ixaera

Ha! Oh how I wish I Nano'd. I have read about NaNoWriMo, and I envy people with the ability to make it happen. Part of my goal is just getting some writing done most days and I think that might actually be my hardest goal I set. I don't like what I write and always want to backspace everything, which makes it hard to motivate myself next time. So I just don't see myself finishing much more than a short story in just a month

I'm still working on the new Mistborn (psst, hi!)

Hahaha, I wouldn't be able to make a garden gnome stumble. I have a lonnnng way to go

NaNoWriMo! Awesome! Following~

Oh nice. Yeah, I would really love to do at least one unassisted (and then go from there). For now, I can do a couple of negative chin ups, and almost NOTHING on a pull up, so probably every accessory work out I do will include lat pull downs with my resistance bands.

oh my goodness, flan, YES. I also adore tres leches cakes. So much delicious evil in them. I've been doing the first month of p90x3 in tandem with conditioning lately, so I just replace two of the bigger workouts with my conditioning. Total Synergistics does require dumbbells and a pull up bar (I use a band because I can't do a chin up or pull up, a goal for when I have a lot more core/upper body strength to work from).

p90x is SUPER hard. I actually started doing these last week, and I mostly fall over a lot because there's a ton of balance work (and I'm not very strong lol). I included it as the main quest because I immediately saw how much I really needed to do it and wanted to make it my goal to stay on track! I started cutting back on sugar about a year ago as part of my original quest to lose weight (which I did not do here and completed/have been maintaining for 4 months), but I'm definitely a sugar addict even now. Ice cream is my favorite.

woot! Thanks! I can't wait to start!

GET MORE LIKE CHUN-LI Disclaimer: I was never very good at Street Fighter, and I didn't play it very much because I wasn't allowed to have a console as a kid. I played sparingly on friends' setups, then when I was an adult, I just had trouble with consoles. PC for life now. (And I prefer RPGs ANYway, so.) But Chun-Li stuck with me as my power kicking hero from the first time I played her as a kid. So here I am, my first challenge, Chun-Li themed. I already have brown hair, so 1 out of 900 ain't bad. Quest 1: Strength Chun-Li is strong af. I am not. Yet. Complete 18 muscle building workouts via p90x programs at home. A = 18 B = 14-17 C = 10-13 Sub-quest for BONUS points: Complete 18 accessory workouts with at least 3x3 sets/exercises (choice of muscle mine) All 18 = 3 points 14-17 = 2 points 10-13 = 1 point (basically extra credit to help with the overall goal, so a 21 is possible, but would still just be an A) Quest 2: Endurance Chun-Li is tough. Complete 11 conditioning workouts via the conditioning supplement program at the Krav Maga school. (This allows me to skip only one in the next 6 weeks to get an A!) A = 11+ B = 8-10 C = 5-7 Quest 3: Knowledge Chun-Li is skilled. Complete 12 Krav Maga skills classes. A = 12 B = 8-11 C = 5-7 Quest 4: Eat more better I think Chun-Li is supposed to be a sugar addict, so, I'm not sure she'd approve of this one! Eat 5 80g servings of fruits & vegetables (or more) 30 days Eat no added sugar 35 days 29 days Stick to 1 serving of whole/sprouted grains 35 days 29 days Eat >70g protein 30 days <-- if this seems low it's because I have problems here and it's still improvement for me Revamped Nov 9: Eat 5 80g servings of fruits & vegetables (or more) 30 days Eat > 70g protein 30 days 2 alcoholic drinks per week = 30 points, 3 = 20 points, 4 = 10 points, all else fail Stay within calorie ranges. Conditioning class days can go up to 2000, all other days maintenance range. 30 days Eat no added sugar 30 days, each 2 days of no added sugar grants a "credit" to use on a snack/meal that doesn't take away a point Eat no more than one serving of whole/sprouted grain 30 days, each 2 days of compliance grants a "credit" for a snack/meal that doesn't take away a point A = 175-180 B = 170-179 C = 165-169 (these values are for weeks 2-6, I'm counting week 1 as a B- and will average the two to find final grade--so I can still make an A- on this quest for the challenge if I hit every mark) Week 1 = 170 Quest 5: Mental Health Spend 5 minutes a day practicing meditation (30 times) Spend 30 minutes a day writing (30 times) A = 60+ B = 52-59 C = 45-51 Life Quest: Roundhouse kicking those chores into submission Do 4 small chores or 2 big chores per day. Since this will be easy weekends and tougher some weekdays, 12 is the absolute minimum. A = 38+ B = 29-37 C = 12-28

