WolfDreamer

I forgot to mention I am also 7 weeks into a weight loss management program called Wondr. My employer's insurance provider purchased a membership for everyone, so I figured why not. It's basically a website that offers informative videos about things like weight loss, mindful eating practices, nutrition, etc. And you can track your weight, your activity, and use mindful eating timer. I'll share more about my experience with this program later.

Sorry to hear about your ankles. Sending lots of hope you avoid sprains in 2023! #SprainFreeIn2023

Thank you. I'm getting better at listening to my body. I did some yoga, and today I was able to switch to alternating one-armed swings rather than the two-armed. Thank you! That's what I'm assuming. It's not pain so much as noticeable discomfort. Ehhh... not as often as I should. 🤦‍♂️ That is excellent advice! Thank you.

Grrr. I'm a little concerned. I'm having slight pain in my left lower back, and I can feel a slight pain there. Its been bugging me for a couple of days. I took a break from S&S yesterday and today just to he safe. Hopefully it eases up before my challenge begins. I also have a 5k on January 1st and need to get a few runs in beforehand.

That's a great way to explain it. I'm also mostly a fan of his podcast, but his episodes are so long and not always worth the time. I find myself catching the highlights on YouTube. Don't worry. I won't... not here anyway. Thank you. I really do like it because I can feel that it's working. I like to alternate between one arm swings some days and two arm swings other days. And yes, Turkish get-ups are quickly becoming my favorite exercise, as well.

Great to see you @Bean Sidhe. Sorry to hear about the arthritis. But I love your challenge because it's so personal and meaningful to you, which is what it most important. Here for support. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Roll call! Where are all the Adventurers?

Wolfdreamer hears another thud by the door at glances at the Ranger who just entered. He stares wide-eyed at the large pack the Ranger just dropped by the door. Even the wolf sits up and gives a concerned groan. "Quite the satchel you got there," he says to @DaemonCorax. "Looks like you have already 'unburdened' yourself." He chuckles and looks around the tavern. Then, his face looks strange as words come to him seemingly out of nowhere. "If at night you sing your tired chin to sleep, it's not a metaphor, it's a tragedy." Wolfdreamer clear his throat and looks around the tavern again. "Apologies," he says. "That happens sometimes." A little nervous and embarrassed, he makes eye contact with the wolf and seems to calm. He bows his head, looks at his drink, and sighs.

Beautiful challenge with a great theme. I confess I have yet to watch the series, but it is definitely making a cultural impact, which is good. I was so much in love with Christina Ricci as Wednesday in the Addams Family movies (especially the sequel--that Thanksgiving play!). Following and here to support you!

Here to follow and support you. The older I get the more I begin to appreciate simplicity. My return to poetry (especially the words of poets David Whyte and the late John O'donohue) has helped that. I look forward to seeing how your challenge goes.

The Adventurer nods to @Artemis Prime. "That's good you've seen them," he says. "It means you're protected." He glances over at the wolf with a clear look of wonder and pride. "So what burdens have you come to unload in this place?" he asks.

The Adventurer turns at the sound of something thumping onto the floor. He looks with concern at the Ranger who had just tumbled onto the floor next to his wolf companion. He is pleased, though, to see that the wolf responds well to the Ranger's fall and gentle pat, and to see that he recognizes the Ranger as @Artemis Prime. "Good boy, Nashoba," the Adventurer says. "Don't mind him," he says to the Ranger. "He's a softy indoors. It's out in the wild you'd need to worry."

Erg, sorry to hear about the pipes. I know that can be a nightmare. On a positive note, your challenge looks awesome. I'm dealing with a few "bad habit demons" myself, so I can relate. Here to support you. Let me know if I can help in any way.

I agree. I also feel like they keep my brain active during the exercise because I have to focus in order to do them correctly and safely. Thank you! If you want to see S&S in action, this is a pretty good video from Gregory Dzamili of Lebe Stark going through the workout. Notice they are doing the 10×10 swings, which is a great place to begin before progressing to the 5×20 in order to get 100 in 5 minutes.

The door to the tavern opens and shuts quickly, letting in the brisk cold for a few seconds before an Adventurer, clothed in a hooded furry cloak, shuts it behind him. A wolf is standing by his side. Both the man and the wolf shake the snow from their furry coats. The man mumbles something, and the wolf sits obediently as if guarding the door. "Evening," the man says, nodding to the other tavern guests. He removes his hood and approaches the bar. "Something warm and strong," he says. "And a treat for Nashoba here." The man nods his head towards the wolf.

Now THAT is an amazing way to spend a winter. Following of course!

Solid plan. Hope Little Bit feels better soon.

Following. Good to see you again @Athaclena. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Welcome back @The Most Loathed! Your challenge sounds awesome. I'm here for support. Let me know if I can help in any way.

The basics of S&S include: Warmup (3 sets of 5): Prying goblet squats Hip bridges Halos Workout: 100 kb swings in 5 minutes 1 minute rest 5 Turkish get-ups per side in 10 minutes I've been doing this workout 5-6 days a week since I received the kettlebell. Some days I don't get enough reps of get-ups, and some days I need more rest between the swings and the get-ups. I've been breaking the swings down to 5 sets of 20 and doing them EMOM, which gives me about 30 seconds of rest between sets. And for the get-ups, I just set an AMRAP timer for 10 minutes. I am getting stronger (which is the point of S&S), and this morning I hit the goal for the workout. But don't worry. I'll never be confident enough to do this: Pavel has a quote about kettlebell training that I love: "Experience and science agree that kettlebell training develops a wide range of attributes: strength and power, various types of endurance, muscle hypertrophy, fat loss, health, and more. The kettlebell swing has been known to improve the deadlift of elite powerlifters—and the running times of high-level long distance runners. This is what gireviks call 'the What the Hell Effect.' The kettlebell defies the laws of specificity." Even though they're difficult, I really like Turkish get-ups. I can tell I get a good workout in a short amount of time.

