Lindt

Hey there ! It's been almost a month since I last posted here. I am sorry for that, I was overwhelmed with work and exams. I think I can sum up my month pretty easily : The HEMA club still don't have a gym. Which means still no sword training or anything else My knee is hurting like hell, actually like last year, which means back to the doctor again ! Maybe she can prescribe me some reeducation or whatever... If anything helps ! I only exercise once a week, which is kinda... Lame ? I don't know, but I feel lame. I still have the same strength, I haven't lost anything, but I can't make progress with so few workout. Soo... I don't really know what to do, because the main objective of this challenge is focused on HEMA, and I can't do any of that... I'll try, since I'm now in a break, to do my best about my workout, maybe try some elliptical bike to still do some cardio exercise ? But I don't think I'll be adding a level or points in my stats, I just feel like I failed this challenge, but hey, that may be a prologue to my next one ? Also, I'll have to look for another thing to do than HEMA... I'm sad about it, because I dream of it since I'm a little child ( I'm just a grown-up child now ! ) and I still won't be doing it. I could easily say "Hey, that's not my fault, there's no possibility to practice Martial Arts right now, since I can't join a club", but no, that's my fault with my workout schedule. I only saw all of your messages recently, and I am glad I'm here, even if I should have been more consistent, about my training, about the rebellion. But now I'm almost done with the crappy-busy-lamy-sad part of my semester, and it's really time to kick some ass. ( Mine, of course ! ) So, I don't think I'll be "really" grading me, since I consider this challenge failed. But, I'll try to be regularly updating about my progression, how does that training felt, and so on. Maybe put a grade on it, but I won't add anything on my profile, it will be only to get me better. That's what these challenges are for, right ?

Hey guys ! Sorry I'm late ! Here's my weekly review : Monday 18 : I didn't ran, as I wasn't even able to walk properly :/ Tuesday 19 : Didn't exercised at all x_x I was too focused on my thursday's exams, as they were very important. Wednesday 20 : Still didn't ran, it's too cold here ! It was around 2°C that day ! Thursday 21 : After my exams, which went pretty good, I did my workout as I want to, even if it was harder than usual... Maybe I should be more regular x_x Friday 22 : Still didn't ran, but I went to a gig ( Honeyhoney and Jake Bugg That was awesome ! ) and I think that was as exhausting as running ! I felt like it, though. Saturday 23 : I kept myself on my workout plan, but I did too much abs training and got some aches the day after that ! Sunday 24 : Well... I... Ahem... Sunday. Monday 25 : I didn't ran... I feel like cr*p not running, I consider swimming at the pool, but right now my courses schedule takes me too much time... Gah ! I helped some kids to do their homework, and I felt pretty useful ( Therefore, great ! ) Today, Tuesday 26 : I haven't exercised yet, but as I write this, I'm warming up... I need to get me back on track ! I did my stretching all days I'm pretty glad about it, I feel way better since I started ! If nothing changes, I'll know tomorrow when the HEMA classes are starting ! Yay ! This week felt that was a C : C on running as I skipped everyday. I feel I'm lame :/ B- on workout, because I seem to be losing strength, as I didn't exercised last Tuesday. I'll do better ! I still can't tell anything about the HEMA ! And finally, A on the stretching, as I do it everyday. @Gneiss : Thanks That is total volunteering I don't get anything ( Besides sometime a tea or a candy ) but only my own satisfaction. I feel that I'm helping, and that is very rewarding itself ! @Kishi & Spauracchio & Zuel : Thanks for your advices Actually, I think I'll do sprints instead of interval tomorrow ! Maybe that'll help ! I'll try to post it here as soon as I can

Hey there ! Here is my review of the week : Since last wednesday, I exercised as much as I wanted to, i.e. thursday and saturday, and with my goals reached ! It's my maximum at the moment but I feel pretty good about it, I'm rather strong. But I didn't ran friday or today, as I my knees are beginning to hurt again. I don't know if it's the cold or the weather, but I feel a permanent pain in both knees and I have troubles with climbing up stairs, so I wasn't quite sure about running. I'll try this wednesday but if it hurts me again, I'll try elliptical bike instead. The problem is, that's not so great for cardio, and not as intensive as interval training. The classes haven't started yet, and it begins to bother me. That's frustratiiiing ! I stretch every day just after my breakfast, my back, my legs and my neck, and that feels great ! I have less and less troubles with them since I started to stretch all them. I'll continue as much as possible ! If I had to grade this week, I feel that was a B- : C on running as I skipped friday and today. And also I lasted 10 minutes last wednesday, which is less that I wanted ! I need to improve ! A on workout, because I keep myself on tracks and I do what I wanted in my challenge, even if I try to do better. I can't really tell anything about the HEMA as I can't really do anything. And finally, A on the stretching, as I do it everyday and it feels good ! I'm supertired, I recently began to help kids with homework in a... Well, in a place where kids go after school to do their homework ! I don't know if there's a name for it, the direct translation would be "Homework-help center". That's fun because I was in the exact same place when I was a kid, now I've been on both side. But that is soooooo hard to keep these kiddies to work. I did it today and I feel like I ran for 2 hours ( With my rough day, it didn't helped. It's 10p.m. here and I won't last much longer awake ! ) That's all for last week ! Hopefully my work schedule will be less overcharged than now, as I have a lot of studying to do. And the worst is that it's not for exams or whatever, just for random tests with all we did since the beginning of the year in 3 different courses.

