spelozi

Hey guys, I completed my first challenge with flying colors. Unfortunately I got halfway through my second one (the June/July cycle) and dropped out of existence due to personal issues. I'm finally getting back into stride in my normal life and was wondering if I need to start over as a recruit or if I can jump back into ranger territory after the next (not this) cycle starts.

*Repeatedly checks for story update* Hey, what do you play DA:I on? I'm on PS4 and haven't gotten to do multiplayer yet.

Wow, so I've had a slow couple weeks. I've been back to my regular workout schedule all this week. But the two weeks prior I worked out maybe twice a week. Hrrrnnggghhh... This was due to the combination of it being the first real heat in Houston all year, followed by the big let down tropical storm Bill, and my sailor being home so I was super lazy wanted to do nothing but cuddle. Luckily nothing deteriorated as far as my goals are concerned. I'm still at the same bands for pull ups as before (and still struggling for that last inch to get my chin over the bar without). I'm still trying to figure out my double under rhythm. I have been better about GRE studying though. I pull out my books a couple nights a week after dinner. Good news: my dad gets here for a last minute visit in two weeks. I managed to ready the guest room and get my house somewhat cleaned in preparation. This weekend will be all yard work in preparation. Hopefully go well. The bad news: Part of why I wasn't able to get out from under my rock the last two weeks is my depression has been coming back into the forefront of my life. This week it has really hit hard because of a handful of things out of my control occurring. We'll see if I can get back on my feet. As of right now my fitness goals are secondary to getting my mental health back in line. I'll play catch up on the mini-challenge as soon as I can (I did the first week's mini challenge and succeeded on my goal for that!). I'm not dead!

Day three of double unders: I can string two in a row before I land on my rope! I find that I have accidentally put myself into a rhythm as far as wrist flicking. I do my speed for one DU then automatically start dropping to the speed for a single. That right now will be the hardest habit to break if I'm to get these double unders down. I'm also considering purchasing a beaded rope with a speed handle. If anyone has any experience with using this sort of set up, I'd love recommendations. This solution is just one I've read up on to help with double under training. Note on the pull ups: I think I'm going to specify kipping pull ups. I attepted strict pullups Monday and actually had to add one more assistance band to be able to complete any.

I'm really excited to keep following your adventure, Seeker! I think you'll have a better hang of it this time around as you know what your bears look like a bit more. A little jealous you're a librarian. I wish I'd done that instead of engineering *blegh*.

