#One of those kids grew up to be a fitness coach. Then a superhero. Then a villain. Then a tyrannical robot hell bent on becoming a new God.

[red-omega]

The execs at ubisoft listening to me explain that the evil human brought to the danceverses by a deity with a plan to take over the world wasn't actually Night Swan in my timeline

[lovemesomesurveys]

How many best friends do you have? One.

Have you ever lied to any of them? Yes.

Are you more confrontational or avoid-problems-at-all-costs? I definitely avoid more than actually dealing with problems.

Are you pregnant? Definitely not.

When's the last time you screamed? I’m not really one to scream. 

Do you know any foreign languages? I know some Spanish.

What color is you bookbag? I don’t have a book bag anymore.

Do you own DC shoes or Etnies? Not currently, but I did in high school.

Who is your favorite teacher? My 4th and 8th grade teacher, Mr. McG. What about least favorite Two of the math professors I had in community college. They were horrible.

How many times have you read Twilight? I read each of the books just once.

Do you know anyone named Basil? No.

What perfume do you wear, if any? None currently. I haven’t worn perfume in awhile.

What was the last word you wrote down? I don’t recall.

Who did you see at lunch today? I’m not in school and I don’t have a job, but I probably won’t see my family here at home at lunchtime cause I’ll likely sleep through lunch.

Do you have a nickname? Steph and Sis.

Do you know anyone that spells their name the same way as you? I’ve known a few Stephanie’s that also spelled it the same way.

What are you doing this weekend? Nothing out of the ordinary.

How long have you had your myspace? Myspace died over a decade ago, but I had mine from like 2005 to early 2009.

Do you have AIM? AIM died as well back in 2017.

Is there a word that you just can't spell? Onomatopoeia is always a challenging one for me. <<<

Do you shop and K-Mart? Our K-Mart closed quite a long time ago. I don’t think there are any left now, are there?

Do you know your dad's birthday? Yes, he just had his birthday last weekend.

I say Ahoy, you say...? Arrr, matey? I feel like this is the only reasonable response. <<< lol yeah I got nothin’ else.

Where did you get the shirt you are wearing? Hot Topic.

Have you ever learned all the words to a commercial song? Yeah, several. That’s what those sneaky commercial jingles are meant to do.

How many piercings do you have? Just my earlobes.

Do you have good posture? *Me, currently sitting like a pretzel* Oh yeah.

Are you good with kids? Kids get overwhelming and can be annoying lol. I’m not around kids often, though.

What was the last thing you said? “Goodnight.”

What is the oldest someone has guessed you are? People guess I’m younger than I am.

What was your favorite movie as a kid? I’ve always loved Disney animated movies. <<<

What was the scariest thing that happened today? Nothing as of now. Hopefully nothing will.

Where did your parents get the idea for your name? My dad said there was some character on a show he liked in the 80s named Stephanie and he liked the name. When I was born, my parents both agreed that it was fitting for me.

Are you right or left handed? I’m right handed.

What is your favorite place to get pizza? It’s a local place. What is your favorite type of movie? Horror, psychological thriller, superhero, sci-fi and fantasy, action, adventure, rom-coms... I like variety. 

Name three things you want to do before you die. I’ve answered this a few times as of late.

Do you keep a journal or diary? You’re looking at it.

Have you ever had champagne? Yeah.

Do you wear lip gloss? I haven’t in several years.

Where did you get the shoes you have on? I’m not wearing shoes right now.

What color is your light switch cover? White.

When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a teacher.

What is the closest red thing to you? My hamper. Are you allergic to anything? Tangerines and seaonal allergies.

What was your mom's maiden name? I’m not sharing that.

Do you own any boxed sets of DVDs? I have a few I Love Lucy boxsets and one of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

What was your favorite Christmas present last year? All of them.

Are you planning on living anywhere besides where you live now? Someday, hopefully in the not so distant future. My family and I very much want to move.

Find the book closest to you. Turn to page 38. Type line 13. Nah.

What is your favorite fruit? Bananas.

Is your name Rebecca? Nope.

Have you ever worn pantyhose on your head? No.

Do you want to adopt kids? If so, where from? I don’t want kids.

How many pirates do you know? I don’t know any.

What has been your favorite age so far? Childhood ages.

Does it bug you when people use asterisks to show what they are doing? No. I do that sometimes. I did that in this survey, actually.

What are you going to study in college? I majored and got my BA in psych.

Do you have a dog? I do.

How about a cat? No.

What color is your hair naturally? Dark brown.

If you've seen the Twilight movie, did you notice Stephenie Meyer in it? Yeah.

Did you read Amelia Bedelia as a kid? Aw yeah, I loved those books.

What was the last song you sang? I don’t remember at the moment.

Have you ever been in a choir? In elementary school.

Quick! Think of a word that starts with M. Maruchan (my favorite ramen brand).

Do you like Chinese food? I like some, but it’s not my favorite. Like, it’s not something I crave or have often.

Do you own any Coach purses? Nope.

Who is your #1 myspace friend? --

What's the last thing you regret doing? Meh.

Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Yes.

Showers: morning or night? At night.

Do you wear make-up? I haven’t the last few years.

In your opinion, are interracial marriages ok? Um, yes?

Do you still sleep with a stuffed animal? I have a few that sit on my bed.

Do you say I love you to just anyone? No, I don’t throw those words around.

What color are your eyes? Brown.

Quote a line from your favorite song. I have a lot of favorite songs.

Are you homeschooled? I was briefly homeschooled in the 5th and 6th grade due to having to spend months recovering after surgeries. My 5th and 6th grade teachers actually came to my house a few times a week.

What are you trying to change about yourself? Nothing at the moment, though there’s a lot I should be working on.

How often do you check your myspace? I haven’t checked it in over a decade.

What embarrassed you today? Nothing so far, but it’s only 6 in the morning.

If you went to New York City today, what would you do? I wouldn’t want to go right now cause of the pandemic, but I’d love to go someday and see all the sights.

Have you ever considered colored contacts? No, contacts freak me out. I can’t bring myself to even try putting them on.

Do you have an accent? If so, what is it? Apparently we all do, but it’s weird for me, a Californian, to think of myself as having one. It’s not distinctive or recognizable. Like, I don’t think someone would know I was from here just from hearing me talk, ya know?

