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To achieve Level 9 I will be focussing on myself, mostly on my mindset and motivation. My main quest is to fit comfortably into size 14 trousers by losing body fat. To move towards this achievement, I have set the following quests for this challenge: 1. Handstands! STR+2 DEX+3 As a much younger hooman, summer lunchtimes were spent out on the fields doing cartwheels and handstands. Now I wish to revisit those carefree days. Using Chris Salvato's method as a guide, I will spend 5 minutes per day on handstand practice (continued from previous challenge). A = 28+ days of handstand practice B = 25-27 days C = 22-24 days F = 21 days or fewer of handstand practice. 2. Floor! CON+2 CHA+ 2 STA+1 I can fit my exercise mat on the floor (just) but in order to really make use of the space in front of my mirrored wardrobe doors, I need to have a clearout, to tidy up and to keep it that way (continued from previous challenge). A = Plenty of space to workout on my mat B = Satisfactory space but clutter is starting to creep back C = Mat barely fits and I trashed everywhere else F = No space for a mat to fit. 3. Mindset! WIS+3 CHA+1 CON+1 Inspired by Neghar Fonooni's email article recommending spending 15 minutes per day dedicated to personal time, I have decided to set aside 15 minutes of my day for personal reflection. This time will include my participation in the JillFit "Mindset Makeover" email course and also could include things like meditation, journalling, walking, reading or whatever at the time gives me energy and renewed motivation. A = 28+ days of reflection B = 25-27 days C = 22-24 days F = 21 days or fewer of reflection. During this challenge, not only will I have a birthday, it will also mark a year since I started lifting free weights

A new challenge already? Sheize. My goals are changing... I still ultimately want to get to and stay at 20% but my focus is still on fitness. I'm trying to do 2 workouts a week entailing ST & cardio, each one has a heavy emphasis on one and light on the other. I have roughly 2 months to complete preperations for Tough Mudder. That's 18 clicks with various obstacles. My fitness has improved but I struggle to keep a good routine and eat well. So we'll see what happens.

To achieve Level 8, I will be continuing working towards a more balanced self. I have some loose ends to tie up before I holiday in Amsterdam with my SO and BFF and a crowd of other dolly people. My Amsterdam trip will happen during the last 2 weeks of this challenge. My main quest is to fit comfortably into size 14 trousers by losing body fat. To move towards this achievement, I have set the following quests for this challenge: 1. Handstands! STR+1 DEX+2 As a much younger hooman, summer lunchtimes were spent out on the fields doing cartwheels and handstands. Now I have all but overcome my shoulder injury, the time has come to revisit those carefree days. Using Chris Salvato's method as a guide, I will spend 5 minutes per day on handstand practice (continued from previous challenge). A = 28+ days of handstand practice B = 25-27 days C = 22-24 days F = 21 days or fewer of handstand practice. 2. New Moves! STR+1 DEX+2 WIS+2 After being introduced to kettlebells last round by the Rangers mini-challenge, I found I enjoy learning new things and incorporating them into my circuits. So using sources such as Girls Gone Strong and Lift Weights Faster, I plan to learn new exercises I can put into practice. A = 15 new moves or more B = 12-14 new moves C = 9-11 new moves F = 8 new moves or fewer 3. Spreadsheets! WIS+3 CON+1 My employers have provided me with an advanced course in Excel, all paid for, but I need to find a few hours a week to learn it, practice it and take an exam. I want to take the exam before August. A = Learned, practiced and exam date agreed B = Still practicing but nearly there C = Still learning; will sit exam but not sure if I will pass F = Nowhere near ready, have to defer the exam 4. Floor! CON+2 CHA+1 Now my wardrobe is tidy, I want to make use of the mirrored doors and the space in front of the doors. I need to make a space on my floor for my exercise mat to fit. In order to see that bit of floor, I need to put things away and keep them away. A = Plenty of space for my mat B = Mat fits but clutter is creeping back C = Mat just fits but I trashed everywhere else F = No space for a mat to fit

