Brian.

Not your most inspired day but you still covered more human powered distance in day than most people do in a week.

It's been a frustrating week and especially the past few days. The short version is that I got in my 3 workouts, stretched 5 times and hit my 150g target 6 times. So, only 1 missed target, I dropped the ball with my 150g target today. I decided to have a bit of a cheat day and I really should have built a bit of slack into my target. The other problem which is quite a big one is that I got injured during weight training on Wednesday. I thought I might have a hernia at first but I'm pretty confident that I have actually strained or partially torn an abdominal muscle while doing squats. While it is healing I don't want to put any undue pressure on it from squats or deadlifts for a month or so. My weight training is an upper/lower body split so I did my upper split on Friday without too many issues. As I see it I have a few choices. I have opted to stick with upper body weight training 3 times a week and to up my running to 3 times a week again. I have missed regular running this week and I can use it in place of my lower body weight training.

I was hoping to keep this updated more this past week but I have been so busy with work. I have apprentice engineers to train along with doing my own job and although I enjoy it, it has tripled my work load. Anyway, I missed my stretching Thursday and Friday but completed it every other day so I'm on target there with 5 days out of the week. Eating wise I'm fairly sure I hit the target everyday, if I was out, it would have only been by 5-10g so I am counting that as successful. I have got a much better handle on what I plan to eat this week so as long as I stick to it I'll be fine. I had my first weight training session today after taking a week off and I felt it. I'm doing 5x5 stuff for the first time so working out how heavy to go was a little tricky but I got there in the end. Finally, I did my 2, 1 hour disconnects this week. The first I did on Saturday morning by reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I left my phone on silent in the other room to avoid temptation. I have to admit, it felt strange but I got through a lot more pages than I otherwise would. The second I did on Sunday while cleaning the kitchen. I would normally stick the TV or some music on but I did it in silence and found it strangely calming. I even managed to throw in an extra run last week of just over 6km in 30 minutes.

on the 15k run, boo for the blister but at least its only a little one.

So far so good with my eating goal even with the hectic nature of being at work. On a side note I have eaten very clean for the past week and decided a cheat meal was in order for my lunch. Ending my clean eating with a few hotdogs wasn't a good idea, I feel rough as hell now. I've only missed 1 day stretching (Thursday) and I have even got in 2 6km runs along the way. Tomorrow morning I will attempt my first disconnect session.

I decided to move on from the TRX because I think weight training would be more effective at increasing my muscle mass and strength. The other reason is that I really like doing squats and deadlifts and that cannot be re-created with the TRX. I am keeping the TRX though so that I can use it when I have to work away from home etc. I hit my targets of 150g protein yesterday and I also did 15 minutes of stretching after a run of about 6km. I felt like I managed to stretch a bit further last night.

Some fantastic goals there, best of luck.

In the last challenge I did I didn't re-measure any of my physical stats apart from weight until the end of the challenge. I personally don't think body measurements change much week to week so I tend to do my monthly.

All the advice I have seen on barefoot/forefoot running is to ease into it really slowly

I was back at work today after a bit of time off so I was feeling a little groggy by the time I got home. I decided to give some stretches a try that I found online. I'm fairly sure some of them are yoga poses or at least beginner poses. Anyway there were 10 stretches and it took me about 15 minutes, holding each one for 60 seconds. I feel quite good now that they are done. Protein wise I hit my 150g today give or take 5g either way, today I surprised myself with just how clean I managed to eat.

There are suspension trainers which are similar to the TRX but far cheaper on places like amazon. Failing that there are also guide on how to make your own suspension trainer on youtube. If you want a genuine TRX they come up on ebay but they are normally expensive, a cheap one would likely be a knock off.

Preparation wise I have made all the food I'll need for work on Monday & Tuesday. If I don't make something before hand I tend to eat badly at work.

I really like the 'Yoga For Inflexible People' goal, I will be very interested to see how you get on with that because I am pretty inflexible myself.

Good luck with everything but especially the smoking one. The benefits from that goal alone with have a huge effect on your life.

Thanks, steal all you like I normally cover just under 6k unless I am really pushing the pace in which case its over 6k. I have found that while using a foam roller the last few days that my flexibilty has increased in my hamstrings already so I'm expecting some good things from this part of my challenge. Thanks Eve, I see you are still kicking ass. Protein wise most of it will be from food sources. I eat eggs for breakfast and have done since the last challenge and that normally provides me with 30g of protein, lunch will be turkey or tuna based so that will provide another 30g. I tend to snack on Almonds which is another 10g and my main meal will provide about 40g depending on what I eat. The remaining 30-40g will come from whey protein which I take with milk. I expect to get technology withdrawl for the first few weeks, I love gadgets.

After several failed attempts into eating better I found easing into something the best approach by far. I started with making sure my breakfast was a good one and then as the weeks went on made the same changes with my other meals. Once you're there it just becomes part of life, I now eat paleo about 95% of the time without really thinking about it. I still crave the evil foods though because they taste so good but I find that if I over endulge on these I feel ill for a while. Good luck for the challenge.

I was surprised to see the challenge system has changed somewhat but I embrace change and I can see the sense behind it. I'm looking forward to working with my fellow druids again to make us the best we can be.

