x Valkyrie x

Wow, your variety of training is inspiring! I've been thinking of adding KB to my training...how many days a week do you do martial arts vs S&S/other training? Super impressive, friend!

Exactly! That's why it's good for everyone to spar with everyone- the bigger or more experienced people have the opportunity to perfect their technique, and the small people have to find out what works for them and learn what doesn't. Guys like the ones I've encountered at every club I've had the privilege to train at make it a lot easier, and I hope to be an ambassador for the sport, especially as I improve and can maybe someday mentor the way some of my good friend should have mentored me! Thanks! Haha not at all, you've said it exactly I will! Gotta love the grind, or there's no point in playing the game!

Hey Wolf! Nice job on all the training! I read that you're in the middle of The Stand, that is an absolutely fabulous book and I'm stoked that you're reading it! I also like the Mitch Rapp books! though I feel like Mitch doesn't get much character development...I've only read 2 though, so maybe he needs more time to bloom haha. If you're looking for an amazing book after The Stand, check out I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. One of the most gripping thrillers and beautifully written novels I've ever read. I didn't read everything, but I saw you mention in the beginning you were thinking of doing BJJ/MMA. Any follow up on that? I'm doing BJJ as my main squeeze now, and I can't even express how much I love it, if you get a chance to try it, do!

Training today: 2x60 minute sessions, 7 and 11 AM. Session 1: Drilled: Standing Takedown to Armbar and Triangle with varying amounts of resistance Armbar/Triangle from Full Guard Finished with Flow, helping the fiancee with his guard passing technique and working on my own escapes. Session 2: Drilled: Standing Takedown to Mount using de la riva, A de la riva sweep to take back when you are seated and opponent is standing (i.e. if initial takedown sweep doesn't work, this is an alternate) Triangle from Full Guard Free Rolls 2x5' where I struggled to pass my training partner's guard. He's seriously got the fastest legs I think I've ever seen. Salsa dancers, you got nothing on this guy's hips. As per usual, I left class sweaty, humble and happy. Thoughts on Triangle from Full Guard: In both classes I was shown different ways to get the arm and break the posture. I prefer the second way because it seems like it creates less space, but you have to be really determined about it or it won't work. The first way is to shrimp and get your knee in and in conjunction with controlling the sleeve, push your knee against the bicep and break posture that way, pushing them over and your other knee pins their other shoulder to control. It's good because you don't have to out-muscle their arm, my leg will win every time, but I find it difficult with larger people to keep my other knee tight against the shoulder to control and then you have to free the leg that broke the posture to go over the neck. The second way, that I prefer, has you grip both sleeves, and you push one arm and put opposite foot to hip at same time, giving yourself room to put same side leg over their neck. I prefer this because it's less steps and straight into the triangle choke with less wiggle room. The downside is you have to be really ruthless with breaking the grips or it's a fight the whole way and, knowing myself, I won't get the choke. Determination of spirit is a big one for me, and it's coming along. I clearly need to work on passing guard. I'm dreadful at it, and my training partner is stellar at maintaining guard, so he's definitely a good one to practice with. Calluses are starting to form on my first knuckles, which I'm thrilled about. Spider grips tear my hands up, excited for that not to be as much of a thing anymore!

Nice job, Shotokan! I had to google katas, I had no idea what that was, they seem as intricate as a dance! Wow! I'm glad the hip mobility stuff helped you. Something that can help sometimes(physical therapist assistant here) in addition to mobility work is strengthening your middle hip muscle (gluteus medius, if you care to know lol), which is done with basically anything with a single leg stance or a split leg stance or lateral movement, because the middle hip stabilizes the pelvis during movement/single leg positions, like kicking or balancing. When it's weak or fatigued, other muscles have to try to stabilize the pelvis and become "tight", sometimes leading to that hip flexor tightness you're describing, which can cause knee and back pain/tightness, so it may be worth looking into. Keep on kicking butt! Your KB/burpee workout is awesome...I may steal the idea!

