mightstone2k

They washed very clean. I have KSOs, which are designed like water shoes. I ran them through a soak cycle and regular cycle and they came out sparkling. Posted from my phone. I apologize if I missed anything or if it is not quite coherent.

I highly recommend Vibrams, if you are comfortable in minimalists. I ran my Mudder in them and it was great. Not having extra weight or mass was one less thing to deal with in the mud. Posted from my phone. I apologize if I missed anything or if it is not quite coherent.

Today has both good news and bad news. The Good Not only did I start my internship, I get free access to the gym on base! Hooray free gym! And there's a lunchtime Ultimate Frisbee group! Hooray Ultimate! I forgot my Vibrams, so I couldn't work out on base today. I went home, changed quickly, and found a horizontal bar in the park. Here's what followed: Ring dip: 3x4 Pullup: 2x6, 1x5 (my pullups have been suffering, so I dropped my numbers and will begin working back up) Pistol (to bench): 3x3 (it was time to progress past Bulgarian split squats, so I started the pistol progression) Ring wide pushup: 1x7, 2x6 Ring wide row: 1x5, 2x4 1-leg romanian deadlift: 3x10/leg The Bad I checked the assignment schedule for my summer course (Constitutional and Military Law). Holy smokes, is there a lot of reading! That really, really irritates me. Now I'm faced with a choice. I can drop martial arts to free up class time during the week, I can curtail my weekend exploration in the city, or I can put in less than full effort on class to keep time free for martial arts and exploring. Option 2 is a bad idea because I want to experience San Francisco. Option 3 is a bad idea because I really want to do well in this class. Military law is my chosen area and I want to have a firm grasp on the material. Option 1 is a bad idea because I desperately want to get back into martial arts. This summer was supposed to be my chance to get out and be awesome again. Redeveloping my martial arts skills plays heavily into my sense of personal awesomeness. I don't want to wait until the fall semester to restart, especially when the fall is going to be very busy also. That makes it hard to develop a new habit. It feels like I am going to fall right back into the academic year trap. I'll spend my time sitting constantly, either at work or at home. Exploring will become boring because I'm just exploring for its own sake. I'm so tired of not having a social life or being able to pursue what I want because of school. Yippee... let's put off personal desires because we have to study. This was really bad news, and I'm clearly being bitchy about it. I dunno, maybe things will look better when I get home tomorrow night (and promptly sit down to begin reading... again). Clearly I'm failing my first goal.

Wow. That sounds cool. Are you a history or education student? Rock your WOD today! Posted from my phone. I apologize if I missed anything or if it is not quite coherent.

Mine is: Warmup Ring dips Pullups Shrimp squats Ring wide pushups Ring wide rows 1-leg romanian deadlifts I'll post numbers in my challenge thread tonight. Good luck, y'all! Posted from my phone. I apologize if I missed anything or if it is not quite coherent.

I seem to have a habit of shooting myself in the foot. Yesterday I went to Ghirardelli Square. Obviously I can't go and not eat chocolate. Unfortunately, it was hot as blazes and my mom and I got ice cream. Today was going well until we went for sushi. I know that sashimi is the smartest choice for me (I eat Primal and try to avoid rice), but I LOVE some of the special rolls. I got the Lion King, a Spider variation, and the Super California. All were delicious, but then I folded and tried some of my mom's tempura. And the Lion King had tempura-fried soft shell crab. The point is, I rationalize grains and sugar far too easily and whine about being a fat kid later. I can't keep saying, "I'll get back on track tomorrow." The good: my workout today went very well. I felt like a boss. I had three people ask me what I was doing with the rings. I love it when that happens. One guy tried ring rows; he started laughing and saying how crazy-hard they were. He resumed heavy barbell rows shortly thereafter. To each his own:p Oh, and I moved into my new apartment. It's great. I have a shared kitchen, tons of pantry space, and my own bathroom. I win! Two days until challenge! Posted from my phone. I apologize if I missed anything or if it is not quite coherent.

Just checking in. I like your goals. Those races are long, that's for sure! Two questions: where in PA do you live, and what is your dissertation on?

What if I've already competed in a race this year? I ran a Mudder in May, but... I'm training for next year? I signed up in the Google Doc; I can delete it if I don't meet the criteria. Brief background: I'm a law student from Pennsylvania who goes to school in Chicago and just started a summer internship in San Francisco. I do a lot of gymnastics-style training. As a martial artist who wants to be a military Judge Advocate, I like to focus on relative strength instead of pure, barbell-induced maximal strength. The Mudder was one of the most fun things I've ever done. The camaraderie between the participants was inspiring, and I want to keep running these kinds of races to hang out with my kind of people. The link to my challenge thread is in my sig.

