Carsomyr

Bit behind on reporting progress, so recap for the last 3 three days. Update for today will be later. 1. Crossfit Did planned WoDs on thursday and friday. That makes one cycle complete, earning one point. So this part of the challenge is still right on track. 2. Elimination of sweets Thursday and Friday were a bust for this goal. Caved while out with friends on thursday and then at work on Friday. Recovered on Saturday though, so 1 point earned out of the possible three. 3. Writing Missed thursday and friday due to utter laziness, but got some done on saturday. Wrote about 500 words on saturday for planning, so thats 1 point for saturday and 1/2 point for makup for friday.

Ok. Crossift WoD was a scaled version of http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/007660.html It went 25 Pulldowns @ 64 kg 5 Burpees 15 Pulldowns @ 64 kg 15 Burpees 5 Pulldowns @ 64 kg 25 BurpeesTime : 14:08I'm doing pull-downs because I don't have an actual bar at home and there is literally nowhere I can pull myself up to. There used to be a pole I used, but that got built over. And as the sub-faq for crossfit says, they are not a good sub but its better than not doing the exercise. Number of reps is much lower than the original WoD because I aggravated my shoulder a week ago and don't want to push things with large amounts of push-ups as part of the burpees. The whole thing was still hard, so scaling was not too soft. If not for the shoulder I would have gone harder. No sugary treats at work or at home were eaten although they were really tempting today (1 point) Wrote out what it actually supposed to happen in the next planned encounter in my D&D campaign. Felt a lot easier than yesterday (> 250 words, so 1 point) Challenge is still going strong on the second day, so hopefully we keep this up.

Today is a rest day on my crossfit schedule, so that went well Succeeded in avoiding temptations at work and at home (1 point). Fleshed out the major villain plans for D&D campaign (> 250 words, 1 point) Pretty much nothing interesting for today, except that I am at least starting on track.

Fitness Goals Stick to a 3-on-1-off schedule for scaled crossfit mainsite WoDs. Max points possible = 8 (based on planned number of complete and incomplete cycles I have scheduled) Score 1 point for an complete cycle as planned. Score 0.5 points for a cycle that has one additional rest day. Score 0.5 points for an incomplete cycle of at least 2 days completed up to 2011/06/10 or 2011/07/12. Time on hike (11 - 19 June) is not counted for max pointsEliminate sweets, cookies and any added sugar from my diet for the 6 weeks. Allow an exception of one small piece of dark chocolate per day. Max Points = 42 1 Point if successful on a day, 0 otherwise.Life Goals Decide on a timeline for moving out and plan a budget that will make it work Scoring is TBDWrite 250 words a day of planning/backstory/ideas for my currently inactive D&D campaign to get it back on track. Max Points = 42 1 Point if successful on a day, 0 otherwise.

Back, and going to give another challenge a go. Fitness Goals Stick to a 3-on-1-off schedule for scaled crossfit mainsite WoDs.Eliminate sweets, cookies and any added sugar from my diet for the 6 weeks. Allow an exception of one small piece of dark chocolate per day.Life Goals Decide on a timeline for moving out and plan a budget that will make it workWrite 250 words a day of planning/backstory/ideas for my currently inactive D&D campaign to get it back on track.Specific way of eating Semi-paleo. Try to stick to the basic ideas, but not cracking down on every detail yet. Anything else Main focus is scaled crossfit, will be offline from 11 June - 19 June due to being in the middle of a forest. Squad me up please. I promise to be active, except for the week noted above

