Gentle_Mystic

Week One, Day Four (Thursday) Yoga Challenge: On Track (Done 5 of 6 days this week) Yep yep yep, totally on top of it. :-D I'm really glad I'm doing this one-- 15 minutes in the morning helps me wake up, alleviate some early-morning tightness, and feels great when I'm sore from my Bodyweight Workouts! That said, this isn't exactly what I was thinking of when I chose this as my "life" goal... I want yoga to be a key part of my spiritual practice. It will definitely take longer periods for me to reach a meditative state, especially first thing in the morning. I also think longer periods and a more structured practice will be needed in the future to contribute toward my other goal of increased strength and flexibility. Cardio Challenge: On Track (Done 1 of 3x this week) I was disappointed yesterday to find the gym at my work is closed till next week, so no swimming or elliptical for me. I got some good bike-riding in, though, and instead of getting off and walking when I reached the tough hill up to the office, I switched gears, focused on my breath and my music, and power-pedaled my ass all the way up it! :-D If any of y'all are in the market for good workout music, or EDM or psytrance fans, seriously check out Infected Mushroom! This is the song I was biking to. I think their albums "Converting Vegetarians" (Disc 1) and "IM the Supervisor" have the best beats for working out, but the other albums are definitely worth a listen! They have made a lot of music, from really beautiful melodic/psychedelic, to low-key/ambient, to incorporating heavy metal-style guitar, to hard dubstep and glitch. I luuuuurve them. <3 I was concerned and feeling behind on cardio because I'm headed out of town and somewhat busy this weekend, but today I realized my "week" goes from Monday-Sunday!!! I still look forward to dancing up a sweat at the wedding tomorrow, and I bet I can get my sister (who you could say is engaged in her own fitness "quest") to do some cardio with me on Sunday morning! Cardio challenge in the bag... :-D Cooking Challenge: On Track (Done 1 of 2x this week) I was a bit concerned about this one because I didn't end up cooking my sauce last night and I'm headed out of town this weekend... But since my "week" goes from Monday-Sunday, it's all good! Sunday evening when I get back home will be the perfect time to batch cook something for the week. ON TRACK. Bodyweight Workout Challenge: On Track (Done 2 of 3x this week) On track and feeling it, friends! Workout B did work on me... My triceps, pecs, and all up in my armpits (idk what muscles those are) are super sore today, as well as my quads. This is all good though! Since the gym at my work is closed today, I'm free to do my third bodyweight workout in my office on my lunch hour! Today I switch back to Workout A (just what the doctor ordered.) I'm going to slay it!!!

This is great, Ornata, keep it coming! Don't get too down on yourself for doing variations and making do with what you have. whatever it takes to keep you going and on track for your goals! I'm also behind on the CutLasses challenge; you're not alone there! I'm glad you got some fun stuff in this week. :-D What do you think would happen if you were spotted climbing a tree at work? (I'm also curious about what you do for a living out in nature, if you don't mind sharing!) I'm intrigued by the yoga challenge idea... I've been doing 15 minutes of yoga every morning, but it mostly feels like I'm picking and choosing poses, using it to alleviate morning tightness and wake me up, rather than improving my practice and flexibility and reaching a meditative state. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on how your practice progresses through this challenge! See you on the boards! Don't forget to breathe.

Blimey Charlie! Look at all this lifting! You are an absolute boss. I love how well organized and concise your updates are and I'm enjoying reading your thoughts :-D Keep it coming! Sub'ed.

EDITED: Strange... My SMART post looks perfect when I read it from a computer, but from my phone it looks like I only answered like three of the questions... I suppose I won't re-write it??? If you can see the answers, that's great.

Hey there -- Silly question -- Can someone help frame for me what the Challenge thread as opposed to a Battle Log are intended for? So far, I've been providing updates (and receiving awesome affirmations and encouragement!) in my challenge thread, but now that I've looked at some Battle Logs, I'm realizing that might be what those are for... Help?

