Tialoredron

Oh will you look at that too! My NF anniversary was 21 February! Looking back at my first challenge, not too much has changed in my goals (workout 3x/week and run 2x/week). Before it was all about getting a workout into my normal routine, and I struggled a few times but I made a majority of my workouts happen. It advanced to getting comfortable to get back inside the gym, and I have indeed gotten back into it (although it is not necessarily the gym where I walk in, do my own workout w/o a trainer/spotter, and walk out like I wanted/thought I wanted to do) and absolutely love the community of the gym I am with. Now I am pushing triple digits on almost all my weighted movements! My runs have taken a backburner for the past couple of months, but I am very proud of myself of accomplishing 10k. I think I could even do the half-marathon in sub 2:30:00, but I need to motivate myself and get on top of it. I am a bit concerned in the fact that I have heard weightlifting and running don't combine well (when trying to improve both). Perhaps what I will start doing is running before or after the WODs. My initial health issue that brought me to NF is here again (I had hoped that working out was the issue, but that does not seem to be the case). I tried a few stress exercises, but I didn't follow through (got rid of the stress is what really happened). Felt pretty good about life in general and was pretty content until another hospital visit with hypertension blood pressure caused me to look into it again. Hopefully this time I can manage my problems instead of just implementing a solution without follow-up.

Sorry about the late post; I just got a bit lazy and maybe a bit depressed about a few things (blood pressure being the main source) but I am alright. I am not sure if there really is any dietary changes that can help out; but I am willing to hear them if it could lower my blood pressure (if I need to lower it). I think the biggest fear of mine is the thought of being dependent on drugs for life (I know blood pressure =/= pain killer dependency and that there are worse dependencies/drugs that some do rely on; it is just the outlook of the act of taking drugs so early and that I hate the thought of relying on drugs to fix my problems. This is very similar to my outlook of multivitamins, supplements, enhancers, etc.; I shouldn't need what I can't take from the food I eat, and I shouldn't need to alter my body by adding chemicals from pharmaceutical labs to prevent sickness. I have taken mandatory vaccinations because I am required to, but I do not give my full trust into the system). I just want to be able to truly be able to live independent of others (read I want to live debt free, able to produce my own goods in whatever form to trade/barter for the goods I cannot, and live in good health not reliant on drugs/medications to sustain life). Week 1 Summary: Strength Workouts: 3/3 A; I started a Fitocracy account and put in Thursday's WOD. Gained two levels immediately off one WOD. I am not sure how much I really like the app as I am following my box's Crossfit program and reporting here; I feel like it is a bit much but I get to see my PRs on my phone (which I almost always have). To be honest, if I had found fitocracy first, I may not have even come to NF; but I do prefer NF community and its system. I am not sure if I will really keep up with Fitocracy, but it is there if I want it now. Aerobic Workouts: 2/2 A; I actually decided to run the treadmill (SO MUCH HATE!) due to inclement weather. The last time I ran in the rain wasn't too bad but for the overflowed trail. Last week was raining harder and longer than it had on the previous trail run during a rainstorm so I decided to do a treadmill workout to avoid a potential worse trail condition. Ended up running about 2 miles (but wanted to do the 5k) before my calves seemed to refuse running longer. This week I will attempt a 5k again. Finances: 4/10 for progress; I don't think I will make the full $1000 emergency fund by the end of the challenge, but it will be very close. GRE: Incomplete; I was planning on signing up for later this month, but I have been polled for jury duty. More to follow to see if I will push my timeline to take the GRE earlier or postpone until after jury duty. The good news is that I can take time off to prep for and take the GRE, so it is a matter of finding a good time to take the test. Health: 6/7; I missed 1 full day to monitor my blood pressure (missed the evening of the 27th through and including the morning of the 1st) but I have at least one measurement for each other day. I have everything transcribed onto a notepad and my doctor's appointment is scheduled for Thursday 5 March. Week 2: Yesterday's WOD was actually 15.1 from the Open, completed 2 rounds +11 reps at 95 lbs (darn you Snatch!) and 125 lbs Clean and Jerk. Today I get to find my 1x max for the press (Whoop!) and I will be Rx-ing the WOD (WhoopWhoop!)

ughhh...<start rage>Thanks good Samaritan for picking up my white board and cleaning off the weights and times I had done for my WOD (Rx-ed)...before I had a chance to record them in a more permanent system or memorized them! <end rage> Oh well, at least I was able to read a few of the numbers that were erased and pieced together most of it from what I could remember/best guesstimate. 2 WODs down, run for today and another WOD tomorrow. I have continued monitoring my blood pressure, but I need to transfer the records so I can bring them to the doctor.