Dammit, I need to update this more regularly. Some catchup Stronger Wed 24/11 Squat : 2x5x20kg 3x30kg 3x42kg 5x5x55kg[/*:m:2cvwpc99]OH Press : 4x5x25kg 4x25kg (couldn't make the final rep, will try next week with slightly heavier weight and see how it goes)[/*:m:2cvwpc99]Deadlift : 5x30kg 5x44kg 5x57kg 2x5x64kg[/*:m:2cvwpc99]Fridays scheduled exercise was replace with helping with further construction. So no concrete numbers, but there was certainly work. Sunday 28/11 : Bought two 20kg plates, so I'll be able to start pushing my deadlift again. Woot! Mon 29/11 (today) Squat : 2x5x20kg 3x30kg 3x40kg 2x50kg 5x5x57kg[/*:m:2cvwpc99]Bench Press : 5x5x32kg[/*:m:2cvwpc99]Barbell Row : 5x5x32kg[/*:m:2cvwpc99]Still making progress on all my lifts. Should hit the squat goal on wednesday, bench press next monday. OH Press goal will depend a lot on whether I can continue adding weight. Still doing yoga everyday day that I lift and trying to do some on most other days, but the weekend was bad. Leaner No improvement on Fridays measurements, and binged a bit on cookies over the weekend, so tuesday may look bad... More organised This has been a total failure for the last week. Must get better. Things should start improving tomorrow at least. We are currently going through a retrenchment process at work so the atmosphere there isn't very pleasant, and that is carrying over a bit into other things. Whatever I hear tomorrow, at least things will no longer be hanging. And a character sheet update, because I haven't posted one in a while. Ding for gaining a level today for fitness! Char Sheet 2010-11-29.png[/attachment:2cvwpc99]

A bit behind on updates, but I have been keeping up with goals at least Stronger Workout on monday Squats 2x5x20kg,5x30kg,4x40kg,5x5x52kg[/*:m:20tiw3as]Bench Press 5x5x30kg[/*:m:20tiw3as]Barbell Row 5x5x30kg[/*:m:20tiw3as]Also did pushups and reverse crunches as supporting exercises.Did some cardio on the elliptical on tuesday as I am trying to get more cardio in to recondition myself for a hike next weekend. Yoga both nights before bed with handstands last night as well. Leaner Measurement on tuesday was 88cm, so a small reduction. Exercise routine still seems to be working. I can continue to lift more weight each workout without gaining body-weight, so some fat must be disappearing. More organised Umm, currently behind on this. Will try to make up lost time tonight At this rate I should hit most of my strength goals middle of next week

Did my first (almost) handstand today! Almost because I still had one foot touching the wall to help keep balance. Felt really awesome, and is something I would not even have considered remotely possible a few months ago.

Well, its great so far so I'm going to keep at it. Added another section to the sheet where I can keep track of things like yoga which are not part of the core class idea but contribute to physical ability scores. Stronger I haven't lifted for my stronger goal since wednesday, due to thursday being a rest day. Friday afternoon after work and the entire saturday were spent building a roof, so my body was NOT very agreeable to loading up weights afterwards. Will be back on schedule for lifting on monday. Leaner No change in measurements so far (friday) More organised Slacked during the week since Wednesday, but caught up today (Sunday). Went on a a huge sorting spree to find clothes that no longer fit and get them all in one place. This will make getting rid of them much easier. Really need to post an intro inn our team thread (love the name!), but need a few mins to come up with something to match everyone elses.

Thanks, now I just have to keep it up to date.The first two workouts for this week have definitely shown me that its important to have the right equipment. I'm working out at home and till now I've been starting each set of squats by cleaning and then pushing the bar overhead to get it in position. That particular maneuver turned out to be harder than the actual squats and caused a nasty stall in my progress. Over the weekend I got a bench, which I am now also using as a rack for the bar while doing squats. And now squats are awesome again and I can keep pushing up the weight. And my presses don't feel like total crap afterward because I already tired my arms by getting set up for the squats. I also started trying out some yoga stretches from Aletheas thread in Fun Fitness, and re-discovered that my flexibility is horrible. Will maybe be adding a goal for this to the challenge, as it did feel good afterward. Stronger Workout for today was: Squat : 2x5x20kg; 3x30kg; 3x40kg; 5x5x50kg[/*:m:1zq3tckx]Press (OH) : 5x5x22kg (but feeling waayy better than before)[/*:m:1zq3tckx]Deadlift : 5x22kg; 5x40kg; 5x50kg; 5x60kg; 2x5x64kg (currently stalled on top weight due to combination of plates I have and size of bar)[/*:m:1zq3tckx]New PR on the squat and I find my form is certainly better now that I can start the bar in a decent position. Life : More organized Checked and filed bank statements that have been piling up, cleared the tangle of lan cables and routers lying on my tables and gathered together all the old PC parts lying on my table. Progress is good. Character sheet update: Char Sheet 2010-11-17.png[/attachment:1zq3tckx]