Name: Athariel Race: Human Class: Necromantic Shaman Occupation: Abhorsen Guys... I'm just really excited I got to use one of my character names woohoo. She's always been based on Sabriel from the Old Kingdom series, but with some of my families Native American story characters. So I think for this mini I'll be writing as an Abhorsen who happend to end up in the middle of our apocalypse. Cool? Cool. Feats: ENDURANCE: Increase distance traversed in 30 minute running sessions (checked using runkeeper).STRENGTH: 3 pull ups leading to my challenge goal - or depending on the week this occurs, just improvement DEXTERITY: 3 consecutive double unders - again depending on week, improvement.COMBAT: Continue with weekly yoga sessions, but go at it with heart. Vinyasa's anyone?HEALING: Wind down an hour before bed. Including turning off electronics (excluding kindle).The wind was dry and barely contained any of the scent of the Old Kingdom anymore. The Charter had ripped apart beyond the Clayr's glacier and as standing Abhorsen-in-waiting, Athariel, was sent to investigate. This was weeks - or was it months? - ago when the overlapping of a new universe had occurred. Like tectonic shifting these worlds crinkled, crashed, bent under, over, around, and against each other. The scent of Freemagic wafted over the Old Kingdom, gagging and suffocating those bound to the Charter; awakening and drawing the Freemagic monsters and mages who had long ago hidden under rocks and caves. Fear was crawling up the spine of all races as the small Paperwing alighted atop an iced peak, with neither grace or care as the ice built up and weighed down on its wings. Athariel grimaced but whistled the Charter sound to free the glyph back into world. Surveying the scene she adjusted the bell bandolier across her chest and loosened her sword. Wariness weighed upon her as the metallic taste of Freemagic was building up on her tongue, dripping down her throat and burning her nose. Atop this peak it was easy to see why - great strands of Charter had been ripped apart and thrown asunder. Magic failed and broke in crackles and auroras in an area at the base of the mountain. Glimpses of the other universe were passing in these tears. An arid desert, a metallic room, hordes of people, and all terrains passed with each shock to the Charter. The sound was worse than the taste of Freemagic. Like the hulls of two ships colliding these universes pressed and fought for dominance. Athariel moved closer and skirted close enough to see all of this other world beyond the tears, moving with caution and curiosity. She did not hear the lesser dead moving behind her, beneath the quiet snow. The world flashing before her eyes was full of war, like her own, but also hope in all the warriors she would see. Electricity was everywhere but magic was scarce - the rules were not the same in this world. It was only then that she smelled the Freemagic of the Dead behind her, only a little too late. She spun and pulled her sword, only to twist and fall as her ankle was grabbed from below. The tang and burn from this creature was made apparent with the parting of the snow. Gagging as she gave a good solid kick to free herself she realized how poorly planned her escape was. Freemagic had awoken more than just the Lesser Dead and Constructs were moving out from hiding, drawn to the Charter she carried. Her bells were tingling with anticipation, waiting to bind them to their will. Suddenly the rumble began again and all movement stopped. Every living and undead froze awaiting the crash and warping of reality. Athariel felt the hair on her neck raise and exhaled as the breeze from the crash behind her pushed her forward. She staggered and her balance was lost as the air rushed back to fill the space where the universes met. Teetering on her toes she fell back with this new rush of air. Back and breathless into a void where she was shocked to feel cut off from the Charter. The longest most terrifying moment of her life was a less than a second as she fell. She landed in the sand that slowly warmed through her clothes while the sun beat down on her. As quickly as she fell she heard a crash and rumble again as the tectonic shifting of the universes caused them to rebound and pull apart from each other. Rolling on her side she slowly rose. She'd been without the charter before, but never so abruptly had the change occurred. Relief was quick though as she realized there was no scent of Freemagic around her, no dead or Constructs to fight. Surveying the sands noticed no water or signs of life. If she was to return home she'd need to survive now, and make it to another day.

Oh, oh oh oh oh ohhhhh!!! Mini-Challenge, Yay!!!!! My FEATS!!!! I think I have three of them already kind of defined with my challenge, woohoo! ENDURANCE: Increase distance traversed in 30 minute running sessions (checked using runkeeper).STRENGTH: 3 pull ups leading to my challenge goal - or depending on the week this occurs, just improvement DEXTERITY: 3 consecutive - see double unders above, again depending on week, improvement.COMBAT: Continue with weekly yoga sessions, but go at it with heart. Vinyasa's anyone?HEALING: Wind down an hour before bed. Including turning off electronics (excluding kindle).

Hiya, I'm Spelozi. This is my first challenge as a Ranger. I think my Recruit challenge went well (hey, I met my goals didn't I?) and I'm ready to prove myself as a Ranger. While I look up to a bunch of Rangers, I will say I'm a little obsessive over Doctor Who. So this challenge is going to be a lot of me making DW quips and posting gifs of how I am particularly feeling. After all, you kind of have to be a Ranger to keep up with the Doctor. What with all the running, climbing things, running, thinking hard, running, eating of bananas, handling big guns, oh, did I mention running? Not even running horizontally, sometimes you have to climb over things, and run up stairs (because everyone knows Dalek's can't climb stairs) I have two big goals - because I don't want to have another Crossfit event where I'm stuck sitting there thinking "please no pull ups" or "God, no, no double unders, that's too embarrassing." Oh you figured out my goals? Well that was easy. Really I have 3 goals for this 6 week challenge, and hopefully it will all go well. Besides the general eating right and continuing to eat out only once a week from my last challenge (this last week I had a huge blow out though and ate EVERYTHING. No, I'm not sorry). Goal 1: Get 5 unassisted pull-ups. I don't care if this involves me developing my hidden mutant telekinetic powers so that I levitate to get over the bar. I want to get over that bar without my teeny tiny bands. And hopefully the 10 lbs I lost over the last several weeks will help lighten the load. This is something I would categorize as a STRENGTH feat/mission. I need to be able to spin those Dalek buggers around, don't I? But seriously though, I need to be stronger so I can tackle Captain Jack. For reals. Goal 2: 10 consecutive double unders. I can do a double under, like maybe 3, but not strung together. It looks more like "single jumps, and double under, single jump, DU, SU, DU, crack my shin to high hell." The intermediate single unders have to go. And maybe less shin cracking. Working on that Dexterity skill so I can catch a drunk giraffe. Goal 3: Seriously study for the GRE. I don't have any time sensitive projects right now so come hell or high water, at the end of this 6 week challenge I am taking that f$%^ing test. Cause everyone knows the doctor likes a smartie pants. And I really need to prove I can do research for/with the NNMERC by going back to school. My soul is slowly dying not doing research. As a kind of aside to this I'll also once a week find one new article related to marine energy research so I can have more updated conversations with my bosses to hopefully get a transfer within my company to RnD while I await grad school. So that's it for my first post for this first time Ranger. I'll be taking my banana back now. Please and thank you. It's a good source of potassium, you know?

