bim

Hockey! I have an MFP friend who plays hockey and posts ridiculous burns. That should be a great way to cut some fat!

Yup. After completing the third week, we leveled up to 1 and could allocate up to 10 points based on goal completion. After completing the sixth week, we leveled up to 2 and could allocate up to 5 additional points and collect our mini-challenge points.

Look out, Glory, here she comes!

Thanks so much for letting me spend my first challenge in the Monastery with you, Monks! I plan on coming back, but I think I need to visit the Secret Society of Injured Assassins for a stint. I hope it'll be OK to visit once in a while, just to see what's going on. Best wishes for the next challenge!

This.

Great news! So glad to hear of your progress, Elk. Congratulations!

Slowly and stealthily, through the shadows and across the steps, she glided up to the silent, nondescript building. Looming in the black night, it seemed vacant... empty... but somehow... not quite so vacant after all. So different from the Monastery. Wasn't it? She was not one of them. She did not know them. But she knew that they were dangerous, even deadly. Still, she was no stranger to violence, nor to implements of torture. Quietly, she shuffled to the door. Cautiously, she shifted her gaze from side to side. Would they accept her? Would they welcome her? Would they share their secrets? And if they did... Would they ever let her go? The door was a faint glimmer of an outline barely visible against the wall. Catching her courage in a single sharp breath, before she could panic and turn away, she tapped the door briskly. A smooth voice with a slight clip, seeming to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once, murmured, "Password?" "OwOwOw, dammit, that hurts!" she bellowed. And bim entered the lair of the Secret Society of Injured Assassins. ... to be continued ...

I was put on quite a regimen of supplements in college, when my nutritional intake was terrible. Now I don't take any supplements at all; according to bloodwork and other "checkup" tests done this year, I'm clearly getting all the nutrition I need. I've considered taking a B complex to help with a specific issue that may affect recovery and metabolism during intense training, but that issue is probably genetic if it's a real issue at all. I'll be bringing it up with my doctor in an appointment this week.

For real, a workout isn't going to help you build strength or other capacity right now. Your body is too busy fighting off the assault of the nasty little bugses to bother itself with repairing muscles. Show your body that you love it and you understand its struggle by giving it the rest it needs. Aside, threads like these always make me grateful I have my lifting equipment at home. Sharing != caring.

What's in your salads? Have you considered getting tested for food allergies?

I can relate! That's what happened in my case too. I caused myself two injuries (exactly counter to my goal) and had to stop lifting altogether in the second half. I couldn't award myself any strength points for that! But I spent my last few weeks learning what had gone wrong and figuring out how to recover, so I set those points accordingly. You and I got better during the challenge, we just didn't get stronger as we had planned.

Hi fractal,I'll fill in here and look to Blaidd to correct as necessary when time permits. Here are my source threads: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/33334-real-life-role-playing-stat-points-and-levelling-up/ http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/33333-real-life-role-playing-creating-your-character/ We start our first quest at level 0, with 0 attribute points. There are no "base attributes" of our characters. The second link above is slightly ambiguous about our first ten points, but the other links above and below clarify this point.After the first half of the first challenge, we level up to 1 and get up to 10 points to allocate based on completion of our goals. This was our assignment in mini-challenge 4.After the second half of the first challenge, we level up to 2 and get up to 5 more points to allocate in the same fashion.After the end of the challenge, we also get whatever points we earned on the mini-challenges.On subsequent challenges, there's no "halfway checkpoint." After completion of the six weeks, we level up by 1 and get up to 15 points to allocate based on goal completion.How you allocate your points (aside from the minis) is up to you, but they say to make it relevant to your goals.So for example, after my third week, I took 3 out of 4 points for my strength training goal (IIRC) and assigned them as follows: +1 STR because I had achieved some PRs+1 WIS because I had learned how to fend off a post-workout headache+1 CHA because the overhead press and planks had given me a noticeably trimmer waistlineI'm not entirely sure my ex post facto point shuffling is an accepted way to approach allocating points - I see a lot of people specifying their "reward" points up front - but it made sense to me, at least this time, to allocate based on the actual outcome of my experience. But the point of the example is just that you do have discretion on what points you gain from your goals. I hope this answers more questions than it raises!

Oh, Blaidd, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you've found comfort in uplifting memories of your friend.

I would say it's largely left to the reader. The first part describes proper posture and form, and lays out his philosophy of movement; that's the part I've mostly skipped over. The second part is specific mobility exercises organized by structures of the body; e.g., upper/lower posterior chain.

Good point, dropping the hips is critical. And come to think of it, we don't emphasize that intermediate squatting thing. Yup, I see how this is different. Thanks.

My next challenge will emphasize rehab and mobility in some way; would love to keep in touch on this topic! I have the Supple Leopard book. I wouldn't buy the electronic version; the layout is complex. I've used it as a resource for specific mobility issues, not so much as a structured program. Although underused at present, it's definitely been worth my money.

I'd suggest finding a new after-dinner ritual to break the pattern. For example, not ordering dessert there, but taking a walk to a specialty ice cream store. Establish that as the new pattern, then break it again by adding pleasant distractions to the walk. "Look, a playground, I'll push you on the swing for a while!" "Oooh, sprinklers - let's run through them!" "The lake is so peaceful, let's stop here and feed the ducks." Someone who is child-like enough to bark like a puppy for ice cream should be fairly easy to distract with play.

