TexasDawn

Wow, I cannot even imagine living that way, SnowOwl. If I flip a switch and the lights don't turn on, I call my husband to check the breakers, and then the electric company to see when the power's coming back on. And all that other stuff? - feeding chickens, bringing in firewood, etc - that sounds like a ton of work to me, none of it fun. It would be enough of a hardship just to live without power for a week - even with a generator! You certainly are a strong woman. Don't be so hard on yourself for not knowing all there is to know about your power equipment.

Oh, wow, it's over already?! That was fast... hm. Well, looking over my goals, I think I've learned something - making the results goals is a little demotivating for me when I don't make as much progress as I'd hoped for. I might do better if I focused a little more on the process, and let the results work themselves out. That way I have more chances to succeed, which in turn encourages me to work harder on my goals. Last weekly update: I did go to the gym two days last week, and stretched several days as well, although no full yoga routines. Also stuck pretty close to my diet, except for last night - period started and I decided to give in to pizza cravings. xD On the meditation front, my husband gifted me a subscription to the Calm app, so now I can use all the meditations!! Two nights ago, I started their 7 days of sleep series, and I'm really enjoying it! I think the meditation portion of this challenge went swimmingly. Challenge Summary: Quest 1: Still can't do a full pull-up without assistance, and most weeks I only went to the gym once or twice instead of the three times I was shooting for. Progress here is a little hard to measure - I started using a machine at the gym that supports some of your weight while you do pull-ups, and I can now do six on that, but it's supporting all but about 10 lbs of me. Still, that's double what I could do before the challenge. Quest 2: Still can't do five regular push-ups. However, I've gotten better at elevated push-ups - I can do five of them using a stool at the height of my knees, so I'm getting there! Every week I'll work on lowering that height until I'm finally on the ground! Quest 3: Yoga - I'm still not consistent with my practice. The best I've managed is to do a few yoga poses before bed, but they haven't been full sessions. Still, I'm encouraged that I'm doing that much, as it gives me a foothold, I think. Now I need to start increasing the time a few minutes every day until I can spend enough to at least do mini-sessions. Side Quest: Meditation - home run! You know, it's tempting to be disappointed by my results, but to be honest, this is the first time that I can remember ever continuing any exercise program once the weather turned cold and DST ended. Usually, the end of summer means the end of me doing anything at all. So in that respect, it's a huge win.

YAY! Go SnowOwl!

Well, focusing on one day at a time is working! When I don't feel like working out, I tell myself to just go to the gym and do one set; if I feel like leaving after I can, or I can stay. So far, I've stayed for 3 sets each time. Seems like getting myself there is the biggest part of the battle. Diet and meditation on track as well. Not sure how close to my goals I'll actually get, but it feels good to get back into a routine.

Thanks for the link!

I didn't see the article, but I'll look it up. You are right, I know - I don't know why I am so hard on myself when I fail to meet my own expectations. I did do some bodyweight exercises over the holidays - squats, lunges, and push-ups, so I wasn't completely sedentary. And I managed to eat one to two healthy meals each day, so it wasn't a total blowout. I'm going to reassess my goals and see what's realistic based on the time we have left, but I think it would be best for me to focus on the process for the next two weeks - getting back into the routine of working out and doing yoga, and eating three healthy meals each day. Thanks.

Wow, I've really gotten off track here. The only thing I've managed to stick with is the meditation and the diet - well, except for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure how to get back on track after losing so much momentum.

Good for you for being flexible and taking your new circumstances into account by modifying your goals!

Week Two: Unfortunately, Fallout 4 came out on Tuesday, so I didn't make much progress at all. >.> Quest 1 & 2: Went to the gym yesterday to lift, and worked on modified push-ups and assisted pull-ups. Quest 3: Didn't do any yoga this week. Side quest: I've meditated about three days this week. Misc: Cutting out a lot of potential allergens from my diet - gluten, wheat, dairy, and soy, along with any artificial ingredients: Now this one, I'm happy to say, I've managed to stick with.

So, end of week one update: I did do yoga yesterday, but no more lifting. I was still sore from a sports massage on Friday, and decided it was better to listen to my body, rather than try to hold myself to an artificial schedule.