Started tracking my blood pressure since the evening of the 18th and have been measuring once before I go to bed and once I get up in the morning (two measurements per day, at the ideal most relaxed parts of my day). Out of the 12 measurements taken (due to irregular heartbeat reading), I have had Stage I hypertension for half of my measurements and prehypertension for the other half. My pulse is also consistently less than 60 bpm (averaging 51 bpm). I plan to make an appointment tomorrow to confirm, but it looks as if I do have high blood pressure. Unfortunately, this issue is not getting fixed by physical activity (Crossfit 3x/week and aerobic/sports 2x/week) and this issue is also what started me to get into fitness. The only non-drug solution is diet, but I typically cook/make my own meals. Most work lunches are deli meat sandwich with baby spinach and tomato, PB&J sandwich, 2 carrots, an apple, yogurt (usually non-fat), mixed fruit cup, applesauce, and (quaker granola bars, ritz crackers, other processed snack) and dinners are usually chicken or ground beef with summer squash or broccoli, or chicken pot pie/casserole. I normally skip breakfasts due to time management and force of habit from fasting. The weekends have been the most dangerous to my diet as it depends on the game group what dinner is (pizza, sushi, other restaurants). I don't see what I could change in my diet that would have a big impact, and I know I may not have the "paleo" approved diet, but I am happy with my body image and the occasional sweet treat now and then. I have read a few sources suggesting fish and vegetarian diet, but I am not comfortable with giving up red meat, pork, bacon (especially bacon), and chicken. In better news, I have a positive balance of about $400 this month for the budget goal (1 foreseen purchase of gasoline factored in). Hope that I can do just as well as next month for the budget!

Is there a NF guild [or equivalent] on Boom Beach? Perhaps a new thread as well to address the different games.

I have also started monitoring my blood pressure 2x/day; first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. I figure this would be the best chance to have the lowest blood pressure during the day, but I have been well over 135/83 [i don't have the numbers offhand, but the device saves up to 60 measurements with a time stamp; I plan on getting my own note binder to record those measurements]. I may plan to go see my doctor on Friday of next week with my measurements and discuss this in further detail. All bills are paid for this month, need to check my budget spreadsheet and update it to see how much I have leftover. If I double the payment I have been paying my student loan with, I can actually have it paid off in about 3 years. I also need to build up my reserve again; so the goal for the foreseeable future is to pay double what was minimum due on my student loan until paid off, pay credit card bill in full, and [as measure of progress towards goal] save $1k as an emergency fund [$200 has already been saved and hasn't been touched for months].

A little bit more background: I feel like I have built a good habit for working out and I don't see myself failing the fitness goals. I believe it is still important for me to record and post on my fitness goals, but I am not sure how to keep the goal challenging but doable other than setting the goal as completing workouts for the week. It seems that this is still working out for me and I don't want to change it, but I don't want to post the same goals in all of my challenges; especially when the goal of the previous challenge were completed as well as it was for last challenge. Would this be the right time to post my workouts to my daily battle log and focus the 6 week challenge goals on the life goals that I have?

