Eskcanta

Glad I could encourage/challenge you to improve yourself! I was already using what I could of those tricks to get where I got. But I will be making at least one more attempt to improve my time before the week is over.

Very good work!

Scoring for day 3-27-18: Okay Leave the empty calories behind: pass, no junk food Had a bit of a frappichino/soda craving later in the day, rejected it for a while and it did go away. Go fishing for what motivates me: forgiven I'm being generous with this one and just removing it from scoring this week. I was fairly sore and tired for most of the day and didn't do much, but I want to do things that make me sore, and I don't intend to push myself to exercise every day or punish myself for resting after doing well the day before. What I did do, I am glad of... mostly just put all I had into one more plank attempt for the beloved Hogwarts challenge. Managed to improve my time from 41 seconds to 51, but I really pushed to do so. I did consider trying some pull exercises for the Doctor mini, but ended up not. But my body felt well used, and that's a good thing. Do the dietary discipline, dudette: pass About 500 calories of milk, about 300 of crackers, and about 800 of vegetables and chicken, about 1600 for the day. Do what the monsters do: pass I'd like to pass at a higher level, but giving myself a break for earning "soreness". I did work on one mini, and I followed the forums to "keep up". Keep doing what I do best: progress Took yesterday off from this workout, have 4 days to either use an elliptical twice more or spend an hour more on the elliptical this week to pass. Should be easy. Bonus, weight tracking: 269.6, 0.4 pounds up from yesterday.

Haha! So there was a claim that mischief has been managed... anyone besides MW got the Menace managed?

... Okay, Gemma... I'm after you too... lets see if that helps add to your efforts, good luck and good work!

I managed to add 10 seconds to my max plank today, after waiting for various semi-sorenesses to fade. @Mahalak you are the closest to my capability in Hufflepuff... I am after your time! (which may well come to naught... but I'ma try!)

Thank you. I really don't know. I didn't build that into my challenge, no mini currently calls for it... I might though. It would be good for me, as would dozens of other things. Maybe that will be part of my next challenge. If so, I will probably plan a period a longer period than one day of rest... maybe 3 days of rest (when I do get sore, I usually stay sore that long), and a day where I do planks several times throughout the day, holding however long I can.

I like how you seem to shape the story to how your quests are going. Good luck with how things continue to go! I love your stories.

Scoring for day 3-27-18: Good Leave the empty calories behind: pass, no junk food Did not really have any cravings for it today either, very glad of that. Go fishing for what motivates me: pass In addition to working on the general tasks some of the minis call for and putting progress into my elliptical goal, I also spent about 15 minutes (across the day) trying out and practicing different variations of jumping jacks, ones that eliminate the jumps I don't think my body can handle yet. This is not the fun, glorious, exciting, weird, new, different stuff that I expected to be fishing for, but it was kind of fun and I felt good about myself working myself into tired each set. My coordination for some of the jack styles could sure use improvement, so this is definitely going to be something I consider practicing more. Additionally, I messed around with trying some pull exercise variants, the doorframe ones, but the stupid doors get in my way and hurt my grip and fingers. I tried using a couple well placed wall corners, but couldn't hold there comfortably either. A milk jug is too light for me... that's a good thing but I am looking for a 20 rep max pull exercise, so... I looked around the area for parks that might have a good bar for partial angled pull ups and wasn't very satisfied with what I saw. So! I will make myself a bookbag of books and other heavy things to lift, and custom weight it so it is in the 20 rep max range, and as my max lowers, I can take a little out.... Planned for Wednesday trying but haven't actually done it yet. Still, this is what I want myself to be working on, new stuff and finding ways to do things, and finding things I can enjoy and feel good about. Do the dietary discipline, dudette: probable pass Another barely passed day, maybe barely failed day, but I will count as a pass. I worked out a couple of hours on the elliptical and got to add 600 calories to my budget for the day; I ate a little left over chicken, two bowls of oatmeal, and a bit of milk (probably around 900 calories), then did all my working out. At the end of the day and after all my various exercises I got to enjoy a lot of pork, some wheat crackers, and more milk (bringing the day's total to around 2300). Do what the monsters do: pass Back into active participation with at least the Hogwarts challenge; this week is a 2 minute max 1 rep plank. I first started trying to do planks when I first joined NF about 3 years ago, my first plank was maybe 4 seconds (I was initially working on the BBWW). I think I got up to about 30 seconds before that challenge was over... and I never went back to planks, which makes me expect planks are going to be a really weak area... but I have done a lot of other exercise over that time, and much of it made my core muscles sore at first (even things like using the elliptical that are not considered "core exercises" as a rule... my core was once extremely weak so almost anything involved it and pushed it). So I thought, maybe I can do 30 seconds, probably a little less. I managed 41 seconds on my first try (which for weakness reasons is going to be my best try that day), and was very, very happy with this. I tried again a few hours later (was already feeling the first plank, and my arms from flapping them so much with jack variations), and managed a 21 second plank. Great stuff for me, just great. And I tried to figure out a way to work on the pull exercises for the Doctor mini. Keep doing what I do best: progress Did two hours elliptical at the end of my day, when I was finally feeling really recovered and well again (other than some minor tiredness from the earlier exercise). Had not eaten much at that point, or eaten recently, was expecting to have a lot of trouble, but it wasn't very difficult. Speed would have been nearly impossible without more sugar, but I can just go go go around 3.5 to 4 mph even without much food after I work my body back into that groove - had not realized I was already back in it (been a good year since I was pushing myself often like that). First hour, 4.33 miles, second hour 3.73 miles. Didn't even feel very hungry after (until I started to eat), so very pleased with myself. Bonus, weight tracking: 269.2, 0.4 pounds up from yesterday.