(Almost) end of week one: Quest 1 & 2: Went to the gym twice this week to lift, and worked on modified push-ups and assisted pull-ups. Crap, it's a lot harder than it was before my injury. But I've been able to work out with no back pain, so whoohoo! Quest 3: Only did one yoga session so far this week, but I plan on squeezing another one in tomorrow. Plus another gym workout, I hope. Side quest: I've been meditating every night, usually for 10 minutes, but last night it was 15 minutes. It does help me be a bit more mindful, I find. I think it will take a long stretch of consistent, daily practice to see more dramatic benefits - just like everything else, I guess. And, although I didn't make this an official quest, I've been cutting out a lot of potential allergens from my diet - gluten, wheat, dairy, and soy, along with any artificial ingredients - and I'm losing weight, even though I'm not cutting calories. Weird but happy side effect. I cut all that out because I've been having joint stiffness, especially in my hands, and I'm hoping it will help.

You're doing great! And yay, awesome word count!

Whoohoo! I did my first lifting in over a month today! Finally! I've been out of commission since pulling a muscle in my back, but it seems to have healed up - at least, it's only slightly achy after the workout. We'll see what it feels like when I wake up tomorrow, though. Kinda bummed at how much strength I've lost, but at least I'm back in the game.

Hey, thanks for the link! No, I didn't do them all - I'll look through other people's challenge threads to get ideas how to allocate points.

Oh, cool. Thanks for the link!

Thanks Sam! That's pretty impressive, Andy. Maybe one day I'll get there.

WhooHoo, NaNoWriMo! I'll be cheering you on! Well, all your goals, of course. I just think that one's particularly exciting.

Hi there! It's my first challenge as an assassin as well. Our goals look pretty similar... except for 'HSPU'. What is that, exactly? If it stands for 'hand stand push up' then, yeah that's not a goal of mine any time soon.

Hey, it's my first challenge as an assassin, too! Seems we have similar goals, except for the getting rid of 10 things a day. That's pretty ambitious!

Hi guys, I'm TexasDawn, and I just started working out about 6 months ago. I became interested in parkour recently, and taking Dakao's Beginning Parkour class at camp really got me excited about it! But I have a long way to go to be strong and flexible enough for the moves, so I want to work on that now. I just finished my first challenge, and didn't do as well as I would have liked because of a back injury. But I think I've finally healed, and I'm ready to try again! Main Quest: Learn parkour - I want to be able to do all the basic moves, not crazy stuff like leaping across buildings. Quest 1: Be able to do one full pull-up without assistance. To do that, I'm going to go to the gym three times a week, and in addition to my usual body weight exercises, I'm going to do assisted band pull-ups. Quest 2: Be able to do five regular push-ups. I'm going to work on doing as many as I can when I go to the gym (I think I can do at least three with good form), and when I can't do any more, finish up the set with modified push-ups. Quest 3: Get serious with my yoga practice, so I can increase my flexibility and mobility. I joined Nerd Fitness Yoga, and love it, but haven't been consistent in my practice. I'm going to start doing one of the sessions at least twice a week, and if I'm really feeling good, three times a week. Life Side Quest: I have a lot of trouble quieting the incessant chatter in my head, and I want to start living a more mindful life. Meditation will help me accomplish that, so I am going to incorporate it into my daily routine. I'm going to meditate once a day, for at least ten minutes, hopefully working up to fifteen minutes by the end of this challenge. I'm a bit confused about the leveling system. If someone could help me figure it out, I'd really appreciate it.

"At the end grade yourself with how you think you did on a level of A-F, and write a summary on how you did. The more measurable your starting goals, the more accurate your grade can be. Post your grade and challenge summary in the thread your guild leader puts up for you." Well, I don't see a thread, so I'm just posting it here. Okay, I started doing yoga again, and kept up with the meditations and healthy cooking/eating this week. So I did well on my Quest 3 and Life Side Quest, but poorly on Quests 1 and 2. However, I did have a lingering back injury, so I'm going to give myself a break and give me a grade of C.

Weekly update: Basically same as last week, but my back is finally feeling better, so I'm going to start back up my yoga practice today. Still meditating every day and cooking healthy paleo meals! I may not meet my goals for this challenge, but I'll be in a great position to meet them during the next challenge. Oh, also been hanging on my pull up bar every time I pass by it.

Weekly update: Well, I didn't get to the gym or do yoga this week - I pulled a muscle in my back at camp, and it's taking longer than I expected to heal. It's getting better, but still not good enough to chance a workout. However, I did stick to my meditation goals! And I ordered a pull-up bar, which was delivered today. My husband's trying to assemble it right now... hopefully that will go well. >.> ooh, forgot to add: I spent all day cooking healthy paleo meals today, so now I have a week's worth of breakfasts and lunches all ready to go!

Hi guys *waves* Camp was incredible! I went in knowing absolutely no one, and it was better than I could have ever imagined, and more supportive and encouraging than I would have ever believed. I met the coolest people, and had so much fun. I cannot wait to go back next year!

Thank you!