Coke or Pepsi? Coke.

Have you ever liked someone younger than you? Just by a year.

Who is the most embarrassing person in your family? Me.

Finish the sentence. I have lost my faith in ... Myself.

Does it bother you when people exaggerate? It depends. I know I can do that as well, though.

Have you ever hurt someone you love? Not intentionally, but yes. Who was your first celebrity crush? Aaron Carter.

Who will most likely repost this? @lovemesomesurveys, probably. Lol. <<< Yep! haha.

If you had to choose, would you rather be deaf or blind? That’s hard. 

Are you bored? No.

Do you wear your hair up or down? It’s always just up in a messy bun.

Off to find another survey, aren't you? Maybe. I’m tired, though. 

[starslooklikediamonds]

Info On David Harbour’s Hellboy character.

From interviews, there us some random bits of info, directly from the creators & actors of the movie.

You can add to the info, if you got some. Let me know.

Do with it what you want.

“Even though he’s a demon, I have to consider him human. He’s half-human, but I have to consider him psychologically like a human.”

Harbour plans to really examine Hellboy's psyche, particularly his somewhat toxic masculinity. - "I think Hellboy has a certain psycho dynamic, where occasionally he has to prove that he's the lion, has to roar, and I think he struggles with his own masculinity. But I don't think he needs that as much as maybe those other movies. I have a bit of a different take on his capability or his slickness. I sort of think that for me he's a little less skilled at constructing that persona."

In our movie, he’s very much dealing with his own [demons] being ostracized from society. There’s kind of a Frankenstein element to it. There’s a lot more self-hatred. Although those [Del Toro] movies did explore a certain aspect of that, ours is just a lot darker in terms of a character piece, who he is. He’s a much more tortured guy who, in the end, has to do the right thing. He is destined to be the beast of the apocalypse and one of our goals is to justify the temptations of that destiny in terms of the creation of a world where, as a demon, he might be accepted. As a monster he might be accepted, [but] he doesn’t feel [that] in this world.

In our movie Hellboy’s younger. He’s rougher. He’s much more of a teenager. He’s really struggling with the idea of whether or not he’s a good person.

“My interpretation is a little more of that internal turmoil with his relationship to and his place in the world being a little more unstable. And it's maybe a little darker. He's still got this fun thing to him, but underneath it is this scared little boy who really doesn't understand human love and doesn't understand why he's beloved because of his destiny to bring the end of the world.”

“He’s a creature that was meant to bring about the end of the world, and he just sort of wants to be a good guy. He’s got that complexity to him. He’s also a monster who lives among human beings, so he’s in a sense fighting for human beings against his fellow monsters, and yet the humans hate him because they fear him and they think he’s weird looking and everything.”

“On Hopper & Hellboy - “He has a heart that’s really good and with a lot of this crusted-over stuff. What I’m dealing with in Hellboy is a lot different, bigger in a certain way. It’s very Shakespearean. It’s demons and witches and stuff like that. But it has a similar core to a dude who’s trapped in horrible circumstances who’s just trying to be a good guy.”

“David Harbour’s Hellboy is a little bit more dramatic. There’s a different edge, Mignola said. “[Ron Perlman] was very smooth as Hellboy, and there’s a whole different love interest vibe with Ron’s thing. Ron was almost playing this kind of old adolescent. And Harbour plays a grittier Hellboy, and a bit more explosive, emotionally. It’s hard to explain, but it is a very different take. The beauty is, both of them, in their own way, feel like Hellboy. It’s almost like they’re just tipped it in two different directions. There’s something much gnarlier about David’s Hellboy.”

“We met Perlman’s Hellboy at the onset of his career as a paranormal policeman, Harbour’s Hellboy has been around a lot longer, which speaks to why he’s a bit more world-weary and has a lot more attitude. The film is also adopting a key element of the comics where Hellboy is known to the public instead of the B.P.R.D. trying to cover up his existence.”

“In the del Toro films, Hellboy is kind of penned up, and kept secret, and that is not what we have here [in the upcoming film]. This is truer to the comic, in that Hellboy’s been out in the world. He’s not a top-secret, hidden away guy. He’s an out-there-in-the-world, functioning, working adult. So you’ve got that working stiff, been there, done that vibe with Harbour, that you just couldn’t have with Ron because it was played so differently,” Mignola explained, also adding, “[With Harbour’s Hellboy] there’s a little bit more angsty, find-your-place-in-the-world, a frustration with his role.”

“He's spawned into the universe by Nazi occultists to bring about the end of the world. And he is captured by Broom, who decides to raise him. So he's an orphan who was adopted. English isn't his first language, to say the least. He's destined to bring about the apocalypse and he, in his heart, just really wants to be a good guy. He idolizes people he grew up with in comic books, like Lobster Johnson, and he wants to be like a paranormal detective. So he's kind of a silly, sweet creature but also a demon. And he lives in a world where human beings don't accept him for who he is. So even when he winds up saving people, they still show up with pitchforks and torches to try to kill him. I think the biggest struggle for him is he's hunting down monsters, and yet he is one. So what is he doing, exactly? That's a big conflict in him.”

“And he deals with it in certain ways that certainly Hamlet doesn't. He's just very witty. He's got this dry, sort of put-upon humor, but underneath all of that is this desperate conundrum of like, "Where is this going to end? What's the end game for this?"

“He's an adult struggling with adult things. It's not like whether or not I should kill the bad guy by punching him. It's more like, Who's the bad guy?”

“He's the guy who the bad guy will give a huge monologue about — I'm destroying the universe — and Hellboy's like, "You talk pretty tough for a guy with no pants." He's always undercutting the situation and he has these one-liners. The script's really funny. One of the ways he deals with the world is to have this dry humor about it because it's so painful.”  

“Hellboy has a lot more issues. He's a little more lost, a little more confused and conflicted. I think that makes for a darker tone in terms of what he's willing to do.”

“Hellboy like he's such a beautiful weird creature, I mean I wanna say guy but he's like a half demon creature and I have a real kind of soft spot in my heart for what he goes through.”

