Gogor's quest

[Gogor]

Today is the day it all started. So, I'm gonna try to come here and post my progress as a 1st level knight (still working on the definition).

 

today:

25 minute walk

climbing to the 6 store of my building

wing chun forms

 

workout - push ups, crunches, sit ups, descending reps 8-6-4-2

 

also:

started a blog

made a video

 

read an awesome letter by Steve,

so on this 1st level I will:

 

 

Decide the type of game you want to play, and be specific:

• What does your day look like?

It's usually work from 0700 to 1400 or from 1030 to 1700, then going home, with wing chun kung fu practice every tuesday and thursday from 1900 to 2030. my weekends are about hanging out with my girlfriend, or my friends, oftenly playing rpg .

• Where does that life take place?

In the suburbs (my home), in the city (my work). I travel by bus to work and walk when I can.

• What are you spending your time and energy on?

On the internet surfing :-( , hanging out with my girlfriend, or friends, sometimes playing games/ rpgs, sometimes working out, reading, writing, drawing (but not as much, which makes me sad)

 

Do you surround yourself with people that are stronger, smarter, more positive, and push you to be a better person?  Do you spend time regularly with people who are better than you, and can give you advice on how to progress?

 

I do, when it comes to my friends. At my working place, I'm not so sure. Some, I guess.

 

1st level quest of Gogor

• Figure out your main quest.
• Learn the basics of strength training.
• Try a new exercise.
• Level up your social skills.
• Master your habits.
• Improve your diet.
• Start saving for an adventure.
• Try your hand at a more advanced strategy.
• Get weird and nerd out.
• Learn a recipe or two.

 

So here I go. This is the 6 week challenge that I am undertaking.

May the Force be with me on this one.

[Gogor]

So much going on in my life, tha I finaly grabbed time now to post. So:

 

level one:

 

day 2

 

20 minute walk

wing chun training lesson (involving upper body workout)

 

 

day 3

 

20 minute walk

stretching and warming up

wing chun forms

 

day 4

 

BAD DAY

got digestive problems/ate something bad/spent the day in the bathroom

 

 

day 5

 

recuperating from day 4

stretching and warming up

wing chun forms

 

also:

 

-on day 3, got invited by my friend to a ManKind group meeting, which was awesome, and realy inspired me for my NF Quest

-blogged more on my blog dedicated to my Quest

-celebrated anniversary with my lovely girlfriend

[Gogor]

MY MAIN QUEST

 

To become fisically fit- so I can run, jump, climb, crawl with no problem.

To become strong- so I can lift, carry, open, press, brake and squeeze.

To become calm- so I can enjoy, relax, think, be confident, embrace, take on a challenge, comfort and trust.

To become impressive- to look good with or without clothes, feel no shame- but pride of my body.

To make my body and mind moulded as such to be dependable & reliable.

 

[Gogor]

STRENGTH TRAINING - I got books that I use on my quest:

 

"Solitary Fitness" by Charlie Bronson

"Enter the Kettlebel" by Pavel

 

 

NEW EXERCISE FOR WEEK 2:

 

Indian club swinging ( I don't have any Indian clubs yet, so I'll use baseball bats)

 

 

LEVELLING UP MY SOCIAL SKILLS:

 

Through my envolvment in ManKind Project and advices from the Art of Manliness site.

 

 

MASTERING MY HABITS:

 

Mandatory sleeping time - 6 hours.

 

 

IMPROVING DIET:

 

Cutting out soda drinks.

 

 

SAVING FOR AN ADVENTURE:

That is a problem a bit with me. I'm still trying to figure it all out, how to pay all of my dues + bills + buy some good food + have some  $$ for daily needs.

 

 

TRY ADVANCED STRATEGY:

Fasting? hmmmm.... I'll put in a one day of fasting too :-)

 

NERDING OUT

that goes to my next post!

[Gogor]

My name is Goran and I'm a nerd.

 

 

I roleplay regularly. Started out with Dungeons and dragons and grew from there. Vampire: the Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer 40000, Pathfinder and Dark Matter rock my world. Also, I love SF & fantasy movies and series ever since my parents took me to see STAR WARS when I was 5, and from then I was hooked. I also go through a lots of books: the Hobbit, Call of Cthlhu, Solomon Kane, Conan, Lankhmar, Alterd Carbon, Discworld, Abarat, Neuromancer, Cabal and Dark Tower being my favourites.

 

But what really shaped my mind into what it was today, was comic books. Can't get enough. Batman, Batgirl, Iron Fist, Daredevil, the Punisher, V for Vendetta, Promethea, Poizon Elves, to name a few. I have a vast and ever growing connection.

 

I love playing games on the computer ever since Doom and Xwing and Double Dragon. Be it shooters like Jericho, strategies like Warcraft, games like Sanitarium, Eye of the Beholder, Monkey Island, or my ever growing warrior ranger in the realms of Guild Wars mmorpg, I just love it.