My first quest is over. My first quest was designed to prepare me for the long journey ahead of me. My goal is to loose 35-40 pounds of fat over the course of this year. I gained the majority of the fat I have after I had a miscarriage. My metabolism is different from what it used to be, so the way I gain and loose weight is completely different from how I would gain and lose weight three years ago. Regardless of how my metabolism has changed, I need to loose this fat and develop healthy eating habits. My first reason to lose this weight is for health reasons. Diabetes runs in my family and the longer I am overweight, the more likely I am to develop it at a young age. By developing healthy eating habits now, I'll be able to stay healthy and not develop Diabetes until I'm much older. My second reason to lose this weight is that my husband's cousin is getting married in December and I want to be able to wear one of my formal dresses. I don't want to outdo the bride but I don't want to have to buy a new dress either. Main Quest I want to lose 5 pounds of fat or go down one pant size. I'm currently a size 18 and I would love to be a size 16 or smaller at the end of this challenge. Objectives Kick off this challenge with Yoga Journal's 21 Day Yoga Challenge. After the third week of this challenge, I will start exercising 6 days a week. I will be doing yoga on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I will be doing a mix of aerobics & arm curls. I hope to make the jump from 15 arm curls per arm to 30 arm curls per arm. I'm still working on developing healthy eating habits. I want to eat more fruits and veggies. I want to be eating them at least once a day by the end of this challenge. I'd also like to start replacing some of my snack foods with organic snack food. If I have to eat snack food, I want it to have no extra dyes, sugar, or anything else extra added to it. I don't eat snack food too often, so I would like to start eating organic snack food once every two weeks. I'm also going to try cooking a few Paleo meals. I'm going to start small and make one Paleo meal a week.

Ok! Challenge number two! Many people built healthy habits in challenge one but I don't feel like I'm where I want to be right now. I improved my eating by switching a lot of my meals to paleo but as Nia Shanks recommends I'd like to be 90/10. I also need to change my approach to my fitness goals. They'll be the same as my last challenge but I want to change my mindset. Previously my approach was (unwritten) ST M|W|F and Cardio~ish T|T. This past week I've been testing out the "what did I do yesterday?" If it's nothing I'm going to try to do ST, same if it was Cardio~ish. If it was ST then I'll do a cardio~ish but my main goal is not cardio, I want to lift heavier things for my next challenge so I'm leading up to that now! Life wise what's holding me back from my goals is finances and self sabotage with my money. I have a line of credit that needs to be paid down so I can save for a house. I've done up a budget and I think by the end of this challenge I can pay half of it off if I stick strictly to that budget! GOALS IN BLACK AND WHITE: 1) Fitness: ST 3 x / wk & cardio~ish (movement of some sort) 2 x / wk Grading: A - 5 total/wk B - 4 C - 3 D - 2 F - or 0 2) Eating (mmmm food): Record 3 meals a day and snacks as being paleo or not. Aim is for 90% of meals paleo. Grading: A - 90% B - 80% C - 70% D - 60% F - <60% 3) Life up! Pay off half my line of credit by sticking to my budget. Grading: A - 100% of half B - 75% C - 50% D - 25% F <25% To date I've paid off 43% of my line of credit, or 86% of my goal. I've submitted some expense claims that I plan on putting on my line of credit but I don't think they'll come in before the end of this challenge so I've earned a B in this category. Next challenge for sure I think I can wipe out this line of credit, boo ya! Food wise we seem to have gotten our household into a reasonably good routine of buying and eating paleo (because when we started this I donated non-paleo foods to my friends and I buy only paleo on the groceries) but I struggled with recording my meals so I'm going to give myself a C for this because I so miserably failed at keeping track >< I wish google drive was more user friendly for android phones because then I could record as I do it... but maybe I'll try a different tack next time! Fitness changed a bit but I'm still not in a routine... Next challenge I think I'll set the goal of working out in the mornings, I think this may be my key to success. Maybe start with once per week then twice per week then thrice increasing every two weeks? We'll see For now I'm giving myself a C for this because I could have done a lot better.

