chiquu

My little sister was also a premie (I think she was only half as cute.. Sorry sis), so your motivation hits close to home. I'll be cheering you on!!

Ooh, reading Rippetoe's book is a solid goal... How is it so far?

Good luck! It looks like starting at 40% to 60% paleo will make hitting 95% paleo pretty doable. I think the secret is make every meal a paleo breakfast... Ha ha. But seriously! What's your MA thesis on?

Badass!! How long have you been lifting?! I would love to get to your numbers someday! Tracking is also my goal this challenge.. How in-depth are you tracking food? Good luck!

Thanks! Being out with an injury made me miss weights so badly, so I think it'll take me a lot to quit... Plus there seem to be quite a few ladies around here who enjoy weights, so I'm happy to be in good company.

I'm super-happy to have stumbled across these forums so soon before the next challenge!! Quick summary of myself: Young lady who loves the iron after getting a taste of it during a brief flirtation with CrossFit... Was briefly interrupted after partially tearing my ACL in a ski accident but has been getting back into lifting these past few months. I recently got a new job, with a free gym membership included in the perks. However, without the structure and support of my old gym, I can feel my focus slipping even though I want to get stronger. So I want to make this initial challenge all about following a program and tracking my progress before I start jumping into more strength-based goals... Although my ultimate quest is to LIFT HEAVY. Anyone who lifts big, big weight has my respect and I want to be part of that. OBJECTIVE ONE: Follow Stronglifts 5x5 and track progress every workout. This means scheduling 3 workouts per week and sitting down to write out my day's workout plan pre-workout and record results post-workout. This includes taking notes on what I need to work on in order to improve. It seems so simple but I am SO BAD AT KEEPING TRACK of my numbers! Grading: A = 3x/week with progress well-tracked. B = 3x/week with sloppy tracking. C = 2x/week with progress well-tracked. D = 2x/week, sloppy tracking. F = 1x/week. OBJECTIVE TWO: Eat 1800 calories a day while keeping a food journal. I will shoot for 80% paleo but won't include that in my grading system. Eating that many calories is already pretty new to me and my previous food journal streaks are like.. Two days. Whomp whomp. Grading: A = 1800 calories with everything journaled. C = +/- 200 calories from goal with everything journaled. F = +/- 400 calories from goal, no matter what. OBJECTIVE THREE: Waking up at 6 am every weekday morning. I need to one-up my sleep habits and I thought about setting a "7+ hours per night" goal.. But past attempts at similar quests just leave me even more awake as I stress about not sleeping. Obviously a vicious cycle. I hope that by waking up at 6, I can give myself extra morning time to set up my workout/food log for the day and leave myself tired enough for a reasonable bedtime each night. Grading: A = 27+ mornings, up at six! B = 24 - 26 mornings. C = 21 - 23 mornings D = 18 - 20 mornings. F = Less than 17 mornings. LIFE QUEST: Better productivity at work. I need to slack less and focus more on my projects. Simple as that. Grading: Pass/Fail. Each day, record whether I pass or fail. If passes > 15, then boom! MOTIVATION: To work on my discipline and focus. I have a hard time second-guessing myself, so I want to use these next six weeks to put my head down and do it. Then I can look back and assess my weak spots more clearly for the NEXT challenge. ;D Measurements and lifting stats later!!

Whassup y'all! I'm a 24 year old lady from Denver, Colorado, and I'm somewhat internet-shy but ta stop lurking before challenge time. Leveling up is way more fun than lurking. Although I've been into strength training since last fall, I still feel like a newbie when it comes to lifting. So I'm hoping to buckle down and work hard, and gain some confidence from my results. Part of that lack of confidence comes from being derailed by an injury... I joined a Crossfit gym last winter and went regularly until a ski accident in March left me with a busted knee. But after being cleared by my doctor, I worked back into lifting with yoga, and now lift regularly and am getting back to my old numbers. SOOOO yeah. I studied Japanese and French in college, and try to keep up studying in my free time. Lately, I've been reading Dune, trying to watch more classic movies that I've missed, and am addicted to Puzzle&Dragons to an embarrassing extent. I'm glossing over a lot sooo... Let's be friends!