Main Quests: Workout to improve overall health Document and improve PR's Improve running: 5k [26:30-ish on 19 November 2014] 10k [57:12 on 31 December 2014] Ruck 20 miles in full battle weight Become proficient with weapons: Bow, Handgun, Longarms [rifle, shotgun, etc.] Learn a martial art; Learn a sword style Learn a second language; Learn a third Language Earn a Master's Degree Dive Florida Keys; Australia/Great Barrier Reef; Japan Previous 6 week quest Results Completed strength workouts and aerobic workouts and improved PR's successfully. Finances have also improved and I have eliminated my credit card debt while making double payments on my student loan and minimum on all my other loans. I am partially prepared to take the GRE, but I am not registered for the test just yet and I would like to take a couple of practice tests first. Background: During the down week, I found out that I may have blood pressure issues. I have already purchased a blood pressure monitor and I plan to check my pressure throughout this challenge. 6 Week Challenge Goals: Fitness: Strength Workout 3x/week [Cross-fit Gym sessions; Body weight workout if I do not make a session] [sTR +3] Aerobic workouts 2x/week [minimum of 1.5 miles running/10 minutes or some equivalent exercise with minimum of 10 minutes] [DEX +2 STA +2] Life: Pay off as much debt as possible [Credit Card > Student Loan > Car Loan > Personal Loan] [WIS +2] Prepare for and take GRE to apply to graduate school [WIS +2] Monitor and record Blood Pressure at least 1x/day; If higher than 120/80 for more than one week discuss with doctor. [WIS +1 CON +3] May evolve into a diet goal to track diet risk factors. The only other causal risk I believe I have is genetics/family history of high blood pressure.

Stat Point Distro: Strength Training: STR +3 DEX +1 Aerobic Training: DEX +2 STA +2 Finances: WIS +4 GRE Prep: WIS +3 Results: Strength = 1.0 * STR +3 DEX +1 Aerobic = 1.0 * DEX +2 STA +2 Finances = 1.0 * WIS +4 GRE = 0.5 * WIS +3 = WIS +1.5

Well, that last week went by just as fast and it seems time has sent no signs of stopping. Week 6 Summary: Gym Workouts 3/3 100% A. Aerobic Workout 3/2 150% A. Completed 1.5 miles on Wednesday, 1 mile on Thursday along with the normal WOD for the day [i was invited to the gym's "Endurance Crossfit" class; how could I say no? LOL] and Sports PT on Friday. Soldiered it up on Saturday and Sunday at the Olustee Battle Reenactment, but did not take the field. I stayed in camp to look after the site and the fire and made sure the others had good cooking coals [after I made my own meals of course]. Saturday night/Sunday morning I had to break out of camp to run my dad to the hospital, everything is OK though; he had a migraine as well as Sinusitis [This really is a thing, come to find out!]. Credit Card is paid off, now to keep it that way by spending less than I earn and continue making double payments on one loan and dumping any extra cash I have into an emergency fund for next challenge and I should be good. Did a few more chapters of the GRE prep book, and I believe I am ready for the first practice test, but this week has me super busy and I may need to continue to review and take the practice test at the start of next challenge. I will see if I can get time off work to take the test as well or if I will need to use the weekend for it. In either case, first test is getting done next challenge. Challenge Summary Gym Workouts: 17/18 94.44% A Aerobic Workouts: 11/12 91.66% A Debt: 1/4 debt goals completed/eliminated with student loan well on its way. I will say mission accomplished for this challenge; A GRE: Put in a lot of work, but did not actually get around to doing the test like I had wanted to. I then did not quite reach getting a practice test done. Although this wasn't a complete fail, I will say I got about 50% accomplished of what I wanted to do, but the last 50% should only take 2-3 weeks from today to accomplish. I didn't assign STAT points but I will get around to it when I am a little less busy [like at home or something].

Tuesday's WOD went well, left exhausted and no red splotches at the end of my sock when I got home. Went to the Doc Wednesday morning and they said everything looks good for a normal healing process (the nail is growing away from the skin and will hopefully fill the entirety of the bed) but it still may be possible that issues will occur down the road. I didn't go for a 1.5 mile run and instead went with a low impact option for my feet with 10 minutes of stationary rowing (~2400 meters rowed) followed by 10 minutes of stationary biking (~3 miles biked). I had originally gone in with the intent to row for 30 minutes, but after 5 minutes my body informed me that it was not ready for such an adventure as I had only typically rowed for maybe 5 minutes at most during previous WODs. While I was getting my vitals checked at the hospital, I took note of my blood pressure: 141/84 at 57 bpm. Checking this against a pressure chart and it seems I am back in the Pre-hypertension stage of blood pressure again, but my resting heart rate is just below the "normal." I know not to expect medical expertise, but should I be concerned over my blood pressure? Are there any other "measures" of health that I can easily check without expensive special equipment (similar to BF calipers) as well as a good set of instructions in how to use them and how different measures relates together health factors? [if it is helpful, I am mid-20's male; 5'11" (71 inches/ 1.8 meters) 170 lbs (77 kg); ~32 inch waist. I haven't had a BF% calculation/measurement done, but I estimate I am somewhere around 12-15%]