Very interesting! My studio calls this a "defense," and it has a specific purpose in sparring.

A typical week for me (before the past few weeks' injuries) includes 2-3 hours total strength training and 2-3 hours total HIIT, plus walking several miles a day in triple-digit heat. If I don't get my carbs in (along with my other macros), I can bonk pretty hard. Carbs are fuel for my activities and recovery. YMMV, but I have maintained my healthy weight for well over two years with bread, pasta, potatoes, cookies, cheesecake, and gelato as fairly regular entries in my food log on MFP. Fruits, veggies, and legumes too, of course, but the "processed rubbish" is definitely part of my diet.

Wow, it sounds to me like you made great progress during this challenge! How did your last few days go?

Quoting from this week 6 mini-challenge posted by Blaidd in a previous 6wc: Source: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/60788-campus-tours/?p=1434015I'm no authority here and I hope we'll hear soon from Blaidd or someone official, but if it were me in your situation, I would level up unless I felt like I didn't know my way around the forums. And if I did feel lost around the forums, I'd probably go back and do all the Recruits' mini-challenges to learn my way around, and then I'd level up. PS: Congrats on finishing!!

Teirin, thanks so much for your regular encouragement and feedback! I appreciate it all the more since I know that cutting back on the online timesuck was part of your challenge goal. So here's my post-challenge wrap-up. My quest scores The Quest of Strength 67%67% The Quest of Stamina 68%68% The Quest of Rest 83%83% The Quest of Noms 97%97% My rubric was fairly elaborate and inflexible. I liked it that way, except that it was pretty frustrating and demoralizing in the final week to know that there was no possible way I could clear the 70% mark for either of my physical activity quests. 67+68+83+97 = 315 315/400 = 78.75%, which I'm rounding up to 80% So I have four of five points to be awarded for total accomplishment. Rather than award them per quest, I think it's appropriate to award them as follows: +1 CON for Noms (yeah, I smashed it)+1 CON for Rest (yeah, I pretty much did it)+1 WIS for learning a great deal about recovery and rehab in this process, figuring out what seems to be a remedy for the post-workout headaches, and being smart enough not to force the activities on a beat-up, broken bod+1 STA for persevering and achieving a good measure of success in recovery from multiple minor injuriesMy mini-challenge swag Recruits 1: +1 WISRecruits 2: +1 CHARecruits 3: +1 STR (yay hook grip)Warriors 4: +1 DEX, +1 WISRecruits 5: +1 DEXMy total attribute points Adding everything up, I now stand at 2 STR3 STA3 DEX5 CON4 WIS2 CHAWhat I've learned, in no particular order Home-cooked food is better for my son and his finicky digestive system. Much better. Like, practically life-changing. I must continue this for as long as we share a home.My little off-the-cuff hash frittata recipe makes a great post-workout supplement. A slice is a couple hundred calories, the macros are just right, and it seems to help me avoid getting a headache the morning after a late-night workout -- either strength training or HIIT.Shopping and cooking ahead once a week doesn't really work that well. Salad fixings spoil, and there isn't quite enough room in the fridge for a week's worth of varied entrees at a time. I did better with a couple trips to the store and a couple shorter prep/cook sessions spread across the week.My rest is generally significantly better when I'm in bed well before midnight, even if I don't fall asleep for some time after hitting the sack. This seems true for bimspawn too.Even when the muscles can definitely handle the weight in a 5x3 program, the connective tissue may not be up to the task. There is merit to pushing lower weights for longer.Hook grip is painful at the time, but not too bad later, and it really does make a difference in the pull.A problem in one joint can demonstrate with pain in another. And a problem on one side of the body can demonstrate on the other. And working around a problem in one part of the body, when moving even moderately heavy-ass weights, can cause injury in another. Especially if you don't know what you're doing or you're not supremely careful.Getting injured sucks, yes it does, but it's not the end of the story.A side challenge can be highly motivating. This can be helpful or detrimental, depending on how it integrates with the overall challenge.A scoring system can also be highly motivating. And pretty fun to set up, too.Kettlebells are cool.Where I'm going from here I think I qualify now for the Secret Society of Injured Assassins. My next quest will be to get disqualified. I'm fairly certain that my next challenge will emphasize mobility and/or rehab. If I get a physical therapy referral, that will be my focus. If I don't, then I'll work through selected parts of the Supple Leopard book, perhaps with augmentation from GMB or NF Yoga. If I'm cleared for any kind of weights, I'm thinking a stint of kettlebell swings and possibly learning the TGU. I have next week to consult with others and decide which way to take the challenge. In the meantime, I will keep up with what I can in Krav, but that won't be my main focus and I may find that I need to spend a week or two away from the studio. I'll be posting in the Assassins' Den/Lair/Whatever soon.

Yuk! I hope you're feeling better now! I can relate. My challenge was a screaming success in the kitchen, and more or less a comedy of errors in the weight room. I started week 6 barely able to walk! I'm hoping I can sort myself out better in the next one. But it's the last day of the last week, and we're here! Congrats to you on working out, journaling, and losing weight!

Physical therapy. Keeping a back immobile is bad for it, but you don't want to push him to screw it up worse. The place that helped me rehab a broken elbow has an "antigravity treadmill" for cases like his. Could be something worth looking into, wherever you are. The manufacturer has a location finder on its Web site. http://www.alterg.com/