I have this little guy for when I just super want some extra steps/cardio in my life, but it's bad weather out. I'm not sure what the weight rating is for using it standing up, but it can be used sitting down as well if you're uncertain: http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-55-1610-InMotion-Elliptical-Trainer/dp/B000VICRO8 As for free home cardio, all I got for ya is timing some jumping jacks, high knees, power squats. Really, you don't need a lot of cardio (or any) to lose weight. Personally I only do it because I enjoy it and the way it makes me feel when I'm done. Weight loss can be achieved via diet alone, and you can do strength training also to preserve (and potentially build, if you're a beginner) some muscle.

Have gone way over calorie goals several days in a row, have been drinking way too much alcohol BUT One victory in the midst of disaster is that I got home from birthday celebration #3 and instead of sitting on my butt at 8 pm, got my Warrior workout done. I am still not good at p90x3 and I'm sad for my lack of coordination and balance. I'm hoping by the end of week 4 I'll be able to get through these workouts without feeling like I'm modifying the modified modifier (sometimes I literally just start doing knee pushups in place of whatever fancy plank combos he is doing). Tomorrow I have conditioning and skills class. I didn't cook for the week today OR grocery shop so food will be a little iffy. I can snag vegetables and fruit from the cafeteria though, and I think I still have walnuts hanging out in my office. This is why I keep a stocked freezer.

All the birthday festivities have made this weekend meh at best for goal-meeting. I've eaten way over maintenance, I feel bloated, and right now I'm debating between ordering in a fancy salad and cooking for myself for the first time in DAYS Friday there was no workout. It's only just occurring to me that this means I already had a rest day, and so today should NOT be a rest day. Saturday I did a p90x3 yoga video (could not hold most of the poses, but I gaveit my best), and an hour of light cardio to help burn off the damage. IMO this also mostly counts as active rest, so today really shouldn't be light. Today I was going to do Dynamix, but now I'm feeling like I probably need to do the Warrior instead. After I figure out wtf I'm going to eat.

woot! Doing great!!

I agree, it's so much more engaging and interesting. It's funny, I actually have a lot of trepidation about group classes and strangers, but I always leave class happy I went.

Weirdly the best for me has been those lace-topped hipster/boyshort style VS undies. Everything else ends up halfway down my butt. I have no idea what black magic they use making those undies, but they seem to work well.

Soooooooooooo drained right now (in a good way) I birthday ate yesterday (and a bit today, too, but was better--that is, did okay with protein goals, ate within the window, not enough fruits & veggies though). Yesterday I definitely did do (or try to do) the Agility X workout, and I went to skills class and learned some punching defenses. Today I went to conditioning class and got my toosh WORE. OUT. Both the Monday & Thursday conditioning teachers are good, but the Thursday teacher definitely always puts me through the ringer and then some. Thumbs way up. Tomorrow I plan to mostly eat on target, but getting together with some of the girls to get drunk and eat Korean bar food, so it won't be anywhere near perfect, especially since I'm bupkiss at morning workouts and so I'll be skipping since there will be no time to squeeze one in otherwise. Torn between just accepting the rest day and doing the Yoga Saturday and Dynamix Sunday as planned, or if I should throw in the Warrior on Saturday as well to make up.

I play FFXIV (used to raid, drama got too much for me, filthy casual now), Dragon Age, Skyrim, random other stuff less often like the Sims series, Port Royale 3, Crusader Kings 2 (which I am awful at). My mobile games of choice are Star Realms & Scramble with Friends. I read sci fi & fantasy, grew up attached to Star Trek: TNG (Wesley was my first girlhood celebrity crush), have played pen & paper D&D in the past, Neverwinter Nights, and other games based on older rulesets. Played M:tG for a bit in my youth (was terrible at it and also had trouble finding people to play with). That's probably about it.