Day Three: Yoga Challenge: On Track (Done 4 of 6 days this week) Yoga's going well! It feels great to feel my blood rushing around my extremities and warming me up in the morning, and tuning in to my sore areas so I can focus my practice and continue stretching throughout the day! I've noticed that, while I can hardly touch my toes when I get started, by the end I can forward-fold with my hands flat on the ground. :-D I wish I could do yoga for like an hour a day... I have to say that 15 minutes feels like a very short time to "drop in," as it were. I tend to resist anything that makes me get up earlier in the morning, but I think I'll experiment with increasing the time and potentially with practicing at another time of day (and I'll keep this in mind for future challenges.) Bodyweight Workout Challenge: On Track (Done 2 of 3x this week) Workout went really well! Switched to "Workout B" tonight, which involved a bit more tricep engagement... I think I've found my edge there. In high school, I played tennis and volleyball and I could do literally hundreds of push-ups, but now I'm finding that my arm strength has declined to virtually nil. Close-hand push-ups were a real challenge for me and I took to my knees to complete them. I didn't have what I needed to do inverted rows on, so I instead attempted "negative" pull-ups: Jumping/pulling myself up to the first position was really tough for me, but the controlled-release part felt awesome and super hardcore. :-P I tried my best and my workout buddy, @TwoToneWA, insisted on watching my form and encouraging me instead of averting his eyes like I asked... Which I'm actually grateful for. I might try adding some tricep workouts with my free weights as I have time to speed my progress in this area (and keep this in mind for future challenges.) Cooking Challenge: On Track (1x left this week) Monday's 5-spice stir fry has made for lovely and aromatic lunches, and I'm on track to cook one more time tonight! I'm headed out of town this weekend and probably won't be eating what I make right away, so I think I'm going to use my CSA veggies to make a roasted tomato/red pepper sauce that I can freeze and use next week with spaghetti squash! Cardio Challenge: Behind (Done 0 of 3x this week) I'm a little behind on this one (which is funny because before, cardio was what I did most consistently!) I still think I can make it, though! I'm going for a swim on lunch this afternoon, perhaps tomorrow I'll hit the cardio room, and I'll be dancing hard for sure and probably spinning some fire at my friend's wedding Saturday(!) Like a true hippie, I'll be sure to use my arms a lot and send some love to my sore triceps. :-D (That's me spinning on the beach!! Maybe have more photos after the weekend.) Peace, love and beauty follow you all today. <3 Don't forget to breathe!

1. Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? My overall quest ("to develop and sustain a balanced approach to my physical fitness and personal well being) is definitely achievable. The sustaining part, I hope, will be lifelong! I'm doing the "development" during this challenge, and will be able to reevaluate and refine my approach as well as specific health and fitness goals from there. 2. Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on? My first quest is about trying to developing a balanced approach to my all-around health and fitness, and all four challenges are facets of my approach. I'm not really familiar with the idea of "sub-quests," though I can certainly see how I could develop a quest with multiple challenges out of each of my current challenges... That would be a lot to keep track of, though, I'm not trying to do that at this point. 3. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them? I do believe that all my goals are realistic, and scaled down enough to make them so given my schedule. They certainly can be scaled down further, if necessary, and while that may somewhat reduce the physical and emotional results I experience in these first six weeks, I would still be on track to accomplish my quest, which is to create a balanced and sustainable approach to achieving my health/fitness/life goals. 4. Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? All my goals are framed in terms of activities I need to participate in a certain number of times per week. I am posting updates in my thread, and I am tracking and tallying the activities on my phone. 5. How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€? The grades for my goals are based on times per week that I do an activity, with an A for achieving my predetermined goal, lower grades depending on how close I come. This quest is more about creating structure and making time to work on my health and fitness goals, so the rewards are based on the effort I put in. 6. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? Bodyweight Workout: My goal is to do this workout 3x a week. Moving workouts from one day to another is a first option. I could also find strength-building activities that would allow me to avoid working the injured area, or lower-impact activities based on my condition. If I am completely unable to do physical activity, I could substitute an equal amount of meditation! Cardio: My goal is to do at least 20 min of cardio 3x a week -- anything that gets my heart rate up counts, so I have lots of options depending on my condition. Moving cardio seshes from one day to another would be my first option. If I am unable to do cardio all week, I would substitute an equal amount of meditation and, ultimately, grade on my effort. Cooking: My goal is to cook two batch meals per week using my CSA veggies. The intentions here are to a) eat healthy/plenty of veg, avoid eating out, and c) use my CSA efficiently. If I am injured or sick and unable to cook, I would still try my best to eat what I can from the CSA, other healthy food at home and otherwise order out but eat smart. I could re-evaluate grades for this period based on my effort. Yoga: My goal is to practice yoga for at least 15 minutes every day. Depending on my condition, I would need to avoid poses or do variations to protect injured areas or avoid overexerting myself. If I were completely unable to do yoga, I would substitute an equal amount of meditation and, ultimately, grade on my effort. 7. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those? I plan to be out of town on a couple of weekends, but the "times-weekly" structure enables me to plan around that sort of thing. 8. Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? All of my goals involve some form of time investment, so the challenge will be to fit them all in every week and keep them reasonably spread out. I don't think any of them conflict with one another, though. 9. Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them? I believe that I do. I have an intended weekly schedule for the workout, cardio, and yoga, and will need to plan at the outset of each week to plug in two cooking seshes and make other necessary adjustments. 10. Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? Both. I am trying to build habits of doing regular strength training, cardio, yoga/meditation, and healthy eating, and that is, in essence, my current quest.

