Heironymus

The Magician's by Lev Grossman is a pretty good series. I have read two of the three and will tackle the third one soon. It kind of combines Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Chronicles of Narnia into an urban fantasy series.

Oh man am I sore right now. my workout partner hasnt been attending the gym this last week so I have had to alter my workout to accommodate no spotter. 30 minutes of cardio Bench: 145/165/185 10x3 Squat: 235/255/285 5x3 Deadlift: 235/255/255 5x3 Definitely seeing some of my strength coming back since Friday's workout. Little more endurance on the lighter lifts with a little extra umph for the final heavy set.

Ok.. So first week of the challenge was a little rough. I managed to get into the gym for lifting three times and do cardio those times also. Diet was good except two dinners where I had either rice or pasta/bread. I am clamping down this week. This week I will be successful. Friday workout 30 minutes cardio Bench: 145/145/165 10x3 Squats: 235/235/255 5x3

Paleo has been solid this week except last night. Went out last night with some friends and Italian was the place. Had pasta but I made sure it was loaded with veggies and some meat, minimizing the impact on the diet. Back in the gym tonight for power lifting and cardio.

Life changes can be tough but amazing. Good luck with your goals. Your trip sounds like a lot of fun, especially the Ren Fest. How did you like cosplaying Croft? Two of my friends are pretty obsessed with the games and one of them cosplayed her at Dragon*Con two years ago. It was a blast.

Could be a lot of factors honestly. My girlfriend squats down with perfect form but when she is coming back up she brings her knees in to help push up the weight which she said was causing kinda a weird pressure on her ankles (she has a messed up ankle and braces it). She didn't even notice she was doing the knee thing until someone pointed it out to her. Good luck with your goals!

Giggity

This season is the worst for smaller gyms. Resolutioners leave weights lying around, don't rack them back where they found them, don't have common gym etiquette and are really judgy considering they have been going for all of 5 days.. ugh.. Feb cant come fast enough.

So first day down. Did my weight training, getting back into the power lifts so I didn't want pull anything the first day back so I did a 5/3/1 set range to get a feel for where I am. Bench: 195/215/255 Squat: 195/235/285 Deadlift: 235/285/325 Not too bad. Before I took a break from lifting my maxes weren't that much off from that and I felt like I could do more. Finished with 25 minutes of cardio on the elliptical trying to set a good pace marker for myself. Diet is going well, started back on Paleo and so far sticking to it pretty easily. Im going to have to do some meal prep Wednesday to keep ahead though. Tonight is gym again, focused on Cardio and some upper body exercises.

When I have a hard time getting my head into the lift I just focus

I lowered my weights and went with a 15/10/5 set range for two months, then back to the 5/3/1 for two months alternating. I noticed steady progress with both my stamina on the lifts and my maxes going up. Your goals look good!

If you have a hard time posting updates here, i find that if I keep track of my progress at the gym and try to update at least once a week it makes it easier to remember what I wanted to update and im less stressed about updating all the time.

Its been a while since I participated in a challenge here. I've been working out but fell off the paleo diet wagon, which has caused me to notice a big difference between my gains and weight loss... So I set up a couple of goals around getting back into the groove.. GOAL #1 Weight train 4 days a week. -This is really just a minimum but I would like to push for 5 days and have 2 "rest" days to compensate for something coming up that would prevent me from lifting GOAL #2 Cardio, Cardio, Cardio! -My cardio/stamina is terrible. This is what I would call my ArchNemesis based on how much I despise it even though it pushes me to be better. I want to hit cardio 5 times a week in some form or fashion. GOAL #3 DIET -Im going back on Paleo. I will be precooking most of my meals to keep me on track. I need to dive into this hard again to form the habit. GOAL #4 Money -I need to get my budget back under control, especially after the holidays. Camp is coming up, Dragon*Con is coming up before that, and then the Elio http://www.eliomotors.com/ will be out and I plan on saving to get one of those. I think Goal 3 will help with Goal 4. Lets get this Challenge Started.

There are two quotes from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher that I like that might apply. “There’s power in the touch of another person’s hand. We acknowledge it in little ways, all the time. There’s a reason human beings shake hands, hold hands, slap hands, bump hands. It comes from our very earliest memories, when we all come into the world blinded by light and color, deafened by riotous sound, flailing in a suddenly cavernous space without any way of orienting ourselves, shuddering with cold, emptied with hunger, and justifiably frightened and confused. And what changes that first horror, that original state of terror? The touch of another person’s hands. Hands that wrap us in warmth, that hold us close. Hands that guide us to shelter, to comfort, to food. Hands that hold and touch and reassure us through our very first crisis, and guide us into our very first shelter from pain. The first thing we ever learn is that the touch of someone else’s hand can ease pain and make things better. That’s power. That’s power so fundamental that most people never even realize it exists.†"Life is too short. And there's nowhere near enough joy in it. If you find it, grab it. Before its gone."