Spauracchio, merci I'm not sure, but I think my legs are involved in this stance : That's my "reference" stance since that's also my abs-workout. I can hold hardly 40 seconds. I'm doing the side abs too but I can't hold for that long. I'm not really familiar with the english names of the leg muscles, but I feel that interval training really makes my legs... Well, work ! Obviously it does when I really run for long, but I noticed some changes, visually and with my knee, which hurt less when it's cold. I'm thinking about doing some squats, or maybe the "jumping squats" of the batman workout ? I'll see how my legs are Thursday ! Thanks Kishi ! Indeed, that's what it's about ! Maybe the world "holding" could describe the thing ? I'm really clueless, I'll ask my English teacher tomorrow Well actually, I'm really lucky Zuel ( Well, maybe not so much, but I'll explain ! ) because there's no other club around here, although I'm in one of the largest city of France, and well placed in Europe. But, there's always a but, the club had to change where they teach HEMA, as it's really tiny ( like maybe 30 members max ) and they didn't have the money to rent the gym. They are looking for a place and they found something but nothing is done yet. Well, I hope that it will be good soon ! That's a good idea ! Actually I really enjoy swinging it in a basic cutting move, even it's heavy as hell, steel is not a joke ! I usually warm up with it, by the way. I feel, doing that, that I should exercice my forearm, as it's really useful to swing a sword. I think I'll add it in my challenge as well as squats as I said earlier. Thanks Well, today went well ! I exercised as much as I wanted in my goals, even if I can only hold the stance I showed on the top of this post for about 40 seconds. Tomorrow, I'll run, first I'll warmup with my sister ( My warmup is her training xD That shows me how fast I made progress within my first challenge ! ) then I'll do the interval for at least 15 minutes. I have a math exam on Thursday so I am a little bit stressed ( How great that mathematics are a big part of my finals in computer sciences. Meh.) I also stretched my legs and my back for 6 minutes, that is wonderful, my back don't hurt me anymore !

Hey there ! It's my first quest being a monk, and I wnat to introduce myself properly : I'm a 18 years old french guy, living in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, and I'm currently a computer sciences student in my second year of a Bachelor's degree. I'm 1m90 tall, and I weight for about 75kg. I made my first (and a half) challenge around my health, as I had weak lungs and heart, bad kneecap and some back problems due to a lack of strength and stamina. Now I feel way better, even if I still need to improve my cardio. I am not so much of a sport guy, and I never really enjoyed anything else that mountain biking, which I rarely do now ( and it makes me kinda sad ). I discovered a club in Lille, which is my city, of HEMA ( historical european martial arts ) specialized in longsword, messer, and swords in general ( Based on medieval german manuscripts ) but also a bit of grappling and other weapons ( such as rod, dagger, etc ). Unfortunately, as I write this, the club has not started yet after the summer break. I don't know when it will start, and they don't know too. So, my challenge will be cut in half, a half of cardio/workout to get in the right shape to do some swordfight, and the other half of HEMA. I hope it will start soon ! Well, my main quest will be constitued of : Goal 1 : Be able to wield the sword. +2 STR +1 STA +1 CHA On tuesdays, thursdays, and saturdaysDo at least 3 sets of 5 reps of pullupsDo at least 3 sets of 5 reps of chinupsDo at least 3 sets of 10 reps of pushups on my fists ( That's kinda harder or is it just me ? )Workout my abs, but not too much. My goal isn't to be some kind of model, just to eliminate a bit of fat, and be more endurant.Last but not least, I'll try to improve my strength to last 1 min of "gainage" ( that's the french word... I don't know how to say it, google trad says "cladding", it's the action of holding a posture that exercice muscles. )Goal 2 : Survive the battle. +2 STA +1 CON +1 CHA On mondays, wednesdays and fridays, do some interval training, for at least 15min (with walk-breaks every 5 minutes of interval), my goal is to do 20min without walk-breaks at the end of the challenge. If the weather is too bad, my knee hurts too much, I'll do 30 minutes of elliptical bike.Goal 3 : Learn the way of the sword. +2 DEX +2 WIS Attend every class of HEMA, and practice some one-handed sword ( such as messer ) moves at home, 15 min a day as I got a steel training sword at home. Besides these 3 goals, I got a last goal which isn't too related to but still damn useful to this ! Goal 4 : "Le roseau plie mais ne rompt pas" -Lafontaine +1 DEX +1 WIS +1 CON Every day, stretch (intensively ! And with many postures) for about 5 minutes at least, to be more flexible. Well, I think that's all ! If you have any advice, things that I should/shouldn't do, tips, anything, say it, I'll be very pleased I'm still a beginner and help is always great and motivating !