 

But mostly -  I'm a martial arts geek, too. Ever since I saw Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon and Michael Dudikoff in American Ninja, I was hooked for life. So I started shotokan karate when I was 7, but didn't like to compete (being somewhat insecure), so turned to Aikido, and found myself later in Shorin Kempo (where I got my bleck belt). Now, I'm doing wing chun kung fu, and it is awesome and a huge part of my life.

[Gogor]

day 6

walking for 15min

wing chun forms

15 pushups

OOPS: had a large dinner at my friend's birthday party. lasagna is kryptonite.

 

day7

walking 15min

wing chun forms

kettlebell pulls

ketlebell halos

 

day 8

walking 30min :-)

wing chun forms

had a lovely day outside, sunny and warm, girlfriends birthday, went for a walk

OOPS: boar for lunch. lands heavy on the stomach.

 

day 9

walk 15 min/ up the hill

wing chun forms

wing chun training sesion (lots of cardio)

 

day 10

walk 15 min

wing chun forms

 

day 11

walk 15 min

wing chun forms

BLEH: 10 hour work shift, did 3minute puhups in the men's room just to stay awake & focused :-)

 

day 12

15 min walk

week supply food carry / 10kg over 5 min x2

 

day 11

today

15 min walk

wing chun forms

 

 

 

 

ALSO: decided to do the Jedi Training Academy program next !

 

May the Force be strong with us all!

[Gogor]

by the way, this is the VIDEO of me doing the kung fu form.

[Gogor]

motivation of the day: this picture

 

[Gogor]

MOTIVATION PROBLEMATICS

 

So, I'm jotting down miles for the "Taking the ring back to Mount doom" quest, and talking to myself, and I find I have trouble in my motivation for working out. So these are my thoughts, and I'm sorry if they sound crazy.

 

 

 

 

Why do you do it?  It's hard and takes a lot of time... You will never be Batman, and you know it.

 

I know its hard and time consuming. But I have to.

 

Why?

 

I'm gonna look better.

 

You are looking good now.

 

I'm gonna feel better.

 

Don't you feel okay now?

 

I'm gona have a strong and impressive figure.

 

Is the cause of that vanity?

 

I'm gonna be healthier with more energy.

 

I'ts not like you are sickly now.

 

I'm gonna live longer.

 

You can't know that for sure.

 

I'll be better and more energetic in the sack.

 

...okay, you got me there. But isn't that a lame reason for working out?

 

No. I wanna add -er to every aspect: strongER, smartER, fastER, bettER, more powerER

 

I'ts pronounced powerful.

 

Whatever.

 

You will never be Batman or Arrow or James Bond or Wong Fei Hung.

 

But I want to be awesome. An awesome ME.

 

Uh-huh. But all of those guys just do workout. Not to mention those are made up characters, ideals to strive forward, ideas - not actual people. Plus. where will you find time and energy for all that? You have a family and a fiancee, and work. You have friends and roleplaying games and hang-outs. You have your faith. You have writing, and drawing, and computering, and reading to do. When the hell do you think to do those things? And don't even get me started on the food & drinks you consume....

 

Stop trying to bury me. Shut up.

 

There is so much that you want and so little time to do it in. Why don't you just give up? It's fine as it is. Nobody else is caring enough about it, or about what you do, so why bother? Batman? It's just whishfull thinking.

 

Shut your mouth. Right now, you basterd. You are my greatest enemy.

 

I don't think you can turn this on yourself, but please do. If it makes you feel ok...

 

I say I want to do it. And that is that. If I just give up trying, I shall fall into the dark pit of negativity. From Jedi to Sith. From Cleric to Lich. From Shazam to Black Adam. Then my poizon will build up, my body will suffer, my mind will be vile, my fiancee and family and friends will be hurt, my job will become unproductive, I could get fired, I could lose everything I hold dear, I will end up bitter, full of self hatred and self pity, walowing in the darknes like a haunt.

 

You are being overly dramatic.

 

So are you. So shut the hell up and help me. If you will not, then stay out of my sight.

 

I will criticise every thing you do.

 

I know. That will make me think better. And think more.

 

You will never be Batman.

 

No. But I'll get there. And I'll be climbing up and reaching  for that Bat Sign forever.

[Gogor]

Just read THIS awesome article.

Thank you, Steve.

[Gogor]

sO WHAT HAVE i BEEN DOING?

turning off caps lock.

droppng to 90kg from 93 kg.

following the beginner body weight workout mixed with batman workout.

cutting down bad food, getting motivated.

some of my friends are staring to work out too, and this feels awesome

 

[Blehthan]

motivation of the day: this picture

Love this!

Very interesting log, you seem motivated and certain of your aims. Best of luck!

[Gogor]

Thanks to Steve, I'm gonna add

 

LORD OF THE RINGS WORKOUT

to my curriculum!

 

this is the full article.

 

I'm gonna do this hobbit style!

 

 

• I am a hobbit, and new to working out: Do each Book ONCE before moving onto the sequel.
• I am an elf, and this seems like a fun challenge: Do each Book TWICE before moving onto the sequel.
• I am a Dúnedain, ranger of the north: Do each Book THREE TIMES before moving onto the sequel.