Hey Ranger Rebels, I'm back for my third consecutive 6-Week Challenge! Let's get started! RECAP TIME Challenge 1: Food tracking and lifting were the main goals. Tracking what I eat and aiming for specific calorie goals has become second nature at this point, so I'm going to leave it off the Goals list. I'll still post my daily calorie totals here because the public sharing of those numbers is a huge motivator to stay on track. I made great progress in my lifting but hit a stall on my bench press gains; I'd like to remedy that in this challenge. Challenge 2: Running was the biggest goal alongside lifting and eating well. I started the great Couch to 5K program at the beginning of that challenge, and I'll be wrapping it up by the end of next week. I look forward to branching out my running a bit more during this challenge. In both of those previous challenges, I had the life goal of drawing several pages of the comic book I've kept on the back burner. Had I followed through on it I'd be done with the book by now, so finishing those 6 pages is something I'll get done or die trying. AND THEN SOME MORE STUFF And because I only seem to work well when things are insane, I'm going to add something on top: finishing the painting I started as a wedding gift for my sister and her husband, back in July. It's been almost two months since the wedding and I've barely started it: far past time to get the damn thing done. New for this challenge is something that's eluded me since I moved out 5 years ago, and especially since I became a full-time freelancer three years ago; a regular sleep schedule. My sleep routine is a disaster right now, to the point where I've found myself sleeping for sixteen hours after a week of four-hour midday naps during all-night work benders. This is awful for me, and if I don't sort it out now it'll be even harder down the road. So here's the breakdown for this challenge: Main Goal: Get under 200lbs, live an active lifestyle balanced with my work and friendships Goal 1 (Primary for this challenge): Run 5K in 35:00 (acceptable) or 30:00 (excellence) Goal 2: Get my 5RM bench over 175 lbs, and lift regularly at least twice a week through the challenge (2x/wk = acceptable, 3x/wk = excellence) Goal 3: Get up between 7 and 8 AM every weekday; get from 6-9 hours of sleep while doing so* Life Goal: Finish that painting, and draw 6 pages of my damn book! (and more if possible!) I've got a Post-it note stuck on my mirror, with my motivation written on it: Spartan Sprint, May 14, 2014. It's a long-term goal. A short-term goal is to run a 30min. time in the annual Thanksgiving Day run coming up in November. So! This is day 1, let's see how I did. Calories: 1823 Running: 15-minute run, with 100M dash at the end, plus cool-down walk. Not C25K. Sleep: 2AM-8:30AM It's a start!

Due to recent popularity training squad for the arrival of the blue police box has stopped accepting applications. We thank-you for your interest and look forward to seeing you for the next challenge! Welcome to Dr. Who's Sidekicks! We all know that throughout Dr. Who's adventures there's always someone there to remind him to brush his teeth, pack a lunch and cover his back when someone attempts to destroy his timeline! Through all these adventures fitness and health are key if you're going to be chasing and keeping up with the doctor, you need to be strong to jump in in a fight, and you need to have your life in order so your mom isn't calling you every twenty minutes asking you when you're coming to pick up your dog. HERE'S WHERE THE 6-WEEK CHALLENGE COMES IN! You've set your goals and made a plan but what happens if two weeks in your best friend says "let's ditch and pick up some ice cream cones and spend the rest of the day playing WoW and grind till we can't grind no more!" ACCOUNTABILIBUDDIES! Let's face it, people work well in teams, we like to be reminded that our hard work will pay off and push us harder than we'd push ourselves! Here we have a group of like minded people, we all want to be ready for when the blue police box appears on our door step, some come on in, track your goals at our google doc (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am_IH0w_yAxtdF9GQXg1V014Q0NiSWQySFNiYS1lb0E#gid=1) and post a link to your goals so we can all see what your plan is and we'll do our best to help you achieve your goals! By sharing our goals and progress everyone can help encourage you to keep on keeping on! Edit: In light of everyone's excitement we have decided that weekly a vote will take place in the categories of: best fitness/health achievement based on goals, best life achievement based on goals, and most encouraging member. Votes will be sent weekly to ShotgunSally and will be tally'd at the end for a choice of one of three prizes: Jug o maple syrup, weighted jump rope, 20$ NF GC, 20$ ThinkGeek GC.