Thanks for your support Gneiss Well, this is not exactly like fencing, as fencing uses rapiers ( or fleuret, but I don't know how to say it in English ). I'll do some longsword, langmesser, bastard sword, etc, training, basing on german medieval manuscripts ! Here's my challenge review : I am capable of running 20 minutes of interval training ! I didn't ride my bike, though. But, hey, I did it ! Well, I'm going to give me an A- because I accomplished what I wanted to do, even I skipped sometimes. I kept this going almost everytime, and I see the changes, in my strength, and physically ! I'll give me an A. Last but not least, I have now a rythm. I sleep usually 8 hours a night, but I feel 9 would be better... That would be a B I am currently on the 18th position ( we are 97 ) but we only have 1 grade... But I work more than last year ! I'll give myself a B+ ! Mission accomplished ! Now I train to stand this position longer. A ! I am kinda stuck here, because I am still making progress but I'm not so happy with myself. I don't know which grade I should give me, so maybe a B ? In general, this challenge went way better than the first one, I made more progress than before. This challenge felt like an A to me, since I did most of the things I wanted to !

I'm kinda late to my review, but here it is : Main goals : B on running, not so much progress, and I skipped yesterday's run because of the rain. I should really get more motivated. A on exercising, as I keep pushing myself to my limits and get push them. I workout longer and easier, even if I have some troubles about getting warmed up. B on sleeping : I'm sleeping enough, but I'm still pretty tired when I wake up like last week, but I should sleep more, sometimes. Life quest : A, as I'm really getting some solid infos about Glasgow, transport, accent, lifestyle, everything ! I found a blog of a french student who lives here, she gives good advices on her blog ! That really nice ! And also, I'm working pretty hard on my grades. Fitness quest : C, because I stretch sometimes but not so often. I need more motivation, dammit ! Diet quest : Same than last week, I'd say ! So B This week was pretty bad, I think, even if in the facts it was not that bad. I still feel that was a C week. So, I asked some questions about the swordfight. I'm really looking forward to do it, but it hasn't started yet. And, that's a martial art. And historical european one ! So I'll be a monk, I think.

Thanks Gneiss This challenge is going very well, even though I missed a day of workout due to sickness. I slept almost all Saturday and Sunday, and now I'm well ! I didn't ran today, as my knees were killing me ( I couldn't stand up for long ! ) maybe the stairs AND the bad weather are the cause ? Well, I did 20 straight minutes of elliptical bike, even it's not the same as running. I'll be running this Wednesday, no matter how bad is the weather ! So, I started running with my sister, and that's great, even though she has quite a difficult time to keep it for more than 5 minutes. But that's not a problem, she's making improvements and me too, as I continue to run after she returned home. I'm now around 18 minutes of interval, but still with pauses, so maybe I should try to job a little slower ? 'Cause I'm litterally running when I jog, as I don't really like to run as fast as I walk ( I walk incredibly fast with my long legs ). Well I'll see ! This week, I did a B : Main goals : A on running, as I run every two days, with my sis', and I'm feeling that even though I don't run for longer, as I already said, I run faster, and now I also run "easier", which means that it's getting easier to maintain my speed. I'm building some leg muscles, I think. C+ on exercising as I didn't really exercised Thursday, but I carried a 5 kilos package for 5 kilometers ( my mother bought a new PC online and I had to go grab it ), and Saturday I didn't do anything but sleep. That was pretty lame but I was KO ! B on sleeping : I'm sleeping enough, but I'm still pretty tired when I wake up. Maybe that's a lack of magnesium or something. I should try to eat a piece of black chocolate or nuts to see if that's doing anything ! Life quest : Well, that's kinda two mini-quest now ! The first is to continue to work hard in classes ( essentially because I don't need to work at home if I worked in the class ) and the second is to set a plan for Glasgow. I'm feeling that's both an A- ! Fitness quest : I stretch for 10-20 seconds at the limit of pushing me to the maximum, then I try to hold my max for 5 seconds. My maximum is now to touch the floor with the tip of my fingers, which, when I look back, is a major improvement ! I give myself a B+ cause I still need to push me ! Diet quest : It's going pretty well here, as I put less and less sugar, salt and pepper in what I eat or drink, but I sometime let myself go crazy on sugar, so that's a B. Hmmm, I saw the Paleo Diet but, as I'm still at my mother's house, I don't cook often. But, lucky me, she's doing almost that diet, as we rarely eat pastas or carbs in general ! I really keep that mode of cooking in mind, because, well, it makes sense, right ? Of course that's kinda empirical to say "That's how paleolithical humans were eating" but in fact, that must not be too far away from the reality ! I'm thinking that I'll join the scouts, if I can't do the only thing I would have done as a kid that I can do now : Swordfight. There's a university club which do swordfight training in the armory of the crypt of a cathedral in my city. That FREAKING AWESOOOOOOOOME ! But I don't know if I'm too late, or if that's too expensive, or even if that fits my schedule with my classes and everything. Do you think that's considered as a martial art, therefore I should join the monks if I join the club ?

