stealthstitcher

Soda is such a clingy archnemesis ... the way it hangs around, trying to pretend it's your friend. I have fought that battle and surrendered many a time. Fortunately, yesterday doesn't count against today and you can resume the fight at any time. I'm trying to bring tea in as an ally in my ongoing war on soda , but it's rough when your mouth is saying it wants something sweet. Battle on, fellow anti-soda warrior! How cool is it that you can casually throw into conversations, "I was on my island training ground the other day ..."

Brand new to 6 week challenges, brand new to Nerd Fitness, or brand new to attempting healthier living? Or D, all of the above? Corn syrup and credit card debt ... they're probably friends. I can see them hanging out and giggling about how they make our lives harder ...

Day 2 1. 20+ minutes of yoga for flexibility accomplished, which was desperately necessary. See #3 for details ... 2. Another day with no demon sugar water! Definitely some cravings, but I fended them off. Took the back stairs at work to avoid the vending machine - a slightly longer but safer trip. 3. I fully expected to have a lot of trouble with anything involving upper body strength in the bodyweight workout, but figured my legs were probably in pretty good shape. After all, I do walk a fair amount and never take the elevator at work. In fact, I thought I might need to add some weights for the squats. Ha. Ha, I say. To my surprise, I was able to do knees-on-the-floor pushups and need to get something a little bit heavier for the dumbbell rows. But my legs - wow, I had to take a couple breaks once I got into the second set and when I went back to work this evening, I thought I was going to get stuck halfway down the stairs because my legs didn't want to go any further. And after sitting through four hours of rehearsal, boy was I stiff. Tottered in the door after work and headed straight for my yoga mat. Stretches definitely helped; might want to try to fit a long cool down/stretch in after strength training in future, rather than just a few stretches.

Those are some fine and lofty goals. Which Running Man do you hope to emulate the most? Have you conquered going to the pool yet? And of course, do you plan to become an Assassin?

Well, to quote the Wicked Witch of the West - "What a world, what a world!" I knew this week would be tough. I have dress rehearsals this week, which means my regular work hours during the day, a one hour break in the evening, and then rehearsal all evening. When I got home for my break, I was so tired (no particular reason, just random tiredness) I thought, I can't work out, I just can't. But I convinced myself that all I really needed to do was replenish my depleted energy stores, so I had some almonds and a glass of water, put on my workout clothes and got ready to do the beginner bodyweight workout. I made it through half of one set when my dog came bounding happily into the house, completely covered in something sticky, smelly and very, very dead. After a certain amount of yelling, I spent my dinner break cleaning the dog, the bathroom and myself. Got to my call 10 minutes late, having accomplished no workout. HOWEVER First Sub-Quest: After arriving home at 10:45 I put in my yoga dvd and did one of the "relaxation" workouts. The stretches are not as intense but it helped me wind down after work and get ready for sleep. Second Sub-Quest: I did not drink any pop today. When caffeine cravings hit, I had a cup of hot tea instead (no sugar). On a related note, in an effort to show us they care, my workplace has put in vending machines from which employees can get a free soft drink. The machines only have soft drinks in them. I really appreciate the thought, workplace - but you aren't helping. Third Sub-Quest: Today I did not accomplish a bodyweight workout, so I will do it tomorrow. And now, to shut down the computer and get some sleep - without first checking pinterest, email, or otherwise frittering my sleep time away.

As the username implies, I tend to hang back in the shadows, not only trying to do everything by myself but not even letting anyone know that I'm trying to do something. (Lurking in the shadows is fine if it's part of your job as a ninja assassin, or if you're Batman). Following this clever plan, in the last ten years I've gained about 65 pounds, quit any and all strength training and even stopped doing the flexibility exercises my super stiff muscles need for basic functionality. There seems to be a flaw in my clever plan. For the last two years, I've been meaning to sign up for a six week challenge but I always had a really good reason not to, like "people might find out that I exist" or "it starts next week, that's not enough time to get my head in the right place" or the ever popular "what if me signing up for a challenge causes the entire earth to burst into flames and we all die?!". I always decided I'd sign up "next time". So what's different this time? Well, as I was procrastinating by reading NF posts, I realized that if I had to pick a race right now, I'd have to go with NPC. I'm not even a player. No adventure or goals for me. I just follow my programmed routine without deviation. In fact, when some coworkers asked me if I wanted to go to the mall for a few hours with them, my immediate reaction was, Do a thing with people? I can't do that! Saturday is my day to sit in my house alone and do nothing! Maybe I'll go next time. Well, after two hours of waffling and the encouragement of a friend who said if I'd sign up, she'd sign up, here I am. No more next time. This time. (By the way, stealth stitcher is actually a nickname I earned while working costumes for a summer stock theatre. The resident martial arts guy claimed no one could successfully sneak up behind him. Well, guess who could ... and I wasn't even trying.) Main Quest: For someone with no real goals, this is a tough one. There are three things I've sorta wanted to be able to do - run 5k without stopping or walking, do 10 real, proper push-ups, and touch my toes (No, really, I have never been able to do it. When I was six I got bawled out in gym for not being able to touch my toes.) So for now, I'm going with: start heading towards these goals while working on finding a main quest that can really get me fired up. First Sub-Quest: 20 minutes of flexibility work, 5 days a week, using Yoga for Inflexible People This will help me prevent injury and also work towards those toes. A= 30 days over 6 weeks, B= 21 - 29, C= 11 - 20, D= 1 - 10, F= 0 This grade system could be really helpful ... I always hated getting anything below an A ... Second Sub-Quest: No pop. At all. Period. I've worked my way down from eight a day (yes, eight cans, every day) to four or five a week, and I think it's time for the demon sugar water to die. I've found in the past that when I try to cut down to three or fewer a week I just spend my week looking forward to the day I can have pop. Instead, this time I'm going to go with "No, I don't drink pop." End of story. (And yes, pop. Around here, "soda" is a white powder used to leaven baked goods.) A = 0, B = 1 - 5 (over six weeks), C= 6 - 10, D= 11 - 15, F= 16 or more Third Sub-Quest: I debated for a while on this one but have decided to go with doing the Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3 days a week, since I already take my dog for a walk every morning. I really like the idea of not needing a bunch of equipment lying around the house. Pretty sure I'll have to start with wall push-ups and other modified forms, but I've got to start where I am, right? A= 18, B= 13 - 17, C= 9 - 12, D= 5 - 8, F= 0 - 4 Life Quest: This one is a bit of a cheat since I'm already doing it - but crawling out of my hole and signing up for a six week challenge - and then sticking with it. Who knows, I might even end up interacting with some real, live people (hey, even if it's not in person we're still alive, right?) for something other than work. Motivation: This one is the hardest one of all. I know I should say something like "living a long, healthy life" or "looking and feeling great" or "having all the skills necessary to overthrow the forces of evil, should it ever come up" but I'm having a really hard time caring about anything. I think for right now, I'm going to have to go with discipline over motivation, doing what I need to do because my head knows it's what I need, whether I feel like it or not.