trovan

By serious exercise, i mean that I will do 30-45 minutes of dedicated exercise, like running/weight training. Taking the dog for a walk doesn't count. Good point though. I need to be a little clearer on that one, methinks.

After a too-long hiatus from NF and from fitness in general, I have returned, more determined than ever. I was filmed dancing with my wife the other night and was thoroughly disgusted by my appearance. So, here are my goals: 1. Serious Exercise 4 days a week. Meaning 30-60 minutes of actual dedicated exercise. Running, weight training, tabatas, etc. 2. Log my intake religiously on myfitnesspal.com 3. Get back up to 10 pull-ups and down to a 26 min 5k. 4. Practice Guitar EVERYDAY. I really want to put more goals down, and I kind of cheated by doubling up on #3, but I will limit myself to these, this time around. Hopefully I can get myself back into some good habits and be able to leave this type of goal behind forever.

Thanks for the support. @Jeffo, yeah, the 1000 words is either towards my ongoing novel writing project or my blog. Or both.

Welcome to the Rangers! And good luck on your goals. The attachments wont open, by the way. It says I do not have permission.

Good luck, Talia! Welcome to the Rangers!

Some of you may remember me from when I was pretty active on here a year or so ago. Life has been kicking my trash lately and I've decided to start fighting back. I need to start living the Ranger Life again. I was happier then. So, here's mah goals: 1. Log food intake EVERY DAY. 2. Exercise 3 times a week, minimum. 3. Write 1000 words a day. 4. Finish Certification training and pass the test for CCNA. I know that only 2 are health goals and 2 are life goals, but that is what I think I need right now. I could do a # of pull-ups goal or lbs. lost goal, but I think these goals will serve me better for this round. Next round I will get into more specific goals. This challenge is about making those changes I need to make to get my life back on track. I'll get to point distribution later.

Sheesh...I've been really bad about updates this time around. Last week was a bad week for getting the family active, as they were all sick. I was the only one to escape it. I think it's because of healthy living, but I can't tell them that without getting punched. I got to 9 pull-ups this morning. It's a new record, and only 1 away from my goal. I'll keep pushing. I'm still working on that life goal. Work has gotten in the way lately.

I am still plugging along at my goals. I am having the most trouble with my life goal. I still need to take that cert test. Soon.... On a side note, I climbed a climbed a climbing wall tonight that was hard for me before. But with all of the pull-ups I've been doing, it was easy tonight. :-) Also, I've been experimenting a bit with IF. I'm trying the 5/2 method for the next few weeks to see if I can get past a weight plateau and improve my overall health.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys and gals. I'm sysadmin, but I don't get paid much for it since I don't have any of the certifications. I am going take the MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) exam for Windows Server 2008 soon, then hopefully get a much better paying job. It's too bad that just being an awesome sysadmin isn't good enough. Also, set a new PR for pull-ups today: 8! I'm doing well!

I got almost my whole family out playing in the street (at the end of a cul-de-sac) last night. I even learned to ride a rip-stick. I'm also setting new speed records with my new barefoot running shoes. I should have switched to barefoot long ago. Lastly, I'm looking into starting some IF. Have any of you done it? I might need some help integrating it with workouts.

At last! I already do a lot of push-ups and pull-ups. I'll have to find some walls to climb.

Here are those pictures I promised you. My wife was supposed to help me get some better ones, but she got busy and I was too lazy to get out the real camera and a tripod. So this is what you get: [ATTACH=CONFIG]5026[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]5027[/ATTACH]

When do we get our week 1 challenge?

Week 1, Day 1 & 2: Things have gone well so far. I diet and exercise are on track. I took the family for a long walk yesterday. I've had no caffeine. Things are looking good. I took some before pics, but they are on my work computer, so I'll post them tomorrow.

I just posted my challenge thread!