I'm a little late ! But I'm still alive ! Sooo... This half-challenge went better than the first half than I did before ! I run not so much longer, but significantly faster, without too much pain, and it feels great. I usually can keep up about 15 minutes of interval training with some walk breaks. So, that's like halfway of my goal. I'm giving myself an A, because even if I don't run for long, my motivation gave my sister motivation too ! That's sweet ! Even if she can't run as much as me, as she didn't exerciced in 7 years, and she has minor asthma, so I don't push her too hard. I realized that I gained muscles from my regular workout. It's going very well, but I still think I lack of strength, as I'm still at the maximum of 5 pull-ups. It's going to be a B because I'm glad that I don't miss my training, but I don't push myself as hard as I can, by laziness. I'll do better ! Sleeping... Hmm, I like that ! I usually sleep for 8 hours but everytime I can, I sleep for 9 hours, because I feel much better this way. Maybe I'm just like that ? Well, that's rather hard to harmonize with classes, but I try ! I'm giving myself a B+ ! My life-quest is going well, I'm getting less and less rusty with computer science (basically that's the diploma itself. DUT Informatique, Informatique stands for Computer Science), but economics are kinda harder this semester. I also finished my paperwork for Glasgow ! It's almost official, I just need to print then sign a final sheet. Shiny as a B ! I still have some progress to do, but now I can reach the floor without troubles, but I can't stand it for long, usually for 2 or 3 seconds, after what it's painful ! But I keep pushing, because it relieves stress out of my back, and as I'm tall and kinda skinny, that's very cool ! I'm thinking of it as an A. Sugar, salt... My two biggest enemies. I still have problem to not add them, but I think it's kinda better, especially sugar, as I drink lots of tea. Maybe that's a B- ? Well, I'm thinking about this half-challenge, and I feel it as a B+ because I'm really glad of how it turns out ! Hmm, maybe that's just a matter of interest ? For example, if you really like United Kingdom, I don't think you have to learn another language ! But you can also learn it for fun, as I sometimes like to learn about Old Norse, or even Old French ( But that's harder, as I speak modern French ) just because I like history. Well, it's easier to be self-centered if your country is half the size of a continent, isn't it ? But I don't think Americans are that much self-centered. As well as French. That's just that the ones who don't like other cultures are talking louder, so we notice them first, I think. You can't even imagine how right you are xD I did a trip in Germany when I was younger. 5 hours of bus, then BOOM a totally different culture. Even Belgium ! I'm like 1h by bike from Belgium, and with 1h more that's totally different from my city. Germany is really a cool country, go for it if you want it ! I'm still thinking about which guild I should join. Scouts are great because I like mountain biking, but I also like workout ( But not too much, I'm not very seriously into it ) and I also like parkour ( Even if I never tried it, the idea of being capable of travelling the fastest way from point A to point B is awesome ! ). I also want to try some martial art such as Systema or Tae Kwon Do, but I don't dare to try it. Hmm when I think of it, I found Nerdfitness just after watching Kick-Ass 2, which I loved, and I found motivation by this movie. I searched the web for an accessible way to develop endurance and strengh, and BOOM, NerdFitness, and an article on "How to be a superhero" ! Awesome, right ? Even if I don't want to fight thugs in a diver suit in the middle of the night, of course, I always loved the idea in Kick Ass, that everybody can be a superhero in their own way. ( Well, I also like Nightwing, and he's also powerless, beside being trained by the coolest professor of all time : Batman )

I don't know why they're acting like this, but I don't like that. Well, that's not unusual but too common here to be bothered by douches, especially being a woman. Lots of friends tell me that, when they wear a little makeup and try to be cute, some douches are honking at them, try to flirt like "Yo ma'am you're pretty, wanna suck me ?" ( Usually it stops here, but that can be really exhausting, I think ) and I tell me I'm blessed to be a man, but since I got my long hair, that's pretty much the same for me, except they are being mean to me. In fact, that's not only in the subway but in the area as well, even in France in general. Well, I gets angry but later I don't care, since me childhood was way worse than that. Well, I speak French, as I am French ( Waw, that was hard ) English, due to the fact that I LOOOOOVE watching American and/or British shows like Supernatural, Doctor Who , How I Met Your Mother, etc. Then, I did 12 years of German in school ( Well, I started German at 6 and stopped two years ago, at 17, so that's more 11 and a half ) and I still understand when I read and when someone talks to me slowly, I can write a little, but I can merely speak. And, finally, I'm trying to learn Norwegian on my own, but Norwegian tv shows are much more harder to find, especially with subtitles Well, Norwegian and English are both germanic languages, and are really similar ( to me ), German is obviously germanic but significantly harder to learn, I think. French is very hard to learn and I know it. A lot of French are amused or make fun of non-native speakers when they try to talk French, but I find it rather ironic, as only few French are capable of speaking a second language. But you know, English is the second most used language in the world ! Thanks for your advice Gneiss Tomorrow, I'll do this week's review, and I'll run with my sister, who's finally telling herself that a little exercice can't hurt ! I'm glad !