You're ranger if... You get really confused walking into the hotel fitness center and there are no free weights.You don't understand why there is a TV monitor blocking the beautiful view outside when you finally decide to *try* using a treadmill.

One extra week and I hit my goal. I'm down to just below 140 lbs! And that's after a weekend of not eating so hot at Fan Expo Dallas. Wooo!!!

Well, I have managed to drop 6 lbs, and 3 inches on my waist (3 inches when flexed... more like two inches not flexed, lol). I have met my main goal and I should be happy. But I'm not. All good plans, right? Unfortunately, the person I ordered my slave Leia costume from was not able to produce in time and I will not be meeting Carrie Fisher in full metal bikini regalia. I'm spending the next three days sewing and just dealing until I can get a back up idea to strike my brain. Maybe a modern Hoth outfit with a white leather moto jacket? We'll see how this all plays out. Meeting my waist goal (the really important part) is really bittersweet at this moment.

Hey all, I'm back to my full workouts. Just in time for the full heat of Texas summer to start kicking in. I will never get used to that.

Week 5 Challenge: I love making taco stuffed sweet potatoes. Sounds weird, but it's basically all the fillings you would put in a taco in a sweet potato (I usually only do half a sweet potato). The spiciness from my homemade taco seasoning is pretty baller and complements the sweet earthiness of the sweet potato really well. And whoever thought tomatoes would be GOOD on a sweet potato. It's pretty awesome and I highly recommend it. Plus baking a sweet potato as soon as you get home from working out gives you time to shower and back into human shape. Woohoo!!! Week 6 Challenge: Is it a surprise I'm going to join the Rangers?

Week 5: So I hate to complain but I've been at the same weight these last two weeks. I'm dropping cheese for the remainder of the challenge to see what happens (I hope that does the trick). It doesn't help my birthday was Friday either and somehow I had everyone decide to bring me a cake (I had 5 cakes show up). The wine was delicious on Friday night though. Quest 1: B I worked out 4 times - the ridiculous rain and humidity it brought (and traffic) made it really hard to 1. even get to the gym and 2. not fall on my face running on my own. Quest 2: A I ate out unplanned once - that was Saturday when delivery was ordered instead of eating leftovers. Quest 3: B Uhmm... so I had cake, bread, and two glasses of wine at my birthday dinner Friday, then my late celebration Saturday I had a grilled cheese for a movies in the park thing. I think I did really good (patting myself on the back right now). Life Quest: B I studied Saturday and Sunday. Even though I was tired I made sure to get some time in. No more cake. Please don't make me eat any more cake (the cakes I still have are being brought to work to pawn off on people).

I'll be there! Can't wait to see Captain Mal and Princess Leia.

Week 4: Man I have some drink pushers in my life. It's really hard to go out sometimes but "no," is getting easier to say. Or just stealing a sip of a new beverage I've never tried and sticking to just a sip. Quest 1: C I injured my back then got into a car accident and only worked out twice last week due to a combination of not being able to then the following self-pity (laziness). I only give myself a C because I could have worked out at least once more and did not make the effort yet I still managed to get that second work out in after all the brouhaha. Quest 2: A I ate out unplanned none! I did eat out thrice, but they were all planned (one was an early birthday dinner for me, the other two were expected as I have a friend in town from L.A. and we'd been planning on visiting these two places for MONTHS) Quest 3: B I had ice cream on my birthday out dinner then I had bread on my dinner out yesterday. Not as bad as I could have been! Though since I had already had the bread I stole a slice of my friend's underwhelming pizza - was not worth it even though the slice was really small. Life Quest: F I didn't study at all. DA:I sucked my soul away all week since my sailor left me. I started this week pretty well if I do say so myself. I managed to rack my brain for breakfast ideas and came to the conclusion I could have a paleo chai tea for breakfast since I didn't make my usual trip to the G store. And my plan for the night is ready to be put into motion. My motivation is a bit higher this week as well since I am not hurting - just mostly tired, but that too shall pass.