Story A small group of people were gathered in a clearing surrounded by dense forest. A single path led into the glade, which was how they came to arrive there. They came from a small village nearby, where they had each encountered a mysterious stranger. A ranger, by the name of Trovan. He had instructed each to be in the clearing at the specific time. "War, and his sister, Death, are coming to your village. If you want to help your people to survive it, meet me at Hawker's Noll tomorrow morning, just after dawn." he's said to each one. They were, of course, afraid at first, but they'd all come. The youngest was a 7 year old girl, the oldest a gray-haired man, bent with age. The near-dozen conversed nervously in whispers while they waited for Trovan to arrive. "This is rubbish!" A young man exclaimed. "What a waste of time! I have work to tend to!" and with that, he stormed off out of the clearing. A few others followed, until there was only 6 left. "Do you think he forgot?" the youngest girl asked. There were a few cautious mumbles, but no direct reply. "I didn't forget." Trovan responded. Everyone gasped and whirled, some of them falling, as he had seemingly just appeared amongst them. He stood in a dark green cloak, the hood drawn to conceal his face, but then he drew it back, revealing a middle aged man with brown hair and a short beard. A bow was slung over his shoulder, a full quiver over the other. The gathered townsfolk picked themselves up and faced the ranger. He pulled back his cloak, revealing a brace of weapons and more dark green clothing. "As I told each of you before. War is coming to your village. I have seen the armies gathering, and if you wish to survive, you will need some skills beyond farming and baking. Your training begins now." Challenge For this challenge my wife suggested that it be a priority to help others, like a few specific family members to improve their healthy. I'm training my wife and kids, and a sister-in-law and her children, in the ways of the Rangers. So, here are my goals: 1. Two family athletic activities per week. WIS:1 DEX:2 2. Continue daily exercise and food tracking, and cut out caffeine completely. CON:2 STA:3 3. Finally get that stinkin' 10 pull-ups goal. STR:2 4. Pass my certification tests, and either get a new job or get paid more at the current one. WIS:3 CHA:2

Hey, everyone! I'm still fleshing out some goals for this round, but I'm super excited. Just a thought, and probably not a new one, but it could be cool to do a title system, like after completing so many challenges you would earn the title 'the Dedicated', and you could add it to your signature. Just a thought.

I gave myself 75% on 3 of my goals, and a F on my life goal. I actually did really good for 4.5 weeks of the challenge, but then I let life sidetrack me.

I made a big mistake towards the end of this challenge: I stopped making daily update posts. As soon as I stopped making myself accountable every day, I stopped trying. Still...I made it through 4.5 weeks of the challenge doing pretty awesome. So, here's how I think I did overall: 1. Exercise 6 days a week. I did great for 4.5 of the 6 weeks. So I am giving myself 75% on this one. STR .75, DEX .75, CON .75, STA .75 2. Track diet and eat healthy. Again, I did great for 4.5 out of the 6 weeks. Another 75%. CON 3 3. Get to 10 consecutive, unassisted pull-ups. I ended this one at 7 out of the 10. I've had a hard time increasing the pull-up count, even though I have seen some definite muscle growth. 70% it is. STR 3 4. Blog twice a week. Ugh...not so good here. I needed a total of 12 posts for 100%. I got 5. 42% it is. That's an 'F', folks. WIS 1, CHA .5 This puts my new Level 3 stats at: STR 9.75 DEX 3.75 STA 6.75 CON 7.75 WIS 5 CHA 3.5

I ran about 5k on Saturday. I'll run some more soon.

Week 4 Review: This last week I have been really bad about updates. I have still been working hard and getting the workouts and food logs in. And blogging a bit. And watching a lot of Dr. Who. My weight seems to have stabalized for the time being at approx. 210. I think it's a good sign, though, since I used to plateau at about 205, but I now have bigger muscles. Hopefully this all means that I've actually put on about 5 lbs of muscle weight while still losing fat. I also watched the awesome TEDx talk that Steve did. It has me thinking about designing my own RLMMORPG (Real Life). I'm kind f excited about it.

Week 4, Day 2: Today ended well. I got the run in that I needed. I needed it mentally as much or more than physically. I'd been having a bad couple of days, and today was the turning out to be uber depressing. It may just be endorphins from my run, but I feel a lot better about things.

I attempted the might Fartlek tonight. I don't remember them being this painful when I was a teenager. Next up: Tabatas.

I'm not sure how it's supposed to be, but I try to got 100% on each set. Obviously, my 100% on the last set isn't as shiny as my first.

I do HIIT (Insanity) 3 times a week. I'll throw in some extra tabata workouts this week, and some of my runs will be fartleks. I'd been wanting to add fartleks anyway, but I was wussing out.