Thank you! Now for the Week 1 Update (a little late) First week success: I completed 4 workouts during the week. I didnt make it to the gym but I did do some resistance and light weight high reps workouts from home The diet has been a working. I discovered a new "dessert" for any sweet tooth cravings (ill post it later) Finances are getting there. I have paid off anything that was close to past due so you could say I am caught up.. Now just to stay that way and get in the positive. First Week Failures: Running/Jogging.. I knew I would have a hard time with this but I didnt realize how hard. I am going to have to force myself into the gym for this one as I dont live anywhere that can easily promote jogging outside. So the Hamster Track it is.. Second week will be where I try to shine on this one. Oh yeah.. "primal dessert" Half an acorn squash and hollow out the seeds place in a baking pan with a quarter/half inch of water inside face up. drizzle with local honey and cinnamon and a tablespoon of grassfed butter.. Cook on 400 for 1 hour.. IT IS AMAZING.. and it kinda smells like a Cinnabun without all the guilt and artery clogging.

Midweek Update #1 I have successfully maintained the Primal/Paleo diet except on my birthday celebration. I successfully completed two workouts, plan on two more workouts this week at least (focusing on cardio) Staying in budget so far, no big expenses or bills so far to report.

Thats awesome, Congrats! I have an aquatic center near my house that is fairly affordable but their hours are terribly incompatible with my work ours. I might be able to work that in on my days off though. Thanks for suggestion. When I was working on my first challenge I would make Paleo Chili or a Pot Roast and put it in jars so I had 3 or 4 meals ready in advance. It helped me to keep my budget in order because I had food ready.

great lookin goals! I have to use a Filter to get through our tap water.. good luck on your first day of the Challenge!!

Im not very good at recommending cosplay.. I generally love to cosplay SIMPLE.. but this year I am going to try to put together Judge Dredd.. Last few years I have gone to Dragon*Con and I went as Ed (Shaun of the Dead) and my friend went as Shaun. Last year I went as Fire Mario, which was amazing. Apparently I did it well because quite a few little kids thought I really was Mario. I always say Cosplay whatever characters you love because when you are a few hours into making a semi-complicated costume if you dont love the character you are going to get VERY frustrated or bored. As for books, I love all kinds of books but lately(last few years) I have been on a fiction kick especially historical fiction. Books like The Terror and The Sigma Force novels by James Rollins (which btw are awesome books). I especially like Game of Thrones, Wool, and Battle Royale. Although two out of those last three are pretty violent. I have decided to try to tackle Atlas Shrugged next. Good luck on your first day of the challenge!!!

Good goals! I really like your thorough budget plans

Very good goals!! You can do this! Your intro thread said you cosplay? Awesome! What kind of books do you enjoy reading?

Great goals! Watch out for week 4 on C25K... that's the week that gave me the most trouble...

Oh.. and I have an overriding urge to succeed. In September I want to cosplay as a character I reallllly enjoy but refuse to cosplay as unless I can do him justice.. so I am going to have to have the midset of a warrior, the swiftness of a scout, and the agility of an Assassin if I want to pull this off .

Ok.. This is Challenge Number 2.. The GOALS Fitness Goals: 1) Achieve and maintain 3 hard workouts per week +3 STR +2 STA (Hit the gym, no excuses) 2) Get up to 3 miles running/jogging. +5 STA (while I'm at the gym I should NEVER leave out the cardio) 3) Maintain 99% Primal/Paleo. +2 DEX (while this seems redundant since I have been doing it for 4 months I find that its still just as difficult to say no to certain foods) Non-Fitness Goals 1) Get my finances in better order+3 WIS (this is the toughest goal on here for me. I like to go places, eat out a lot, and generally blow money on stuff I don't need. Not anymore!!!) a little about myself... I found this site in October of 2012. Since then and through 1 challenge so far, I have been able to sustain a 95% paleo/primal lifestyle. I have started exercising and doing more to better myself. I completed my first challenge and was going to start a second but fell of the radar. Due to unforeseen issues at the time I wasn't able to fully participate in the challenge and dropped out, HOWEVER, I maintained the diet and kept on chugging. NOW, I am here again. I have lost a little over 40 pounds since the beginning of this personal Rebellion and want to take it even further. To put myself at a healthy weight and fitness level is my ultimate goal. My long term goal is to get to 220 pounds and I have 60 pounds to go but I know that I can get there. I would even be happy if I was to not hit the actual number goal as long as I can swap most of this fatty tissue for muscle. I am going to be pushing myself hard for this and I will probably waiver from time to time as my willpower for working out always needs a little encouragement. I look forward to supporting this community through the next challenge as without it I know I couldn't have done half of what I have already done to get myself where I need to be.

Kept working out.. got 4 work outs done this week.. suprisingly was able to maintain primal diet without a problem. Keep on keeping on!!!