Katydid

A massage is a great reward that's also good for your body. I also second the new clothes, or books.

Hi all! Well, I disappeared from the forums for a few weeks, but I did sort of finish up the challenge, so I thought I'd make a clean end to it and report back anyway. I don't have exact numbers for the last half of the challenge on my quests, but I have a general feel for how I did. I also never assigned stats for this challenge, so that will have to be done on the fly. Main quest: Learn to listen to my body! This will continue to be a work in progress, but I do think I'm - slowly, non-linearly - improving. Also, my elbows haven't been bothering me for a couple of weeks! I haven't been climbing because I'm away from school, but I've been doing some strength training and haven't had any problems. Quest 1: Work out 4x/week. I did this well for the first 3 weeks, almost did it for weeks 4 and 5, and then got 2 sessions in at the very end of week 6. I ran into some problems during week 6 because I went on tour with my a cappella group for the first 5 days of it, and there was just no time to get away! Overall, I don't think I made much progress in habitizing my exercise, and although having finals and traveling afterwards disrupted my routine, I'm a bit disappointed. I give it a B-. A level stats allocation: +2 STR, +2 STA. Actual stats allocation: +1 STR, +1 STA. Quest 2: No more than 2 sugary drinks/week. I failed at this during week 1, then succeeded in weeks 2-5, with an almost-success in week 6 (I have 2.5 drinks). I feel really good about the habit-changing I've done with this. I've learned to like tea and unsweetened lattes, learned that soda and sugary coffee drinks are not usually worth it for me, and while bubble tea is worth it, I can get half sugar (or no sugar, though it's not always available) and enjoy it just as much. I'm really proud of my progress, so I give it an A-. A level stats allocation: +4 CON. Actual stats allocation: +3 CON (I don't want to deal with fractional points). Quest 3: Practice splits 5x/week. A pulled muscle at the beginning of week 3 set me back on this, and I didn't really do it consistently starting in week 4. I'm pretty disappointed in myself for that, although I did realize that the stretching is much more effective right after a workout, and doing it cold on my rest days is when I tend to hurt myself. So my plan going forward is to keep it a part of my after-workout routine but not worry about it on the off days. I'm glad for that insight, but also I was totally lazy during the last half of the challenge. I think I need to call it a C. A level stats allocation: +4 DEX. Actual stats allocation: +1 DEX. Life quest: Christmas gifts! I succeeded in picking out all of my Christmas gifts, and with a last-minute run on Saturday was able to buy almost all of them before the deadline. I haven't yet mailed one sibling's gift because they didn't give me their mailing address until I had already left campus, and I haven't ordered my roommate's gift yet because if it arrives during the Christmas break it'll get sent back. If I had been more on top of things earlier I could have done a bit better, but overall I'm quite pleased with this. I give it an A. A level stats allocation: +3 CHA. Actual stats allocation: +3 CHA. I wasn't sure what stat to put for this, but I guess buying people gifts counts as relationship skills xD Extra points: +1 STA, +1 CON, +1 STR for participating in Assassins mini-challenges 1, 2 and 3. Total stats allocation: +2 STR, +1 DEX, +2 STA, +4 CON, +0 WIS, +3 CHA. Total points: 12 (9 challenge + 3 bonus). This challenge had mixed results for me, but I'm glad I was able to finish it and didn't run away when I stopped doing things perfectly (although I almost did and only came back at the last second). I feel like I've learned a lot about myself, and I'm excited for next year!

Hey Elisha! Just popping in to say hi and congrats on the end of the challenge I disappeared myself for a few weeks but I hope everything's going well with you.

