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Hey Warriors! I'm joining your fine crew for my first post-Level-1 challenge, and looking forward to lifting all the iron (well, continuing to start to lift some of the iron). I started lifting in August 2014 with just the bar (or less), using a squat/RDL/bench/lat pull routine for the most part. I'm not following a strict program (yet...), but I'd met with a trainer a few times, got some intro to form and corrections etc, and have been working on my own for the past 4 months. Progress has been slower than I'd like, but I feel a lot stronger and better, and I loved lifting weights right from the start. And! I recently started deadlifting (finally felt strong enough/got over my self-doubt) and I love it and want to get better! So, goals: 1) Move up the numbers. In between doubts about my form and recurring bouts of cold/long workdays, I feel like I haven't taken advantage of noob gains nearly enough. Right now I'm at the following for 5x5 sets: Squat: 75, increase to 95 for sets Bench: 70, increase to 80 for sets Pull: 70 for 3x10 on the lat pulldown thingy, 65 for 5x5 with bent-over rows (this should be moving up faster): I admit I like the pull portion of my workouts the least... so I'm thinking of substituting some form of pull-up training (I cannot do one, I would like to, it will take me a while to get there yet) like negatives or assisted pull-ups Deadlift: 115 (1x5): Increase to 135, the big-girl plates. I've been alternating workouts w/ squats and deadlifts since I added the latter about 2.5 weeks ago -- I started @ 95 (propping up the 25lb plates to get better bar height, since my gym doesn't have bumpers) and have added 5 lbs each workout. Oh, and I'm 6' tall and 170 lbs if that helps complete the picture. 2) Improve the form. My squats suck! My knees have been making horrible noises lately and I suspect knee valgus and hip mobility issues. So this goal will be accomplished via posting squat form checks here, and possibly also seeing a doctor b/c this knee stuff suuuucks. I'm aiming for form checks for deadlift and bench as well. (This will also be a personal challenge b/c I'm self-conscious.) 3) Activate the rest days. I tend to become one with the sofa or sit staring at a screen, so my goal is to do agile 8/simple 6 or a doyogawithme routine on 2 rest days per week, and get more walks in on at least 2 days per week. Life goal: Pay off at least 50% of my credit card debt in the next 6 weeks. I'm on a savings kick with the goal of planning for retirement and this means paying down debt, cutting my spending, and sorting out a longer-term savings plan. (I spent my 20s in grad school so I'm late to all this!) I've already started to create a plan, and this part is the first step. Ongoing from the last challenge too are get 7+ hours of sleep per night and lift 3x per week. I might start a battle log too, I always get home all bouncy from the gym and then talk my boyfriend's ear off about trying to activate my lats etc. so it'll help to have that outlet OK I just wrote an essay here. Not sure how I'll grade all these but I'll figure that out later. Deadlifts are on the schedule tomorrow, YES.

This is awesome! Congrats!

Hey everyone, de-lurking to sign on as a warrior for the next challenge! Strength training has been my focus for the past few months and was the main component of my Level 1 challenge, and I just fell in love with deadlifting, so Warriors, here I come. I completed a few of the side quests here too, but what's lacking is that non-lurking component. I haven't posted very much at all and I should really try to change that (I swear "needs to talk more in class" is going to follow me all my life...). Overall though I'm psyched to have made it through the first challenge and looking forward to keeping up and coming up with new goals. Grateful for NF!

Just got back from my last weightlifting session of the last week of the challenge, so: week 6 report! 1. weights: made 3 lifting sessions of the full routine, now modified to include deadlifts. After my first DL session a week ago, I took 2 rest days and did Weds/Fri/Sun in the gym. Wednesday and Sunday lifts were DL (with RDL warmups), bench, and lat pulldowns, and Friday was squats, bench, and lat pulls. I'm going to keep alternating the squat/DL workouts for now though I feel like I should be more scientific about this somehow. I increased the weight on everything, now feel confident benching 65 lbs for 5x5, squats @70, and started DL at 95 last Sunday, then 100 on Wednesday, then up to 105 today. I'm going to keep increasing DLs by 5 lbs/workout. I'm really looking forward to putting on the 45 plates...not least because propping up the 25s so that the bar's at a better height is annoying! I also managed to get to the gym again before work one morning, hitting that goal again felt good. tl;dr, I <3 lifting. Grade: A 2: move: walked to work one day, took a lunchtime walk/stair climb another day. Grade: A 3: sleep: this one was awesome this week, I actually got more than 7 (sometimes 8) hours for at least 6 nights! I feel like I'm in a much better pattern now. Turning off the screen at 10 or 10:30 and getting up earlier have been working well here. Grade: A Overall week 6: A And, the overall challenge grade is A-. I'm happy with the strong finish of the last couple of weeks, and just glad in general that I saw the 6 weeks through. As someone who tends to flake out on commitments more than I'd like to admit, it feels great to have stuck with this. Yet, in terms of the life quest, socking away some more savings proved to be too ambitious over this timeframe with the extra expenses of the holidays. I've got some more tangible money goals (paying down a credit card, saving up for a down payment) that are probably better suited for this kind of thing since I can make smaller incremental progress with those no matter what the season. Anyhow, looking forward to the next challenge! Time to choose a guild...