All milestones are arbitrary, because we make them up But well done. Lucky for you that your working in pounds, or that particular milestone would still be a while

First Update will be a two day wrap-up for Monday and tuesday Stronger Lifted on monday, I have used the weights that I lifted as the current lifts in the challenge intro. Rest on tuesday Leaner Took initial measurement on Tuesday morning and used that to start up the challenge. Will be updating this goal on fridays and tuesdays only. More organized Nothing monday. Spent about 10 minutes tonight clearing out my physical inbox, sorting the mail that has piled up there filing the statements and clearing out month old "TODO" notes that are no longer relevant. Want to add a at least one skill to my char sheet that can advance dexterity, so will be looking for a yoga routine tonight

Name : Carsomyr Race : Half-Ogre Class : Warrior Level :1 Char Sheet 2010-11-15.png[/attachment:3efr2fm2] Goals Stronger A warrior needs to be strong, so targets for lifts for this challenge are: Squat 60kg (current 47kg)[/*:m:3efr2fm2]Press 30kg (current 22kg)[/*:m:3efr2fm2]Bench Press 35kg (current 27kg)[/*:m:3efr2fm2]I will be following Stronglifts 5x5, so lifting is 3 x a week, normally on M/W/F. Leaner A warrior doesn't want to carry excess fat on the battlefield. For this goal we aim to reduce waist size by 2cm (current 88.5 cm) Life : More organized A warrior must be able to find what he needs easily, and that currently isn't possible in my life. The level-up goal for this challenge is to organize my personal space. Specifically, spend at least 10 minutes each day, with a clear result on each day.

Overall I'd say D- 1) Reduce waist size by 1 inch. Reached target, but no better. A Solid B 2) Keep character sheet up to data E, posting was not good. 3) Chinup F, fail 4) Reduce carbs D. Most days the target was met, but other days were not so good Life : F-, did nothing. Was stressed due to us suddenly finding out that the company is being restructured and having no idea whether I would still have a job next year. For the next challenge I will: Make the goals measurable and ensure that they are all reachable under current conditions (so no "I first need to get x then...").

Can't resist taking part if its going to be RP! Name: Carsomyr (Its a fantasy name already, so *shrug*) Race : Half-Ogre (190 cm, 90 kg (6'3", 198lb) relatively large build) Class : Currently leveling Warrior, want to work on ranger later as well Goals: Try to make them all SMART so 1.) Lifting targets: Squat 60kg (currently at 45 kg), Press (both OH and Bench) 30 kg (currently suffering at 22.5kg) 2.) Reduce waist by another 2.5 cm (1 inch) 3.) Post updates at least 3 x a week for the challenge. Life : Spend 10 minutes every day getting my room in order, with at least one clear accomplishment each day. Life goal is something I can control, and anything work or study related is uncertain due to not being sure whether I will still have a job next year. Stalking me: Facebook (Please add a note that its from NF, I try not to just add completely random people) Twitter is @carsomyr_sb Will mostly be posting to twitter or here for fitness/health/challenge stuff Will be using a slightly revised version of my character sheet from the last challenge, starting from scratch

The pullup sounds great wish I was strong enough for that My weeks exercises just didn't seem right, so I'm changing over to the Stronglifts program. Otherwise I had a pretty decent week for my goals.

