State of the Rebellion 1/27/12

by Steve on January 27, 2012

 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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6 comments

Are You a Mutant? Embrace it.

by Steve on January 26, 2012

“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

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

photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo, photo

25 comments

Why Kung Fu Is Perfect for Nerds

by Steve on January 23, 2012

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. [click to continue…]

30 comments

Rebels Yell

by Steve on January 20, 2012


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!  [click to continue…]

17 comments

10 Months. 128 Pounds Lost. The Best Transformation I’ve Ever Seen.

by Steve on January 18, 2012

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. [click to continue…]

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