“The whole idea that he's called Hellboy and that struggle with the father that you live in the shadow of this father and you are of this boy and then you want to become this man but the paradoxes of that are all over the movie. I mean one of the great things is like, there's an initial scene where Hellboy is shaving his horns and his dad comes and helps him, shave his horns, while he (Broom) tells him that he's special and that he loves you. You know and there's something about him shaving the uniqueness off of him (Hellboy) and yet calling him unique, that is very interesting to me and in a way he's right because at the end of the film, it's the villain who wants to grow his horns right but in the end of the film, maybe there's something special even beyond the genetics of the horns that is unique to him, that his father does see. But there's paradoxes of identity all through that and like the control that parents have on our identities.”

“Broom is a brit, he’s (Hellboy) raised by Broom, but he talks like a guy from New York. Part of that was that he traveled all over the world. He speaks Spanish, he speaks all these different languages. I talked to a language coach about this, and he was talking about how kids learn dialects from the people that they grow up with. They don’t learn dialects from their parents. So if you have a Spanish mother or something and you grow up in the United States, you speak like an American kid. So part of the thing for me in terms of finding his voice was that he idolized Lobster Johnson. In my mind, even the trench coat plays into this idea of this James Cagney sort of [thing]”

“In terms of being a demon, one of the things he wants to do is fit in. He wants to be like a private eye who goes and solves crimes, and he is the best B.P.R.D. agent. He’s the best paranormal detective the world has ever seen. He takes great pride in his job and he takes great pride in this persona, and that persona is a lot based on his favorite superhero, Lobster Johnson.”

“Lobster Johnson is a big deal to Hellboy. He dresses up like him for Halloween. So that factors into my psychological process.”

“Yeah, he’s terrifying! There’s that question of, why am I fighting this battle? Just because of some sense of justice, or some sense of good? It’s a really interesting question that sort of is at the core of him, that he struggles with.”

“We’re taking the time to deal with that, the fact that Hellboy is a killer. He’s, truly, a weapon. And I think we spent a little more time on that, as well.”

“One of the things I like about him is that he’s a really messy fighter. This is one of the things that I actually talked to Mike about. I talked about his belt that he wears, because he wears this belt that has these patches and I was like, “What’s in those fuckin’ things?” And he’s like, “Well, he’s a paranormal detective, right? So he’s got to show up and fight vampires and witches or whatever. So he’s got like garlic and silver bullets and all kinds of shit.” But he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. So he’ll throw a bunch of garlic on somebody and then he’ll be like, “That didn’t work!” And then he just goes in and eventually he knows that he’ll just have to knock somebody out.”

“In that way, I wanted him to be strong, but I didn’t want him to be a trained MMA guy. He doesn’t have a lot of training as a fighter. He’s just big and strong and scary and almost like a pub brawler. So one of the things about the fights that have been really fun is that he messes up a lot.”

“There's all this misfit stuff working around him.”

“David Harbour - “Hellboy is probably a virgin…”

“I was describing [what] was a creative process around the sexuality of a half-demon. …”

“I feel like genetically, when you’re half-demon, you respond to different things. And I think human beings are confusing to him. They behave confusingly to him in their ways of their hatred of him, and also their love of him. So to me the genetic predisposition of sexuality was very interesting, and how that sexuality plays out. … To me it was more just about the attraction to the supernatural, the genetic attraction to non-simple human female or male.”

“I mean, he is destined to be the beast of the apocalypse. And I think one of our goals is to justify the temptations of that destiny in terms of the creation of a world, where you know, as a demon, he might be accepted, and as a monster, he might be accepted, that he doesn't feel in this world. The other thing that we explore somewhat is -- I mean, one of the interesting things to me about the Guillermo del Toro movies was that he had like a love interest, right? And she was like a fire starter, and but I just think that Hellboy can't have a human being. He probably can't have sex with a human being because it would probably end disastrously, because of his demonic parts or whatever.”

“So I feel like what I wanted to explore was that loneliness, and you know, there's the temptations that you have to, if you do create a darker world as the beast of the apocalypse, you can have sex,” Harbour continued. "You can have a girlfriend. You can live your life. But to live in the human world and to protect humanity, you have to sacrifice some of your nature, and your actual nature, as opposed to this concept of destiny, just that your actual nature somewhat gets sacrificed.”

“David Harbour quoting lines of main character, from the movie Owning Mahowny - “What was the greatest joy, on a scale of 1-10, you felt gambling?” And he said, “10.” And they were like, “What is the greatest joy you ever felt doing anything other than gambling — sex, food, whatever?” And he was like, “2.” And he was like, “So you’ll have to live with it at 2 for the rest of your life.” And he was like, “I’m okay with that.” There’s something about that thematic that I find is somewhat different in terms of Hellboy’s struggle.”

“On Alice - “her and Hellboy they kinda give each other something that says ‘You’re not alone and we can do this.’’

“The great thing about Hellboy and Alice is that it's a love story, but they're not in love. It's a demon...I think Alice teaches him about love because of their connection, but it's very different from a classic romance story.”

“On Alice - “It’s an avuncular relationship. It’s funny because, in an earlier draft, there was the temptation to do that, and I was very adamant to the fact that Hellboy cannot have sex with human women. I don’t want that to ever be an issue, and I want it to be known for him, whereas there is this Blood Queen Witch in the movie, right? So there is a world that he can exist sexually in, but it is not in our human universe. Alice is, even though she has sort of a witchcraft thing to her, she is a human being. He would never.”

[jaimecruzubc-blog]

WHEN I WAS A KID

Growing up, I always had this fascination with cars. The first career I ever wanted to be when I grew up was to be the first professional Asian race car driver. As a child, I also dreamed that my bed was a NASCAR race car, oh man, I imagined that I was going so fast. 

I would clench my fists and put my arms out in front, make car sounds with my mouth and pretend I was the NASCAR legend, Jeff Gordon. Something about those jumpsuits that they wear and the superhero-like cars they drove gave me a sense of thrill. Barely holding my excitement every day watching races on television, I would rush over to my parents my dream of wanting to become like Jeff Gordon, and like most parents, they wouldn’t take me seriously. I had a different approach to convincing my parents of my dream. I begged for a race car bed. Yes. I was one of those kids who wanted one and had one. After months and months of begging, on my birthday they surprised me with the bed. It was red like Jeff Gordon’s and had flames across the side and I was so happy. Every day after school, I would go on my bed and pretend to race along the Jeff on the Indy 500 race. I won most of the time. On top of that, I would study everything there was to know about cars. The models of the car, the engines, the tires, the interior of the car. EVERYTHING. I had a library of racing books that probably went the length of half a football field. All of this information of cars fit in this 6-year-old brain. Yes 6 years old. Cars were my first love. However, like most first loves, it started to fade away.