Yesterday I did Total Synergistics on P90x3 and learned one important thing: I suck at balance and coordination. Clearly I need to do this. Food was great (pretty much the same as the day before) til my food window passed and I decided birthday season was upon me and I wanted a bratzel and 2 beers, so I definitely ate enough, at least. Not really worrying about IF on my birthday and loosening the strings on food a bit today and tomorrow. Today is Agility X and a Krav Maga skills class. Here's hoping I can push my sore-as-hell calves through. I feel like I have boulders in them. I even had the boyfriend roll them yesterday.

Nice! That sounds pretty intense! Today I did the combat conditioning supplemental class (1 hour) followed by skills class (1 hour). I was so worn from the conditioning workout that I had to sit out the warm up for skills. I was warm already anyway, I guess. I have allergies and I was going hard enough to aggravate them, too. Not bad. My right hip flexor is exhausted. We did quite a lot of kicks, heavy on the right side. I'd have preferred to swap it out a bit more to even it up. Skills class focused on punching, so it was nice to get both. Conditioning teacher is great at showing me better form and how to get better power on my punches and kicks. Food wise I had a perfect day (this is not always the norm, I have terrible weekends, but I'm usually great on weekdays, plus my birthday is Wednesday so I'm trying to be 100% in preparation for birthday pizza + ice cream, then birthday booze on Friday) Doing IF for now, 1-9, still adjusting to the food schedule. The good: I was actually pretty dang ready for my 1 pm lunch, and my food was amazing as a result (hunger is the best spice!) The not so good: I'm used to spreading my calories over 3 meals and 1-2 snacks, and I'm not yet great at packing them into two, so I was low on calories today. Foods: Lunch was 2 eggs topped with sauerkraut, 1 cup spicy broccoli, 1 slice sprouted grain toast, 1 wedge laughing cow cheese Snacks were carrots & hummus, 1 pure protein bar post workout Dinner was 4 oz chicken w/ salsa, 1 cup mixed veggies (Trader Joe's harvest hodgepodge), done spicy like the broccoli After dinner was frozen banana w/ kefir, stevia, and cocoa powder (one of my fave ways to have banana) Managed 5 servings of fruit/veg, 93g protein (got near my body weight, much better than usual) Today was A for awesome.

Figured I should probably post in here, since that's the in-thing. I'm Ixaera. This is an ancient gaming/RP handle I've had since 1999, when I found my first MUD and played an ariel thief. I'm actually not here to start a weight loss journey. I just completed one back in June (32 pounds, from 134 to 102, I'm very, very short and that is a great weight for my height!). I've maintained my new healthy weight for 4 months, and I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of eating to my energy needs. That said, I am still unsatisfied. My body fat % is higher than I'd like, I'm about as strong as a bowl of room-temperature soup, and I'm super uncoordinated. It's been a struggle to find activity I really enjoy that isn't just reading my Kindle on the elliptical. (Nothing wrong with that, but it wasn't fixing the aforementioned problems, my gym membership expired and I decided it was time I did something different.) Recently I've started up Krav Maga classes, and they're probably the most fun thing I've tried to stay active so far. Useful, to boot. I'm extremely small and having a good foundation in self-defense is never a bad decision, IMO. So far I've been going to skills classes twice a week and conditioning once a week, while floundering since my whole workout plan is currently up in the air. I think what I want to do is stick to 2x week skills classes, and bump up conditioning to as many times as possible per week without burning out/hurting myself, with accessory home lifting with my (pre-existing) sets of resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, and pullup bar (not that I can do a pull up. I cannot.) I'm also considering getting beach body on demand because I have a support-type job which means some random times I'm just not going to be able to make a set/scheduled time for a class due to work emergencies, but I'll still want to work out at home, and I like p90x style workouts (and maybe insanity or asylum too). Sort of a fitness safety net that I should also love. (I have done home lifting on my own but found it hard to keep at it without dreading it.) The conditioning classes at Krav are basically strength+cardio for an Insanity style workout. The two I've attended I've left feeling totally spent, and nice and sore the following day. Big fan. Those classes use weighted "body" bags, resistance bands, and lots of combat combos on a heavy bag as well. Lots of bodyweight circuits. Anyway, cool to be here! Here's to achieving all our beastly goals together!

