Starting from Zero

[lou]

Hello everyone! I found darebee a couple of days ago and I'm loving everything I've seen so far.

I've been very sedentary for many years, I haven't ever had a proper workout routine, and the last time I was actually fit was back in 2011 as a teen... since then I've only done yoga on and off, and beginner level archery. All in all, I have a LONG way to go but I need to just start, and I already did! I've been taking walks and I participated in the turkey run today

I'm very messy and I'm not good with routines, but the challenges here seem fun and I'm hoping to do some of the RPG ones, so I hope I stick with it and finally get fit and strong like I've been wanting to

 

[astro_lizard]

Hello and Welcome!! The RPG programs are a lot of fun and the challenges are fun and motivating and great for building the habit of working out. I hope you enjoy your time here

 

[lou]

Hello and Welcome!! The RPG programs are a lot of fun and the challenges are fun and motivating and great for building the habit of working out. I hope you enjoy your time here

Thank you!

 

[MangoTux]

Welcome!

 

[lou]

Welcome!

Thanks!

 

[lou]

Started the "Hero's Journey" program, though even at level 1 it was a bit much for, so I'm thinking of dividing each day into 2. I managed: 20 climbers + 60 squats + 60 toe tap hops.

Mental health wise, everything in me is saying that I won't be able to keep this up, that I'll quit. I'm doing my best to ignore it. Right now money is tight so I feel a little bad about not being able to afford the healthiest food, but I'm not really doing this to look good, I just want to be stronger, gain more endurance.

Also, sorry if I'm not doing this right, I haven't been on a forum since I was a kid

 

[MangoTux]

Also, sorry if I'm not doing this right, I haven't been on a forum since I was a kid

Write whatever you're comfortable with! I've just been keeping a thread for a short time, but it's a nice chance to think about what I'm working on and build some external accountability.
For what it's worth, these updates have seemed good to me so far!

 

[aku-chan]

 

[GentleOx]

Just a belated welcome to the party

The biggest endorsement I can make is that Darebee makes fitness fun and intriguing.

I can also say that in all my years of working out, I've never once regretted a workout.

Hope to see more of you moving forward!

 

[Fremen]

Welcome

 

[Anek]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Princess Fancy]

 

[lou]

Hello and thank you to everyone for the warm welcome!!

A little late update from me, I walked 3km this morning! However, I wasn't feeling great during it. And then... I started sneezing, and then my body started hurting. So I'm pretty sure I have a cold, seems to be mild though! I was planning on working out today, but my body said no lol I'll try to sleep now and we'll see how I feel tomorrow, hopefully better!

 

[lou]

My cold got worse! Took a rest day. I did do quite a lot of cleaning and work around the house, but also slept a lot

Back at it again tomorrow! Even if it's just a little bit, I don't want to go back to my sedentary ways, I feel like it's a slippery slope.

Also (unrelated) there's a beautiful thunderstorm right now <3

 

[astro_lizard]

I hope you feel better soon!

 

[lou]

I hope you feel better soon!

Thank you!

 

[lou]

Ok, I did it! I finished the 1st day of Hero's Journey!!

I'll give each exercise a star depending on how difficult it was to complete, easy: medium: and hard:

Day 1 of Hero's Journey. Finally pressed the Start button, the exercises themselves weren't too hard, but it did take me a lot longer than I expected.

I still feel very tired but my sneezing wasn't as annoying today. I have a small project to work on tomorrow (making a cardboard sign for a friend) so I'll do my best to finish or at least start with day 2.

 

[agc]

Welcome! Congratulations on stepping out of your comfort zone and doing some exercise. Hopefully your sneezing/cold clears up soon!

Back at it again tomorrow! Even if it's just a little bit, I don't want to go back to my sedentary ways, I feel like it's a slippery slope.

If you're feeling too sick for Hero's Journey but you're concerned about slipping back into being sedentary, there's always the Recovery Program! It's full of light exercises designed to keep the momentum going when you're mildly ill.

 

[lou]

Welcome! Congratulations on stepping out of your comfort zone and doing some exercise. Hopefully your sneezing/cold clears up soon!


If you're feeling too sick for Hero's Journey but you're concerned about slipping back into being sedentary, there's always the Recovery Program! It's full of light exercises designed to keep the momentum going when you're mildly ill.

