NukeTheUnicorns

I went ahead and moved your thread to the regular Assassin's den.

What really helps me with fear is constant self evaluation and reassurance. I, too, am afraid of heights. When I'm somewhere high off the ground, I always ask myself "what's the worst that can happen? No, really, what's the absolute worst that can happen, and what's the worst that's likely to happen? Is this thing going to collapse from under me? Am I going to fall off? Am I going to be seriously injured?" Statistically, time and time again, the answer is no. I just have to go through that process of rationalizing things to myself. That helps me breathe a little better.

What are your goals? You don't necessarily have to go to higher ground in order to perform the types of movements we favor!

Cute movie. Not Pixar's best, certainly not their worst. Merida is awesome, she's my new favorite Disney Princess.

I also think the sexuality controversy is funny. How dare a company create a character that defies established gender roles.

Squad B, I hope y'all have no problem being known, once again, as Beast Squad!

That's awesome. That was the first book I read! Stephan Bodian has a great introduction to the philosophy & the religion. It made me want to learn a lot more. It's helped me a lot, I hope you get a lot out of it.

I've been loving it so far. I'm not religious but I love philosophy and this is just awesome.

Making solid progress on all goals except for reading one book per week. I'm slowly realizing that I might not have the time to do so. That being said, I am reading as often as I can and spending a lot of my free time on it, which makes me very happy.

Whose it by? I really enjoy Thich Nhat Hanh & Pema Chodron.

Promise not to laugh, it's one of the "For Dummies" books. All I was looking for was a basic and simple introduction!

Thank goodness for that rain yesterday eh? Looks like the fires are dying down a little. Hope you're doing okay in your area, Oogiem.

Theanne heard the sound of a moose call. It was only interesting because they did not live around these parts. It must be the masters. The signal of a new formation, a new alliance within the ranks.

She glanced down from the rooftop she'd perched on. A carrier should be here soon. Theanne closed her eyes, breathed slowly and held out her hand.

With a flutter of wings, it lighted softly in her palm.

The parchment was small, but it listed her new associates.

Squad F, she thought to herself... I hope you're ready.

I wish this was facebook so I could like this.

Squad A

Ryan Sannar

AtSeaLevel

Damy

DaveSix

KimPossible

KnockingDog

lemongranita

NorthFloridaNinja

Rivanariko

Teneris

The Queen Athlete

Squad B

NukeTheUnicorns

imadork

Jcannon98188

Perdi

Proxximo

Reindeer

Scurry

theactionpoint

TheBarefootNinja

tigersheart

ysabet

Squad C

BettyRae

Echo

Elastigirl

Eric The Old

hatenik the barbarian

joeyb

melissacait

Raikas

skulblaka*

Tom Kenobi

TravelJunkie

Squad D

aybee77

Cresca Muccapello

drsloomis

LessJos

ManVeru

pinupgeek

psyche

rix

Squiddy

Waldo

WillVZ

Squad E

Akibyte

azsf

Dillpedo

inara

Katenz

LeiManu

PaulG

RondradanSJ

SweetLouise

tinkerer

Squad F

Church

fire.eagle

fyretooth

Happienumber

klaymates

Komnenos

Lady Link

Nhiyoka

Nuala

theanne

tryk79

Here is a link to the list of threads organized by squad.

First week of the challenge has been good up until today, got sick as a dog, completely unable to do anything!

That's awesome! Buddhism has always intrigued me. Learn anything insightful yet?

Oh yes, lots of good stuff. Lots of great philosophy there.

"That's what I want!"

Very cool video, thank you for sharing!

Currently fixing a very annoying shoulder issue I've had for years but only now found the need to pay attention to, but here's the template:

Warmup: joint circling, deadhang, support, quick circuit of pushups/rows/squats to get blood flowing

Skill work: handstand, L-sit

Dynamic stuff/holds: chinups, pseudo planche pushups (just planche lean for now), rows with top hold and back lever work.

That's my bodyweight block. Usually I go to the uni gym for like 10 minutes to pull a set of deadlifts and/or squats, then go home (takes 30 minutes) and perform this.

I like your routine. Short, simple, and to the point.

Fasting for 18 hours? That's quite impressive, at least to me. I have a very hard time fasting. I eat constantly. 18 hours without food may just see me shrivel up and die. And, out of curiousity, what are you reading?

I'm reading a book on Buddhism!

