leadchipmunk

I'll be sure to let you know when that happens. I may even do a dance for joy on each of them and post a video. Okay, it is doubtful I'll do that, I'm the proverbial white man when it comes to dancing. But maybe a picture with a heroic pose looking over my surroundings. The training my buddy is doing with me involves speedwork intervals, timed intervals but still intervals nonetheless. I'll probably occasionally go to the track now that I found one that's open to the public and do the 200/400/800 work to change things up a little. The test will be on a track, rain or shine. They have 6 or so people go at a time and they time the laps. Thanks for the warning, that's part of why I'm aiming for a maximum of 11:30 for my time, just in case of some variable that I hadn't planned for (track differences, weather, etc.)

Thanks all, I would have replied sooner, but I was without power for a couple days. I don't have a forerunner, but I do have an app on my phone that will tell me every minute what my pace is and I can adjust from there. Not as sophisticated, but it will do since I very much prefer outside running. I talked with a friend yesterday and found out that he cut his mile time down considerably through fartleks/HIIT and he said that he would run with me whenever I wanted to. So I'm going to run with him 2 days a week and on a third day I'm going to do Dawsy's hill sprints. I've got 3 really nice hills nearby that I'm going to use depending on where I am at the time (a really short hill at 13% grade, a mile long hill at about 8% and a half mile at 17%, all 3 considerably difficult and worth building up on). I did a little bit of math and figured out that I need to go from 4.2 mph (for 1 mile) to 7.8mph (for 1.5 miles) to get a time that I can ensure I'll pass with. I have a track nearby so I can figure out tomorrow what my starting 1.5 mile time will be.

I am looking into Ohio police academy and one of the final PT requirements is a 1.5 mile run. For my age group, I need to complete it in 11:58. Yesterday, while I was waiting on film to get developed, I decided to test my time. I did just under 1 mile (due to severe miscalculation) in 14:50. I know I could have done better, but not more than a max of a minute. A little over a year ago I was able to do a ~12 minute mile on my first time that I ran a mile without stopping, but after that I quit running except for a little here and there and never more than a slow quarter or half mile as a warmup. So does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can lower my running time? Academy will most likely last 9 months, and it probably won't start for a couple months depending on which class I get in, so I've got approximately a year to do so. I know this is totally doable, I just want to know how to best accomplish it.

2/27: I had to do a handstand day, so I decided to incorporate yoga afterwards. I did about a minute of wall handstand and tried to do a handstand pushup afterwards, but mostly failed. Then I did a 15 second L-stand. After that, people started coming into the room for a spinning class, so I had to leave. I had nowhere else to do my yoga workout, so I decided I'd do it when I got home. Once I got home, I ate dinner and fell asleep on the couch. So today (the 28th), I am doing a lifting workout, followed by my planned yoga. No added distance for the day. Life goal: Diet is going good. Math Think course doesn't start until March 4th. Designing Your Life will start before the end of the weekend. Room will be cleaned in the above time frame Still rolling for workout.

2/26: Rolled a 6, rerolled and got a 6, really didn't want a rest day so I rolled again and got a 2. Random WOD it was again. Today's workout was: Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:-Dumbbell thrusters, 15# per arm, 3 reps-3 Inverted pullups-Dumbbell thrusters, 15# per arm, 6 reps-6 Inverted pullups-Dumbbell thrusters, 15# per arm, 9 reps-9 Inverted pullups-Dumbbell thrusters, 15# per arm, 12 reps-12 Inverted pullups-Dumbbell thrusters, 15# per arm, 15 reps-15 Inverted pullupsetc. I only made it that far, plus 3 thrusters Warmup/cooldown was 2.25km of running and walking. Total distance of 6.5 km for the week.

Hiya Rangers, I'm back. After failing a couple challenges, missing one, starting over in the RP and going back to Adventurers; I'm here! Just commenting to sub to the thread. Link to my challenge is in sig (when I get it updated).