Totally; I do love green tea! I'd like to be at a point where I don't rely on caffeine for energy, though, and I'm concerned that if I keep drinking it, I will stay "hooked" and keep feeling like I need it day to day. I've heard when folks cut out caffeine, their natural energy level balances out. Do you know if decaf green tea still has all the good stuff?

Eh... I wouldn't say I'm addicted to coffee, but I certainly have an inclination toward caffeine. I have been drinking caffeinated tea most days, sometimes coffee, using it to treat tiredness or give me extra energy, and sometimes I find myself going for it out of habit and thinking "Hey, I'm not tired, I don't need this!" and drinking it anyway... Also, I've developed a habit of going to the cafe when I have a free weekend morning, getting a 16oz dirty chai, getting super caffeinated, and devouring a book, biking, cleaning, whatever my overstimulated mind drives me to... It's kind of fun, but also leaves me pretty tired the next day and sometimes even makes my kidneys hurt a bit. (Sounds unhealthy... like a different kind of drug, right??) I truly enjoy the taste and the soothing effect of a hot beverage, though... Maybe I should start switching to decaf. BUT!!! I haven't had any caffeine the past two days. And I didn't feel tired at all today! I know that drinking more water, getting more exercise, and getting up early enough to do some yoga will all continue to help. :-D

EDITED: Gah! Triple post! Sry

EDITED: Accidental double-post... My bad.

Day Two: Still feelin' good and stoked for this challenge! Yoga Challenge: Yoga was decent this morning; I was feeling a bit stiff/sore after my Bodyweight Workout last night (good sign,) so it felt a bit more like a good stretch! No complaints there. Seems I'm getting more sore throughout the day, so we'll see how I feel for tomorrow's yoga and workout, heh heh. Cardio Challenge: Slight deviation from the plan... I didn't eat much and then had a meeting in the morning, so I was quite hungry at lunch hour-- I opted to chill in the sun and eat a good lunch over going to the gym to swim for my cardio. :-/ I ate a healthy dinner and rode my bike to/from my meeting downtown tonight, but I don't think I'll count that as my 20 minutes... I'll have to find another time to fit some in if I want to stick to 3 cardio seshes this week! I think I can do it, though. On track for the Bodyweight Workout and Cooking Challenges... Both of those on the agenda for tomorrow night! Maybe cardio too, who knows? I'm still getting used to the whole forum thing... I found that I wanted to be on it all day and talk to people :-P I'm loving my new Accountabilibuddy group, the CutLasses, and would seriously recommend the group so far! I'm probably subscribed to too many people already lol I'll have to be careful and smart with settings in order to not get swamped with notifications. That said, I so appreciate everyone who is following me and I love reading your stories and updates! I want to do my best to give constructive feedback and encouragement, and I may settle for "likes" sometimes in the interest of time. I need to get to bed now, but I'm looking forward to connecting with more of you soon! Gentle_Mystic, signing off. <3

Aye, y' may be right, at that, ShadowLion. I'm certainly int'rested in pursuin' all-'round health n fitness (as well as me mental health n mindfulness practice,) an' while I think it a tad unrealistic to tackle 'em all at once, I can't imagine specializin' much or pursuin' just one path at the moment. I'll be settlin' fer incremental progress no matter what I work on, so I be takin' the broad approach this challenge and waitin' to see what feels right n sustainable! T'anks fer the recommendation, matey.

This all sounds great, matey! Keep that positivity and optimism! This YAYOG thing is intriguing me; I may need to go look into that... This CutLass does very much appreciate your posts of encouragement. See you on the boards!

Aw, I didn't mean to imply that lying was on the table... I guess I meant, "Thanks for being vulnerable enough with us to tell us about your cramps sitch and to share your feelings of disappointment." I feel the exact same way about the pills!!! I usually take 800mg ibuprofen and sometimes that doesn't even help. :-/ It seriously can't be good for our livers to be taking that much every 4-6 hours. My gyno (after saying "just take more..." Doctors. SMH.) recommended I try naproxen instead and that wasn't very helpful either. I'm hoping the cramp bark blows me away!