Thank you so much for the suggestion! I'm actually feeling better today, but I'm definitely going to save that one for the nest time I get sick. It didn't even occur to me that there would be programs for that, there's so much here

 

[lou]

I'm finally feeling a little more alive! lol

Slight change of plans, I've been looking around and I think Hero's Journey is going to be a bit too intense for me, and I don't want to burnout early and give up. So I'm going to switch programs and begin Zero Hero! (I AM starting from zero after all!)

Day 1 of Zero Hero! Managed to escape the alien lasers, it was fairly easy to be honest! They aim like stormtroopers

It felt maybe too easy but I know that that's only because I took a big rest day yesterday, and I'm sure it's going to get harder. Also I know myself and I know I have to build a habit first before upping the difficulty or adding more stuff.

Tomorrow my parents are coming over so I have a lot of cleaning and tidying to do, I'll do my best to finish day 2 before they get here!

 

[NightWolf714]

Hello and welcome to the hive!

The archery sounds cool. That's one of those things that I haven't tried (and I'd be scared to with my terrible aim) but seems like it'd be badass anyways to try out.

And no worries about how you keep up the journal on here. We all do it our own way. So it's whatever works for you. ^_^

Started the "Hero's Journey" program, though even at level 1 it was a bit much for, so I'm thinking of dividing each day into 2. I managed: 20 climbers + 60 squats + 60 toe tap hops.

Also ... this is incredibly brilliant and I wish I had thought of that when I tried it! I'm gonna have to remember that that's an option!

 

[Mamatigerj]

Welcome to the Hive!

 

[lou]

Hello and welcome to the hive!

The archery sounds cool. That's one of those things that I haven't tried (and I'd be scared to with my terrible aim) but seems like it'd be badass anyways to try out.

And no worries about how you keep up the journal on here. We all do it our own way. So it's whatever works for you. ^_^



Also ... this is incredibly brilliant and I wish I had thought of that when I tried it! I'm gonna have to remember that that's an option!

Thank you!! I also wanted to do archery for YEARS until I finally got the chance and signed up, it's really fun and I hope you get the chance to try it!

 

[lou]

Update!

Thursday: I got my 6000 steps in, had a long day with family visiting and getting ready for a big trip.

Yesterday: I spent 90% of the the day travelling, I love travelling by car or truck but it does leave you feeling weirdly exhausted.

Today: Day 2 of Zero Hero! Shook off those pesky zombies lol pretty easy so far! I'm tempted to also do day 3 later today to make up for yesterday, we'll see!

 

[lou]

Man, I think I'm going to be bad about updating here, I'm afraid I'll lose track, for some reason I'm procrastinating updating the thread more than the exercise, which is ok I guess?
Sunday: rest day!

Monday: Day 3 of Zero Hero! Did my best to not step on the mines, I have to say though realistically I would be very dead because my balance is terrible. I should probably add some balance workouts eventually, and/or core workouts, because I'm sure that's where the main problem is.

Tuesday: 6000 steps! It was hard to get up and do it, but I did eventually and it wasn't that bad lol the hardest part, as always, is starting.

Yesterday: Day 4 of Zero Hero! Cardio isn't really my favorite, but I do want to feel like running won't tear out my lungs.

TODAY: Day 5 of Zero Hero! It was very easy to squeeze through the pipes.
7k steps! My feet are really hurting, especially my heels, but that's pretty normal for me. Also, the weather is pretty bad right now, my allergies are flaring up everyday and it's both humid and really hot. I miss winter so much already... but anyways, we persevere!

I should clarify I'm doing Zero Hero on level 1. I very much overestimated what I could do when I started with Hero's Journey lol I'm glad I switched early. Being able to actually do the whole workout correctly is definitely a needed confidence boost.

Tomorrow I have a big family event so I already know it's going to be a "rest day", although I'm going to be walking and dancing a lot, movement is movement!

Hope you all are doing well, thank you for all the support, it means a lot!!

 

[lou]

Hello everyone!

Yesterday (13/12):
Day 6 of Zero Hero

Today (14/12):
Day 7 of Zero Hero

The workouts are starting to seem almost too easy, so I want to either go up to level 3 in Zero Hero, OR add another challenge. I also wanted to do the ornaments challenge, but it ends too soon and I can't make it sadly. I'll figure out what I'll change tomorrow!