Another PR set, this time on a none 1x max workout; 165 lbs deadlift [Whoot!] The workout was actually 50 cal row, 40 Ab Mat Sit Ups, 30 box jumps 24", 20 pullups [scaled with bands], 10 Deadlifts 265 [scaled 165], 5 Hand Stand Push Ups [scaled heel-to-wall hand stands], 10 DL, 20 pullups, 30 box jumps, 40 AMSU, 50 cal row. Still not 100% sure what my actual 1x max is at this point, but I can confidently say I can DL my bodyweight [170 lbs]!

Did the WOD yesterday and set another PR for deadlifting 165 lbs [Whoo!] and even got a good handstand hold against the wall. Yesterday's WOD was absolutely brutal though: 50 cal row, 40 Ab Mat Sit Ups, 30 box jumps 24", 20 pullups [needed to scale this one with bands], 10 Deadlifts 265 [scaled to 165] and 5 Hand Stand Push Ups [scaled to 5 heel-to-wall Handstands]...but wait there is more! Turn around and go back up! Total of 100 cal row, 80 ABSU, 60 box jumps, 40 pullups, 20 DL, 5 HSPU [time limit was 30 minutes and I completed 27:04...then collapsed onto the floor and wanted to do nothing but meld into the mat] After getting home to go shower, took off my shoes and noticed there was a red splotch at the end of my sock where my big toe ends [abghbghbghbahbghgbhgbg!!!!!] and there was no pain [thanks again endorphins! At least give me some pain to let me know I should stop sometime]. At least the bleeding didn't seem too bad, but I do have an appointment with the clinic tomorrow to see what they recommend I do/don't do to make sure it heals properly and prevent any "further" injury. I will still be attending the living history event, but I will not be participating in the battle [marching in a pine forest with brogans would not be the wisest choice in healing the nail] but I will participate by staying in camp and serving any roles that need filling there. I still plan to go to crossfit today and Thursday, but I will limit my run on Wednesday to 1.5 miles. I am going to talk to my PFL to see if I can do my own workouts during sports PT; they are fun and can be a good workout, but I am getting a bit bored with it and I would like to work on my long distance running more than once a week.

An interesting result from an interesting quiz for sure. I am a "Sturdy Samaritan" with an 82; and the first thing my nerd jumps to is "Did they just give me a prestige class [Dwarven Defender - when I think sturdy, it is dwarf; it makes sense to me at least]? I cant post the link currently but the following is some of the text related: "Honestly, Human, you are a Sturdy Samaritan. Sturdy Samaritans are determined to make the world a better place for all of us. For the most part, their actions get screened through a single filter; if it doesn't have a positive impact or benefit, forget about it. Sturdy Samaritans believe that struggle and challenge only makes them stronger, and that countering temptation is just a matter of developing discipline. But if they do happen to find themselves getting off track, Sturdy Samaritans have the inner strength and resolve to get themselves back on the right path. Sturdy Samaritans are moral compasses to us all. The Sturdy Samaritan's Approach to Fitness: Whoever said, "The spirit is strong but the flesh is weak," never met a Sturdy Samaritan. Because to them, being the best human they can be means being the fittest human they can be. Sturdy Samaritans hold their fitness standards just as high as their moral standards. They tap into the notion that their challenges, struggles, and failures only make them stronger and ultimately help them push beyond their human potential. Sturdy Samaritans might consider channeling some of their do-gooder [especially love that word XD] energy towards helping organize charity-based fitness events or other fitness related volunteer work." Checked out some of their other articles as well; pretty interesting stuff over there. I am very interested to see all the back research and studies though.