Growing up, I always had this fascination with cars. The first career I ever wanted to be when I grew up was to be the first professional Asian race car driver. As a child, I also dreamed that my bed was a NASCAR race car, oh man, I imagined that I was going so fast. I would clench my fists and put my arms out in front, make car sounds with my mouth and pretend I was the NASCAR legend, Jeff Gordon. Something about those jumpsuits that they wear and the superhero-like cars they drove gave me a sense of thrill. Barely holding my excitement every day watching races on television, I would rush over to my parents my dream of wanting to become like Jeff Gordon, and like most parents, they wouldn’t take me seriously. I had a different approach to convincing my parents of my dream. I begged for a race car bed. Yes. I was one of those kids who wanted one and had one. After months and months of begging, on my birthday they surprised me with the bed. It was red like Jeff Gordon’s and had flames across the side and I was so happy. Every day after school, I would go on my bed and pretend to race along the Jeff on the Indy 500 race. I won most of the time. On top of that, I would study everything there was to know about cars. The models of the car, the engines, the tires, the interior of the car. EVERYTHING. I had a library of racing books that probably went the length of half a football field. All of this information of cars fit in this 6-year-old brain. Yes 6 years old. Cars were my first love. However, like most first loves, it started to fade away. Unfortunately, as I grew older, I became busier. My parents decided that me sitting on my bed eating and watching race cars all day wasn’t going to be healthy for me going forward, I part of me thanks to them for that. However part of this busier schedule was partly because I found a new interest in sports. Basketball specifically. That became my new obsession, everything that I loved about cars, switch that to basketball but 10x crazier. To this day, my coaches, my friends all know me as a basketball player but what very few people know about me was my love for cars. I still remember everything that I learned as a kid. I will never forget that moment in my life where being a race car driver was my biggest dream. What happened to that race car bed? Well, it was unable to withstand the longevity as I would like but before I got rid of the bed, I ripped out the sticker of the flames attached and put it in my room as a reminder of simpler time, a happy time, my time. The sticker represents one of my favorite highlights of my childhood that I will never forget.

[sarahburness]

What Expecting to Die Young Taught Me About Living a Happy Life

“I’ve come to trust not that events will always unfold exactly as I want, but that I will be fine either way. The challenges we face in life are always lessons that serve our soul’s growth.” ~ Marianne Williamson

At the age of nine, I was sitting in a doctor’s office at Baylor University with both of my parents when we were all told I wouldn’t live to see twenty-three. The doctor casually told us my dad would probably never get to walk me down the aisle and I’d likely never make my mom a grandmother, but there was great chicken pot pie in the cafeteria on the first floor.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Eight months later, on my tenth birthday, the possibility of my dad walking me down the aisle was permanently taken away when he died suddenly of an aortic and thoracic aneurysm. He had the same genetic abnormality I have, which caused the aneurysm, so by my logic, confirmed by the doctors, my demise was not far behind.

I had no idea the day I turned ten, the day I lost my dad, my misguided and broken heart gifted me a license to be entitled and reckless until the day I died. Which, according to the medical community, wasn’t that far away.

Let me back the medical drama bus up back to the day in Texas at the hospital just for a quick, minor detail to note.

That day my dad and I were simultaneously diagnosed with a genetic disorder called Marfan Syndrome.

In a very tiny nutshell, it’s a connective tissue disorder found on the fibrillin one gene. It essentially weakens all connective tissue in the body. The result is a body whose heart, lungs, eyes, and spine are severely impacted. A prominent and common feature with this condition is “abnormal” height. People affected are relatively tall (I’m 6’2”, my dad was 6’9”).

For precautionary purposes, we both stopped participating in any activities that raise the heartbeat, to decrease the risk of having an aneurysm or potentially causing damage to the face due to dislocation of the lens in the eye.

No contact sports, no exercising, no gym at school. I was basically told I could walk, bowl, or golf. I hated sports anyway, so I was excited to not have to dress for gym.

This consequently led to a lifetime of comments like “You don’t play basketball or volleyball?! That’s a shame!” or “Omg, you’re so tall!” As if I wasn’t already painfully aware, but I digress…

Point being, I was told from a very young age on a fairly regular basis, “You can’t.” So I learned to habitually answer, “I can’t” every time someone asked me to do pretty much anything.

What possible negative effects could this have?

I couldn’t see it at the time, but this led to a lifetime of constantly assessing every situation based on whether it was going to speed up my untimely death or not.

I didn’t learn how to question whether or not I liked things but whether or not it was something that was going to kill me sooner or later. In turn, I missed a million opportunities to get to know who I was as a young woman.

All I knew and all I was told were all the things I couldn’t do all the time.

This short-term life span turned my life into a short-term life plan. Soon enough the emotional pains of being a teenager and the new kid in high school, along with unresolved daddy issues, kicked into high gear, and I had no idea how to deal with any of it.

So, I drank. A lot.

The rest of high school and most of college was a blur. I got married at twenty-three because, well, time was running out for me. And then, when I was twenty-four, doctors told me my life expectancy had suddenly increased to forty.

(If there’s one emoji to express how I felt it would be the face with the wide eyes and red cheeks that looks like he would say “Oh sh*t!” if he could talk.)

I panicked and started trying to speed up the clock. Living wasn’t for me. I wasn’t raised to live; I was raised to die. Live all the places, have a baby, buy the stuff, laugh all the laughs, and then die.

This is where my excessive drinking turned into full-blown alcoholism and prescription drug addiction.

I was either going to OD or make my heart explode, but I wasn’t going to stick around. I must note that none of this was planned, intentional, or a suicide mission. In my mind at the time, I literally didn’t know what else to do, not even how to ask for help.

So, someone asked for help for me. Rehab is a whole other blog.

I’m thirty-nine now, well past my expiration date, and still learning how to live life today. In my drinking days, life revolved around morbid reflection. In early sobriety, life revolved around morbid projection. Today life revolves around just this day. This hour. This moment.