Right now the heat over here is currently 37°C (98/99 f) and my AC is broken... I'm MELTING

 

[lou]

Hello again! I've decided to up the level! I'll try my best to do only Level 3 from now on!

Today (15/12):
Day 8 of Zero Hero (level 3). Even though the past few workouts have felt easy, I was still sore today, thankfully it was a very easy day! I took a peek at the next day and I'm sure it'll be more challenging.

 

[Joi]

Hello again! I've decided to up the level! I'll try my best to do only Level 3 from now on!

Today (15/12):
Day 8 of Zero Hero (level 3). Even though the past few workouts have felt easy, I was still sore today, thankfully it was a very easy day! I took a peek at the next day and I'm sure it'll be more challenging.

Bringing up the heat like the weather outside? Good luck with the higher level

 

[lou]

Bringing up the heat like the weather outside? Good luck with the higher level

Haha you know it!! Thank you

 

[lou]

UPDATE: I have KNEE PAIN lol but seriously, I don't think my knees have ever actually hurt like this before, is this the beginning of the end? (btw I'm almost 30)

So I rested on Tuesday, and during Wednesday and Thursday I spent most of the day with friends. I got to 9k steps yesterday btw! New record! Then yesterday night I tried to do Day 9 but my right knee started hurting during the first set. I decided it was best to rest so I did. However, today I tried again and my LEFT knee started complaining. So I don't really know what I should do. I tried looking for other workouts which don't target the knees and I found a few. I found this preventative workout but I'll save that for when my knees don't already hurt.

Today (19/12):
Lower back pain relief workout
Balance workout (this one was harder than I thought, my balance is BAD)

If you guys have any recommendations for exercising with knee pain I'm all ears!

 

[JesseW]

UPDATE: I have KNEE PAIN lol but seriously, I don't think my knees have ever actually hurt like this before, is this the beginning of the end? (btw I'm almost 30)

So I rested on Tuesday, and during Wednesday and Thursday I spent most of the day with friends. I got to 9k steps yesterday btw! New record! Then yesterday night I tried to do Day 9 but my right knee started hurting during the first set. I decided it was best to rest so I did. However, today I tried again and my LEFT knee started complaining. So I don't really know what I should do. I tried looking for other workouts which don't target the knees and I found a few. I found this preventative workout but I'll save that for when my knees don't already hurt.

Today (19/12):
Lower back pain relief workout
Balance workout (this one was harder than I thought, my balance is BAD)

If you guys have any recommendations for exercising with knee pain I'm all ears!

With regards to Balance -- it's not you; that's one of the deceptively hard ones, in my experience. It looks so easy -- just stand on one leg in five different positions! ... but then there's the devilish bit: stand on one leg *continuously* for 2 and a half minutes. Oh. And the different positions, while all not *individually* too bad, produce some *interesting* transitions, too. Congratulations on trying it out! I've found it does get quite a bit better with practice.

And sympathy for the knee pain; knees have a hard job. I don't know the workouts well enough to recommend anything, but hopefully others will.

 

[lou]

With regards to Balance -- it's not you; that's one of the deceptively hard ones, in my experience. It looks so easy -- just stand on one leg in five different positions! ... but then there's the devilish bit: stand on one leg *continuously* for 2 and a half minutes. Oh. And the different positions, while all not *individually* too bad, produce some *interesting* transitions, too. Congratulations on trying it out! I've found it does get quite a bit better with practice.

And sympathy for the knee pain; knees have a hard job. I don't know the workouts well enough to recommend anything, but hopefully others will.

Thanks! It's true that balance is deceptively hard, though I have to admit that I only did it for 60 seconds each and I kept falling... I'm not sure what I should exercise to do better, my core? or just more balance exercises? Or both probably lol

 

[JesseW]

Thanks! It's true that balance is deceptively hard, though I have to admit that I only did it for 60 seconds each and I kept falling... I'm not sure what I should exercise to do better, my core? or just more balance exercises? Or both probably lol

Wait, you did it for 60 seconds *each*? That's the extra credit version -- I haven't attempted that yet. 3 and half minutes (overall, 30 seconds each) is the *normal* version.