Thank you, Toshimi!! I think rolling with guys is good for me because it forces me to really work on staying on top and having really spot on technique, because I'm simply not going to be able to muscle my way out of something, whereas with girls, I tend to be on the strong side and can be more of a brute, muscle them into a sweep/submission or myself out of a submission, so I'm hoping the technique will carry over so that if I match against a girl with spot on technique or who's stronger than me, I'm ready. I try to get girls to join my club all the time, I'm like, "it's just like yoga, only with more choking!" I haven't been successful yet. I think the entry into combat sports is often very intimidating for women. I know my first time in my club at home in the States, I walked in and almost walked right back out. It was all big dudes with tattoos and rap music in the background, but a nicer group of fellas you never met! And there were even a few girls at that club, which was great for just starting out. In Ireland, I think there's a bit more of a gender gap in what is considered normal for girls to participate in. They do gaelic football and hurling (called "camogie" when it's girls), which are rough field sports, but combat sports would be kind of the domain of the guys, unless it was "kickboxercise" style cardio classes. Key: Accomplished: + Failed: - 9/28, Tuesday: Training: Rest day. Macros: + Sugars: + Sodium: - A bit high due to amazing roasted veggie mac and cheese and homemade brown soda bread. Water: - (80 oz, very close, just need to refill more often)

Unfortunately funds came into it. We had some unexpected expenses the last couple of months and the cost of flights, accommodation and transportation added up to be unfeasible. :/

Ooh Jon I'm excited for you!! You're gonna kill it on Saturday!!

Hello! I am Valkyrie, a Ranger! I began my journey with the Rebellion a year ago August (wow!), but have been hit or miss with my activity since February. I began as a Ranger, because I was a lifter and a OCR-training person. I completed a Sprint and a Super this year, and I had plans to complete the Beast this coming Saturday, however, funds being what they are, that isn't a possibility, unfortunately. However, May 22nd, my life changed. I discovered Brazilian jiu jitsu, and truly, my life will never be the same. As is the case with most young love, I was enamored and, yes, obsessed with BJJ. I thought about it all the time. I shrimped in my sleep. I dreamt of drills, and looked forward all day to class. I could say that the love has tempered in the last few months, cooled with time...but it hasn't. I still shrimp in my sleep and wonder if BJJ thinks about me too. In July, I received my first stripe and it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I was so honored! Then, in August, I went to Ireland to be with my fiancee for 3 months, and within a week I had found a new BJJ club and had talked the future husfriend into trying it out with me. Hey Mikey, he likes it! (Because, duh. It's awesome! And if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!) So, now I'm training 3-4x a week, going to 2 morning classes on Weds/Fri, because why not? I have the time and freedom, an opportunity I may not have again! Now enters the Irish Winter Open. The opportunity for men and women of variously colored belts to pit their skills and cunning against their similarly sized competitors. In short? A tournament! And I am going to fight! October 22nd is the fateful day, and I cannot wait to test my mettle against fellow women...my usual rolling partners are men with 20 to 30 lbs on me. It will be extremely interesting to play the game with another girl who is close to my size! So, this brings me to the goals for the remainder of this challenge cycle: 1. Maintain weight at 143-146 lbs (my weight class is -152 lbs in the gi, and my gi weighs 3.6 lbs, I'd like not to be worried about that for weigh ins) - This will be accomplished by sticking to my Eat To Perform macros, minding sodium* and added sugar**, drinking lots of water***, going to bed on time****, and getting 8-10k steps a day/comparable bicycling distance. 2. Train minimum of 3x a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) - attend 7 and 11 am classes 2x/week (Wed/Fri), and add in or swap a day for an evening class 1x/week or every other week (more people at the evening class to roll with) 3. Write down drills after each class to aid in retention of steps and sequence (this is invaluable and I wish I'd been doing it for months instead of a week! How much could I have remembered!?) So, that's all I've got for now. Looking forward to boring anyone who will read it with my ecstatic description of drills and free rolls, because I get all kinds of excited about this stuff! *Sodium between 2000-2800 mg **Sugar 75-100 mg (my usual is like...130 g, so....baby steps, people) ***100 oz H20 ****making 8 hours of sleep a priority, in bed by 9 pm the night before class.