2/25: Rolled a 2, which meant random WOD. My friend joined me today and suggested a WOD he did 2 weeks ago. It was 5 rounds of: 250m row 15 DB snatch at 25lb, one arm 200 meter run 15 DB snatch at 25lb, other arm I did this and felt like I was dead. Also, warmup of 1 mile and cooldown of 1/4 mile. So a total travel distance of 4.25 km for the week.

Last Chapter: WoodWoes At the end of the last chapter, the Elder gave me a scroll with the instructions to not open it for 2 weeks. But I am severely impatient and want to continue my training. I break the seal and start unrolling it... .----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. / .-. You are now to start learning the skills of the other trades in these Woods. .-. \| / \ The first of these trades is the Ranger. They are a jack-of-all-trades and / \ || |\_. |are capable of doing anything that needs done. For your next challenge, you | /| ||\| | /|work hand in hand with them, improving all facets of your life to better |\ | |/|| `---' |tackle anything life can throw at you. They achieve this many ways, but you | `---' || |----------------------------------------------------------------------------| |\ | | / \ / \ / `---' `---' It kept continuing for much longer, but the basic gist of it is that these Rangers do not know what is going to come after them at any given time, whether it be a wall to be scaled, many miles to run, a fallen tree to be moved or even reanimated undead skulls to be crushed. So they have decided to be ready for all possibilities by constantly changing up their workouts. As such, I too must train as they do, while still improving upon some set goals. The Rangers do CrossFit, so I have designed a game I must do with it to accomplish my goals. The 3 fitness related goals that I have are: Overhead Press 1/2 my bodyweight (100 pounds) a full 5x5 - I'm going to use the SL 5x5 progression where each time I do the workout I increase it by 5 pounds, and I'm currently at 70 pounds. So I must increase it by 5 pounds a week. Move a total of 10 kilometers a week - Movement is any of walking, running, exercise biking or rowing. I do not have access to a real bike and I can't swim (maybe a summer goal could be to learn how?), so I cannot use those as actual movement. I am also not going to count non-workout focused movement except for work. At work, during night shift, my usual patrols consist of multiple miles of walking, so I'm taking those at half value. Handstand! - This was a goal last challenge, but I did not have the balance. All I want is a 15 second handstand and I will be happy. I have the strength to go up, I just cannot leave the wall without falling. The game Roll a d6 and each side designates a workout category for the day. I must roll it every day that I am able to make it to the gym (I usually head out of town 1 or 2 days directly after work and am not home until the next day). The sides are: Endurance Random WOD Bodyweight Handstand Lift Rest Endurance, WOD, and Bodyweight are going to be random WODs chosen from The WOD Shop's respective categories. WOD is "The Hopper" category. Handstand is just that. Work on doing a handstand, nothing more (unless I have energy and want to roll another exercise). Lift will be the 5 lifts from Strong Lifts (Squat, Bench, OHP, Row and Deadlift), but all done on a single day. I am allowing myself a single re-roll of either the die or the WOD Shop every day (for use when I lift and end up with lifting the next day), BUT I cannot accept a rest on a reroll. I also cannot have 2 rests in a row, and no more than 3 rests in a week to ensure completion of goal 1. Finally, if I get 4 days without lifting or handstand in a row, I will have to do that the next day to aid completion of goal 2 and 3. Finally for my Life Goal I need to increase my consistency and willpower. This will be done in multiple ways. Stay mostly paleo and completely gluten free. I did most of a Whole30 last challenge (as planned), but I immediately fell off the wagon again. This time I am going to do allow some cheats (very rarely white and dark chocolate, rice, juice, almond milk, cheese, etc.), basically stuff that doesn't effect me very much. I also have some teas that have minor amounts of sugar in them, and those are fine too. But gluten messes my stomach up nearly instantly, so that is going away completely.Complete the online Intro to Mathematical Thinking course I signed up for.Start and actively work on MIT OCW's Designing Your Life course.Every eligible day, roll the die. On any day that I try to talk myself out of it, I must roll and cannot accept a rest day AND I must add 20 burpees to the workout.Clean my room and keep it clean! I've been wanting to do this for a long time and it just keeps getting worse and worse.Finish anything I say I will do to the best of my ability.More possibly to come if I think of anything.Failure to do any of the above will result in 10% taken off of my grade. I will edit this later with reward points and possibly more information. I just wanted to type it all up before I forgot anything.