When one of my coaches asks me to journal about how I want my life to look in five years or where I want my business to be long term, I still don’t know how to answer that.

I don’t understand long term. And for the longest time, I always thought that to be a nightmarish curse. Until now. 

My inability to see life long-term seems to be all the rage these days. There’s Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, and Deepak Chopra all preaching about being present, being here now, and being there with the spirit of love, and I’m over here wondering how long the two-week wait to hear if this gets published is going to feel or if I’ll be around to see it go live.

When you think about it, we’re all terminal. No one gets out of here alive. Yet we all run around like we’re going to cheat death—ironically, with this weird impending sense of doom.

We run out of joy staying married to jobs, people, and places we are no longer passionate about. We’ve forgotten how to be happy because we’ve made it so elusive.

It only feels elusive because we’ve spent our time wrong. We’ve spent our time focusing on how we can create a living for ourselves instead of how to create a life for our hearts, and the only way to do that is to get to know yourself first.

In designing my life by listening to my heart, I discovered a few things along the way.

I learned that we habitually state we are human beings, but we spend too much time doing. We get stuck in the how and what next instead of being right where our feet are in that moment. I learned to create space and presence for life to happen organically instead of allowing my mind to race with perceived fears.

Living in each moment used to mean living as recklessly as possible and constantly challenging the odds just to see if I would make it. Today, living in each moment means being driven by what my heart is calling me to do.

I’ve learned to take the time to figure out what the voice of my heart sounds like instead of the blazing of doubt in my mind. This finally allowed me to see what felt light and right in my life and allowed everything that feels heavy to fall to the way side.

Heart driven. Soul led.

This journey was started by a seed that was planted three decades ago. The seed called “I can’t” grew into a self-fulfilling prophecy filled with destruction, heartbreak, sorrow, and the urge to run from everything.

When I stopped running (drinking, using, blaming, complaining) and learned to be still with myself and all that had encompassed my life, an entirely new life was born.

In designing my life and healing my soul, I have found that happiness can be found in big moments like reuniting with my soulmate, winning a competition, or leaping into a new career. It can also be found in the smaller moments like watching my child choose a book instead of watching television, receiving flowers just because, or just being grateful for the sunshine.

But I have found I am the happiest and most content when I am meditating, creating a safe space for others, and playing. Playing like a child on a daily basis is where it’s at. Whether I’m writing, coaching, baking, or gluing rhinestones on anything I can get my hands on, that’s where I’m at complete peace.

And that (happiness) seems to be the individual goal of most people I meet, but it doesn’t seem to translate into the collective thinking. That’s where I’ve found the hiccup. The getting tied up in what we see everyone else doing, where everyone else is succeeding, and then wondering why we don’t have a that perfect slice of peace pie that everyone else seems to have.

The hardest thing I’ve learned is there is no special sauce, no magical happiness-to-sadness ratio, and no one-size-fits-all solution. We each have to define happiness for ourselves.

For me, this means doing the work. It looks like me getting brutally honest with my past, mending my mistakes, giving love to every person I meet, and telling those who are close to me what’s really going on every day.

This connects me to you and you to me, and this is ultimately the biggest lesson I learned.

We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. We all want permission to be ourselves. I’ve experienced what that feels like, and now I’m living a life that I was told would never happen. I stopped believing other people’s opinions of me, my life, and where they think it should be when I realized those opinions and thoughts are about what’s missing from their life, not mine.

There is no slice of peace pie waiting for you or for me. We each have our own pie to flavor, bake, and share. I guess that would be called Purpose Pie. I sit in gratitude every day I have found my pie and am able to share with all who are hungry.

All of this because they told me I was going to die and the hospital chicken pot pie was nice.

About Lindsay Wilson

Lindsay is a life and mentor coach walking clients through emotional recovery and into self-discovery from significant emotional events including death of a parent, rape, addiction, medical challenges, infertility, and divorce. Lindsay is a single mother to an eight-year-old superhero in Nashville, TN and is on a mission to get rid of the phrase “good enough.” Visit her at lindsaywilsoncoaching.com.

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The post What Expecting to Die Young Taught Me About Living a Happy Life appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

from Tiny Buddha https://tinybuddha.com/blog/what-expecting-to-die-young-taught-me-about-living-a-happy-life/

[fitnetpro]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). Or, we try new things specifically because we’re told we can’t!

We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing….” We just DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy (you heard me) in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started with weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

  Success looks different to every single person

  You can’t get where you need to go if you don’t take that first step, so why not take your first step today?

Make ONE healthier food decision (it’s 90% of the battle)

Try our beginner bodyweight workout (you can do at home)

Go for a walk. Just 10 minutes. Right now.

I’m proud to be able to share these stories, because they show you can be any size, be any age, fall in love with any type of activity, and become a superhero in a way that brings you to life.

Every superhero has a different superpower, and that’s what makes them interesting. They also have insecurities and flaws and obstacles to overcome, and that’s what makes them relatable.

Above, we have 6 real life superheroes from all walks of life, who have found a path to their own superpower that fits THEIR life.

Some people love the gym, while others will never set foot in one. That’s great.

We’re all on a journey, just like the six people above, and we are all writing our own story. OWN IT.

Yes, I’m proud to share that these are stories from our 1-on-1 coaching program, but they’re also people who live and breathe the Nerd Fitness lifestyle:

Having fun.

Developing functional strength.

Trying and finding new activities.

I know how tough it is to figure this stuff out on your own (I’ve actually had my own online coach for the past 4 years!), and it’s tough trying to figure out which activities to try (or how to start!).

That’s where a coaching program can really come in handy.

We speak on the phone with every potential client to learn their story and make sure we’re a great fit for each other, and you can schedule your call by clicking on the image below!

Regardless of whether or not you check out the program, I want Nerd Fitness to be the community that helps you realize:

You’re capable of more than you realize.

Trying new things is amazing.

If you don’t get to be done, you gotta enjoy the journey.

I’d love to hear from you below:

What’s something you currently think you’d NEVER be able to do, but it would be cool if you could?

What does success mean for you BESIDES just weight loss?

I can’t wait to hear your answers!

-Steve

PS: I remember talking to Narayan (the 2nd story above) back in January when he called to learn about the Coaching Program. It was really fun to hear his story and it makes me so damn happy to be able to share his story in this article.