So far so good. Sprinted today (in 85 degree heat!), fasted nearly 18 hours, read, and am about to rid myself of one thing!

Wow, back lever progressions! That is pretty impressing.

I like the "getting rid of stuff" part - Why are you doing it? I'm going to have to do it myself because I'm moving to another town in a few months. Though it's a lot of work, I'm actually looking forward to it, because I always liked leading a simplistic life. I always liked my room best (as a kid), when it was cleaned up and you couldn't see any of my stuff. Doesn't mean that I ever got good at keeping my place cleaned up ...

Are you just throwing stuff out or are you donating / selling on ebay / ... it?

I am doing it because I've been reading up on minimalism lately, and it's something that just intrinsically makes sense to me. There's a little voice in my head that tells me it's the right thing to do. It doesn't improve my life to own so many things. If I declutter, I can focus on what's truly important, and feel overwhelmed less often.

As to whether I sell/trash/donate, it depends on the item. Ideally, I'd like to donate most things.

So, I kinda fell apart in the last challenge. I was still getting used to the moderating thing, keeping up with all the NF stuff on top of everything else in my life. My goals and ideals also changed, which made the whole thing difficult.

But now, I'm good, and I'm ready to kick some tail. I know what I want and I know how to get there.

For my goals this time around, I'm gonna keep it sweet and simple:

Diet and Fitness Goals.

1. Sprint twice per week - one session of 5-10x15s, one session of 5-10x30s

2. Progress to the next step on my back lever training. I'm currently at a flat back tuck. Next progression is with one leg extended.

3. Fast more consistently. I find if I'm not fasting for at least 12 hours a day, my body comp becomes less than ideal. I'm still gonna ensure that I'm eating enough good food, but keep it to a compressed window.

Lifestyle Goals

1. Read a book per week. Fiction, non-fiction, I don't care. Just read one book per week.

2. Rid myself of three unnecessary possessions per week, so one every other day or so. Start minimizing until I'm down to the bare necessities.

3. Be a better moderator. That means devoting .5-1 hours per day to NF, and being more consistent with deadlines and what have you. I noticed myself saying "sorry I've been so MIA lately" a lot last challenge, and that's not cool. I'm going to be more consistent, active, and overall be a better mod in the coming weeks.

Really looking forward to this challenge. It's gonna be a doozy.

It's hard when you add a new exercise to the mix, but you can definitely DL and bench on the same day. Doing these heavy compounds in the same session is one of the fundamentals of programs like Starting Strength and StrongLifts, both of which are programs oriented at beginners. Make sure you are getting adequate rest between sets, and adequate rest between exercises. When I lift heavy, I like to take 3 or so minutes between sets, and 5 minutes between exercises. This might seem like a long time, but it gives your body adequate time to recover while still reaping the benefits of training.

Welcome, Nuala! Good to have you.

If you're looking for a good way to get started, check out this article - The Fundamentals of Bodyweight Strength Training by Stephen Low. Low is the author of Overcoming Gravity which is a phenomenal resource for BW training.

Let us know how we can help you.

Not anime, but Avatar: the Last Airbender is on Netflix and it is a phenomenal series...it's inspired by anime, too. Not sure if you're interested but I try to pimp that series whenever possible.

Good morning, Assassins

Tomorrow, the current six week challenge will be over.

You guys did an awesome job participating in team challenges and individual challenges - you all kicked some serious ass!

Now's the time to pick a winner for the challenge!

Everybody please update your challenge thread with a post grading yourself for this challenge. Be honest with us, and be honest with yourself, and give yourself the grade you really deserve. Ryan Sannar and I will be going through your threads once you post your grades, and we will be picking a winner for this challenge (even though you're all winners in our eyes )

Once again, great work guys. I am really looking forward to the next challenge, and seeing what happens next!

Not my best race ever but I didn't do too shabby!

Anything that's fast and hard rock-y or metal-y. Coheed and Cambria, Slayer, Kalmah, Metallica, Mastodon, Powerglove, and Pantera are among my favorites.

Anything from Dragon Ball Z gets me going, too. Makes me think Goku and Vegeta's training.

Also, this guy.

Awesome job with this challenge, guys.

Sorry I've been MIA this week, been super hectic. Jury duty on top of working on top of life...gets to ya.

Ryan Sannar and I will have a new challenge for y'all by Friday. Thank you for being so patient. You guys rule.

Do it.