My fictional ranger lore is limited to Aragorn and (much less so) Drizzt. But you can't beat the best (and I don't mean the drow).

This first post is lengthy, but subsequent posts will not be such a wall of text. Height: 6' Weight: 175ish pounds I haven't done body measurements because of the clusterfluff my life has been for the past three weeks. Meh; I'll do those next challenge! Background I just finished my first year of law school in Chicago. During the academic year, I spent most of my time reading, outlining, and writing. I dedicated my limited free time to cooking and working out. The timing of this challenge is perfect; I start my internship in San Francisco on June 3, the challenge start date. I have never been to California before. My goals are designed to do two things: (1) re-instill certain fitness habits, and (2) push myself to explore San Francisco with a series on mini-adventures. Goals Fitness goals 1. Find a martial arts school and train twice a week. My martial arts training was sporadic during college and nonexistent during first year. I want to start training regularly when I get back to Chicago, and this is a good time to re-learn the basics. It also gives me a chance to dabble in something new while I'm out here. I already have a Chinese kickboxing school in mind. I have a free trial class on Tuesday. 2. Perform a 20 minute yoga routine three days a week. I want to use yoga to start reversing the damage I did to my body during first year. I spent a lot of time sitting, and now I want to start healing myself and rediscovering my flexibility. I have Sage Rountree's Athlete's Pocket Guide to Yoga. I will likely stick to the predeveloped routines. 3. Do 3 sets of 8 ring dips. I was waffling between a pushing, pulling, or pistol goal here. I chose pushing because I will be tested on pushing exercises and I want to develop my pushing strength before I switch over to training muscular endurance. Adventure goal 4. Visit Muir Woods, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, Japantown, Alcatraz, Fort Point, and walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I want to get out and experience San Francisco. I know Chicago well enough, but I've had a lot of time to let that seep in. I only have nine weeks to experience San Francisco and I want to make it count. Weekly schedule Not only am I working a 40 hour/week internship, I am also taking an online class. My most ambitious goal is the martial arts goal. I already do resistance training three times a week and was sporadically doing yoga. Training five nights a week may be too much, but the martial arts studio is on the route from my apartment to work. Travel will be convenient, at least. Monday: work/resistance training Tuesday: work/yoga/martial arts Wednesday: work/resistance training Thursday: work/yoga/martial arts Friday: work/resistance training Saturday: yoga/class/adventure Sunday: Mass/class/adventure Resistance workout (with numbers from my last workout) Warmup Ring dips 3x4 Pullups 1x8, 1x7, 1x6 Bulgarian split squat (sole of foot against wall) 1x9/leg, 2x8/leg (ready to test for advancement to shrimp squats) Ring wide pushup 1x7, 2x6 Ring wide row 1x5, 2x4 1-leg romanian deadlift 3x10/leg

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Cline. I'll try to match my reply to your numbered paragraphs. 1. I have called the martial arts school. They typically run a three month program (one class/week) for Chinese kickboxing, but they agreed to let me attend twice a week and condense the program because of my situation. It seems perfect for my short-term plans, which are basically to get back into the swing of martial arts and start experiencing other approaches to fighting (instead of a traditional art in itself, like tang soo do). I have a trial class scheduled for Tuesday and a backup school to try if this is a bad fit. I'll test the waters and see what happens. If both end up as bad fits, I could audible into a different fitness goal? 2. I do own rings and I currently can do 3 sets of 4 dips. I am wavering about this goal. I want to include it because I think going to 3x8 is attainable in six weeks. More on my inner debate in point 5. 3. Running will not be tested for a while, so I'll make a note of this goal and put it on the back burner for now. 4. I'm not worried about putting too much on my plate by setting so many fitness goals. My resistance training program was my release during first year, and I'm very good about not skimping on it. Even if the new job is stressful and time-consuming, this workout keeps me clear-headed and relieves tension. The yoga routine won't be too hard to incorporate either; I can do twenty minutes before bed to unwind. The only part that may cause difficulty is incorporating two nights of martial arts training. I haven't trained five nights a week since I started law school. I want to develop that habit now, but I readily admit that adding the martial arts aspect is a gamble. 5. I'm generally dialed in on healthy eating habits. This goal is meant to encourage a return to my preferred eating habits after the finals period. My tough choice is between this and the ring dips goal. I like having a food-related goal, but it seems too easy. If I do a food goal, I like your suggestion to narrow in on sugar. I'm going to keep pondering, but I'm leaning toward the dips. 6. That's a great idea about setting my adventure goal! I have a San Francisco guidebook. I think I'll sit down, make a list of experiences I want to have, and have my goal be to complete the list. A half dozen mini-adventures sounds right. In summary: The only real addition to my workout program is martial arts training. That goal is my most ambitious and I realize it may fail, depending on the internship's demands. I don't know who any past interns are. I never asked; honestly, the thought never crossed my mind. I'm new at being a professional and I regularly feel like a clod. I don't think beyond "give me a problem and watch me solve it" The goals I'm currently considering are 1. Attend martial arts classes twice per week 2. Do a 20 minute yoga routine three times per week 3. Do 3 sets of 8 ring dips 4. Do six mini-adventures, which have yet to be determined Posted from my phone. I apologize if I missed anything or if it isn't entirely coherent.