And most of the way into week 6 (eek) here's the week 5 report: 1. weights: did the short circuit one day, then my full routine twice, including one day getting up early and going before work, which went well. Capped it off on Sunday by adding deadlifts to my routine for the first time, woot! Grade: A 2. move: I just did the basic walk to work/walk at lunch a couple days a week. Grade: A 3: sleep: 5 out of 7 nights were 7+ hours. This was the best week for sleep yet, continuing the early-rising routine of the week before by turning off the computer before 10:30 and getting in bed by 11. (Helps that my boyfriend's been going to bed and getting up earlier too, I find it much more of a chore to always be the one monitoring the alarm and getting us out of bed on time, etc. which has actually been the case for years now, so I hope this is a lasting change!) Grade: A Overall week 5: A Really happy with how things went this week: more sleep + starting deadlifts made me super happy. Really proud also that I managed to get up early and get to the gym in the morning before work one day. I'm re-working my full routine to incorporate deadlifts once or twice a week, which actually ends up shortening my time in the gym and judging by the following day's soreness, working more. I also noticed that my knees were fried the day after the short circuit, must be something about that routine that aggravates my already-sensitive knees in a way that the usual barbell lifts don't. I'm starting to have consistent knee issues so I'm going to avoid the short circuit and see if it improves, and if not, ask my doctor.

...and here's the belated "SMART" test: S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable/Achievable R = Realistic/Reasonable T = Timeous Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? Yes. I was previously in much better shape. I have no idea what I weighed then, probably about 10 pounds less than I do now, but my clothes fit so much better and I was much happier with my body and what it could do, and sustained it over a number of years, so I know it's possible to get there again. 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? I look at these as the first measurable stage in a longer-term process. So for this first challenge, I want to start by get stronger, which means steady weightlifting, moving more in general, and better sleep. 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? Yep, and yep! Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? Yes, via a basic grading system for this challenge, plus I'm taking measurements once every 4-6 weeks to check where I might be losing/gaining inches. 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€? Grading via a letter system, and I haven't thought of a reward yet per se, but really, for me sticking with the challenge for 6 weeks and keeping myself accountable here feels pretty dang good. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? Hm, this is tough. So far I've only been derailed because of work/life intrusion into my spare time and I've been able to get back into things after a few days or a week. I think in the case of getting sick I'd take that week off and add a week onto the end of the challenge instead. Injury's a tough one, I'd have to find alternate ways of getting exercise in depending on what I'd injured, most likely sticking to a bodyweight thing instead of barbell stuff. 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? There was Thanksgiving, and holiday parties, and people bringing in cookies/donuts/whatever to work but honestly I left dieting out of this challenge for this reason, and decided to stick to other goals instead that will all contribute to the long-term. Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? Nope. 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? Yes, I do have time. Aside from my job encroaching on my free time in the evenings and leaving me worn out/fed up at the end of the day, I could also just plan around it better. I can usually take one day a week to work from home, and I always start early so I can take a long lunch break to get a workout in, which leaves me feeling much better and more productive all day. I could also try working out in the mornings before work, depending on sleep schedules. Otherwise, if I come home and sit on the couch, then eat dinner, I'm often either too tired or too lazy to leave the house again that night. Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? Multiple, focused on exercising consistently and getting more sleep.