A type of healthier than most (I hope and believe) of cracker. Whole Wheat, Soybean Oil, Maltodextrin, Salt, Monoglycerides, Garlic Powder, Monosodium Glutamate (Flavor Enhancer), Natural Flavor, Cornstarch, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate (Flavor Enhancers), Hydrolyzed Wheat and Corn and Yeast Proteins, Sesame Oil. 20 calories per cracker, 6 together have 20 grams of carbs, 1/3 the calories are from fat.

But your progress and improvement... I am just so delighted! Please keep up the good work, your journey is beautiful.

The Doctor is known for time travel. Consider yourself stopped to be picked up, whenever is convenient for you!

Hey! Even the Gryfinddors who cannot max plank are fighting back... just way less effectively. I may have been able to hold my plank slightly longer than illustrated below... But even the weakest of us are fighting back too!

Welcome back to NF! One thing you're not mentioning, so I wonder about - how much fun are you having practicing parkour? What sorts of exercises are you practicing?

Scoring for day 3-26-18: Meh As of today, Tuesday, I feel well and functional again. But Monday was a casualty again to not feeling well and having to deal with the extra work Sunday's chaos required of me. Leave the empty calories behind: pass, no junk food Was hard, Monday. I really wanted a Starbuck's frappuccino. For hours. The craving finally left me alone. Monday was a tense stressful constantly having to go get stuff done day, and I only got two hours sleep the night before. But, car that had been hit got all checked out. Cat that was suffering got vet care and medicine. The tutoring that I volunteer to do managed to get done as well. And all the rest of life happened, somehow without a frappuccino and while I still felt pretty cruddy. I'm not doing bonus points this challenge, but I totally deserve one for managing to not delve into junk food, especially the caffeine containing kind. Go fishing for what motivates me: fail Lack of time and energy (boo two hours sleep). A couple hour nap when I could squeeze one in didn't salvage my energy, I barely did more than I felt I absolutely had to. Do the dietary discipline, dudette: pass Barely pass. Lots of chicken, also milk, Triscuits, and nuts. About 1750 for the day. Do what the monsters do: pass Barely pass. I did pay attention to the minis though, and I made plans to work on some of them Tuesday (plans I have since followed through on). The daily dare was again doable for me, and I did it despite how I felt (was so hard to earn the extra credit, especially on the second leg, but I just barely finished the time). Keep doing what I do best: undecided This remains a weekly goal, I have all the rest of this week to get to the gym at least 3x to do elliptical workouts, or do 90 minutes or more of elliptical workout across any number of gym visits. I didn't make it Monday. Bonus, weight tracking: 268.8, a pound down from Sunday.