End-of-Challenge Report Hi all! Well, I disappeared from the forums for a few weeks, but I did sort of finish up the challenge, so I thought I'd make a clean end to it and report back anyway. I don't have exact numbers for the last half of the challenge on my quests, but I have a general feel for how I did. I also never assigned stats for this challenge, so that will have to be done on the fly. Main quest: Learn to listen to my body! This will continue to be a work in progress, but I do think I'm - slowly, non-linearly - improving. Also, my elbows haven't been bothering me for a couple of weeks! I haven't been climbing because I'm away from school, but I've been doing some strength training and haven't had any problems. Quest 1: Work out 4x/week. I did this well for the first 3 weeks, almost did it for weeks 4 and 5, and then got 2 sessions in at the very end of week 6. I ran into some problems during week 6 because I went on tour with my a cappella group for the first 5 days of it, and there was just no time to get away! Overall, I don't think I made much progress in habitizing my exercise, and although having finals and traveling afterwards disrupted my routine, I'm a bit disappointed. I give it a B-. A level stats allocation: +2 STR, +2 STA. Actual stats allocation: +1 STR, +1 STA. Quest 2: No more than 2 sugary drinks/week. I failed at this during week 1, then succeeded in weeks 2-5, with an almost-success in week 6 (I have 2.5 drinks). I feel really good about the habit-changing I've done with this. I've learned to like tea and unsweetened lattes, learned that soda and sugary coffee drinks are not usually worth it for me, and while bubble tea is worth it, I can get half sugar (or no sugar, though it's not always available) and enjoy it just as much. I'm really proud of my progress, so I give it an A-. A level stats allocation: +4 CON. Actual stats allocation: +3 CON (I don't want to deal with fractional points). Quest 3: Practice splits 5x/week. A pulled muscle at the beginning of week 3 set me back on this, and I didn't really do it consistently starting in week 4. I'm pretty disappointed in myself for that, although I did realize that the stretching is much more effective right after a workout, and doing it cold on my rest days is when I tend to hurt myself. So my plan going forward is to keep it a part of my after-workout routine but not worry about it on the off days. I'm glad for that insight, but also I was totally lazy during the last half of the challenge. I think I need to call it a C. A level stats allocation: +4 DEX. Actual stats allocation: +1 DEX. Life quest: Christmas gifts! I succeeded in picking out all of my Christmas gifts, and with a last-minute run on Saturday was able to buy almost all of them before the deadline. I haven't yet mailed one sibling's gift because they didn't give me their mailing address until I had already left campus, and I haven't ordered my roommate's gift yet because if it arrives during the Christmas break it'll get sent back. If I had been more on top of things earlier I could have done a bit better, but overall I'm quite pleased with this. I give it an A. A level stats allocation: +3 CHA. Actual stats allocation: +3 CHA. I wasn't sure what stat to put for this, but I guess buying people gifts counts as relationship skills xD Extra points: +1 STA, +1 CON, +1 STR for participating in Assassins mini-challenges 1, 2 and 3. Total stats allocation: +2 STR, +1 DEX, +2 STA, +4 CON, +0 WIS, +3 CHA. Total points: 12 (9 challenge + 3 bonus). This challenge had mixed results for me, but I'm glad I was able to finish it and didn't run away when I stopped doing things perfectly (although I almost did and only came back at the last second). I feel like I've learned a lot about myself, and I'm excited for next year!

You're doing great! Progress in kung-fu must be really rewarding. I love exercise where you can really see your progress and learn new skills too. Do you blast up-beat music while you clean? That sometimes motivates me to get moving on it.

Woohoo! Haven't been around the forums much this week due to chilling at home with family. Can't believe it's already time for... Week 3 Wrap-up! I feel like a superhero this week... (Yes, I've been wanting an excuse to use that gif for three weeks) Main quest: I think I did a pretty good job listening to my body this week. I took a week off from arm-related exercise and my elbows haven't been bothering me in a few days, so that's good. Lately I've been better at recognizing my body's cues for when it's full - which is often sooner than I expect. I think my stomach is the type that wants to eat often but not very much at a time, so that's good to know. Quest 1: I worked out 4 times this week - A! I had fun at home with some different and not-so-intense but still sweaty exercises. I did P90X yoga one day, walked the doggy another day, did one of my mom's Zumba videos and then went to the gym when I got back to campus. Quest 2: Only 2 sugary drinks this week - A! 1.5, really. I had a small glass of eggnog on Thanksgiving, and then yesterday I tried the eggnog latte at Peet's. It was delicious, but I was full up after only half of a small, so I didn't finish it. Quest 3: Practiced splits 5 times this week - A! Pulled a muscle somewhere between my hamstring and inner thigh towards the beginning of the week, though, so I've been doing more gentle stretches and not pushing too hard for a few days. Life quest: I'm super happy about my progress on this. I got a book for my mom, something I read this year and really liked. I also found an autographed vinyl of a record that my boyfriend mentioned he wanted - I was surprised by how affordable it was and I'm really excited I was able to get him something special. I also know what I'm getting for my sibling, but they're still looking for an apartment in Denver so they don't have an address yet for me to send it. 2/2 complete - A! Miscellaneous achievements: Reached a new low (it's a good thing!) with the splits at the beginning of the week (probably when I pulled that muscle lol)! Got my butt to the ground on my left side, but still had a lot of weight on my hands.Did bodyweight strength work at the gym for the first time since my elbows started acting up. Went really easy on my arms, but no pain which is great! I'm doing a version of the Start Bodyweight routine. It's a bit arm-heavy so I'll have to be careful and take it easy where necessary, but at the same time I really need to build arm strength for climbing.That routine incorporated a few pushups for Assassins mini-challenge 3!We got snow at my house for Thanksgiving! It's not really a fitness achievement but I was super happy about it.Whew! That was a lot. Now it's time to rev back up for the end of the school year - including an a cappella show and two final exams. Let's go!