I'm a week late on checking in here but here's my end of week 4 report: 1. weights: missed going to the gym entirely this week, which means I didn't lift at all. I replaced 2 of the workouts with bodyweight circuits at home to help make up for it, but still very disappointed that I didn't get to lift. Grade: C 2: move: this one was way better this week since I was house- and dog-sitting (part of the reason I didn't make it to the gym at all). I got out for 4 days in a row of good 1/2-hour walks in addition to walking on my lunch breaks. Grade: a solid A 3: sleep: better, partly due to having to wake up much earlier than usual to keep the dogs in their routine, I was falling asleep much earlier in the evening. I got at least 7 hours for at least 4 nights. Plus, sticking with turning the computer off at 10:30 and switching to reading a book was a huge help, as was the calming effect of being around adorable affectionate hounds. Grade: B Overall Week 4: B I'm getting caught up and about to enter week 5 info here as a separate post after I complete some of the mini-quests. My goals for week 5 were to try going to the gym before work, I hadn't been able to manage that at all to date.

Hi y'all, just de-lurking to say I'm also in KC!

End of week 3 report: 1. weights: skipped my Wednesday workout, ugh... trying to cram 5 days of job deadlines into 3 tapped me out mentally and physically by the end of that day, and I stayed home and baked a pie for Thanksgiving instead. But I did the full routine on Friday and today (Sunday), felt very sore Saturday but felt great after today's session. Grade: B 2. move: went for a walk yesterday and 2 days/week at my lunch break. Grade: A 3. sleep: thanks to having a Thanksgiving-related four day weekend I have been sleeping like crazy, 8-9 hours most nights. Grade: A (and Life Quest: managed to sock away $50 in savings but my overall goal may've been too optimistic considering how much of each paycheck I already automatically send to savings and the added expenses of holidays, etc. Still going to go for it though.) Overall Week 3: A- For this next week, I'm aiming to go for a walk at least 2 days on my lunch breaks, lift on Tues/Thurs/Sat or Weds/Fri/Sun, turn the computer off by 10:30 pm to help ease into earlier sleep, and also get caught up on the Level 1 mini-quests.

Thank you PennyChange When I first began lifting weights a few months ago I was surprised at how much I feel like a badass afterwards even if I walk into the gym feeling low. The confidence boost keeps me coming back to it. End of week 2 report: (I realized I left stuff out of my starting post, like how I'm grading this, and motivation, etc. so I'm going to edit to reflect that) 1: weights: did my full routine Friday and Sunday, increased RDL weights again and that was feeling good. I've decided that this is my way of gradually working up to trying deadlifts with the 25lb plates, something I'm nervous about. Grade: A 2: move: took a walk on Saturday and a walk at lunch on Thursday too. Grade: A 3: sleep: epic 10hrs/night over the weekend, prompted by about 6.5-7/night average during the week. Definite room for improvement. Grade: B Overall week 2: A-

Thanks muddydancer, looking forward to checking out those links. Today's subquest report: 1. Weights: did the full routine, felt pretty good though my form was really sucking on the squats. I increased the weight another 5 lbs last week and I'm hitting all the reps but wobbling too much. (I also want to post a form check sometime in the next few weeks.) 3. Sleep: got about 7 hours last night, still struggling to wake up but looking forward to getting some decent rest tonight.