Thanks a lot again Gneiss That's very nice of you ! Yesterday I didn't ran as I did a loooooooooot of paperwork with Glasgow and everything. I also did a translation of a 2,5 pages article of the Guardian yesterday, which I'm rather proud of ! Well, translation is easier that making a full sentance all by myself, but that's still good, considering that I'll be living in Scotland for 3 months with only 2 french buddies. Today was a pretty good day, I really enjoyed seeing my girlfriend as we don't have much time with studies etc. But in the subway to get her home, 2 or 3 douches kinda bullied me without reasons ( I think it's mostly due to my pretty long hair. Since I got this length, I'm more bothered by douchebags. As a former heavy-bullied kid, that makes me rage like a bull, but I usually keep it to myself as I'm scared of what I'm capable of ) like one of them tried to make me trip or another gave some kicks in my jacket which was in my hand. As my girlfriend was here I didn't say anything, I didn't wanted us in troubles and, let's be honnest, fear of what they could do helped their case ( It's not unusual for "wesh", which is kinda the french "douchebag" to have a knife on them. I don't want to be stabbed >_< ). Eventually we got out of the subway and we were safe, but after I seen her off ( That how you say it ? It's when I go with her to her home door then go to my place ) and went back at my home, I way still pretty angry and that gave me the strengh of doing a hard training. So I did 6 sets of 5 repeats of chin-ups, then the same number of pull-ups, and 30 pushups without problem. I'm still stretching as I write my day here, and still a bit angry at them, and at me too, for doing nothing. Should I cut a little my hair ? I think long hair goes well with my beard but half-long hair too, so I don't really know what to do.

Haha, that can be a really good quest ! Yeah, I love Scotland as well as Norway, the two of them, plus Ireland are my dream destinations ! Actually, except for Ireland, I already have plans to visit for a looong time theses countries ! Costa Rica ? Why not ? Well, that's a bit too hot for me there ( I need a cold climate It's always around 16°C in my chamber ! ) but that's beautiful too ! Now, you can plan to go to Scotland and finish to Feroe Islands, that's not too far Well yesterday I ran the same pattern with a half more "lap" ( a lap is 2 times "2m jog, 30s sprint" ) but I still felt like this, maybe my lungs are telling me "Never smoke or we'll choke you !" ( Well that's not going to be hard, I don't want to smoke, and besides, that is extremely expensive ! When a friend told me how much he's paying to have a throath cancer, in my head I was like "azedsfgtzedszarfezs ?!" ) Thanks Gneiss Actually, I'm doing ok, even if I tell my sometimes that I should have seen her more often. Well, my week went pretty good I'll do a review ! Thanks ! I'm rather proud of myself, with the classes, the challenge and even making some friends ( As I am a bit shy ) ! Hehe, if I made you stretch, then I'm happy That is what friend are for, supporting, isn't it ? Frankly, I don't know if I would be still motivated for the challenge if you weren't telling me that I'm doing great ( As nobody seems to care around me, that's kind of frustrating ) Sooo, this week : I did ran Wednesday and this Monday, last Friday I did some biking, so that went very well ! Especially since I improved ! So I'm giving me an A- because I did not ran the whole week, but still a lot ! I missed Saturday workout, but besides I really improved my strength, so that's going to be a B, because I still need improvement, and lost 2 kilos ( I'm now at 75 kilos for 1,90 meters, that's now much, but my body is now more "shaped", I don't really know how to tell this. ) Well theses times I did sleep for 8 or 9 hours, not more, sometimes a little less, but I'd give me a B ! My classes are going well, even if I'm bored the most of the time ( I'm in computer sciences but I rarely see a computer... That's frustrating. ) and that's going to be the same note for the moment : Stretching is really cool, as I now can touch my toes without pain ! That's very good ! But I will still improve ! That is going to be an A ! Well, the condiments... My big big enemies. I put them too much on my meals, in my teas, etc... I'm not paying the attention needed, and I will give me a C because even if I realized that I'm putting too much, I didn't really changed my habits. In general, this week went very well, much like a A- for me ! I hope this week will go the same way or better

Hey there I see that your challenge is going well ! Keep going Gneiss ! You're awesome !

