Thister

Thanks for all the cheer, everyone! It's been a good first week, and I only hope to keep it up for the next five. It was nice to have one down day. I actually decided to just keep it chill and do nothing but walk and shovel some snow we got. Nothing too strenuous. I did get some writing done, though, so that was the one upside. Plus, I managed to respond to all my student emails for my online course and read all their introduction posts. I've got a good batch of students this semester, I can tell. Thank god! Tomorrow I will do detox yoga in the morning and Bodyweight Brigade L2 A and the new balance mini in the afternoon. Grading, reading, and writing will happen too, likely in between workouts, but I'm much less eager to do those things because they aren't as fun. I enjoy detox yoga (Desert Yoga on the Pocket Yoga app) the most because it is so amazing at relaxing your body and mind. I also enjoy endurance/strength yoga (Mountain Yoga on the Pocket Yoga app), but it can be difficult to do in conjunction with any other workouts. Detox yoga is so much more versatile and meditative. Vinyasa yoga (Ocean Yoga on the Pocket Yoga App) is great if you are up for quick movements and power-ish yoga, but I like my yoga more calm and relaxing. I totally recommend you check it out, spockgrrl! I think you would enjoy the Desert Yoga. It's a workout AND meditation in one, and the beginner level at 30 or 45 minutes isn't that strenuous at all. Alright! It's . . . BED TIME! I'll update this tomorrow evening after all the workouts are done! Thanks for cheering me on, everyone. That's why I keep coming back, and it also reminds me to keep going. Night!

Whoa. Game on!

Totally random. I just re-watched Guardians of the Galaxy. All is well in my world!

I use Pocket Yoga, an iPhone/iPad app. I also use Yoga Studio, but I prefer Pocket Yoga because it has three different types of yoga practices (vinyasa, detox, and endurance/flexibility) and three different (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) levels for each type. Yoga Studio is good and has a wide range of yoga practices, but I don't find the routines as engaging as Pocjet a Yoga. If you try it out, let me know what you think.

Damn, Brekke! That's impressive that you're still in it after all you've been through. Be gentle with your body and don't do anything too extreme. You know your body best, so you know what you can and cannot do. I hope your specialist is able to give you good insight and the best advice possible for resolving your condition. I also hope it is something that they can take care of easily. And, seriously, let us all hope it's not cancer. Stay positive and strong!

Day Seven Did Bodyweight Brigade L2 B. It was great! I didn't feel winded at all and I actually enjoyed the jump rope this time around. I still need to work on not jumping as high, but I'm getting the hang of it. I usually do this whole workout barefoot on a yoga mat on top of carpet, so I know I have stability, it's just that I jump a bit too high at times. I get my Vibram's tomorrow, though, so I'm think that will help with adding a bit of weight to my feet to force me not to jump as high. Or maybe not. We'll see.I still might do some yoga tonight two hours or so before bed. I think it really helps my muscles relax after the circuits. OR I may do it tomorrow as my only "workout".Ok. Tomorrow is going to be a rest day for me, unless I do yoga. Either way, it's gonna be a chill day. Week one is done! So, now I'm going to update my week one post on page one with measurements and progress.

The frog stand would be awesome. I do yoga and would like to feel more stable with more complex balance poses, so I would definitely like to be strong enough and stable enough to do that pose.

Day Six Ran progressive intervals today for 15 minutes. Average pace was 9:45 ppm. Smooth, easy run and I didn't feel winded at all. Ran 10 minutes at 9:45 ppm, just to keep up with the pace of things.Walked for 20 minutes. 10 for warm up and 10 for cool down.Stair Climbed for 25 minutes, because I am just a little crazy about my workouts.My polar says I burned 1300+ calories, but I don't know about that. At least I can say I feel good about what all I did today. I've got the drive to keep up like this, and I will stick with it! Damn it! Tomorrow is Bodyweight Brigade L2 B and, possibly, some yoga. I'll keep you posted and share measurements. Doubt much has changed, but, again, I need a baseline. Hope y'all are doing well!