Hello out there! Hey everyone, I signed up for the challenge on time, but I'm late starting a thread here. I need to keep myself accountable and track things day to day, so this'll do it better than just keeping it to myself. Main quest: fit back into my best suit that I bought 4 years ago, when I was in what I consider the best shape of my life. This will take longer than 6 weeks for sure, but it's the big goal for now. I'm not overweight for my height (I'm 6' and 170 lbs and a lady) but I lost strength and gained inches gradually, so I'm gradually trying to change that. The suit's an easy point of reference, since right now I can't zip the skirt, and it used to fit perfectly, even a little on the loose side. Subquests for the current challenge: 1. lift weights 3x/week. Right now this is a program of: squats+romanian deadlifts+bench press+lat pulldowns, or a dumbbell routine I think of as "the short circuit" cause I feel fried afterwards every time. Former takes me an hour with warmup/cooldown/stretching, latter takes half an hour, so I usually end up doing that one on weekdays when I'm pressed for time. Grading system: 3x/week=A, 2x/week=B, 1x/week=C 2. Move more on at least 2 of the days I'm not lifting: walking at lunch, pilates class, yoga at home, stationary bike at the gym, whatever as long as it's something. Grading: 2+x/week=A, 1x/week=B, anything more sedentary=C 3. sleep more: at least 7 hours/night (right now I'm lucky if I get this much on a weeknight). Grading: 7 or more hours/night for 5+nights=A, for 4 nights=B, for 3 = C. If I get a B+ average over the quest, I think I'll reward myself with some small thing I've been thinking of getting but putting off. Not sure what yet. Life Quest: - Put an extra $200 in my savings account before the end of this year. Motivation: - Honestly right now I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't work out, and I'm genuinely afraid of being frail and unable to take care of myself when I'm elderly, so I want to get strong now and set a good foundation for aging in a healthy way. So for the first week results went: 1. Weights: Got to the gym three times, did my full weight program 2x, short circuit 1x. Grade = A 2. Move: Walked to work 3 days. This isn't saying much, it's only about a 10 minute walk and the cold has been sinus-shattering so it's been more like a frantic scuttle to maintain adequate core temp. Grade = B, since I think there's room for improvement, I should be getting out at lunch or doing something more in the evenings on days I'm not at the gym 3. Sleep: Not great, still managing about 6.5 hours/night and struggled with nighttime wakefulness (I'm a night owl). Grade= C Overall week 1: B average. So far, so...OK. After a slow start to the week I did 2 rounds of the short circuit Wednesday night at the gym. A round = 10 dumbbell curls, weighted walking lunges, 10 pushups, more walking lunges, more curls, 10 sumo squats/lifts with a 25lb barbell (I don't even know what to call these), 10 butterfly sit-ups, 10 squat presses with the 25lb barbell. Along with a 250 meter row warmup, and a similar row or bike interval cool down and stretching. And today I took a walk at lunch but had to cut it short because of work, only got out for about 15 minutes. Wow this got long. Hope I'm doing this the right way... [Edited to define grading, motivation]

Thanks! habit-forming and continuing motivation has been a struggle. It actually helped a lot to write all that history out and see the pattern in it... But lately when I'm reluctant to exercise, even just reading through the forums here helps get my ass in gear. Thank you Agreed -- and I always feel like lifting helps clear the clutter out of my brain.

Hi everyone! I've been lurking around here for a few months, and I can't remember now how I found the site but I've been really inspired by the articles and forum discussions. I've signed up for the challenge and look forward with a little nervousness to where it'll take me... I have a checkered history with fitness -- I was a shy kid with asthma who liked reading much more than moving around, and so I grew up thinking of myself as lazy though in retrospect I was pretty active in some ways. I loved horse riding though gave it up age 13, and soon after began commuting to school which involved about 30-40 minutes of walking/hill climbing (and I'm a fast walker who often ran late) which kept me in decent shape even though I dragged my feet in gym class. In college I tried tai chi, African dance, and yoga but nothing stuck and I never thought about fitness much until the summer I was 22, when I realized I was going "oof" involuntarily every time I got up from the couch, and that I'd also lost all muscle tone in my thighs. I may have been watching the Olympics from said couch too... so I tried martial arts, specifically aikido, reasoning that I wanted to exercise and learn skills at the same time. I was so sore after my first class that I had to take the back stairwell at school for a week so no one would see me grimacing and pulling myself up by the handrails, and I joined a gym and started going 2-3 times a week, with aikido classes at least twice a week, so that lack of strength wouldn't be the thing that held me back. I felt so much better and kept it up for a year, until I moved for grad school and had to leave my dojo. (Sadly, I've never picked it back up since -- money/time/dojos haven't aligned again.) After several years of grad school sloth I started a program of regular gym-going and watching what I ate and lost about 20 pounds, was down to probably the lowest weight of my adult life at about 150 (as a 6 foot tall lady), but I didn't know how to scale up my gym routine so grew bored and quit. Later I started cycling to work, and after a year I realized I was in the best shape of my life thanks to it. Now I'm 36, living somewhere biking to work isn't currently an option, and fighting the feeling that I'm decaying into a tired puddle. When I took out my summer clothes this year everything was tighter, and I got The Fear again, so I went back to the gym and got a trainer to teach me how to lift weights, in the process discovering that I absolutely love it -- I feel like a badass and can't wait to get back to lift more, so that's what I've been focusing on. I have complex feelings about dieting mostly since others in my family have been on one fad diet or the other as long as I can remember, so for now I'm focused on gaining strength, increasing my metabolism, and hopefully resulting gradual fat loss -- and being less tired and fitting back into clothes! tl;dr: tried all sorts of stuff/I has dieting baggage/latest love is weightlifting/glad to be here!