Well, today was a pretty good day ! I ran ! I did about 11 minutes of effective running, 20 minutes if I count walk-breaks. It was : 2 m jogging,30s sprint x2 2 m walk 2 m jogging,30s sprint x2 4 m walk 1 m jogging 4 m walk I noticed that my "Stop or you'll die !" signal is somehow the impression of my ribcage being too small for my lungs... That's hard to describe, as I am not a good english speaker But I think my last challenge progress is merely surviving there... I need to train more and more. Then I went home, and decided to make even more : 10m elliptical bike It was pretty hard but I found a motivation song ! It's metal and I like it ! Especially the drum solo in the beginning ! After that, a good shower and a perfect Earl Grey tea got me ready for the rest of the day ! I forgot how good it felt after running. That's awesome, even though I got some knee pain in the stairs. Yesterday I did 5 sets of 3 pullups, 5 sets of 3 chinups and that was all... I wasn't in the mood, I think it was harder to focus ! Edit : Oh and yeah, I forgot my first week review ! 17 september to 23 september : Main goal : 1- Run/bike/swim. Well, in the first week, that wasn't good. Classes started, so I was still doing some exercice by going there by my feet, and climbing some stairs ! So the grade would be C+ 2- Workout : All went well, I didn't missed anything, though I didn't posted and feedback ( Shame on meeee ! ) so that would be an A, but I didn't progressed as much as I hoped... 3- Sleeping 8-9 hours a night : Hmm, I love my bed... And that's why I would give my a B because I slept often 8-9 hours but sometimes 10-11h when I could ( Weekend mostly ) and I think that's too much. Life quest : Well, all is going well at the moment ! Nothing seems very hard to me, even algebra is not a problem ! That's going to be A- ( minus essentially because I don't listen for long in lectures ) Fitness quest : Stretching is hard but rewarding, I made progress and I can touch my toes with less pain than before, so that would be B+ for the progress ! Diet quest : Well I'm going to change my goal, my goal will be to eat less sugar in general, and less salt too. I put them too much in what I eat or drink, and that's not very good for my health, I think. Especially the heart ! That's a C here. In general, this week felt like a B to me, like "Hmm, that's pretty good, but not enough. Do better next time." That's not mathematical, just how I felt the week !

Well, my challenge is going moderatly well. I'm exercising, but not running. I try to motivate myself but after my day in the university, it's pretty hard, as I climb 5 floors of stairs every 2 hours ! ( Yes, they put us in the highest floor then the ground floor every different class... Hehe ) Today was the funerals of my grandmother, and I am not really in the mood for my workout, but I will do it or I'll feel like cr*p ! Besides, it's just 5 sets of 5 pullups, chinups and 20 pushups. Oh and, I'll be in Glasgow in April ! ( 1st april to 30 june ! ) Well I asked Norway, but Scotland is fine too !

Hey Gneiss How are you ? Thanks All is going well, tomorrow I'll run in the afternoon ! I trained today, and that was great ! I do 5 pullups without problem now ! Hi Paleoish ! Norway is really my dream country, and I hope I can do the same thing as you did ! Hmmm, most of the time I eat paleo-ish ( ;p ) but not totally, as I still eat sometime a slice of bread, or some cookies, etc. I don't pay much attention, as I don't think I eat that much carbs. Well, maybe I should go full paleo but at the moment, I don't really think about it, my main problem is my lack of endurance. Well, I know eating fat don't help so I watch what I eat but I never ate much fat. Thanks, you too !

Hi there. I'm Lindt ( Or Théo sometimes ) and the titles says it all. I want my girlfriend to look at me the same way ( Well not the exact same way or I'll be dead. That's creepy man. ) that she looks at chocolate. And that is not enough. I want to level up. Tired of training only INT at college. I already did half a challenge, last challenge, but as I started 3 weeks before the end, I redo the first challenge. My main goal I want to regain strength and endurance. That means : Be capable of running at least 20 minutes of interval without being a little dead inside, of riding for 4 hours without being really dead afterwards. This quest will be completed by 3 missions : I will run on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, every week, in order to strengthen my heart, my lungs and try to heal my knee. I'll try the Interval Training ! If I can't/don't want to run, I'll ride my bike or swim. I will do 5 series of pushups ( Starting at series of 10 on the fists, tested today ), 5 series of pullups ( Starting at series of 2 ), and complete abs training ( Not to get them ripped, just to have more strength in that area ). That every Tuesday, Thursay and Saturday. My goal is to push me harder and longer every time I train. I will sleep at least 8 hours every night, 9 when I can, and have a rythm. Life quest I have the foolish project to settle in Norway. In order to do so, I need to be one of the best in my promotion ( I'm in second year of a DUT, a 2 years formation which can takes me to the final year of bachelor's degree after. ) and have rock-solid grades. Fitness quest I never was a flexible guy. I sometimes picture myself as a broomstick. My goal will be to touch my toes while standing still without pain. Diet quest Well, I don't really know what to say... Maybe take less sugar in my tea ? ( It's LALALALAME-UH ) Now I know : I'll try to put less condiments in everything. Eating too much salt or sugar, besides being unhealthy, makes my tastebuds less receptive of the "normal" taste. My motivation is simple. I never was the sporty guy, although I really enjoyed sports. Now that I don't do any sport, I want my condition of average joe back, and MORE ! I want to run without experiencing any pain in the chest like my heart is about to explore, or breathe like I'm about to suffocate, and standing up for a long time without my knees telling me that I'm already an old man, I'm only 18 damn ! In one sentance : I want to be healthy. Obviously, how I look will change with that, and that's a good thing but not my motivation. I will do this with some friends, maybe with my girlfriend, as I hate to do this alone ( I'm an accountability slacker. I'm going to change that, thanks to you all ! ) and try to post at least two times a week. I already started some training. Thanks for reading me, and I already know that I can count on you to kick my butt if I don't do this.

