Navindra

For this challenge, I'll be joining Rurounii in eating clean for six weeks! No bread, no sugar and little to no dairy. Should be fun! Fitness Goals: Goal Number One: I'll be maintaining my clean-eating habits as best I can by brown-bagging my lunch and introducing a lot of pseudograins into my diet, like amaranth. Hopefully that will curb my cravings for bread. I'll also be cutting sugar from my diet, and using stevia instead, as well as introducing more fresh produce into my diet. (+2 CON +1 STA) Goal Number Two: I will be competing in a fitness competition with Rurounii against his college friends. It'll be the whole nine yards- running, lifting, pull-ups, everything I've been training for. I will be in the top two, without a doubt! (+1 STA +1 CON +1 STR) Goal Number Three: Squat 200 pounds. I'm within twenty-five pounds of this one! (+2 STR +1 STA) Life Goal: Write at least five hundred non-course work related words a day. (+2 CHA +1 WIS)

I'm back!! I've been away from a computer for a while, but I'd like to quickly tally up my points and level up! Challenge One: Run an 8-minute mile- +2 STA +1 CON +1 DEX 100% !! I ran a mile in 7:51 (+2 STA, +1 CON, +1 DEX) Challenge Two: Lift my weight (140 lbs) in deadlift, which is forty more than I'm lifting currently- +2 STR +1 CON +1STA 75% complete, I got up to 120 pounds (+1.5 STR, +.75 CON, +.75 STA) Challenge Three: Increase bench-press weight by 15 lbs- +1 STR +1 CON +1 STA 100% I managed to increase the weight by twenty pounds Life Goal Finish my conference/finals work before December 14th- +2 WIS +1STA +1 CON 100% Complete (+2 WIS, +1 STA, +1 CON)

I'm a bit late in the game thanks to tech week for a show and illness, but I'm back! This next challenge is more about overall fitness and endurance than strength, but I think it will help me get healthier in the long run. Fitness Goals Challenge One: Run an 8-minute mile- +2 STA +1 CON +1 DEX Challenge Two: Lift my weight (140 lbs) in deadlift, which is forty more than I'm lifting currently- +2 STR +1 CON +1STA Challenge Three: Increase bench-press weight by 15 lbs- +1 STR +1 CON +1 STA Life Goal Finish my conference/finals work before December 14th- +2 WIS +1STA +1 CON Wish me luck! I have another tech week coming up, and I need to stay on track.

My first challenge has ended very well; I've earned fourteen out of fifteen points! Fitness Goals: 1) Finally manage to do at least one pull-up! My difficulty in building upper arm strength is probably why my shot-putting career was so dismal, but hopefully I can turn that around by mastering this exercise. +2STR +2STA Could not quite manage a full pull-up, but could do ten assisted pull-ups. +1.5STR and 1.5STA 2) Increase my clean-and-jerk weight by fifteen pounds. +1STR +1 DEX Did it last Thursday! Full points. 3) Complete one of my workouts with thirty reps each in squats, deadlifts, bench press, clean-and-jerk, and overhead press. +2CON +1STA +1STR +1DEX Hundred percent completion!! Yay me! Life Goal: 1) Read at least three non-school related books, starting with Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. This will be especially hard once classes start again, but by God I need to become more literate. +3 WIS +1 CHA Done and done! Snow Crash was by far my favorite, though both Neuromancer and Kraken had great premises. I'm very proud with how this first challenge went, but I noticed that I need to improve my stamina and flexibility. I'm also going to be stating yoga classes for the next six weeks, so that might help with both. I can't wait for the next challenge!

Fitness goal number 3 complete!! I was able to do thirty reps of overhead press, squats, clean-and-jerk, deadlift and bench press (in that order)! Followed, of course, by a protein shake fit for champions. Hopefully by the end of the challenge I can increase the weight used in each exercise.

Challenge accomplished! I logged an extra workout yesterday, and am moving heavy things into my kitchen today! Hooray canned goods and a microwave; once my TV and internet come I'll truly be living in the 21st century.

Too bad this wasn't when I had to move the fridge in to my apartment! I'm logging an extra workout today, and moving all of my cookware/canned goods/microwave into the apartment tomorrow, so it's just as well.

Yesterday, I lifted a fridge and moved it into my basement apartment (with Rurounii, since I didn't want to die). That was not on the goals list, but was a hell of a workout.

Update: I can now manage to do half my workout with thirty reps (three sets of ten) per exercise. Hopefully this week I can fit in squats along with deadlifts, bench press, and overhead press. I haven't increased my clean-and-jerk weight yet, since I'm still working on my technique. Pull-ups... well. They can't elude me forever. On the plus side, Snow Crash is fantastic! It's been a long time since I've basked in such nerdery. I really ought to be posting progress pictures, but I lent my camera to my parents. Pity.

Hello all! I'm rurouni's girlfriend and after hearing about how great his last challenge was (and appreciating the results first-hand), I decided to join the forums as well! I have started weight-training again, after taking a break from my old regime (intended for improving my shot-put but ended up leaving me with a lasting hamstring injury) and am enjoying much safer, and successful results. I am focusing more on Olympic style lifts (snatch and clean-and-jerk) with overhead presses, squats, and deadlifts thrown in. However, I am not going for maximum strength but rather improved muscle endurance, lean muscle gains, and the chance to kick some ass at the fitness competition I'm entering in January. Race: Wood Elf Age: 20 Weight: 140 Stats: STR:2 DEX:2 STA:2 CON:2 WIS:4 CHA:3 (true to elven form, my God Stat is still Wisdom) Fitness Goals: 1) Finally manage to do at least one pull-up! My difficulty in building upper arm strength is probably why my shot-putting career was so dismal, but hopefully I can turn that around by mastering this exercise. +2STR +2STA 2) Increase my clean-and-jerk weight by fifteen pounds. +1STR +1 DEX 3) Complete one of my workouts with thirty reps each in squats, deadlifts, bench press, clean-and-jerk, and overhead press. +2CON +1STA +1STR +1DEX Life Goal: 1) Read at least three non-school related books, starting with Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. This will be especially hard once classes start again, but by God I need to become more literate. +3 WIS +1 CHA Wish me luck! P.S. Yes the sword is real.