 

[lou]

Wait, you did it for 60 seconds *each*? That's the extra credit version -- I haven't attempted that yet. 3 and half minutes (overall, 30 seconds each) is the *normal* version.

Oooh I thought you meant you did 3 minutes each! I tried my best to do 60 seconds because I kept falling and it felt like cheating, honestly it was probably closer to 40-50 seconds. I guess I should master the basic 30 seconds first, walk before you run and all that

 

[JesseW]

Oooh I thought you meant you did 3 minutes each! I tried my best to do 60 seconds because I kept falling and it felt like cheating, honestly it was probably closer to 40-50 seconds. I guess I should master the basic 30 seconds first, walk before you run and all that

No, the 30 seconds each is hard enough! And if you keep falling doing that -- try splitting it up as much as necessary. If you can do 30 seconds without falling, great -- put your foot down between the exercises to start with. If you can't (yet), do fifteen seconds, put your foot down, and do another fifteen seconds. It's all about *increasing* your balance, not already having it.

 

[lou]

No, the 30 seconds each is hard enough! And if you keep falling doing that -- try splitting it up as much as necessary. If you can do 30 seconds without falling, great -- put your foot down between the exercises to start with. If you can't (yet), do fifteen seconds, put your foot down, and do another fifteen seconds. It's all about *increasing* your balance, not already having it.

Thank you! I'll try it that way, I keep wanting to do everything "right" even if I push myself too hard or I really can't do it yet, that's probably why I hurt my knees lol

 

[lou]

SO! My right knee is still telling me to slow down, but I still feel like I've been slacking. The holidays and being around a lot of family also doesn't help lol. Today I did finally get my workouts in:

23/12
2-minute warmup
knee-saver workout
Iron Arms challenge

I'm taking a break from Zero Hero until I'm confident my knees are good.

 

[lou]

Christmas Eve!
Day 2 of Iron Arms challenge (EDIT: apparently I did 26 sets instead of 5, both yesterday and today, whoops! )

Am I doing the challenge right? Is it really meant to be this hard? It says 26 bicep extensions and 20-count hold. What I interpret that means is to hold each rep for 20 seconds, is that right? And since it's a "2 position" exercise I count 10 seconds in 1 position and 10 in the other, making a total of one 20-second rep. My shoulders REALLY hurt doing it, I don't want to do anything wrong and hurt myself again.

 

[MangoTux]

I think these are meant to be done sequentially. For day two, it's five sets of the following:
1. 26 bicep extensions
2. Hold arms in the outstretched position for 20 seconds

 

[lou]

I think these are meant to be done sequentially. For day two, it's five sets of the following:
1. 26 bicep extensions
2. Hold arms in the outstretched position for 20 seconds

Oh no... so you're telling me I've been doing 26 SETS?? No wonder it's killing my arms

Well... I can't be too mad at doing MORE than necessary I guess

 

[MangoTux]

Oh no... so you're telling me I've been doing 26 SETS?? No wonder it's killing my arms

Well... I can't be too mad at doing MORE than necessary I guess

Celebrate what you did accomplish, and take some comfort knowing that you've already done the hardest part!

(If you continued with the 20-seconds-per-rep, the last day would have taken over an hour for all five sets!)

 

[lou]

Celebrate what you did accomplish, and take some comfort knowing that you've already done the hardest part!

(If you continued with the 20-seconds-per-rep, the last day would have taken over an hour for all five sets!)

Wow you're right, I tend not to check the end of challenges as I may get discouraged. It was the 20 second hold that confused me. Thank you for the help!

 

[NightWolf714]

Thank you! I'll try it that way, I keep wanting to do everything "right" even if I push myself too hard or I really can't do it yet, that's probably why I hurt my knees lol

As someone who also struggles with that idea, I will give you permission to made adjustments to not hurt yourself.

I know that doesn't actually mean much. But sometimes hearing someone externally say it helps, ya know. So let us both work on allowing ourselves to make adjustments for ourselves. Because we deserve that kinda care. ^_^

 

[lou]

As someone who also struggles with that idea, I will give you permission to made adjustments to not hurt yourself.

I know that doesn't actually mean much. But sometimes hearing someone externally say it helps, ya know. So let us both work on allowing ourselves to make adjustments for ourselves. Because we deserve that kinda care. ^_^

I think it does help actually, so thank you! it's hard not to feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes!

