, join us!

-Steve

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