Congratulations bro! You killed those imps! Can't wait to see who your fight the next challenge.

In non-RP talk, my goals and results were: 1. Stronglifts 3 days a week. I did this except for 1 week where I was without a car and had no way to get to the gym. 75% complete, +2 STR +1 CON 2. 15 second handstand. I have the shoulder and core strength to do it, but not the balance. I can hold a wall assisted handstand for 45 seconds, but as soon as I take my feet from the wall (or bar as I hit my head on the wall too many times) I fall. 50% for the strength increase, +1 DEX +1 STA 3. Whole30 followed by paleo diet, with 1 weekend off for a planned trip. Did this really well, didn't do horrible on the planned days off and generally got a 100% score. +1 STA +2 CON +1 WIS 4. Pay down payment for NRA instructor course and go to the range weekly with all owned firearms. I made it to the range once or twice and used all of my pistols. A rifle and a shotgun went unused. Part of the blame goes to weather and constant car troubles, but not all of it. A lot of it goes to me not feeling like going or wanting to go. 33% for paying and using the pistols, but I feel nothing more than that can be awarded since I only went 1/3 of the scheduled times. +1 WIS * I am registered for the March 22nd, 23rd and 24th class, but my friend was late in registering and the class filled up. He is on the waiting list and I'm supposed to be getting a hold of the guy next week to see if they can move him up to the March class. If not, and depending on what weekend the April class is, I'll be moving back to that class and opening up another spot for someone on the March waiting list.

Thanks! I didn't have time last night to report there and I got on just for that reason. I'll post it now.

Thanks! I'm so proud of passing my fourth first challenge! Haha I am pretty proud of myself! I feel so much more confident than I have after any other challenge. And I'm not giving up on the handstand that easily.

I don't know about the drawbacks from the machines, but I'm guessing they don't work the stabilizers, which can lead to not being able to real pullup even the machine says you should be able to. As for using the bands correctly, this video is pretty explanatory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93gNrOhy5KU I don't know how much you weigh or what ratings the bands you have at your disposal, but I highly doubt they'll snap and put out an eye if you've been building up your strength pretty well with inverted rows. --Edit-- Well, isn't that odd. If you paste a link to a youtube video, it puts the player in. I couldn't figure out how to get the player until this post.