A little late to update, but final PR set (For some time at least). 105 lbs snatch; definitely didn't improve as much as the back squat, but as this is the newest movement (I still don't like the concept of the bar going over my head, but whatev) I will take what I can get.

Holy barnacles Batman! Another week has come and gone quickly enough. Previous week went well at least. Week 5 Summary: Gym Workouts: 3/3 100% A Awesome week with new PR's set every WOD for the week. I think the PR's may have been better if they weren't back-to-back all in the same week, but at least they are new PR's. Aerobic Workouts: 2/2 100% A Didn't get my 10k in as planned last week, but I was able to do 1.5 miles in the rain running through the woods and that felt pretty awesome. I am not able to find my watch that I recorded my time with, but I remember looking down after cool down and saw that the timer was still going (D'oh!) (May also need to see if there is a lost and found for the gym locker). Sports PT resulted in a split on the toe nail in the first third of the nail (closest to the nail bed; don't really recall when that injury happened [yay endorphins!]). The pain has seemed to subside over the weekend at least and I should be able to do my normal workouts this week as well as attend a living history event this weekend. Finances: So far everything is still good, but I have been eating out more often than I would like. I have already paid a majority of the bills due at the end of this month early at least. GRE: Didn't complete the practice test, but I did get through some more chapters. Also talked to the education office and was provided with some help on what I need to do for reimbursement, but didn't get anything for school recommendations if AFIT doesn't work out. Looks like I will need to put in my own research to figure out what businesses are looking for from a school (don't plan on leaving the military, but I want to be able to have an easy transition if circumstances happen).

Great job Zarklin! Even though I just found you today, I can see that you are not finished yet and will be a further inspiration to those around you. Even though I am not losing weight, seeing your progress motivates me to perform better and really analyze what I am doing to progress myself. Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing/hearing more about your progress. [On a side note, totally wouldn't mess with you if I saw you walking down the street with that hat; but it is comforting to know that if I couldn't run with you, I'd walk, and if I couldn't walk with you....well, you know the rest ]

Didn't hit the stretch goal for the clean, but I was able to complete 145 lbs before and after a 150 lb attempt. I will keep pushing harder and harder for sure.

It feels good, but at the same time it breaks my routine of bill payment. I will still check it each month and mark it off my monthly "Bill Paid?" board. I figured I wasn't going to be able to reach BW for yesterday's clean, but I was able to clean 145 lbs before and after an attempt at 150 lbs. I think I could have gotten 170 lbs if I wasn't destroyed from the previous day, but that is OK as I still broke a PR.

Making a go-to for me so I don't have to work in a new thread every time. But in either case; PR. Yesterday's WOD included 1x max/PR Backsquat and I was able to hit 170 lbs. Great milestone for me as this is my current bodyweight and a great WOOT! to lead the last two weeks of the current 6 week challenge. Today's WOD is another 1x max/PR for Cleans, hoping to be able to clean BW as well, but I will increment from current 1x max and increase as comfortable.