Week 2 Recap: Main quest: I did a better job of icing last week, and I was able to push myself a bit harder with climbing as a result. It's really frustrating to hold myself back when I just want to climb and climb, but it helps to remember how much better I feel when I take care of myself. Quest 1: Exercised 4 times last week! Went climbing 3 times and went for a long walk one morning. 4/4 complete! - A Quest 2: Succeeded in having only 2 sugary drinks last week. Had a soda on Wednesday (not worth it ) and a hazelnut boba on Saturday (so worth it!). 2/2 max! - A Quest 3: Succeeded in stretching 5 days! Just barely made it, doing the last one Sunday night, but I did it! 5/5 complete - A Life quest: Hm, so I didn't think of or buy any new gifts this week, but I did decide that because my older brothers all just want video games and I have no incomes, I would make the munchkin game a family gift, which rids me of three gifts to buy (buying one gift for all four of my brothers instead of one for each). I think I'll call it a B, because while I put some thought into it I didn't actually do anything xD Miscellaneous: I realized that I have terrible form at rock-climbing, which is probably contributing to my elbow problems. If I look at advanced climbers at the gym, they use very controlled movements - they look kind of like big spiders, with long limbs moving in a very deliberate and almost gentle manner. I, on the other hand, am more like an uncoordinated monkey, with a lot of swinging moves, using momentum instead of strength. This is mostly because I'm lacking in arm strength, so either I need to replace some climbing days with lifting or bodyweight exercises (I can't increase arm days because of my elbows), or I need to focus on climbing with better form and hope to build strength that way. I'll probably end up doing the latter because my friend Nick relies on me to go climbing so that I can belay for him, and also I just like it a whole lot better than being in the weight room by myself.

Happy Thanksgiving! Looks like you're doing great.

Hope your Thanksgiving went well! Good luck with finals; undergrad is bad enough, I can't imagine law school >.<

It's late, but I did 24 as part of my workout today.

Week 3, day 2 update: This week's special situation: I'm at home for Thanksgiving break! Pros: My 17-yo bro is into P90X, so I have all those videos for new workout material this week (last night we did Yoga X )I have a dog at home that my parents and siblings like to rope me into walking when I'm thereI'm not in classes Cons: I have a massively annoying problem set for the one class I'm not doing well in, and it's not working out so far Last one, though.Thanksgiving! Both a pro and a con. Definitely trying to save my sugary drink allowance for the latter half of the week.It's cold out. I'm too used to California balmy weather. It's not so bad though; we're not in the heart of winter yet so I can still walk the dog outside and after the first 5 minutes or so it's actually refreshing (also motivation to go fast!).All in all, staying on track with my goals this week is going to be a bit more difficult than usual, but not impossible. Wish me luck! Especially on this problem set...

Week 2 Recap: Main quest: I did a better job of icing last week, and I was able to push myself a bit harder with climbing as a result. It's really frustrating to hold myself back when I just want to climb and climb, but it helps to remember how much better I feel when I take care of myself. Quest 1: Exercised 4 times last week! Went climbing 3 times and went for a long walk one morning. 4/4 complete! - A Quest 2: Succeeded in having only 2 sugary drinks last week. Had a soda on Wednesday (not worth it ) and a hazelnut boba on Saturday (so worth it!). 2/2 max! - A Quest 3: Succeeded in stretching 5 days! Just barely made it, doing the last one Sunday night, but I did it! 5/5 complete - A Life quest: Hm, so I didn't think of or buy any new gifts this week, but I did decide that because my older brothers all just want video games and I have no incomes, I would make the munchkin game a family gift, which rids me of three gifts to buy (buying one gift for all four of my brothers instead of one for each). I think I'll call it a B, because while I put some thought into it I didn't actually do anything xD Miscellaneous: I realized that I have terrible form at rock-climbing, which is probably contributing to my elbow problems. If I look at advanced climbers at the gym, they use very controlled movements - they look kind of like big spiders, with long limbs moving in a very deliberate and almost gentle manner. I, on the other hand, am more like an uncoordinated monkey, with a lot of swinging moves, using momentum instead of strength. This is mostly because I'm lacking in arm strength, so either I need to replace some climbing days with lifting or bodyweight exercises (I can't increase arm days because of my elbows), or I need to focus on climbing with better form and hope to build strength that way. I'll probably end up doing the latter because my friend Nick relies on me to go climbing so that I can belay for him, and also I just like it a whole lot better than being in the weight room by myself.

Yeah, that's just now beginning to happen to me. I still like sweet things (lately I've been craving chocolate a ton), but I don't like them to be as sweet as I used to. That's some progress. Yeah, and yet when you're not addicted they don't taste as good as you remember - which is great for me! Woohoo! Hmmm almost, update coming soon Thanks! It's really rewarding...although I realized my form is terrible so I probably need some more work at the lower levels, especially on bouldering.