If you’re looking to build your own hero’s journey, want to learn how to become a real life superhero, I’d be honored if you scheduled a free call with us to see if our coaching program is a good fit to help you reach those goals!

###

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

you can read my thoughts on that study = don’t give up hope!

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community! published first on http://fitnetpro.tumblr.com/

[lindafrancois]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). Or, we try new things specifically because we’re told we can’t!

We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing….” We just DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy (you heard me) in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

  Success looks different to every single person

  You can’t get where you need to go if you don’t take that first step, so why not take your first step today?

Make ONE healthier food decision (it’s 90% of the battle)

Try our beginner bodyweight workout (you can do at home)

Go for a walk. Just 10 minutes. Right now.

I’m proud to be able to share these stories, because they show you can be any size, be any age, fall in love with any type of activity, and become a superhero in a way that brings you to life.

Every superhero has a different superpower, and that’s what makes them interesting. They also have insecurities and flaws and obstacles to overcome, and that’s what makes them relatable.

Above, we have 6 real life superheroes from all walks of life, who have found a path to their own superpower that fits THEIR life.

Some people love the gym, while others will never set foot in one. That’s great.

We’re all on a journey, just like the six people above, and we are all writing our own story. OWN IT.

Yes, I’m proud to share that these are stories from our 1-on-1 coaching program, but they’re also people who live and breathe the Nerd Fitness lifestyle:

Having fun.

Developing functional strength.

Trying and finding new activities.

I know how tough it is to figure this stuff out on your own (I’ve actually had my own online coach for the past 4 years!), and it’s tough trying to figure out which activities to try (or how to start!).

That’s where a coaching program can really come in handy.

We speak on the phone with every potential client to learn their story and make sure we’re a great fit for each other, and you can schedule your call by clicking on the image below!

Regardless of whether or not you check out the program, I want Nerd Fitness to be the community that helps you realize:

You’re capable of more than you realize.

Trying new things is amazing.

If you don’t get to be done, you gotta enjoy the journey.

I’d love to hear from you below:

What’s something you currently think you’d NEVER be able to do, but it would be cool if you could?

What does success mean for you BESIDES just weight loss?

I can’t wait to hear your answers!

-Steve

PS: I remember talking to Narayan (the 2nd story above) back in January when he called to learn about the Coaching Program. It was really fun to hear his story and it makes me so damn happy to be able to share his story in this article.

If you’re looking to build your own hero’s journey, want to learn how to become a real life superhero, I’d be honored if you scheduled a free call with us to see if our coaching program is a good fit to help you reach those goals!

###

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

you can read my thoughts on that study = don’t give up hope!

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community! published first on https://dietariouspage.tumblr.com/

[neilmillerne]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[albertcaldwellne]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[ruthellisneda]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[johnclapperne]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[almajonesnjna]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[joshuabradleyn]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[fitnetpro]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

  Success looks different to every single person

  You can’t get where you need to go if you don’t take that first step, so why not take your first step today?

Make ONE healthier food decision (it’s 90% of the battle)

Try our beginner bodyweight workout (you can do at home)

Go for a walk. Just 10 minutes. Right now.

I’m proud to be able to share these stories, because they show you can be any size, be any age, fall in love with any type of activity, and become a superhero in a way that brings you to life.

Every superhero has a different superpower, and that’s what makes them interesting. They also have insecurities and flaws and obstacles to overcome, and that’s what makes them relatable.

Above, we have 6 real life superheroes from all walks of life, who have found a path to their own superpower that fits THEIR life.

Some people love the gym, while others will never set foot in one. That’s great.

We’re all on a journey, just like the six people above, and we are all writing our own story. OWN IT.

Yes, I’m proud to share that these are stories from our 1-on-1 coaching program, but they’re also people who live and breathe the Nerd Fitness lifestyle:

Having fun.

Developing functional strength.

Trying and finding new activities.

I know how tough it is to figure this stuff out on your own (I’ve actually had my own online coach for the past 4 years!), and it’s tough trying to figure out which activities to try (or how to start!).

That’s where a coaching program can really come in handy.

We speak on the phone with every potential client to learn their story and make sure we’re a great fit for each other, and you can schedule your call by clicking on the image below!

Regardless of whether or not you check out the program, I want Nerd Fitness to be the community that helps you realize:

You’re capable of more than you realize.

Trying new things is amazing.

If you don’t get to be done, you gotta enjoy the journey.

I’d love to hear from you below:

What’s something you currently think you’d NEVER be able to do, but it would be cool if you could?

What does success mean for you BESIDES just weight loss?

I can’t wait to hear your answers!

-Steve

PS: I remember talking to Narayan (the 2nd story above) back in January when he called to learn about the Coaching Program. It was really fun to hear his story and it makes me so damn happy to be able to share his story in this article.

If you’re looking to build your own hero’s journey, want to learn how to become a real life superhero, I’d be honored if you scheduled a free call with us to see if our coaching program is a good fit to help you reach those goals!

###

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

you can read my thoughts on that study = don’t give up hope!

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community! published first on http://fitnetpro.tumblr.com/

[albertcaldwellne]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

https://ift.tt/2MxKF76

[johnclapperne]

6 Real Life Superhero Origin Stories from Our Community!

“I wanna be a strong princess, like Wonder Woman!”

“I wanna be able to run really fast, like the Flash!”

“I wanna climb all the monkey bars like Tarzan! ”

“I should lose a few pounds off my love handles.”

One of these things is not like the others…

When we’re little kids, we swing from monkey bars and run up multiple flights of stairs and climb trees and chase imaginary bad guys and crawl through mud and we love every second of it.

We try new things because they seem fun (and nobody is telling us that we can’t). We never once think “oh I wonder if my body is capable of such a thing.” We just…DO. We fall down and pick ourselves back up and laugh it off and each day learn more and more about how we interact with the world around us. It’s awesome. And fun.

But then…over the next 15-20 years, life happens.

Schoolwork. A job. Chores. Bills. Mortgage. Responsibilities. Kids! Late nights at the office. More and more meals from a drive through window.

As our responsibilities (and the scale) goes higher and higher, we set our sights lower and lower:

Instead of wanting to run fast like the Flash, we just want to not get winded going up the stairs.

Instead of being strong like Wonder Woman, we just want to not be sore after don’t want our arms to hurt from carrying in the groceries.