I tried participating in the New Year's challenge, but I lost steam and dropped out. It's summertime, I'm working instead of studying, and I am going to be in California instead of Chicago for the summer. In other words, it's a fresh start and I want to use this time to remind myself how awesome I am. I already ran a Tough Mudder (my self-gift for finishing year 1 of law school), purely to prove to myself that I am more than a mass of meat that perpetually reads casebooks and taps away at a computer. So, here's the skinny on my life, then I can post my current goal ideas: I just finished my first year of law school in Chicago. I accepted a summer internship with the Coast Guard's Legal Services Division in California (I'm typing this from the Nebraska panhandle). I start my internship on June 3, the challenge's start date. More important than the internship, I am relocating to a brand new place for a few months. I have never been to California, but it sounds like a mystical, magical place that I will enjoy immensely, IF I put in the effort to get out there and experience it! My current plan is to do my strength workouts MWF, which leaves TuTh and SaSu open. I will probably spend the work week in the Oakland/Alameda area and explore San Francisco and the surrounding areas on the weekends. My internship is top priority because I want to impress my supervisors; all I need are some glowing recommendation letters to feel comfortable about my JAG application. I should have much more free time during the week and on weekends because this is a 40 hour work week. Unlike law school, I won't be putting in long hours outside of class/work; I'll be able to have a life. On to the goal ideas! These are all prospective ideas; I want to have 3 fitness goals and 1 life goal. They could all use some refinement, and I would appreciate help making them SMART goals. Nailing down achievable goals would be a big first step for me; I rarely engage in this kind of prospective contemplation about where I want my life to go. Thank you! Fitness 1. Go to martial arts classes twice a week (My martial arts training has really suffered from law school. I want to pick up training again when I start next semester; instituting the habit now would be easier. I have found a Chinese kickboxing place near work that looks like fun, and the hours will work with my schedule. It is easy for me to make excuses and skip things; with a set goal, it will be easier to overcome my excuses. The class schedule will slot in perfectly on Tuesday and Thursday.) 2. Do a twenty minute yoga routine three times a week (I have Sage Rountree's Athlete's Pocket Guide to Yoga. I envision doing some of her preconstructed routines or building my own. Again, having a goal makes it harder to skip it. I want to use yoga to counteract all the sitting I do, and to develop some core strength; I haven't managed to progress in L-sits for a very long time.) 3. Do 3 sets of 8 ring dips during a workout (I have built my resistance training routine out of Overcoming Gravity. Building my upper body pushing strength barely squeaks ahead of improving my pulling strength because I will be tested on pushing exercises for the military. When I get closer to military PFTs, I will start working on endurance. Right now, I want to get fiendishly strong. This goal could also shift to something on the pistol progression instead. I can do 3x8 bulgarian split squats [foot on wall] presently, and I am ready to test shrimp squats to see if I can progress. I am less clear on how to progress toward pistol squats, and academics have left me little time to research that.) 4. Follow my personalized Runner's World SmartPlan (I need to improve my running, without question. I hate running, but I will be tested on it for the military. The SmartPlan is designed to build me to running a 5K. My present time is a 10:11 mile and that needs to improve for the military. The main reason not to use this goal (especially in conjunction with 1 and 2) is that I will be adding three new things onto my current 3/week resistance training plan. I'm addicted to my bodyweight training and I don't want to hurt that. Martial arts is the top priority to add and goal 1 is locked and loaded. Yoga seems like a better addition than running right now, and I can slot running in for the next challenge.) 5. Clean up my eating (Finals time was particularly bad for my willpower around food, and the road trip is challenging. This is certainly not a SMART goal. Some ideas: a. cap my added sugar consumption (any that doesn't occur naturally in food) at 10 g/day; b. cut out added sweets like chocolate (with three allowances during the challenge; there's a Ghirardelli factory in SF); c. hit my daily caloric/macro goals (I follow a Leangains-style eating plan, but I don't know how my allowances will change with martial arts in the mix. Probably TDEE-500 on SaSu, TDEE on martial arts days, and TDEE+500 on resistance training days. Protein at 1 g/lb bodyweight per day) I like having a food-related goal, and it would probably replace goals 2 or 3 if I can make it SMART.) Right now I am leaning toward 1, 2, and 5. Any help on making 5 SMART is particularly appreciated. I do like goals related to my resistance training, but I need to set a goal there less (if the purpose of the goal is to push myself to make lifestyle changes). I already try to improve my resistance training because I am addicted to that facet of my life. It kept me sane during the academic year. Life 1. Try two new things every week (I am on the fence about whether this should include trying new places to eat. That seems far too easy; what I have in mind is exploring two new things in the SF area every week. It could be a baseball game, a new neighborhood, doing the Alcatraz tour, or something similar. Experience two new things every week?) 2. Remove myself from unnecessary email lists (This is something I need to do to simplify my life. I get far too many unnecessary emails during the day and I want to unclutter that part of my life. Right now I just delete them, but I should unsubscribe so I don't have to bother. But the other life goal seems much more compelling.)