Monday 25 October Officially starting with Stronglifts 5x5 today. Starting on Workout B, because I'm not sure yet how I will do the bench press for A, so buying a few days to think about that. Really enjoying seeing how I can add weight to the squats and deadlifts. Gained 2 ranks in Free Weight skill with today's workout, which was cool. Eating was really good, with the only starchy/grainy carbs for the being mashed potato with supper, so meeting the goal there. Workout for the day was SQUATS (becoming addicted to these) 2 x 5 at bodyweight 1 x 3 x 20 kg 5 x 5 x 36 kg OVERHEAD PRESS 5 x 5 x 20 kg DEADLIFT 1 x 5 x 20 kg 1 x 5 x 40 kg 1 x 5 x 55 kg (target for today) Did lat pulldowns to replace pullups as I dont have a bar handy. Really looking forward to continuing this plan

Wrapup for last week on goals: 1) Took another measurement on Saturday and will be measuring on saturdays for progress in teh future. Its just easier then because I'm not in a rush to get to work. Got 89.5 cm, which is 1.5cm reduction. Awesome. The only thing I really enjoyed about last week was the squats that I added on every weight training day, the rest of the workouts just felt a bit meh. So I'll be stopping with the RFG guide for now and giving Stronglifts a try. Skill levels at the end of the week were: Weights 10 Calisthenics 12 Overland Travel 2 Swimming 0 I really need to start swimming more if I want to move that skill. Weights should start moving a bit faster on the new training program, which will be nice to see. Food for the week was ok. Don't log in detail so a bit hard to summarise now, but I'd guise overall about 5/10 from what I can remember. Had too many carbs on at least 3 days. Epic fail once again on my life goal, dammit.

Monday 18 October Today was a pretty good day Finally got a measurement for starting waist, will update first post as soon as I post this. That means no improvement there for this week ;p Exercise was awesome. Decided I really want to start going heavier, so mostly abandoned the RFG workout scheduled for today. Squats 5 x 5 x 25kg Box Jumps 4 x 8 x 30cm Deadlifts 1 x 5 x 50 kg + 4 x 6 x 50 kg OH DB Press 5 x 5 x 20 kg (total) Lat Pulldown (Pull-up grip) 5 x 3 x 61 kg (Only doing this till I have a bar again) Size planks 4 x 55s Felt pretty wiped out afterwards but it was worth it. Also discovered that due to the crappy weights I have, I will need to get new plates before I can add more weight to the deadlifts. Skill Gains Free Weights +4 Ranks, now at rank 9 Gained a level on my char sheet, yay! Food today was good too. Breakfast was the usual (boiled eggs, yoghurt with nuts and fruit). Lunch was a salad with leftover steak from yesterday, mmm. Dinner was cottage pie with brocolli, which was nice. So 1 carbs = target met. Cottage pie is not going in for lunch tomorrow as there is more leftover steak for salad Heard today that our company will be "restructuring" so I'm hoping that I can still go through with my plan of studying part-time next year. Don't know how possible that would be if I need to find a new job. No progress on finding a topic yet, but I still have the evening ahead of me.

We have all been going for a week now, so (stealing an idea from the other teams) we should provide some updates on how things are going for our goals! My progress so far is: 1) Reduce waist measurement: I don't yet have a measurement of what I am trying to reduce, but will take one tomorrow morning. 0/10 2)Exercise Regularly and track it: Did all the scheduled workouts for the RFG and updated them on my char sheet, but missed most of my interval sets for the week. 5/10. 3) Pullup bar and do pullup: No bar, did some prep exercises. 2/10. 4) Eliminate bread and reduce carbs : 4/7 days for meeting carbs per day and had bread over the weekend. 3/10 Life : I have no progress whatsoever on finding a topic. 0/10 So overall I rate myself at about 3/10, which is terrible The only bright side to this is that I should be able to improve this for next week. So how do the rest of you feel you did? Hopefully you are doing better than me

This weekend was, um, not particularly good. The one positive thing is that I finally got hold of a tape-measure, so I can take a measurement to use to measure my first goal (yes, finally) I was planning on doing intervals on Saturday, but it was one of those weekends where the time just disappeared. So no exercise over the weekend Diet goal was also a fail over the weekend. Saturday lunch was a sandwich due to not having enough food in the house, with pizza for supper. Sunday lunch was steak, salad and roast potatoes with supper being leftover pizza. That makes two days with too many carb-based meals and one serving of bread. My progress on my life goal is currently non-existent, so I really need to step that up for the next week.