Day Five Did Bodyweight Brigade L2 A. Much smoother this time! Really, there wasn't anything that left me too winded and I was able to feel at rest with the cooldown.Did the balance mini again just for fun. I keep getting to level four, but keeping my eyes closed and balancing only lasts for about 18-20 seconds still.I'm doing Desert Yoga for 45 minutes tonight from my Pocket Yoga app. Just want to get some extra stretches in before I do an interval run tomorrow and do stair climbing.Got 6.5 pages down. A little behind, but not bad. All in all, doing great! I'm going to do my measurements again this weekend, though I doubt much will have changed. I just want to keep tabs on things.

Whenever I make coffee at home, I do it up this way. I'm not sure if it actually has the added benefits you hear in the hype, but I do like it. To me, I feel a little more alert when I drink it with Kerrygold Butter and Organic Coconut Oil than compared to plain coffee, but I think results will vary for everyone. Personally, I think it tastes great! It's got a slightly buttery and creamy taste to it from the coconut oil and butter. You can add a dash of coconut milk to it, if you like too. I definitely think it's worth a try.

Day Four Biked for 25 minutes on a stationary bike. (Let's be real! It's too cold outside and the air quality isn't that great here.) (Approximately 400 calories burned.)Stair Climbed for 20 minutes on an interval regiment. (Approximately 250 calories burned.)Ran intervals for 10 minutes. Average pace of 9:35 ppm. Wasn't quite up for 15 minutes as I originally planned, but I'm still counting it as a success because I did so much cardio today. With 10 minutes of warm-up walking and 10 minutes of cool down walking. (Approximately 293 calories burned.) I think next time I'll either bike or run. It's a lot to take on to do both, and, really, I know it is overload. So, I'll slightly revise my running challenge to include biking as a substitute at times, but with a stronger preference for running. Tomorrow is Bodyweight Brigade L2 A again. I'm hoping I'll be less winded by the third rotation as I continue to progress with it. The first time wasn't bad, but the by the end of the third rotation I knew I was ready to be done.

Thanks for the advice, Terinatum! I think if I can get to bed earlier and get into the habit of drinking a chamomile tea before bed and before brushing my teeth, then I might be able to stave off the cravings. I really think its due to all the crazy eating and snacking during the holiday season, especially on NYE. Food overload. I'll get there. I'll keep y'all posted about the progress.

I second TMedina with my like as well. Stay strong over there, Brekke! Do what you need to do for your health.

Hope you are feeling better! Just thought I'd share this as a reminder that we have a dance off to do later. Hahaha!

I don't know if you own a Garmin or Polar, but I track my runs by keeping tabs on the miles, minutes, and calories and then entering them into my custom workouts on LoseIt. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you nifty graphs, but you can take snapshots of your running minutes. If that doesn't work, you can always keep a pen and paper journal. I did that when I trained for a 12k and it helped me out a lot. Also, Zombies Run! rocks. One of the better apps out there, for sure. Certainly one of the most fun. Just be careful not to overexert yourself because you'll easily risk injury. Good luck!