And now for the conclusion of the intro challenge A.K.A Chapter 1: WoodWoes You have been called into the Elder's personal chambers inside the Great Deku Tree (yes, this one) to have a review of your successes, as well as your failures, in your chosen quests. The Masters and those tasked with following you and reporting on your goals are outlined below: Master Quickbeam has said the following of you: Your diligence in the regimen has been commendable. You have constantly improved your strength and even doubled it in some regards (going from a working weight of 45lbs to over 125 in squats and 35 pound increases in bench press and rows). You may have had some outside problems causing you to not be able to complete your training, but those were outside your powers and you have circumvented them as well as you could do. Master Quickbeam has given you the Vine Bracers of Vine Strength, granting you +2 STR and +1 CON! Master Baobab said "Hmmfgrmbhmmphg!" With his head being stuck underground, it was impossible to understand him, but it didn't sound really happy. He had a passing worm transcribe his notes and brought back to the elder: LeadChipmunk was a less than stellar student. He tried, he strengthened his core values, but in the end he didn't have the balance to turn the comfortable into the uncomfortable. He requires more time to become comfortable. While your skills haven't increased to the Masters levels, he is willing to give you a taste of his fruit. Upon eating it, you gain +1 DEX +1 STA! Those Ninjasks and Shedinjas tasked with reporting on your diet have stated that, while you didn't solely eat nothing but that which is natural, you did a great job of it, rarely faltering. After the initial 30 days, you did relax some, but over the whole trial period, over 90% of your diet was outstandingly paleolithic in idea. This healthier eating has emboldened not only your health but your spirit as well. +1 STA, +2 CON, +1 WIS increase! The Archer Fish have accepted dowry to teach you to lead others whenever they are next able to accept apprentices, but when that time comes is unknown*. As for keeping your skills rust free, you haven't been able to achieve this, partially due to certain problems with ascertaining transportation. While practice is important, setting up the apprenticeship was the bulk of the challenge. +1 Wis granted for the knowledge gained in the (minimal) training. *Dun Dulun Duh Du!* Level Up! The Elder gives you a scroll with express requirements that it is not to be opened for a week. In non-RP talk, my goals and results were: 1. Stronglifts 3 days a week. I did this except for 1 week where I was without a car and had no way to get to the gym. 75% complete, +2 STR +1 CON2. 15 second handstand. I have the shoulder and core strength to do it, but not the balance. I can hold a wall assisted handstand for 45 seconds, but as soon as I take my feet from the wall (or bar as I hit my head on the wall too many times) I fall. 50% for the strength increase, +1 DEX +1 STA3. Whole30 followed by paleo diet, with 1 weekend off for a planned trip. Did this really well, didn't do horrible on the planned days off and generally got a 100% score. +1 STA +2 CON +1 WIS4. Pay down payment for NRA instructor course and go to the range weekly with all owned firearms. I made it to the range once or twice and used all of my pistols. A rifle and a shotgun went unused. Part of the blame goes to weather and constant car troubles, but not all of it. A lot of it goes to me not feeling like going or wanting to go. 33% for paying and using the pistols, but I feel nothing more than that can be awarded since I only went 1/3 of the scheduled times. +1 WIS * I am registered for the March 22nd, 23rd and 24th class, but my friend was late in registering and the class filled up. He is on the waiting list and I'm supposed to be getting a hold of the guy next week to see if they can move him up to the March class. If not, and depending on what weekend the April class is, I'll be moving back to that class and opening up another spot for someone on the March waiting list.

So that's where it all went wrong. Oh well, I like meat too much to change now. I'll have to agree with most of the previous "I can't trust"s, but especially with the paleo diet is eating what our ancestors ate claim.

I have learned that I shouldn't force a consistency challenge with 100% attendance when I have a very faulty car (especially doing 2 consistency challenges), that picking thing up and putting them down is quite fun and hollow bodies will make you want to die (though somehow are still fun). What will I do different? I'm not too sure, I know I won't have challenges that rely on my car working correctly. Besides that, I'm most likely going to completely change things up a good bit with my goals. Probably going to switch over to the Rangers next challenge and have a diverse set of goals. I learned before that I have better motivation when things change up. I think I see one too, but I don't think the Elder is yet willing to choose me as his successor. I know the challenge ends today, but I'm going to the gym tomorrow to do a final test on my handstand and I will have a full write up by the end of Wednesday since I don't see me being home very much tomorrow.

I don't know how correct it is, I've heard both are the correct form. As for keeping your elbows in, rotate your hands so your index fingers on the ground point straight ahead of you. Your elbows should go right beside you. I was actually taught the opposite of this picture: If I keep my hands at the 45 degree angle as above, my elbows flare out more than I like.

I would try subbing ghee for the butter. It is the same thing, just without the water or milk solids. Other options can be found on FoodSubs.com, just sort through the non-paleo suggestions.

Almost there! You got these! Have you tried doing any at ground level lately? You might already have one there.

I figure that the worst that will happen to me is I crash onto my head and break my neck. I've had worse.

A few hundred calories below, it isn't the end of the world. If you are wanting to lose weight, this is expected to actually lose anything. A total of 3500 calories is equal to one pound of fat, so if you don't want to lose weight, just add a bit of calories a day, maybe just add some fat to a meal and you should be good (a tablespoon of olive oil is somewhere around 150 calories).