Do you currently have a planned calorie target that you are aiming for? Either per day or averaged out per week? This one is certainly lower than the rest and helps make up for the big one earlier. Missing a workout to hang out with friends/family every now and then is fine. As long as it doesn't become an excuse not to work out, which it certainly isn't here. Great to see that you are making progress on your life goal as well.

We will be glad to see any updates you manage to post, but please don't let the challenge turn into a source of guilt and stress. Take this month easy and get the things that really matter in order again. There will always be another challenge but you can't have another life. We'll be thinking of you and the rest of us in Team Dodecahedron will still give it everything that we can.

Cool. The green is a bit higher than I was used to, which is nice to see for you. Our belt progression was a bit more colorful (White->Yellow->Orange->Green->Blue->Purple(1 and 2)->Red(1,2 and 3)->Brown(Up to 6 levels inside depending on your progress)->Black) We do quite a lot of kata from the start. The bunkai is mostly informal demonstrations after doing the kata rather than the active level of practice it seems to be in goju. Your are only required to demonstrate bunkai at your first black grading and onwards. Practice was usually about 35% basics, 35% kata with the rest of the class being kumite (either free changing partners every few minutes, or with specific patterns). I'm a few years out of practice, but am planning on starting up again with karate next year. Glad to see you've started updating with the food. At least your pizza day came in at less calories than the day before With those hours at work I can understand that your a bit more quite during the week.

First up, lets post the updates till the present I still don't have a base measurement for 1). Will be getting a decent tape-measure and doing that tomorrow morning. Wednesday 13 October Today was a circuit day in the RFG which totally kicked my ass. Actually managed to barely pull off the plyometric pushups, which was awesome. Overestimated the weight I could use on some of the new exercises which messed up the first round of the circuit a bit, but overall it was awesome. Pull-up preperation training for today was Inverted Rows, which I discovered are MUCH easier if you can use a bar, as opposed to gripping a table with your fingers. Breakfast was the same as before, lunch was a salad with leftover tortilla meat and chicken breast which was yummy. Supper was venison pie with zuchinis and pattipans. Carbs where good with only super involving them, but its going to be worse tomorrow as that pie is too good not to take for lunch. Skill updates: Calisthenics +2 Ranks (163 reps in the circuit that I'm willing to count) Thursday 14 October Today was pretty bad. No exercise due to a combination of working late and being too tempted to play WoW after the new patch. Breakfast was usual. Lunch was leftover Venison Pie and leftover veggies, crust isn't that much but its going to count. Dinner was mash, sausage, egg and salad. That makes two portions of carbs for the day which fails that goal Not eating the carbs with dinner is currently hard as everytime I try it, it completely freaks out my mom, so keeping the peace there for now. Today was a failure of a day goal-wise. Friday 15 OCtober ITs friday and I only work till 1 on fridays, which is awesome. Did workout C for renegade in the RFG, which felt pretty good. Thinking of adding at least one heavy lift for the future on fridays, but otherwise exercise was good. Did lat pulldowns in the chinup position as training for the actual thing. Currently using 56kg, which is the max I can load on the machine at home. The pulldowns are currently the only thing that I use our home-gym machine-thing for, and I'll be getting away from them and back to assited pullups as soon as possible. Foodwise, breakfast was the usual. Lunch was a salad with leftover sausage. Dinner was fish, calamari and rice. That makes only one serving of carbs for the day, which at least keeps me on target there. Skill updates: Calisthenics +2 Ranks Calisthenics skill is now at rank 9, which means its going to start getting a lot harder to raise. But I'll keep on pushing Will update my top post with a character sheet summary tomorrow.