Hey SL! So glad you are back on here! Your challenge goals look great, and I'll be cheering you on with them as we go on this challenge. But first! Since I'm a teacher and since I took the GRE, I thought I'd give you some advice from an academic, a writer, and a persnickety editor of many papers. As you know, I took the GRE. That was about seven years ago, though, and I know the test has changed a bit since then. Still, there are a few things I recommend: Obtain a good study guide book. I strongly recommend Barron's study guide over Kaplan's, if it a brand that is still around, because it is much better at explaining the answers and had more example exams to take. Figure out what areas are your weakest. Math not your thing? Verbal skills lacking? Usually an example exam will help you figure out what your weakest at, which will allow you to go forward knowing what to focus on more specifically.Let's say verbal skills are the most difficult. You'll need to focus on increasing your knowledge base of words, grammar in context, and reading comprehension. (You'll also need to focus on writing, but we'll get to that later).For increasing your knowledge base of words, I recommend signing up to oed.com's word of the day emails and Merriam Webster's. Why these two? OED often cycles through older words and gives you the archaic meanings that you'll need to know on the exam. Plus, OED usually breaks down the prefixes and suffixes. MW, on the other hand, usually includes random words that you may or may not have heard or read. Between the two of them, you get a large array of words.After each week, you should have about 14 words. You should review each on note cards and attempt to use them in sentences in writing or in conversation, even if it sounds odd at times. Keep your cards for each week, and review them each week. So, during week two, you should have 28 words to review, but only 14 to try to use in writing or in conversation. (Perhaps you use the two words you get each day at least once. I don't know. It's up to you to figure out how best it will work.)Once you have about 100 words, have someone else quiz you on them. Randomly shuffle the deck of notecards you have and have that person quiz you. See how many you remember. If you've got over 60, you're doing great. You're likely to remember the more recent words.Set the cards in three piles: 1) words you knew instantly; 2) words you struggled with; 3) words you didn't get at all. For words you knew instantly, set them aside and review them every two weeks from here on out. For words you struggled with, review them weekly until you know them instantly, then review them every two weeks. For words you didn't get at all, try to review them every day or every other day until you only struggle with them or remember them instantly. After that, follow the above cycle.Grammar In Context. I have found Grammar Girl's "The Grammar Devotional" an invaluable tool in helping one learn how to write better and spot grammatical errors easily. This book also helps you make better sense of grammar in context in the passages you'll read and be tasked with selecting the best word choice. The cool thing about the book is that it has easy daily tips and exercises that will help you out. Plus, it even has some unusual words you'll likely want to know for the GRE. Reading Comprehension. If you're an avid reader, you'll have no problems with this section. If you don't read often though, get back into it with your favorite book. At the same time, though, begin looking at open-access journal articles. (One of my favorites is "First Monday". It's entirely free.) Why these? Well, the GRE often uses pseudo-research articles for both the reading comprehension and writing sections. Plus, these articles often summarize their work in their conclusion by stating the implications and concerns. The writing section in the GRE will not give you those summaries. Instead, it will push you to figure out the implications. So, if you can identify the implications in the articles you read BEFORE you get to the conclusion, you'll be incredibly prepared for the GRE in both reading comprehension AND the writing sections.Math not your thing? (It wasn't mine, but I did surprisingly well.)As silly as it sounds, I think the two best ways to do better on the math section are to: One, use the study guide book to help teach you when you need to use computation and when you are better making an educated guess; Two, use apps or websites that focus on the kind of math you are struggling with most. If Geometry is a problem for you, find website that give you the formulas and practice problems every day to get on top of it. Keep in mind that the GRE only covers, basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and some trigonometry. No calculus is on the exam. Writing not your thing? Well...it used to be that you had two writing prompts, so I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but:One prompt asks you to choose between two quotations or arguments posed. You must read both and pick one to construct an argument about in the 45 minutes you are allotted. In my opinion, the best ways to prepare for these are to: 1) Use the article idea I mentioned above, but use the implications sections (and the future questions they often pose) as a springboard for constructing an argument; 2) Use famous quotations as springboards. Yep, seriously. Go to brainyquote.com and find a bunch of quotations and put them on strips of paper and then draw two from a hat and practice creating an argumentative essay in 30 minutes. If you go this route, you'll have to make an argument for your interpretation of the quotation and also provide two to three examples (of real-world historic or contemporary facts) that support your claim/thesis.Regardless of which way you go, your argument prompt should consist of four or five parts: An introduction with a STRONG thesis, two or three body points, and and conclusion. Try structuring your argument to fit this pattern.One prompt asks you to assess the implications (and fallacies) of a lengthy argument already posed. The prompt is usually 400-600 words in length, and there are usually a number of fallacies in the argument that you should be able to pull out and also construct a well reasoned argument FOR, AGAINST, or IN QUALIFICATION (assessing both the good and bad, but arguing that more might need to be done before a final comprehensive conclusion) Again, the using example articles is a great way to figure out what make sense or doesn't make sense to you. You can then write up an example response where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of the article. Time yourself, too, and keep it honest. If you only have 45 minutes for the prompt, then only give yourself 30 minutes when you practice. Why? Because you'll end up realizing that if you can do a solid response in 30, you'll give yourself 10-15 minutes to edit and revise, since grammar, spelling, and logical argumentation count when you are evaluated.Like the other prompt, you must maintain the five part pattern, but the difference here is that your thesis needs to make it clear that you are for, against, or in qualification with the fundamental argument proposed in the prompt. You, therefore, need to carefully word your thesis and not say something like "I agree with..." or "I disagree with..." because these are not considered eloquent. Instead, you should practice writing statements that sound like, "While Gooding, Burke, and Jones claim that deforestation in Indonesia only affects a small percentage of the world's natural resources, the argument fundamentally fails to acknowledge deforestations' convoluted connections to global market instability, local political unrest, and illusory claims to environmental stability." (This is a strong thesis against the argument, but it doesn't say "I disagree..." directly, instead, it sets up the three points you'll go on to argue to attack the argument proposed in the prompt. I know that's a lot to read, but I hope that advice helps you. The GRE isn't some big beast to fear; rather, if you do a little each day, it's not that scary and it's often easier to tackle than you think. Some people don't even study for it. If you're one of them, kudos! If not, I hope these tips help. Keep on keepin' on!

