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High time to check in on my challenge. Recap Week #1 Quest #1: Build a Running Habit. Ran 4.9 km on Tuesday morning and 5.5 km on Sunday as well as another 5 km total during Crossfit workouts throughout the week. Pass. Quest #2: Keep the weight off. Average weight 74,7 kg. Pass. I did make an effort towards mindful eating, and it seems to work quite well for me. I've set two hard rules for me to facilitate that: (1) Eating only while at a table, never while walking, lounging on a sofa, or similar. (2) No electronics, TV or reading while eating. I also take care to thoroughly chew and taste the food. I feel this helps with satiation and prevents overeating. Quest #3: Work those shoulders. I did shoulder workouts on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday (mobility work, overhead squats, waiters carries, snatch balance ...) Pass. Life Quest: Practise the language. I did practice Swedish, but really only three times in week #1 instead of the planned four. Fail. I have yet to find a proper slot in my time schedule for regular language practice.

Hi Luciana Valerosa, thanks for the reply. I agree that having more specific goals regarding my eating habits would help. However, I don't yet know what my food options are going to be in the next weeks. I'm not sure what habits would be feasible. That's why I remained a bit vague and chose my daily weight as a measure of progress instead. Maybe you have some suggestions? As to the shoulder thing: swordmanship and fire spinning sound awsome, but for this challenge I'm going to stick to free weights and bodyweight exercises: mainly hanging, overhead carries, overhead squats, and various mobility exercises.

Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? My main quest is not very specific, so no problem with achievability or reasonability. 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? Yes, I designed my quests to support my main quest. No sub-quests. 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? I think they are realistic, but they require persistence. Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? Yes, I designed them that way. I track Quest #2 by weighing every morning and logging the value in my phone. I will track the other quests in my challenge thread. 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€? I grade my goals by the number of weeks I stick to the plan. Grade A is 6 weeks, B 5, C 4, D 3. For grade A I get 100 % of the stat points, B 75 %, C 50 %, D 25 %. What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? Quest #1 (running) might suffer if I get injured or ill, but I do have some flexibility in my plan to account for some downtime. My other quests aren't that sensitive to illness or injury. I will not alter my grading scheme. 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? I did not consider any specific occasions, but I do have some flexibility built into my plan. No modifications. Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? They support each other, but they all require time and/or energy, which are limited resources. 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? For the fitness goals: yes, I do have the time. For my life quest, however, I will have to sacrifice some slothing time. Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? Multiple habits. However, I did lower my standards for each of the goals, so that it's more realistic to achieve all of them.

Hi, my name is Robert and this is my first challenge. I feel reasonably fit and healthy at the moment, having lost 10 lbs earlier this year and started Crossfit 5 months ago. I do want to stay that way (even improve) which means I need to work on my habits. I'll start working abroad next week (in Sweden), which will make it easier to change habits, for better or worse. So this is the perfect time for my 1st challenge. Main Quest: I want to keep extending the range of things that my body can do, such as: Run a half marathon under 1:50 next spring.Run a full marathon in 2016.Swim 400 m in under 8 minutes by end of 2016.Do all Crossfit workouts Rx'd by the end of 2016 (i.e. not scaled down).Achieve intermediate level in these weightlifting standards (PDF).Quest #1: Build a running habit. Obviously I need to run a lot to prepare for a marathon. I used to run regularly several times a week, but lately my running has been rather sporadic. Time to build a running habit. For a start, I am aiming for two 5k runs per week. Grading: A: 6 weeks compliance, B: 5 weeks, C: 4 weeks, D: 3 weeks Reward: +3 STA, +1 CHA Quest #2: Keep the weight off. This will help with the running and also with bodyweight exercises. I will probably eat out a lot during the next weeks, which is not ideal. I shall practice mindful eating, choosing the healthier menu options and moderating snacking and fat intake. I shall also skip meals occasionally, especially breakfast of lunch. I weigh (almost) daily. I'm aiming for weekly averages below 75 kg (165 lbs). Grading: A: 6 weeks < 75 kg, B: 5 weeks, C: 4 weeks, D: 3 weeks Reward: +2 CON, +1 CHA, +1 WIS Quest #3: Work those shoulders. One thing that is holding me back with many exercises is my poor shoulder mobility. I shall do regular exercises for shoulder mobility and stability, minimum three sessions per week. Grading: A: 6 weeks compliance, B: 5 weeks, C: 4 weeks, D: 3 weeks Reward: +2 DEX, +1 CON, +1 CHA Life Quest: Practice the language. I shall practice oral Swedish (listening and speaking), minimum four sessions per week. Grading: A: 6 weeks compliance, B: 5 weeks, C: 4 weeks, D: 3 weeks Reward: +2 CHA, +1 WIS

Wow, work out 6 x 1 hour per week? That's quite a lot. Have you tried such a training volume before?