I promised I would be back to join the druids for this challenge after missing the last one and here I am. While I have been away I have increased my cardio work load a lot. My running has increased from 15k a week to 25k and I have been road cycling a lot. It's time for me to increase my strength and I can't do that with loads of running, god knows I've tried. The aim with this challenge is that I can put on some muscle while losing some fat. Main Quest: Become supple and strong This is the main reason why I joined NF back in March and I have had some great results so far. I have hit a bit of a plateu recently so it's time to completely change up what I am doing. I am going to reduce my running to one 30 minute run a week and increase my weight training. Goal 1 - Weight training I will following the New Rules of Lifting, I have already done the break in so now its time to step things up. I will be doing no lifting for the first week of the challenge though because I am coming off the back of a lot of training and my body needs a week off from lifting. For the first week I will continue to run in place of lifting. Starting in week 2 I will be lifting 3 times a week. Grades: Training sessions completed - A=15, B=14, C=13, D=12 Goal 2 - Eating For this to work I need to eat properly and that is something which I have let slide in the last 3 weeks. I'm not too bad when it comes to calories but I need to eat enough protein. I am aiming for 1g of protein per lb of body weight per day as a starting point for this challenge, for me that is 150g. Grades: Days adhered - A=42, B=38, C=36, D=34 Goal 3 - Suppleness The one thing that I regularly let slip is stretching and as a result I have tight hamstrings and stiffness in a few other areas. To remedy this I will stick to a regime of stretching & foam rolling to get rid of this limitation. I am aiming to do this 5 times a week as it shouldn't take longer than 10 mintues each time. Grades: Days adhered - A=30, B=28, C=26, D=24 Life Quest: Relax Another thing that I have noticed creeping into my daily life is the need to always be connected to technology. I don't know if this is the cause of some restlessness I have been experiencing but it will do no harm to disconnect from time to time. I don't mind how this is done so I am giving myself plenty of scope with this one. It can be drawing, walking in the country, reading a book etc but it must be done without technology. My phone has to be switched off and there must be no interuptions. Goal 4 - Disconnect Twice a week for at least an hour each time I will disconnect from the world and do something that I find relaxing. The thing being done is less important than the way it is being done. No technology!! Grades: - Disconnect events (min 1hr each) - A=12, B=11, C=10, D=8 Motivation My motivation is fairly simple, I do not want to go back to where I was at the start of the year. I was in an unhealthy state of mind and body. I know with what I have achieved so far that I can do it, I just need to stick with it. I have a picture of myself at the start of the year next to my bed, that is all the motivation I need. Starting Measurements Skinfold Fat - Abs - 21mm - Tricep - 10mm - Chest - 8mm - Midmax - 17mm - Supermax - 16mm - Thigh - 14mm Physical Stats - Chest 38" - Arms 12.5" - Waist 34" - Hips 35" - Thigh 21.25" - Calf 14" Weight - 153.6lbs I also have a starting photograph to compare with at the end of the challenge. I think that just about covers everything, best of luck everyone.

As before I am very inspired by the way you manage to keep things going even when you are feeling like things are not going well. The distance you run every week is nothing to be sniffed at either

Berlin is one of my favourite cities and I'm heading there in a week for the 5th time. I echo the sentiments about Checkpoint Charlie. If you want to see it then take a wander by but don't buy any of the tatt off the street sellers. The museum there is poor but I agree with the DDR museum, they have loads of really great things that you would have seen in people's houses at the time. There are loads of organised tours but you will have a better time by grabbing a map and walking places. The public transport system, especially the U-Bahn is great value, just don't forget to validate your ticket, there are inspectors and the fines are large. At night things don't seem to get going until late but when they do they tend to go on until the morning in a lot of cases. Ohh and the beer is fantastic.

Hey RFG, I hope you have a great challenge this time round. One thing that I found really helps my with eating at work is to prepare everything I will eat before hand and take it to work. Buying stuff to eat at work nearly always lead to me eating poorly and far too much. I usually prepare 3 days food in advance so that I am not doing it everyday and then either freeze it or refridgerate it. Have you tried moving your alarm clock across the room?

I won't be participating in this challenge but I intend to be around for the next one. Despite this, I just want to wish everyone the best of luck and I will be checking how people are doing from time to time.

That's just the information I was after, I appreicate the help.

This is a bit long-winded but I will attempt to keep things as simple as possible, I am just looking to ensure that I understand a few things correctly. I am 32, 5ft 7ish and currently at 154lbs after dropping 20lbs of mainly stomach fat. I have managed to do this by eating a relatively clean diet with a deficit of about 500 calories combined with the TRX force workout 4 times a week and running approx 5K 3 times a week with a day off (one day I do both so that I can have a day off). I still carry fat around my waist which I am looking to shift but I want to move onto lifting weights with the future goal to put on some muscle. I am planning to start the NROL (New Rules of Lifting) original workouts starting with the break-in program 3 times a week for 4 weeks. As I understand it I should probably stop running and I will still lose fat as long as I maintain a deficit. I am looking to up my protein intake when I start to 160g a day straight away as it seems to be the regular advice for those lifting. Should I stop the running with a diet and program like this or do would it be wise to keep doing it until the remaining fat is gone? Once I am reached my desired level of fat loss am I right in assuming that I have to eat a calorific surplus to build muscle? I am in no huge rush to build muscle, I would much rather burn the fat off first but I would like to start lifting sooner rather than later. I know most people build first and then burn fat second but is my approach workable even if it isn't particularly efficient?

Thanks. Thanks, even though what I will be doing for future challenges probably doesn't fit in great with the Druids I suspect I'll be back here, everyone is so friendly. Even though I am not doing the next challenge I will still be training. During that time I will be in Europe for a bit and I also have to get settled with regards to lifting weights again so thats the main reason I have decided to sit it out. I will pop along to the threads from time to time to add my support for the Druids though.