Instead of swinging like Tarzan, we avoid activities that are new because we don’t think we can, and we don’t want to look foolish.

Instead of wanting to climb mountain or run a 5k, we instead set the goal of “winning a solo Fortnite battle” or getting more instagram followers because the first goal seems entirely unrealistic.

It’s no wonder our expectations continue to wither as we age: growing up can suck. Sure we had dreams and goals and hobbies as a kid, but now that we’re adults, our goal has been minimized into a single sentence:

“Lose weight and don’t hate what I see in the mirror.”

Brutal? Yup.

Honest? Yup.

And that’s okay.

Not liking what I saw in the mirror is why I started exercising, and the reason I started Nerd Fitness 10 years ago. After all, wanting to look better and feel better is a powerful motivator, and that usually involves weight loss.

All of these thoughts above sprung from a conversation I had recently with our head of Coaching, Lauren – who I’ve known for like 13 years and I was a bridesboy in her wedding, but that’s besides the point.

I asked her about success stories we’ve had from people who have been in our NF Coaching program for 6, 9, or 12+ months and actually kept the weight off, and I started to see a pattern:

They all set out to lose weight as an initial goal, and many of them DID lose weight.

But a recent study showed: “The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year.” [1]

So what was different with these clients?

Why are they having success with losing weight and KEEPING it off!?

Although they all succeeded in their own unique way, they did have a common element to each of their origin stories:

It started weight weight loss, but as they started to lose the weight, they got back to trying new activities they could do and feel as a result of that weight loss:

Doing pull-ups.

Going on hikes.

Getting back to martial arts.

Dunking a basketball (video proof below)!

In other words, these people reclaimed a childhood sense of joy and wonder that comes from asking “what can I try to learn today?” and “what can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?”

And in many instances, they all had activities they thought they could NEVER do. And six months later, they had already done it and were setting even bigger goals!

Like a superpower laying dormant in somebody until they discovered they were were “the chosen one,” these people all discovered they had the power within them all along that just needed to be unlocked.

You’re damn straight I’m proud these people are all coaching clients of Nerd Fitness, but I don’t care if you ever spend a dollar with us.

Instead, I want you to learn from their stories and remind yourself WHY you’re here working hard to better yourself!

If you can shift your mentality from “when I lose the weight, then I’m done” to “I’ve been building this new body, what is it capable of? Let’s find out,” that’s how you find long term, permanently improved healthy success.

And that’s when you become a superhero.

Mark loses 50 pounds and Falls in love with Gymnastic Rings.

No, Mark isn’t levitating in that second photo, he’s jumping rope.

But damn that would be really cool if he discovered his hidden superpower was levitation.

In his words, here’s how Mark’s mentality shifted over the past 6 months and 50 pounds of weight loss:

“Success to me was just about losing weight when I started. I also wanted to get to a place where just standing wasn’t painful. I joined the Coaching program because I needed to be held accountable, to make sure I didn’t lose momentum and slip back into my bad habits.

Since I started losing weight (now down 50 pounds and showing no signs of slowing down), there are so many things I’m capable of now: Deadlifting over 200 lbs (90kg), farmer walks of 80 pounds (36kg), PUSH UPS!

I NEVER thought I would be so consistent in going to the gym and eating healthy food. I’m also really enjoying using the gymnastic rings in my workouts.

They add so much variety to workouts, which brings new challenges all the time and keeps things interesting.”

Narayan lost 50 pounds and Now crushes pull-ups

Narayan has overcome some mental hang-ups he’s had since a kid about both the gym and exercise. It only took 44 years, but it’s ALWAYS better late than never.

In his words, success to him started with weight loss: 

“I was really into the Nerd Fitness Academy and had great success with it, but I knew I needed something extra and additional 1-on-1 help to maintain my weight loss and get stronger.

I was thinking of hiring a trainer in my local area but I loved Nerd Fitness and wanted to stay active with that community. So I was really excited when I learned about the coaching program.

I have very vivid memories in grade school and on up of never being able to do a chin up.

I just sort of assumed it was something I was not capable of, like running a 4 minute mile.

And yet, after a few weeks in the Coaching program, I was able to do my first chin up with decent form.

It was exhilarating.

I was 49 years old and doing something I never thought I could do. When I got home from the gym that night I thought maybe I should keep working and try to do 5 chin ups in a row.

Coach Jim reviewed my videos of gave me some tips and was very encouraging.

Eventually I was able to do 5 chin ups in a row in 2 sets!”

And now Narayan LOVES the gym. How the HELL did that happen!?

“Another mental hurdle I overcame: I never imagined myself as a regular visitor to the gym. Ever.

I thought that was for other people who had the physiques of bodybuilders. Now I go 3 times week and it’s something I really look forward to.

I was invited this week to go out for Happy Hour but it was when I had planned on going to the gym so I declined the invite. I didn’t really reflect on it until the next morning when I realized that was something I never would have done just a few months ago.

There are definitely times where I am not feeling it but I go to workout anyway just because it is so ingrained. I have never left the gym regretting that I went.”

Heather earns her black belt And inspires her teenage sons.

When Heather started her hero’s journey, she wasn’t even sure what success looked like:

“I really liked the idea of being a person who makes good choices when nutritionally and rarely misses a gym day. And getting in shape would help with that.

I grew up here in the South and now I’m raising boys here: It’s pretty old fashioned in a lot of ways and gender roles are a few decades behind.

It’s important to me that my kids see women as strong and capable all by themselves and that women have every right to be where they damned well please: the weight room, or the office, or the home, or in the great outdoors.”

Like many superheroes, Heather has learned to embrace the great responsibility that comes with her great superpowers, inspiring those around her: 

“I get to be a role model to all the girls where I teach karate.

I’m the only female instructor at our location and I want those girls to see a grown woman who can be a black belt and be strong. It’s also a good lesson for mouthy teenaged boys from time to time. The best compliment ever was when one of my teenage boys said that he joins me at the gym because he wants to be strong like his mom.”

And she’s still uncovering more super powers every week:

“What superpowers have I discovered? Hitting a 200 lb. deadlift is up there. Chin up progress – it’s slower than I had hoped, but there was also a part of me that never thought I’d get this close.”