Whelp, another week has come and gone and I have missed the train; but that is OK as I only missed the forum's train. I did miss one workout last week due to having a late mission and one run because I was lazy. Excuses are done, time to hit it all again; and harder. Week 4 Summary: Gym Workouts: 2/3 66.66% D I actually found that I was a bit upset at the break in my schedule. I don't think I came off ruder to anyone but I certainly know I wanted to deal with people less than I normally do. It could have also just been the stress put on to having two tests with customer's changing requirements and I want to do the best I can to meet those even though the reg's state I do not need to. Although I set out to implement the customer's change, end result was that I could not adequately get the change done, accomplish everything I needed to do to prepare for the test, and keep my sanity; so customer's change was tossed out the window to get what was originally planned executed. Aerobic Workout:1/2 50% F. Ran (LOL, puns...) late working on my run day to try to implement the changes and still make it tot my Wednesday night 5th edition D&D session. Told myself since I missed it, I would run my 10k on the weekend...yeah that didn't happen. No excuses there besides laziness. Finances: Already received my tax refund, put it all to getting rid of my credit debt; accounted in my spreadsheet and the refund actually could have paid off my variable expenses for the entire previous month. Having some issues with my local utilities charging me for late payments and double charging even though it was paid on time, early, and even shows an negative balance on my account. EDIT: Called in and found out that I am not paying a late charge since it was paid on time, and since I paid manually and have auto-pay enabled (as a fail-safe since I sometimes forget to pay it as it is always due on the first Tuesday and I normally only check/pay bills on the weekend of the week I receive bills; Monday pay drop is the bane of my finances in this situation.) The negative balance will be a credit to my bills, and based on the charges for the past two months, I have pre-paid 3 months of water utilities (first month of credit will be applied to March, therefore I won't have to pay again until June). GRE: Haven't looked into it as I had planned. I haven't kept up with the reading either. at this point I would like to take at least one of the practice tests before the end of next week. In better news, in yesterday's WOD I PR'd my back squat to 170 lbs (=BW)! Today is PR day for Cleans, and I would like to get to 170 as well, but I will be incrementing it from my current 1x max, attempting each weight 2x and moving it up by 5/10 lbs depending on how comfortable I feel.

My quads are still raging against me, but I was able to pull 5k in 27:00 minutes. Still not my fastest time, but my fastest time was on a race day and was estimated due to starting my time well before I started running. Week 3 Summary: Gym Workouts 3/3 100% A. All that remains for lifts is Bench Press, but I don't think the box I workout at really does Bench. We have done OHP and I think it is a better movement for a real life scenario (I really don't want my butler asking what good all those push-ups are if I can't even lift up a bloody log; and how often do you expect me to be in a burning mansion with catastrophic failure in the supports?) I just don't see myself needing to get into a small space by getting onto my back and lifting it; I understand it can be very important, but I think I am more likely going to need to pick up objects and carry/move them to another location. All the other movements help get the weight into a manageable position to theoritically move it...ohh...right...summary...anywho Aerobic workout: 2/2 100% A (One 5k at 27:00 [-:06 from previous week, even with quads on fire] and sports PT). Life Goals: Closer to completion; filed my taxes and will be getting a return (to go to paying off more of my debts) and still working towards GRE. This week I plan to run another 10k on Wednesday (assuming my legs recover, otherwise another 5k).

Whoops, forgot to post at all this week as my job is spinning back up into a crazy schedule; I have done three gym workouts today and PR'ed my squats (with a front squat; go figure). I missed one aerobic workout that I am planning on running tomorrow (the workouts have absolutely killed my quads and I can hear my body telling me running is a very bad idea right now). Finally got around to updating my spreadsheet and my budget is looking very awesome going into this last week of January. I have also received the GRE prep book and have started reading through it already, but I did not go to the education center to see when test dates/times/location is, I am thinking I will be ready by NET end of February/beginning of March.

Last run of the week was decent, but I ran slower than my PR for 5k distance. Week 2 Summary: Gym Workouts: 3/3 100% A Aerobic Workouts: 2/2 100% A (5k unrecorded; 5k 27:06) Life Goals: Still 0%...yeah...I will get my spreadsheet updated on Monday again. I am also looking into the GRE as I type this, figure out how much a study book costs and I will go to the education center next week to see when the next viable test is.

By inclement weather, of course I actually mean too cold for what clothes I have available or hurricane/tornadoes/lightning storm. I love running in the rain, but ideal conditions depends on my mood (sometimes I want bright sunny with no wind, dark gloomy and mist, moderate/light winds; it a very wibbely-wobbely; timey-wimey...stuff kindof attribute of mine). If it is too hot, I hate how I have this apparent heat bubble around me and I want the wind to wick it all away; if it is too cold, I hate the wind for taking away my heat bubble forcing my body to produce more heat (which it isn't that great at doing being GA born and FL raised). I don't have a PCS date yet, but I antipate it to be around the late spring, early summer time-frame when I do get my orders, but of course, who is to say you know when you will move? I was actually pretty lucky to be stationed close to home as a first duty assignment.