 

[lou]

Hello everyone and happy new year's eve!!
I haven't been updating since christmas because my keyboard broke! It's still broken but I have a temporary solution. On the other hand my knee is feeling great so I'll be back with Zero Hero (and with yoga classes!) for the new year!

26/12:
Day 3 of Iron Arms Challenge

27/12:
Day 4 of Iron Arms Challenge

28/12:
Day 5 of Iron Arms Challenge

29/12: Skipped

Yesterday:
Day 6 of Iron Arms Challenge

And to be honest I don't think I'll finish one today, I got away from my family for a bit to write this but I have to go back now, the day was spent cleaning and setting up everything for tonight! I hope everyone has a lovely last day of the year

 

[lou]

Happy 2026 everyone!!

1/01 Thursday: Skipped (I was too hungover lol)

2/01 Friday:
30 minute cycling

3/01 Saturday:
Day 7 of Iron Arms Challenge

4/01 Sunday:
quick warmup
Spine stability workout

Today:
1 hour yoga class: worked with joint mobility, balance, glutes, legs and core

I'm finally back to doing yoga! I missed it a lot, the teacher likes to do a very intense practice but I feel great afterwards. I have been avoiding Zero Hero and I don't know why, I'll do my best to return to it tomorrow!

Spoiler: CAT PIC

Very much unrelated, but my cat is sitting like a human looking at me right now and I want to share (his name is Chester)

 

[lou]

Today:
Day 9 of Zero Hero (lvl III) Finally back on Zero Hero!! My knees don't feel amazing doing reverse lunges, but they don't hurt anymore

Technically, I could go to yoga today, it's from Mondays to Thursdays, but since they're intense I'm afraid to do too much at once. I've never done it more than twice a week, but I'll try to go both tomorrow and Thursday, and then I'll have the weekend to recover.

Hope all you bees are doing good! Blessings be(e) upon your knees !!

 

[lou]

Wednesday 7/01:
Day 10 of Zero Hero (level III)
9k steps!

Thursday 8/01:
Yoga class. We worked on a harder version of the pigeon pose, back strength and mobility.

Friday 9/01:
Day 11 of Zero Hero (level I) My old enemy... wall sits. I barely managed a minute and 10 seconds (broken up in 10 second sets, most I managed was 15 seconds). I definitely have to work on this, I felt way too weak doing it.

Today, Sat 10/01:
- Started to work on day 12 but as soon as I started on the 1st set I felt really fatigued, it's arm exercises that I usually have no issue with. I'm not sure why my body is asking for a break, maybe I worked on my arms more than I realized on Thursday, hopefully it's not some kind of vitamin or mineral deficiency. I'll rest today and I'll try to do something light tomorrow. It's probably just my body REALLY not being used to this level of activity lol.

Have a good rest of the weekend bees!

 

[lou]

Hello bees! I'm having a bit of trouble with keeping up with the challenges here on top of my yoga classes. I know that sounds like a lazy excuse, but I've genuinely never been this active almost every day. My body keeps complaining but I'm starting to figure out what is actually concerning pain and what is just normal soreness. It's harder than it seems to learn to listen to your body, but yoga helps a lot with that! Hopefully I'll never be as sedentary as I used to be again.

Sunday 11/01: Rest day

Monday 12/01:
Day 12 of Zero Hero (level III)

Tuesday 13/01:
Yoga class: core and legs

Yesterday 14/01:
Yoga class: arms and back, back mobility

Today 15/01:
Day 13 of Zero Hero (level III)
Yoga class: back and legs, leg and hip mobility

I finally did a challenge on the same day as yoga, AND I went to yoga class for 3 consecutive days also for the first time! I wasn't going to go, but I wanted to push myself further after doing Zero Hero (it also helped that it was a fairly easy challenge day).

It's almost as if being active makes you want to be MORE active

Have a nice weekend everyone!

 

[NightWolf714]

Chester is a gorgeous boy!

Congrats on getting back to Hero Zero. And I hear ya, it's hard to learn the difference between "ouch, I need to stop" and "ouch, that was a good workout." Haha. But I think you're being smart in slowly amping it up over time. Doing too much too fast can cause accidents, after all. And you're already doing great by doing more than you were before! So keep it up.