Hey! Always great to see you. She is pretty awesome. I've actually been consistently waking up between 0430-0515 for a while now, so this won't be so bad.

In my defense, it's only about an hour before everyone else gets up (except on weekends, of course). So this gives me a good hour to myself. Glad to have you both along for support. That's hilarious. My wife has given her father socks or underwear every year for as long as I've known her because that's what he asks for every year.

Life has been a lot. I realized a few months ago that, while I haven't felt miserable or unhappy, my current trajectory isn't great. I can feel my mental health slipping and some bad habits returning. However, two specific things have helped re-direct my mind towards my goals for this challenge. First, my daughter bought be a kettlebell for Christmas. It sort of started as a joke. She texted me and asked, "What do you want for Christmas?" I responded that I kind of wanted a kettlebell, not really being serious. Her reply: "I can do that. What weight?" So I asked for a 35lb/16 kg, what the Russians refer to as one "pood". My daughter ordered the kettlebell early, so for the past few weeks I have been training with it using a plan known as Simple and Sinister, designed by Pavel Tsatsouline, a man often credited for starting the kettlebell craze here in America. I'll explain S&S more in a later post. Second, I saw an ad online for the Discipline Equals Freedom Reset, hosted by Jocko Willink's leadership organization, Echelon Front, and Jocko Fuel. While I know Jocko and his military brand of motivation isn't for everyone, I admire the man and am often motivated by his message and his story. Short background: I was in Marine Corps JROTC in high school and would have enlisted if not for epilepsy. This may explain why I respond well to someone like Jocko. So, without further delay, below are my goals. They are modified to nearly mirror the goals of the DEF Reset Challenge: Objective: Develop and/or strengthen healthy habits within my life. Set achievable goals for each category. Use the DEF tracker to track daily/weekly progress and report here. This challenge is a 4 week challenge. In addition to daily challenges, there will be weekly challenges that will focus on two daily challenges per week to be posted on social media and to be entered into prize drawings. GOAL 1 — UP BEFORE THE ENEMY: 0415-0430 wakeup GOAL 2 — GET AFTER IT Morning run or walk (at least 2.7 miles) Kettlebell workout (Simple & Sinister) GOAL 3 — PRIORITIZE AND EXECUTE Identify the top three things to accomplish each day and then execute! GOAL 4 — HYDRATE OR DIE Drink at least 120 ounces of water per day GOAL 5 — FUEL Keep it simple: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants; avoid boxed, processed foods (i.e. "fake" foods) GOAL 6 — SUGARCOATED LIES No blatant sugar (cookies, candy, cake, ice cream, sugary drinks, etc.) GOAL 7 — BACK TO THE BOOK Spend at least 20 minutes a day on personal development (reading, journaling, etc.) Meditate/pray at least 10 minutes a day Write at least one poem a day GOAL 8 — REMEMBER Write down at least 1 thing I am grateful for each day BONUS (as challenged by Jocko): 100 burpees in less than 10 minutes or 10 minutes of burpees WEEKLY CHALLENGES: WEEK 1 — UP BEFORE THE ENEMY/GET AFTER IT Post a photo/video of how you are getting up early and/or completing your daily physical activity, use #DEFReset, @echelonfront, and @jockofuel to enter to win WEEK 2 — PRIORITIZE AND EXECUTE/HYDRATE OR DIE Post a photo/video of how you are accomplishing tasks and/or hitting your hydration goals, use #DEFReset, @echelonfront and @jockofuel to enter to win WEEK 3 — FUEL/SUGARCOATED LIES Post a photo/video of how you are sticking to your diet and avoiding junk food, use #DEFReset, @echelonfront and @jockofuel to enter to win WEEK 4 — BACK TO THE BOOK/REMEMBER Post a photo/video of how you are spending time on personal development and honoring those who sacrificed for us, use #DEFReset, @echelonfront and @jockofuel to enter to win

Thank you for the check in. I would like to say it is going well, but my mental health has... hit a standstill, if that makes sense? I wouldn't say I'm in a dark place, but I just feel... bleh. And it has been exacerbated by the weather and the viral cold that I caught last week. But I'm here, and I did join a challenge that starts this week that I'm excited to start. I also have a kettlebell coming in the mail this week (an early Christmas gift from my daughter). Yes, I'm back. 😆 Sorry to keep you in suspense. The challenge I joined is a virtual 100 day 270 mile challenge. I will run 2.7 miles every day for 100 days. Knowing winter is coming, I ordered a new toboggan and gloves to keep my head and hands warm. I already have a mask to wear to keep from breathing too much cold air. And, since I have a kettlebell coming, I plan to start one of Darebee's kettlebell training programs. Hopefully I will post more often. I don't have an excuse other than for the past few challenges I have dropped the ball, and then the shame spiral starts, and I struggle to post that I failed, even when my challenges don't really involve success or failure. I am grateful to those of you who follow me and look for my updates. I'll do better, I promise. I just ask for patience and understanding.

I took some videos during my trip to the NRGNP and made a few TikToks if you want to check them out: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR9f8bR8/ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR9fdCAv/ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR9yE5vo/