Oh no, good luck with the overtime! It might help to pack lots of healthy and delicious snacks for yourself so that you can keep your energy up without resorting to junk.

So glad to hear you're taking time for yourself and doing okay. Sounds like you're making a good decision, and we hope to see you again some other challenge!

Week 1 recap: Main quest: Get better at listening to my body and taking care of it. Drunken adventure aside, I think I did an okay job of listening to my body this week. However I could use to do a better job of taking care of my elbows. I should be icing them more often and would like to try some massages as well. Quest 1: Work out 3x/week. I worked out 3 times this week! A! It was too easy though so I'm raising the goal this week to 4 times. Quest 2: No more than 2 sugary drinks/week I drank somewhere between 4 and 5 sugary drinks this week (I spilled one partway through). That's a C. I can do better. So this week I will! Quest 3: Practice splits 5x/week. Stretched 4 times this week - B. I just got lazy over the weekend and didn't do it. This week I will! Life quest: Pick out two Christmas gifts/week. Succeeded in picking out two gifts! A. Other events: Got way too drunk for the first time ever - and hopefully the last Resisted free cookies during a class event Decided I'm done with exercises I don't enjoy when there are so many out there I do - time for more climbing, walking, dancing and yoga, and less running. xD

Aw darn it I logged my one plank too late xD Oh well, guess I'm walking today Kate

Thanks, Jaex! Haven't been around the forums much this week, but just got caught up on a few threads and it's time for an update! Week 2, Day...4? Wow, this week is flying by! Main quest: I've been better about icing this week, which has paid off in my ability to climb with minimal pain. Quest 1: I've worked out 3 times this week so far, and am planning to climb again on Friday, so I'm on track for success! 3/4 complete. Quest 2: I've had one sugary drink this week, a soda that my friend offered me last night. On the one hand, I'm proud of myself because I considered for a bit and then made a conscious decision to drink it rather than just mindlessly accepting free food like I once would have done. On the other hand, during and after drinking it I felt that it wasn't worth using one of my drinks for the week. Just not as delicious as I thought it was going to be. Takeaway: soda is just not (for me) worth it! I'm pleased with the experience overall, though; I learned something. 1/2 max. Quest 3: Didn't stretch yesterday. No time after climbing, but I should have done it later I was just lazy I'll do it today! 2/5 complete. Lift quest: Yeah haven't thought about this at all this week...need to get on top of it! Another thing I should work on today. 0/2 complete. Miscellaneous: I've officially graduated from 5.8 to 5.9 routes in top rope climbing! I finished all the 5.8s at my climbing wall yesterday. It's super exciting!I think my stomach is getting more sensitive to sugar...which is not fun when I eat too much but hopefully should help me eat better in the future. Did 1 minute of plank yesterday for Assassins mini challenge 2! It's not much, but it's a contribution.

Me too! I hope your absence means you're taking some time for yourself, which is totally ok, but we miss you!

Wow, your pushup progress is great! Kind of makes me want to do a burpee challenge myself....maybe next challenge I also am really impressed with your gif-hunting abilities.

You're doing great, Jaex! A little treating yourself around the holidays with friends/coworkers/family/etc is totally fine, and it sounds like you feel good about it It's also great that you knew beforehand it was going to happen and decided to treat yourself, so it was a conscious decision.

Oh my goodness I am so inspired...all of this lifting of heavy things and climbing of silky things...you are the coolest!

Disappeared for a few days due to work/binge-reading Fruits Basket, but things are still going well! First, to recap: Week 1 recap: Main quest: Drunken adventure aside, I think I did an okay job of listening to my body this week. However I could use to do a better job of taking care of my elbows. I should be icing them more often and would like to try some massages as well. Quest 1: I worked out 3 times this week! A! It was too easy though so I'm raising the goal this week to 4 times. Quest 2: I drank somewhere between 4 and 5 sugary drinks this week (I spilled one partway through). That's a C. I can do better. So this week I will! Quest 3: Stretched 4 times this week - B. I just got lazy over the weekend and didn't do it. This week I will! Life quest: Succeeded in picking out two gifts! A. Man finding gifs is harder than I thought (hence no gifs in this post because I couldn't find the one I wanted and got frustrated). Any tips?

Yep! It was a lot of fun for the first couple of hours, but once I got too far I actually started freaking out and not enjoying it...I need to remember that next time! Yes I'm really grateful to my friends for making sure I got lots of water after they realized I wasn't doing well, I think that's what helped me avoid being hungover. It's delicious! Oh gosh, I'm glad I didn't get quite that bad! I remember everything, and my friends were all more sober and kept me under control xD

Wait this walnut thing totally makes sense like if you ever see a walnut tree the "walnuts" are legit these big green fruity things...like a weird green peach or something.