Thanks for the welcome!! I'm not sure if it makes a difference in the recommendation, but the conditioning classes I've taken so far have been a solid 50/50 mix on cardio and strength training (with bag weights and resistance bands on top of the body weight stuff). I can usually barely throw a sad punch at the end of them. You know those dreams where you're trying to fight someone but your punches are super slow and have 0 power? That's where I am at the end of those classes. They are GLORIOUS! The skills classes I always learn a lot in (much needed, I am very, very new and very, very slow to learn so far), but they're pretty crap in terms of an actual workout. I don't really even get winded in the warmup drill (but maybe this is because it is a beginner class and I have done a lot of cardio over the years?) But maybe I can do accessory strength work to supplement those conditioning classes. I already have a great set of adjustable dumbbells that I can pile up to 40 lbs on each, resistance bands, and a couple of heavier kettlebells and a pullup bar (with a band assist, as I can't do a pull up or a chin up). This is great advice.

I'm new! Four months ago I finished a goal of losing about 30 pounds. I'm pretty small, so 30 to me is a lot. (I'm not QUITE five feet tall. If I stand on my tippy toes, I can pass.) So I've gotten down to quite the healthy weight, but here I am, super weak. It could be worse. I've on/off weight trained for years, so I have a tiny bit of strength. Definitely far below average, though. I've come to the decision that my erratic semi-lifting at home thing isn't really working for me and I want more. Three weeks ago (maybe four? numbers are hard) I began going to a Krav Maga class twice a week. Since then, I've also added on one conditioning supplement class a week, but I could really do more, so I'm adding Monday to the conditioning schedule. How will I gauge if I'm "getting better"? I'm not sure. This isn't straight lifting, so there's no convenient numbers for me to track. I'll probably do supplemental home lifting sometimes too. That I can track. I already eat okay, but I would like to clean that up some too. I need to drink less beer (I can drink most people I know under the table) partly to this effect, and partly to help maintain my new found healthy weight (though I'm fine with that weight going up as long as the body fat % is going down at the same time). I need to include more veggies. I'm exploring ways to naturally keep myself from overeating. I really don't wanna have to do the whole 30 pound weight loss thing again. The new one I'm exploring is IF. I know some women have issues with it, but wanted to give it a try myself. Today my boyfriend asked an interesting question. "You pay extra for those conditioning supplement classes at Krav, why would you do P90x on off days instead of just going to conditioning again?" And really, the answer is I don't know. Originally, I was concerned about doing it several days in a row (they are only offered weekdays, that I can go, except for Tuesdays), because there is a lot of full body strength going on. But maybe that's a dumb concern. I plan to ask one of the instructors tomorrow how often is recommended. My original plan was conditioning on Mon/Thurs and p90x3 on Tues/wed/fri. SO. I'm not new at fitness in general, but definitely new to Krav Maga. My battle log will mostly be dedicated to those classes and keeping track of measurements and food and such to make sure I'm on track. First measurements and logs tomorrow!

Hey monks, newb here. I just started taking Krav Maga classes a few weeks ago. I'm enjoying it, and my gym membership expired, so I also signed up for their supplemental combat fitness training classes. These are Insanity-style cardio-strength full body workouts that last an hour. Should I be working up to being able to do these as many days as possible (even on consecutive days)? Or do I need to work rest in the plan? Not sure how people normally approach these. They don't offer one of these classes on Tuesday, and the one on Saturday is at 9 am, and I'm a late night Friday person, so I'm unsure if that one will work out (and I've missed it twice already anyway). So, is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday too ridiculous?