Thanks I hope too ! And for you as well I noticed how nobody can run out of firsts Well, hanging is for endurance I think, that's great but strength matters too for climbing Keep it up ! Maybe that was the International Rest Week-end ? Well, I did interval today and I did only 9 minutes, after that I was experiencing pain and I stopped. Well, that's still something, but that's less than the last time. I'm going to train more to, at least, regain my 15 minutes ! Thanks I don't respond often on your challenge log since I do it here and it would be redundant, but I follow your topic, and I think you did great too ! You already made changes and that it the matter ! And you made some awesome progress too You know, I was thinking the same thing I know the concept on accountabilibuddies, but never looked for it, as I was late to the challenge. Maybe we can create a team and welcome some other rebels to support each other ? Well, for the moment, as I was a little too late for the challenge, I'm not officially in any guild but I consider myself as an adventurer, and I know that Scout and Assassin are the guilds I prefer ! So, I believe you aim the Assassin's guild, am I right ?

Well, that's the last day of this challenge, I'll go back on my daily battle log until the new challenge begins ! Thanks Gneiss for your support That's really motivating, even if these last 3 days I haven't done anything ( Shame on meeeeeeee ) but tomorrow I restart my workout as usual ! 35 minutes ! Wow ! That's awesome You should keep doing this, you have endurance ! Maybe this style of running is more like you like to run ! Thanks It shouldn't take too long, that's a matter of days I say ! Have you tried to jump to help you pull-up, then slowly get down ? I don't really know how to describe but that's like a "reverse" pull-up and I think that may be helping. Congrats on your challenge too I see that's going well ! And imagine how better it will be on the next ! I'll try yoga more seriously with my girlfriend as she did a year of it She can teach me some things ! Yup, that's why I didn't do anything in these last 3 days. He said that he'll run with me, I'll try tomorrow morning to see Again, thanks for your support That's great and I'm feeling better to see that someone cares about what I do ! So, this half challenge went : Main goal : Running : C Exercising : B Sleeping : B- Life quest : Done, I just have to wait until they respond ! Diet quest : Done too ! Fitness quest : I'll say 3/4 done !

Congratulations on your first week ! You rock ! And indeed, you're lucky to have your supportive husband, I think significant other's encouragement is the ultimate motivator ever ! I think that socialization is much more easier than it seems ! The hardest part is daring to try it Once you've engaged a conversation with somebody, unless you have bad luck and the other person isn't very chatty, it's so easy so make friends ! And that's even better, once you have a friend, you can hang with it, and make other friends, and repeat this step infinitely ! Keep it up ! It's so rewarding to go somewhere and always having somebody to talk with ! I'm a rather shy guy, but pretending to be very friendly on the beginning, makes you truly very friendly That's a matter of comfort zone, if you often go outside it, the outside becomes your new comfort zone Yay ! Climbing is one of the best thing I know, even if altitude makes me uncomfortable. Climbing, then looking how high you managed to be, it's a great sensation ! And I only did it on a small wall ( That was 7 meters I think ? I don't remember ) Cheer up Gneiss !