I will be driving from Chicago, Illinois, to Alameda, California the last week of May. This is my first cross-country road trip, so I want to make a journey out of it instead of merely driving from point A to point B. Does anyone have any suggestions of things to stop and do or see along Interstate 80? I'm open to any suggestions!

Sorry for the late response. My subscription didn't email me telling me that there was a reply! I'd love that. My first year of school has really, really put the brakes on martial arts training. What art do you study? I see "dojang," so I'm guessing something Korean. I have a Tang Soo Do background.

To the San Francisco Bay Area Rebels: I scored an internship in Alameda for this summer, so I will be out in the Bay Area for all of June, all of July, and a very brief part of August. Yay me! But I know no one in California. No friends, no acquaintances, not even a good enemy to graciously welcome me with an easily foiled attempt on my life. This makes me sad. I would love to meet some Californian rebels while I'm out West. Any takers?

There was no link, but I Googled your terms. Are you referring to the About.com stuff? I paged through it and it looks quite good indeed

Hi everyone. I want to start doing yoga at home, but I have no idea how to go about creating a beginning routine. I'm planning on using Yoga Journal's sequence builder, but are there any routine-creation principles I should know? Any good poses for beginners I should try to work in? I know I would like to work on a full bridge, but that's all I know at the moment. Thanks all! Edit: While I'm asking questions, I am also looking at Sage Rountree's Athlete's Guide to Yoga and Athlete's Pocket Guide to Yoga. Does anyone have reviews on those books or recommendations on books to look into?

Oh, I have a good kimchi recipe. I just don't have the time this weekend or upcoming week to make it.

I just made some broth, thanks for the suggestion When I hit the grocery store tonight, I'll pick up some kimchi and sauerkraut (and put them on my list of "make homemade in the near future"). Think pickled eggs would have the same effect?

After a few weeks of digestive misery, I decided to start supplementing with probiotics to help myself recover. I picked up Jarro-Dophilus EPS at the health store downtown. Browsing the shelves didn't turn up anything that's 100% Paleo. This brand contains soy (less than 0.1%), milk (less than 0.01%), potato starch, and magnesium stearate (which I recall seeing somewhere as something to avoid. Primal Body, Primal Mind, maybe?). I'm not complaining, mind you. This brand looks pretty solid and the percentages of questionable stuff is very minimal. I was just wondering what other people take and if anyone has found a 100% Paleo brand. Thanks for indulging my curiosity.

Joe, if you happen to read this, which day are you running the Chicago Mudder? I assume it's Chicago, since Steve mentioned meeting you in the Windy City. I'm signed up for an early wave on Sunday.

Lovely. Thanks, Elastigirl! That sounds like it would make a great PWO meal.

Now I must ask: what is an egg monster? Because it just sounds awesome.