Living in Cooper Landing, there are definitely plenty of places to find to relax and get your chi centered. (Man I really need to listen to my Tai Chi older brother more often, I don't even know what the proper words for what are). Good luck!

Thanks guys. I have figured out a few body weight exercises I can start doing - burpees, jumping lunges, planks, and a few others. I can also run. You know I'm desperate for a work out when I say I'm willing to run. On a brighter note, my back feels like it's almost back to normal. A little stiff as if I've been standing and walking around all day (like when I was a baker) but better than killer pain.

Pardon my French, but this guy... You've worked hard to get where you're at, possibly harder. Don't listen to that jackhat. I understand your struggle with potatoes. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. I can't even sit at a table with someone eating fries. Hope you recover from the stress of this diagnosis. I have a friend with thyroid issues and she's getting them managed - I think mostly through diet, I never asked. I can ask her for suggestions if you'd like. Good luck on the remainder of your challenge. Remember, challenge is relative to you. So it can be adapted based on what your current struggle is.

Woah friend, woah! I had to stop when you said you're from Alaska because that's where I'm from! I'll get around to reading the rest of your posts but I got really excited and just thought you should know. I lived in Nome and Anchorage (East High!) and didn't leave the state until college.

Mini 4 Complete! I like decimals. Decimals are my friends.

Week 4 Mini-Challenge: 1. Allocate 10 points to your quests Q1: Work out 5 times per week = 2 STR + 2 DEX Q2: Eat out twice per week max = 1 STA + 1 CHA Q3: One cheat meal per week = 2 CON LQ: Study GRE 3 times a week = 2 WIS 2. Do a mid challenge summary and rate yourself on a percentage scale Q1: Work out 5 times per week = B (82%) Q2: Eat out twice per week max = B (80%) Q3: One cheat meal per week = C (77%) LQ: Study GRE 3 times a week = B (80%) 3. Using your rating, allocate points to your challenge so far. Q1: B = 1.7 STR + 1.7 DEX Q2: B = 0.8 STA + 0.8 CHA Q3: C = 1.5 CON Q4: B = 1.6 WIS 4. Update your signature with your points 5. Let us know how you've allocated

Good job on keeping up with your goals! I like seeing the evolution other newbies like me are going through and knowing I'm not alone. You'll get the stamina up soon enough. Eventually you'll blow through 15 minutes wondering where the time went.

My favorite Ranger type character is always Strider. I loves him. For females though I have to say Sabriel from the Old Kingdom books. Hiking across the landscape, wielding a sword, and having to sprint through the third precinct of death I'd say she fits the bill. I hope I can learn a lot from this group. I do have a question for the Crossfitters - or anyone in general really. I injured my back (still not sure how that happened) - it was an acute injury and the chiropractor got it back into place yesterday so it's feeling a million times better, but it's still not 100% since everything is still inflamed and recovering. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for full body workouts that won't use my back too much. Squats are out because I can't get my butt in position right now.

I made salmon grill packs with chunks of pineapple, onion, and bell pepper on Friday night. They were stupid good. And so easy. I know what I'm cooking like for the next three months. Bad news is... I cannot catch a break this week. I ended up missing work the last couple of days due to my back hurting so bad I felt nauseas. I only got in to see my chiropractor yesterday and turns out I had rotated my L2 and L3 so they were pinching the nerve that was causing my groin to feel bad and my thigh to have weird tickling sensations. I haven't worked out since Monday and today is my first day back in the office. So I don't think I'll be hitting my work out goal this week since my lower back is still freaking out. Top it off, I was rear ended on my way to work this morning. I'm ok, the other driver's ok, and my car triumphed (mostly - it looked like it had sat on the other guy's hood, which it kind of did). I don't think that aggravated my back any because I'd had a moment to brace myself but ughhhhhh.... Will someone hand me the box of Franzia? Time to look up work outs that are ok with back injuries.