Thanks! I did happen to miss the last week of everything due to lack of a car, picking up shifts at work and going to my girlfriend's place for her birthday. Back to the grindstone starting today. I love this car, but sometimes I just want to torch it. I finally figured out the problem was the alternator and instead of buying a new one, I happened to have my old FrankenJeep sitting in the yard with a dying transmission and 2 holes in the frame that I can put my closed fist through (that's why I own my current one). Even though it is an early model Jeep (meaning mostly incompatible engine), it has a late model engine (meaning some compatible parts), and there are even some Ford parts in it somehow. I don't know why. Either way, I was finally able to fix the car at no cost to me! I even put well over 200 miles on it over the weekend without even a hiccup. I didn't make it to the range. Moreso because of lack of car than bad weather. But now that it is fixed I will make it this week (as long as my boss doesn't get me this PI assignment that may take up lots of my free time this week). I did get to the gym today and did only lifting, starting right back where I left off. Squat 115# 5x5 Bench 75# 5x5 Row 75# 5x5 I did not get my core workout in due to laziness, but I'm going to start next time with back facing wall and kicking up into it, just so I can hopefully force a handstand to get through this challenge. I only have 1 week left. I did go slightly off diet this weekend, made my girlfriend dinner for (the night before) her birthday and used fake sugar (I believe sucralose) and bakers chocolate (no sugar, but still not technically allowed) in the souffle for dessert, and for her birthday we and her family went out to a chinese restaurant, where I had rice, dumplings and a peach bun that threw me off the diet. But I'm back on and going to finish through the rest of the challenge with no problems.

Welcome Duckie! How's everyone doing? I've stayed on paleo pretty well. Been slightly falling off of Whole30, but still 99+% paleo. Recipe share time! Last week I made some steak and bok choy nori wraps. They were pretty good, but a very strong seafood flavor from the nori. The next day I reheated the leftovers and the seafood flavor very much diminished. With it I sauteed up some greens. Thursday I made Moroccan butternut beef stew. It was pretty good but it was also quite spicy, almost overpoweringly so. Sunday was my girlfriend's birthday so I went to see her Saturday night and made her dinner. Kofta kabob (without the kabob), tzatziki, sauteed Greek kale (minus the feta) and for dessert, raspberry chocolate souffle. The souffle uses fake sugar and bakers chocolate, so that's the only place I left the diet for that meal. Sunday, me, her and her family went out to eat on at a really nice Chinese buffet. It was realy good and I mostly stuck to non-fried seafood, but I did have lots of sushi, dumplings and a peach bun with anko. I have no qualms about eating rice, I don't need to lose much more weight, so I can add it back in occasionally. The dumplings did not make me sick even though it is made of wheat, so that made me quite happy (I love dumplings!). Also, I was able to turn down ice cream cake!

Haha. It was only one sweet potato. A really big one. And most days I only eat one meal, so I make sure to be fueled enough for the next 24 hours. Haha Update 1/29: Went to the gym before work and did: squat 65lb 1x5 85lb 1x5 110lb 5x5 OHP 45lb 1x5 70lb 4x5, 1x4 Stalled out on my very last rep. I'll have to retry this weight on Saturday or Sunday, whichever day I go. Deadlift 145 5x5 I did not have time to get my core workout in. Whole30 is going good. I don't know about range time this week, they are calling for big storms and snow through the rest of the week. In other news, it seems that my car defrosted. I topped it off with coolant and it is running perfectly fine. The only issues I have now is that it doesn't want to start when it hasn't ran for 24 hours and has sat out in the rain. Unfortunately I won't be able to test the possible fix until the storm hits tomorrow, so I'm still out of a car tomorrow since I can't run it for 24 hours.

I don't really know about the meat going bad that quick. What was the expiry date on the package? For the brisket, I highly recommend making this ketchup. It has saved me many a dry roast. I add more ground mustard seed and more cayenne to give it less of a ketchup flavor and more of a steak sauce flavor.