Hey spockgrrl! I'm so glad you came back for another challenge! Your goals look great and I think it is smart that you have a variety of options to choose from with each. This gives you flexibility and also allows you to not feel guilty if you miss something. Good luck thinning out your stuff. I'm doing the same because I, too, plan to move out of my parents' place sometime this year too. I started by getting rid of clothes after the New Year, but I also need to go through some books and the crap that was in storage that has been sitting in the basement ever since I moved. Maybe I'll find some hidden treasures I can sell on ebay? Heh! Maybe you will too? Good luck with everything. I'm sub'd and I'll check in with you.

Sweet! I'm looking into the color run when it comes out West. I've wanted to do one for a while. Got some updates here: My apologies for not updating on day one or two. The battery was dying on my Mac and needed service and I had to get it in before the 10th, because that's when my warranty expires. So, I was AFK for the last two days, but I'm here for good now! Here are my workouts so far: Day One: Bodyweight Brigade L2, A: Fully completed with a warm-up and cool down. I also attempted to do the Squat Thrusts, but found that only one round of those was gonna fly on day one. (Approximately 520 calories burned.) Day Two: Desert Yoga for 45 Minutes: I use Pocket Yoga on my iPhone and I love the Desert and Mountain yoga styles on the app. Desert style is really relaxing and meditative. I like to do it at least twice a week. (Approximately 262 calories burned.) Day Three: Bodyweight Brigade L2, B: Whew! This was a bit of a challenge, but not because it was terribly different than "A"; rather, jumprope after reverse crunches was harder than I thought it would be. Apparently I'll need to work on jumprope just a bit. I think I was jumping a bit too high during the first two rotations, but I got it down better on the third. (Approximately 543 calories burned.) Balance Mini-Challenge: I did this after 10 minutes of rest from BBL2B (see above). It was a great exercise, actually. I got to level four, but soon struggled keeping balance with my eyes closed. Still, it was fun! I am definitely doing this again as part of my warm-up routine before I go running tomorrow. Writing is going well! I've gotten three pages done. I plan to write a little more today to reach four to four and a half. The quality isn't stellar at the moment, but I keep reminding myself that this is what the revision process is for. Writing is revising, as my advisor often says. Boy, am I learning that. A lot. Random: Any advice for fighting late-night cravings? Apparently the holiday season has me hankering for sweets before bed. I gave into them last night by eating three mini York peppermint patties. >_< It's not a common thing, but I know I need to avoid those cravings because it can start habits that I don't want.Looking forward to my interval run and stair-stepping tomorrow! Let's hope I can keep up with these goals. (I keep thinking about that reunion and how I want to wow everyone. It's been ten years, after all!)

Haha! Well...that was fun! Great balance practice, really. I enjoyed it and I was able to get up to level four, but I started to struggle and wobble a bit. I gave up after about 18 second on both sides. Who knew closing your eyes would make it that much harder to maintain your balance? I'm definitely going to keep working on this. I did the star balance activity, too, and really enjoyed that. I'm going to include it in my warm-ups before I run. Great stuff! Thanks for this challenge, Terinatum!

Count me in as a cheerleader and Elaine-dancer because that's about as good as my moves get. Haha! Can't wait to track runs with you! I usually run the interval plan that Steve has laid out, but I do enjoy a good 5k outdoors or, if need be, at the gym from time to time. Getting a solid run routine in the winter can be rough, but you can do it and I'll cheer you through it. Your goals look great. Let's rock it!

Thanks buddy! I'll sub to your challenge thread and we can cheer each other on with our running goals. Speaking of which, I just looked up color run races. That's on the bucket list in the running category. ;-)

Sub'd just to see you rock another challenge like a boss! Hey, we're both writing this time around. I'll check in with you on that from time to time.