Killed it at my Super yesterday! It took us 4 hours and 38 minutes, but mostly because we lost an hour taking care of one of our team mates who got heat stroke. At first she was just really struggling on the hills and couldn't catch her breath, so I hung back with our team leader, JT, and her, because we were gonna finish together no matter what. But then she started to demonstrate altered level of consciousness, and we knew things were not ok. We thought we could get her to the water station and call for help, but she collapsed, so JT ran ahead and got a volunteer to call the medic. My other teammates had been waiting at the obstacle, and came back, one of them was a paramedic, so he checked her vitals while I acted as her back rest and told her everything was going to be ok. She thought Obama was president and couldn't remember how old she was; it was scary. Once the medics came and got her in the rhino and headed down the mountain, we got back to business and flew through the next few miles (JT and I had all kinds of energy from walking the first 1.5 miles, all we wanted was to RUN!). This course was an uphill slog for the first half of the race, then a series of ups and downs, a pond crossing and more dust than you could shake a stick at. They aren't kidding when Spartan veterans say that the Utah course is one of the toughest in the country, due to the topography. So. Many. Hills. It's a ski resort, for crying out loud! Add to that, 90 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, and the environment was its own obstacle, for sure! My team had expressed some kind of snide doubts about how I would perform, since I hadn't been training with them. I'm happy to say that Jiu Jitsu is an effective conditioning tool, and working out in 103 degree heat in full gi conditioned me for the elements, as well! Nanner nanner! I'm looking forward to running the Beast with only the future Husfriend, it will be more fun with him! I did 150 burpees, failing all the same grip obstacles I failed last time...at least I'm consistent! But I wasn't as upset with myself this time, because I was fecking tired after 7 miles haha and I couldn't care, I just did the burpees and moved on. 2/3 races completed for my Trifecta! I have only the Windsor Beast in a September left, and I'm stoked to start training with my fiancée next week! I leave on Friday for Ireland and my fears have all been assuaged by his loving understanding and our mutual desire to always work things out. I am the most blessed girl to have someone like him to go through life with, and who will talk me off the ledge of anxiety when It gets a little too close for comfort. We are going to train for our Spartan Beast, and I'm going to continue to pursue Jiu Jitsu, and we're going to do all the fun things together, I'm extremely excited! I really can't wait for Netflix and chill

It's going so well!! I did my Spartan Super yesterday, and it went great, 7 miles of hills and mud, owned. I leave on Friday for Ireland and I couldn't be more excited! I'll post pictures from the race after I consume some coffee

l have been doing BJJ since May 31st, 3 days a week without fail. It is the single most fun sport/workout type activity I've ever done. I have found my niche, something I'm both naturally talented at, and that I love enough to work at. Today I received my first stripe, and I'm so proud of myself and honored to have received it. I can't wait to keep improving and learning, and to guide players newer than me into the sport the way that my friends and peers guided and welcomed me. A girl was there today, watching us, and she asked me some questions because I'm a girl fighter and she is intimidated to try, I really hope she comes on Thursday and gives it a shot!

This past weekend I went to Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah. It was incredible!! I hiked (and never once felt like I was dying), shot a pistol for the first time (with appropriate safety precautions, i ain't no fool), saw the Milky Way, lizards, volcanic rocks leftover from a world that's gone, and sheer red cliffs which made me feel small and in awe of God's creation. Back home now, and I am exhausted haha. But I'm back to hitting my macros, with a new fire in my belly to work hard and make things happen! I ordered some new gloves for monkey bars and I have 3 weeks to practice with them. I'm also going to start doing TGUs and some Kettlebell work to supplement my BJJ training, add in some cardio, and work on my grip, all in one fell swoop! I'm thinking Monday's and Friday's, and maybe Wednesday if it isn't too much on top of BJJ Tues/Wed/Thurs. Tomorrow I'm going for a run and gonna practice my TGUs with a shoe before I move up to weighted practice.

I leave August 11th, through November 8th! Yay! Haha yes, after some feelings-dealings with the future husfriend, I am much more excited and much less fearful for this upcoming adventure!! Thanks! Yeah...still not doing great with this, but I did a ton of hiking this weekend and it was easy, so I'm still feeling fairly confident....for better or worse haha.

Looks like you're beasting it!! ticket to ride is so fun!!