Thanks a lot Gneiss With my new classes, it'll be easy to stop exercising, pretending there's no time for that, like I did last year, but I realized that the morning, and the late afternoon, there's time to do whatever I want. I was just too lazy on my comfy chair in front of the computer to see that, before, but now, that's past ! I'm rather proud of my progression, as I think it's pretty fast ! Well, I'm not much of a sport guy, and running was also by biggest weakness. I really love mountain biking, but I feel like it's not much of a cardio training, more a strength exercise ! We have the same problem, my right knee used to hurt me when I ran, not so much since I started my training ( I don't really know why ), and walking for a long time still makes my feel like an old guy ! Running seems pretty boring to me, since I love the adrenalin rush given by intense mountain biking, and the speed, too, but I'm kinda getting used to it, and that's really feels good when I see that I can run for longer ! I think I can say I started out of nowhere But Interval Training, as Steve said, it kicks my butt and I love it. I run for less than 20 minutes, that's intense, and also very effective ! The only "problem" is that you continue to burn calories after you stopped running, for around 20 minutes. And I, for 20 minutes, sweat like I'm in hell. Besides this little side effect, that really tears apart the negative sides of jogging, I think. You have to be focused on your time, so you don't miss the interval, and it does not take several hours to be tired. I try to stretch every day, even if I sometimes forget to do it, but I only hold the stretch for 10 seconds. I'll try to do as you said ! Thanks ! That's true, many of my friends consider sleeping as wasted time, and sleeps around 5-6 hours a night, then don't understand when they're sleepy in class. I even had a friend how only slept 3 hours a night for several years ! I can't even imagine not sleeping less than 6 hours x_x Today I exercised as usual, I kept my original training as it was on my first post, as Batman training kills me after 2 sessions, and I can't exercise correctly after that. I can now do 4 pull-ups and 5 chin-ups ! But I can't do more than 3 reps if I make 5 sets of each. I did push-ups on the fists as usual, it's becoming easier but still, 10 is my maximum. I don't really exercise my legs anymore, as running makes them aching until the next run ( Perfect timing, body ! ) That's going well, I think I'll have more specific and more difficult goals for the next challenge !

Well, that was quite a while since I posted about London. Since, I didn't ran Friday, but exercised and walked a lot on Saturday, as the "Braderie de Lille" was going. I can do 3 pull-ups in a row now ! That's not much but it's better than the beginning ! This morning, I ran ( even if I my classes start in 20 minutes ) and that was even better than the last time : Friday 23 August : 5 minutes of interval, 2 minutes of walking and 3 minutes of jogging. Monday 26 August : 7 minutes of interval, 2 minutes walking, and 3 minutes of jogging. Wednesday 28 August : Was in London, walked for 30 km at least. Friday 30 August : Didn't run, was too lazy.( Shame on me ! ) Monday 2 September : 10 minutes of interval, 2 minutes walking, then 3 minutes interval \o/. ( The other times I wasn't able to sprint like in interval so I just jogged ) ( I ran for 8,8Km/h, even if I walked, that's not bad ! And that was 2,2Km I ran this morning ! That's 1Km a lap on the circuit I made. ) That's 2-3 minutes of endurance each time I run ! That's awesome ! I'm still not able to touch my toes for more that 1/2 second, and I have troubles to sleep early. But I still sleep for around 8 or 9 hours a night ! So that's going well ! I eat less cheese, like I wanted, but I still have the feeling that I must eat it, so I still have work on it. Well that's all for now, now... University... Yaaaay. @Gneiss : Thank you That was awesome indeed ! The tea is marvelous That's nothing, think of that of the prequel to your challenge ! You're awesome indeed ! Keep going !

I don't post very much here at the moment, but my challenge log is my daily log until the end of the challenge ! I'll post a recap of all I did since the beginning when it's over !

Well, that's fast progress with coffee ! That's good Gneiss, keep it on that way ! And you already kick some butts with your training ! Yeah, stop snacking is one of my goals too, and I noticed that I enjoy my meals more that before, as I am truly hungry when I eat. I think that can help a lot to bear the snacking desire ! Hey, exercising with your son is a good idea, as he takes weight with growing you become more and more strong !

Well, Gneiss, you can start your challenge when you want, it doesn't matter if you're late for this one or what, in real-life the challenge has no deadlines ! On the forum, this challenge stop the 8 september, which is next week. But, if you don't achieve your goal on the 8, that's not a problem, you can begin the next 6 weeks challenge session with the same goal, you would only have some pre-work done. The only problem with the real-life roleplaying, if you're late, is that the 2 weeks you're making in this challenge session won't count for your level. But, as I said, it's just a matter of time, and you can still level up in real life ! Thanks German ! So, yesterday was my first trip to London, and simply to England. The eurostar is not cheap, but it's really fast ! I didn't really wait, as Lille-London takes only about an hour and a half ! London is an amazingly beautiful city ( Well, at least the center of London, because I only saw that ! ) and I prefer London to Paris ( To me, Paris has some pretty spots, but the rest seems old and dirty to me. Yeah, I don't like my capital city, I prefer Lille But that's just my opinion eh, don't be offended if you like Paris ) ! And I took only one souvenir : Whittard Earl Grey tea I looove this tea. We walked a lot more than I expected ! We saw really a LOOOOT of things, such as King's cross, St Pancras ( Which is really beautiful ! ), St Paul Cathedral, Millenium Bridge, etc etc. I won't enumerate all the things we saw, because it would be too long. I made a little map with our itinerary : My legs are dead today. Well yesterday we managed to crawl back to the train, but we were zombies. My gf even slept on me without noticing, in the train I don't think today I'll do squats ! I'll stick to pull/chin-ups, push-ups and abs training ! Edit : Ah yes, and within the itinerary, we saw FIFTEEN "Prêt à manger" which means, in french, ready to eat. Fifteen.