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Long Term Quests: 1. 22% body fat 2. A real pull-up I am not good at keeping up with posts, but as I though about sitting out this challenge I started to come up with goals. I concluded that just knowing I have goals here, and that they're time limited it helps me to make positive improvements. Mini-Quests 1. Add split focused stretching. Dex - 3 Right now I'm thinking that I'll throw this in with my post strength stretching since I'm doing static stretching then anyway and I'm already warm. (Thanks last challenge!) As I play around with this though, it may change. My goal is to work on stretching that will get me into splits - but no pressure to actually make it there. I already know I have trouble with my quads and sitting in kneeling, but I am fairly flexible with forward bends and such. This will be a fairly exploratory goal. 2. Work towards a pull-up. Str-3, Sta-3 Work on my pull-up progression 2-3 times a week. This is completely a carry over goal and will continue to appear until I am able to do a pull-up. I am currently working on a assisted-up/negative combo connected by a hanging knee raise. I would love to make it to a half-up this challenge, especially since I didn't make it last time, but will try not to be too upset if I don't. 3. No more than one diet soda per work day. Con - 3 I drink a lot of caffeine, which includes two diet sodas each work day. I start my day with 24 oz of coffee, drink tea (sometimes herbal) through the morning, have a diet soda with lunch, and another diet soda to keep me awake on the way home. My current goal is to cut out one of the two diet sodas. It is acceptable (for the time being) to replace it with tea or a non-carbonated caffeinated beverage because I want this goal to be achievable. Side-quest: Socialize with coworkers. Cha - 3 I am an introvert and very goal focused, and have the habit of showing up to work meetings and such, and burying my nose in work on the computer until it starts instead of socializing and chatting. I've decided that it may make me easier to work with if I put effort into being personable (with adults). This goal will involve eating lunch and socializing with coworkers at least 3 times per week and a ban on pre-meeting computer work while in the location of said meeting.

"Look out Hydra, here we come." Main Quest: Destroy my own personal Hydra. (AKA: Get in good enough shape to rival an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D) Goals: 1) Root out the sleepers. In every good organization or assassin, each piece of the puzzle has a purpose. Sometimes, the pieces of the puzzle don't fit and only hinder the ultimate goal. These are known as sleepers. They are rogue agents that are in place to destroy from the inside. My sleepers happen to be my abs. As a runner, it is important to have some serious core muscles - which I do not. For this quest, I intend to root them out and get them out in the open. How? Planks, on Planks, on Planks. My ultimate goal is to be able to hold a plank up to five minutes. In order to do this, I am going to be in one form of plank or another for at least 5 minutes for 6 days of the week. This doesn't mean no breaks between, this just means that if I have to do 30 sec holds with a minute break between then it is going to take me 20 min to get those 5 minutes of planks in. Any type of plank counts - fore arm, full, side - except half planks. No knees are allowed. I kneel for no one, including myself. 2) Basically, Run. Have you been on a mission when running hasn't been important? I haven't. From chasing enemy agents, or running from enemy agents, or trying to jump into the getaway car at full speed, running is invaluable. Goal: Run AT LEAST 4 days a week. Get back up to running 5k. Then, run 5k faster. Basically, train until I can run 5k without walking, and then once that happens use track workouts, hills, trails, etc to bring my 5k time down so that I can out run those Hydra idiots. 3) Be zen, Be strong As an agent, it is important to be able to keep your cool under stress, and be strong enough to, well, do a lot of different stuff (knock guys twice your size off their feet, scale buildings, win pushup competitions against your fellow agents... the important stuff). Yoga can help with all of this. Goal: Do a serious yoga workout AT LEAST 4 days a week. Serious is relative based on the workout - 1 hr can count, but 20 min of hard core, muscle building poses can count just as much. It will be a day to day judgement call. Can also be replaced with a body weight workout if desired. Basically, this goal is intended to keep me in tune with my body and to remind me to not ignore my arms or mind in terms of strength. Hand stand work will also be incorporated in this time. Life Quest: Become so organized Agent Coulson would be impressed. You can't root out the rot in the organization without knowing what's actually going on in it in the first place. If you aren't organized, it just leaves tons of holes open to those who want to destroy you in the end. Therefore, organization is key. Goals: 1) Get your living space inspection worthy. Agent Hill would not be impressed with how you keep your space currently. How are you supposed to find ops notes if they are under piles of dirty training clothes. Get yourself together, agent. A new space is no excuse for a dirty space. Spend AT LEAST 3 hours a week on unpacking, organizing, and throwing away junk until your space is worthy of Fury's own inspection. 2) Start writing things down - ops notes aren't worth anything if you are constantly forgetting details. New assignment, deadly weapons, time to save the world again - Awesome. This is what you were born for, but where are we going again? You would know if you wrote orders down. During the day, as you get new assignments and orders, write them down in real time. Then, at the end of the day organize priorities for the next day. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. 3) A bi-lingual agent is worth so much more than a monolingual agent. Work on your French. Your French skills are getting rusty. How are you supposed to convince a target you are a French government worker if you can't even have a conversation about la politique de la France. Spend at least 3 hours a week brushing up on your French language skills. Doesn't matter how this is split up, it can be during 15 min breaks between briefings, or in a 3 hour window while you are lounging in the hospital wing post successful mission. Motivation: Not getting benched? Eliminating Hydra once and for all? Rivaling Agent Melinda May's cat suit game (because let's be real that's the only thing of hers you'll ever rival)? The choice is yours mes amis. Comments? Advice? Mission ops? I'm willing to hear all. Welcome to Asa Pond's mission log.