Thanks guys! It has been an awesome birthday week! Wednesday was the day with my family, and it was so nice, we played Pandemic and found a great brunch place, and I went to BJJ and my parents got to see what I'm so passionate about! i also was incredibly spoiled and was given a bicycle, which I will be taking to Ireland, so that I have a means of reliable transportation over there- complete with water proof saddle bag and a breathable rain coat. Also, an agility ladder so I can drill in our backyard over there I am the most spoiled!! Saturday we had an awesome Lake Day party, with sangria and kayaks and 90's hip hop, it was pretty fabulous! Yesterday I returned to work, and boy it was tough haha, I'm getting a bit Short I think, as my last day approaches. And all I want to do is sleep! I skipped my workout this morning in favor of an extra hour and it was a good choice lol. Back on track with sleep and macros today, ready to start doing the work again! That Super won't care that my brain has gone on a semi-permanent vacation, I gotta get my runs and hiit in, or I'll be hating life on August 5th.

Haha fireworks in summer is the Utah life! You guys are missing out nice job with the mileage, that is an insane number!

Haha you're gonna hold that against them for life, I can tell! they are indeed, they've actually signed up, so that's a step in the correct direction! I almost bailed on the Super because I had the chance to go on a week long road trip in yellowstone national park, but it fell through, so the Super is still on! Thanks Jon, birthdays are bigger than Christmas at my house, so it's always a fun time!

Hey, I found you! Following along

Things are going well so far! I've gotten a lot of time off recently, as I'm trying to use up my PTO before I finish up at work next month. I've used the time wisely, I think. Saturday I did a killer hiit workout with my Spartan team, who I've been neglecting as of late. It was great fun! (1/1 accessory workouts: aka a non bjj workout) and had an excellent date with the future husband. (1/1 extended date :p) Yesterday I worked a half day, then did BJJ (making 1/3 training sessions for the week...it should really be more of "get an award for taking a rest day from bjj) cuz it's not a problem to get my sessions in), and learned some cool stuff with my friend. We just went and rolled by ourselves cause there's no class on Sunday. Today I worked a half day. I got a review from one of my coaches on ETP where I was a little bit chastised for having super low steps and told to get my general activity (aka: nonworkout) back up to snuff, so I went for a walk in the flippin' heat of day cuz I'm silly. Then I called the future husfriend and we chatted and laughed and I couldn't help but remember I'm a damn lucky girl. My birthday is Wednesday, but we're gonna celebrate with a lake day on Saturday with my parents and some friends, and we're gonna do kabobs, so we're doing a practice run tonight. Photos will follow once they get off the grill! I have not not read any nonfiction, however I did start listening to a new book on Scribd, which I'm enjoying. It's called "Alone", by Lisa Gardner.

That's a good way to approach most things in life, I think, take the good and leave the rest! Casein cookies, this I have never heard of. That was an interesting Ted talk! It's true, if the answer to "what's the worst that can happen" isn't death or dismemberment, and sometimes even then, it's worth a shot. but seriously, I think this is a necessary challenge for me, I'm too much of a control freak and sometimes self-sufficient to my own detriment, it will be good for me (aka: uncomfortable) to practice relying on him and be less of "an island", cuz ain't nobody an island unto themselves! Thanks!

Haha I try to avoid the 1000 calorie bedtime snacks as well, mostly because I want those 1000 calories during the day lest I starve. :p Woohoo you're gonna do awesome! What distance are you doing? I did a lot of hiit training and steep hiking and I feel like those two things did the trick, in regards to conditioning for the shorter distance of the sprint. Thanks!

Thanks for ideas! Glad to be back, and dedicated to not ghosting on this challenge Fuckin' Boise.... Rurik, am I correct in remembering you do ETP, too? Man, this program has been a game changer, the recomp is real, I can't believe how lean/strong I'm getting and how much I get to eat...unreal! Haha I told my fiancée, "I predict I will find myself a team!" And I did oh man, I almost cried with frustration when I fell off the rope, I was so close, like a foot from the top. But I'm even more determined to make it through more of the grip obstacles next time!!

Super fun challenge! Also, glad you didn't get mugged...(there I go, expecting the worst of people, it is sad!) For what purpose are you doing IF? To restrict calories? I've never really understood the strategy...edumacate me if you have a second

Burpees suck, but it's not as bad as when you're doing them as part of a standard workout cuz you've got a bunch of people suffering with you during the race What is your strategy? I know I need to do all of the monkey bars and dead hangs and farmers carries...what frequency do you work grip?