Oh, and she’s proven the adage “appearance is a consequence of fitness:”

“Here’s a interesting side effect I hadn’t even considered until it happened: buying a size Medium shirt AND wearing it in public without feeling self conscious.”

Chris lost 50+ pounds and can now dunk a basketball!

Chris came to the program with a vague goal of wanting to dunk a basketball but wasn’t quite sure how to get there. He was a big guy and moving around that much weight makes many bodyweight achievements difficult:

“When I joined coaching, success was achieving my specific goals that I was unable to achieve by myself (one chin-up, one pull-up, and dunk a basketball which I hadn’t been able to do since high school). If I could meet those goals, then I would consider coaching a success.”

As he started losing weight, his vague dreams became concrete realities:

“I am now capable of doing a chin-up and a pull-up. Honestly, I never thought I would reach it, even when I was a teenager I couldn’t do a chin-up or a pull-up. Now I can. I love that I can.

Oh, and now I can dunk a basketball:

As he lost the weight, Chris’s mentality changed about prioritizing his own development as a real life superhero:

“I love taking the time to work on myself. With having a wife, kids, family, work, etc. it’s hard to take the time to work on yourself. It is awesome to set personalized goals that I wanted and work with my coach to get there.”

Henry Completes a Tough Mudder Like a Badass

Henry started out wanting to actually enjoy the outdoors, something he didn’t do at all at the beginning:

“For me success was just the ability to be more active and have fun outside without getting too winded very easily. The goal was to obviously lose weight which I have done, and I’m comfortable with where I’m at right now.

I’m more active and far more knowledgeable about what I put in my body.”

He then discovered something interesting about himself through the journey:

“I never thought I would be capable of managing my diet so well in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate.

I have a self discipline I never knew I had, especially when it comes to eating out and not giving in to every single craving.

What makes me so happy: Henry discovered a mental fortitude and confidence inside himself that that led to one of the most difficult obstacle races out there:

“I never ever thought I would be capable of doing an event such as the Tough Mudder but I did it and saying it was awesome is pretty much an understatement and now I want to do more OCRs. What a feeling!”

Sandra Summited Kilimanjaro

Sandra spent months building her new superhero physique and then set out to conquer one of the tallest mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro!

It started with overcoming some mental hurdles too:

“I had been working my way through the NF Academy bodyweight workouts for about 5 months. I was pretty consistent about doing the body weight work outs 3 days a week.

As for my goals, my expectations were low: I thought being able to do more than a couple of push ups with good form and not on my knees was great. My pie in the sky goal was an unassisted chin up.

The problem was that I was afraid to start REALLY strength training: I had a squat rack still in boxes in my garage for someday.  I wanted to learn to lift, eventually, but had no idea where to start. I had been in coaching for 6 months, gotten a lot stronger and more confident, before I actually told my coach about this! She helped me overcome that fear, finally build the rack, and get started.”

As she became more confident, she started setting her sights on a goal that still seemed far fetched but plausible: summiting Mount Kilimanjaro:

“I like to challenge myself to big things when I am in the mood to try to get myself out of whatever rut I invariably find myself when I take stock after going through weeks, months, years of default living. Years ago, I biked 100 miles, and ran a marathon.

Then life happened, and I was back to being VERY sedentary and just trying to get through the day.

Over my time with Nerd Fitness, Kilimanjaro became less and less “outrageous” and more “possible.” I believed I could do it because at the time I signed up I had been consistently training for a year I had seen myself become a lot stronger and I knew I could continue to be consistent.

I looked at the recommended training schedule and it was stuff that I could already do, just more of it. I also knew that my awesome coach (Staci!) would help me work it into the training I was already doing and it was a goal we could reach together.”

3 Lessons you Can Learn from These Real Life SuperHeroes.

#1 YOU’RE CAPABLE OF MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

Whatever got you here to Nerd Fitness and this article, GREAT!

Weight loss as a goal is a fantastic place to start.

Now, what’s going to help you succeed and stay successful is having a good reason why you’re doing all of this.

Every success story above features people who end up doing wayyyy more than they ever thought they could. From dunking basketballs to completing Tough Mudders and even climbing mountains.

Some of these goals were unexpected, or seemed so far off that they didn’t even seem realistic for the people above. But with each tiny victory, a small amount of confidence and momentum gets built.

And amazing things can happen.

I promise you, regardless of your thoughts on exercise or certain activities right NOW, if you can stick with this journey you will be capable of amazing things.

The weight loss is a goal, but it’s what you get to DO with your new body after the weight loss that will drive permanent progress.

#2 QUESTION YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Narayan thought that gyms were just for bodybuilders and not people like him. Then he got over his insecurities, acknowledged how to make the gym work for him, and now says no to happy hours to make sure he doesn’t miss his workouts

Heather loves martial arts and is teaching young women that they can be strong badasses.

Mark fell in love with gymnastic rings and deadlifts.

When you build a frame that’s capable of anything, it gives you a chance to try everything!

You no longer have to say no due to your size or lack of fitness: you get to say “yes” and try new activities.

It’s time to question the long held beliefs you had as a kid about exercise. Or the self-imposed limitations you’ve put on yourself for the past decade.

Go back and reread the words of these super heroes. Every single one of them has a thing that they “never ever thought” they could do.

And 6 months later, they blew past that limitation and had to set new goals!

Once you start doing things you never thought you were capable of, this attitude becomes contagious and you start to question every other assumption in your life too.

#3 ENJOY YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Our goal with Nerd Fitness is to not help you lose weight as fast as possible.

Our goal is to get you healthy and happy in a sustainable way, and make sure you have fun along the way.

That’s the ONLY way this progress you make will stick.

I have no doubt every story above will succeed in the long term, because they have the right mentality: it’s about more than just a number on a scale for each of them.

These 6 superheroes know they don’t get to be done, and they never get to go back to how they used to live. And none of them would WANT to.

For the first time in a long time, they have come back to life.

Ben Franklin said it best: Most people die at 25, but aren’t buried until 75.

As the heroes above started to lose weight, they started exploring and asking the question “what am I capable of?” They picked activities that seemed challenging and exciting, not just because it would shred another pound of body fat.

Counterintuitively, by focusing on getting better at these activities, it actually helped them lose more weight and do so in a sustainable fashion. WIN.

Success looks different to every single person

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