 

The Workouts:

 

Superset 1: The Fellowship of the Ring

3 â€YOU SHALL NOT PASS!†Slams (3 medicine ball slams - feel free to yell “YOU SHALL NOT PASS†each time you do this.)

7 Legolas Bow Pulls (7 renegade rows).

9 “One does not simply walking lunge into Mordor†(9 lunges, each leg).

1 Minute: Hip “Bridge of Khazad Dum†(hip raises and hold at the top position for 1 minute)

 

 

Superset 2: The Two towers

3 Riders of ROWhan (3 bodyweight rows)

7 Gimli “Shall I get you a box?†jumps. (7 box jumps - REALLY explode)

9 Helm’s Deep-Squats.  (9 bodyweight squats – get your ass to the ground. Way down.)

1 Minute Tower of Orthanc Holds (Kick up against a wall and hold a handstand for as long as you can until 1 minute is complete, in as few as sets as possible. Can’t hold a full handstand? Check out the variations in our Guide to Handstands.)

 

 

Superset 3: The return of the king

3 Eowyn “I am no Man!â€makers  (3 manmakers)

7 Light of Galadriel raises (7 arm overhead dumbbell presses)

9 “Army of Deadâ€lifts (9 light weight reps, barbell or dumbbell)

1 Minute Samwise Gamgee Carries (As demonstrated here by AKLulu carrying me at a NF meetup) A heavy sandbag over the shoulder works too.  No sandbag? Just carry two dumbbells around the gym for a minute.

 

 

Let's get to it!

[Gogor]

Got a new phone, so it's easier to track my activities!

[Gogor]

This LOTR workout is kicking my butt + I'm practicing my handstand again!

[Gogor]

Added a bit of something-something to my questing, it's a mobile phone app / game called Niantic . You move around the town, discobering hidden portals of mystic energy hidden in poblic works of art ( statues and such ) and try to hack them, for mor Energy Points, and you get to meet new people and quest for domination over The Portals. Why is this so NF ? I get to ride my bike/ walk / jog all around, and make it interesting - gaming wise. Also, imagining it can be done with added quests, so that every portal has a certain fitness (push up, pull up, squat, dip, lunge, etc. ) sidequest! It's awesome!

 

[Gogor]

sometimes, I fet frustrated when I don't get to workout. Do you?

[Gogor]

made a table for myself! I'll post it laters!

[Gogor]

making my own book of exercises. got the idea from Sir Steve and then seen some stuff from Lady Neila Rey.

 

So, I'm cooking up a magical awesome grimoire of the dreaded "Work-out-o-nomicon".

 

Even got a name for the process: scrounge fitness. Why scrounge?

Because I really need to sreal time here and there to get the workouts that I wanna do. my schedule is filled up :

• What does my day look like?

It's usually work from 0700 to 1400 or from 1030 to 1700, then going home, with wing chun kung fu practice every tuesday and thursday from 1900 to 2030. my weekends are about hanging out with my girlfriend, or my friends, oftenly playing rpg . I leave out the cooking, the cleaning, the reading, the internet, the blalblabla of where my time goes. so - scrounge.

 

the basic idea is to get the best out of what you have at hand.

not just survive, but to strive.

that whole "unfragile" idea that Steve mentioned in his blog struck a nerve in me.

so yeah. that's it.

mayhaps I'll put some pictures on too ..

[Gogor]

so, just to update what's up:

 

1. got an established morning workout rutine!   awesome. it all comes from testing my small workout handbook, and so far so good.

 

2. got back on track with training, but picked up Aikido for a bit. glad to see my old sensei, and we reconnected with joy. I almost forgot how much I love throws & tumbling. and after that, soreness of the muscles gotta work on getting back in shape.

 

3. back on track with my diet changes, gotta get back to my desired weight.

 

4. started playing SECRET WORLD for a bit. not relevant for fitness, just bragging. sorry.

[Gogor]

heh heh... ooow. .. heh...

 

[Gogor]

Started running a bit.

Two to three times a week, when I steal time.

My tempo is:

 

5min run

5min walk

5min run faster

 

Why?

Because of this book:

 

[Gogor]

So, I can type this from my cell phone? Hmmmmm.... 😊

[Gogor]

so many things going on, whish I had more time to write... so: getting married soon, working out to stay in shape, testing out new food recpies and stuff, trying to squeeze in a few RPG sessions here and there, it really bothers me that I don't read books, and can't wait to read the new Moon Knight!

 

Soon, I gotta post my little program called Scrounge Tactics. :)

 

And gotta keep on doing it.

As prof. Lee once said: "I do not fear a man who made 10000 moves once - formidable opponent is he who did 1 thing 10000 times!"

 

[Gogor]

I blew it.

I got kind of married, and kind of went on a honeymoon, and didn't mind myself...

..and I fu*cked up.

I suck.

My char died.

I gotta respawn and go back to the starting point...