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Fitness for Nerds

2010-09-02 · challenge / punishment · John · 9:23 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria · mode: Comedy & performance · tags: punishment or challenge, community lore

Fulfilling his punishment, John hosts 'Fitness for Nerds', a mock workout of nerd-life exercises: eager-student stretches, lifting big books, pi-digit sit-ups with Willy, running from and deflecting a bully, and Mario and Konami-code moves.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Welcome to Fitness for Nerds; stretches: Simon Says, 'call on me, teacher', John's middle-school 'hello' move

  • ★★ John recalls that in middle school he greeted people with a 'hello' move instead of just saying hello, which did not turn out to be a good social strategy. (playful) — 00:00:47

00:01:30 — English class: lifting Infinite Jest, a Mark Twain biography and the Norton Shakespeare as Batman; lunges

  • ★★ Lifting Infinite Jest, a Mark Twain biography and the Norton Shakespeare as weights, John says books are beautiful for reading and also for holding. (playful) — 00:02:05

00:03:05 — Math class: sit-ups counted in digits of pi, with Willy licking

  • ★ John calls his dog Willy his workout partner as Willy interrupts the sit-ups to lick him. (playful) — 00:03:31 · Willy

00:04:46 — Running home from the bully with a book in the pants; dodge and deflect

  • ★★ Coaching viewers to face a bully, John says punching would not be very nerdy: Nerdfighters don't throw punches, but they do deflect them. (playful) — 00:05:40 · Nerdfighteria

00:06:41 — Video game section: 'It's-a me, Mario' spins and Konami-code moves

  • ★ John tells viewers born after 1985 that the up-up-down-down button sequence is called the Konami code. (playful) — 00:07:41 · Konami Code

00:08:22 — Cool-down breathing: forget the aqua leggings, purple shorts and cut-off 'Keep Dancing' sweatshirt; sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★★★ In the description, John says he fulfils his punishment with this video, a mock nerd workout he hosts as 'Fitness for Nerds'. (playful) — video description · Punishment

Humor (dominant)

  • The 'call on me, teacher' stretch: arm raised, John plays the eager smart kid. — 00:00:39

    “You only call on the dumb kids. It takes forever to learn anything!”

  • John demonstrates his middle-school 'hello' greeting move as a stretch. — 00:00:58

    “Did not turn out to be a great social strategy”

  • Holding big books overhead as Batman's cape, John coaches through the pain. — 00:02:29

    “If it doesn't hurt, your books aren't big enough.”

  • After sit-ups counted digit by digit through pi, John reaches the first zero. — 00:04:43

    “If you want a great workout, go to the second zero.”

  • Rather than punching the bully, the workout teaches dodging and deflecting. — 00:06:08

    “Nerdfighters don't throw punches, but we do deflect them.”

  • The hardcover book in the pants turns out to protect against the bully's belly shots. — 00:06:39

    “It hurt him more than it hurt you.”

  • During the Konami-code exercises John calls his dog Willy his workout partner and praises him. — 00:07:52

    “I love your energy, you never seem to get tired.”

  • Leading the cool-down breathing, John asks viewers to let go of the day's stress. — 00:08:43

    “I want you to forget about the fact that you're wearing aqua leggings and argyle socks”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

People: Mark Twain

Works: Infinite Jest · The Norton Shakespeare

Concepts: nerd · pi

Characters: Batman · Mario

Memes: Konami Code

animal: Willy

Only in the description or credits: Punishment

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