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A young girl named Wisp has been transported to a dark and desolate world. Her quest; to locate the Sphere of Light and restore colour and happiness to this dreary land. She will travel through a land filled with dangerous creatures and evil henchmen hell bent on stopping her, but perhaps also some new friends. Welcome to Charlie Quinn's Rainbow Brite Challenge! This challenge started out as a one off joke, but the more I thought about it, I realised that Rainbow Brite (Wisp) is actually a really strong female character. She is brave, determined and kind. So what the hell! Lets lean into the rainbows and sparkles! The challenge For each of my challenge goals that I complete, I will be awarded 5 star sparkles. 30 star sparkles a week allows Wisp to move closer to the Dark Castle and also gain an ally or an item to help her complete her quest. Goals Running I'm in the middle of marathon prepping so this should be done at least 3 times a week (the marathon plan has 4 runs per week, but as we run in BMF, I can skip the early week easy run and count BMF as this workout) BMF / Lifting / Climbing BMF once a week and either a lifting session or a climbing session. I'd love to fit in all 3 activities a week (hello, RangerBrain) but that's probably a little too difficult! Lunch Prep I'm OK when it comes to preparing healthy evening meals, but I completely suck when it comes to prepping lunch. I tend to buy reasonably healthy lunches, but this is starting to cost me a small fortune. To make this easier, I'm only starting with three home prepped meals a week (working days) and then increase it from there. Working from home doesn't count, this is just for office based lunches. Life Lines I'm going to give Wisp two life lines, just in case anything unexpected pops up doing the challenge. These cannot be used as a "get of jail free" card, these are for genuine issues (emergencies, illness etc) Side Quest - Spread the happiness and rainbows! It wouldn't be right to do a Rainbow Brite challenge without adopting her ethos. This side challenge is two fold. First, I'm going to make sure I say something positive about either myself or my day on any updates. Secondly, I'm going to try to give much more encouragement around the boards. I start off with good intentions at the start of the challenge but as the weeks go on, I lose track. I'm going to try to be more present and more supportive of my fellow Rebels.

Last challenge I defeated the Decepticons (and started dating my girlfriend, hereinafter mi novia). When I was a child, for two whole years the Transformers came on at 4pm. G.I.Joe came on at 4:30. I won’t be using bonus points like I did last challenge, but I will change the number of allowable variances per week on food down to two. This will be my final challenge this year before CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMP which will be during week zero of the next challenge. Gung Ho: Gung Ho was one of the strongest Joes, not surprising since he was a U.S. Marine. To be strong like Gung Ho I will get 10 lift days in during the challenge. Scarlett: None of the Joes were particularly fast, but Scarlett was always quick on her feet and defeated Cobra by having faster moves than any of them. To be fast like Scarlett I will get in ten run days. Roadblock: Roadblock could also have been the model for the strength goal, but he was a gourmet chef so I had to pick him for the food goal. As I mentioned above, last challenge I had a bonus goal of only using two variances per week and eating paleo the rest of the time. I was successful, and now I have set two variances per week as the normal goal. Mi novia is on board with helping me on the food goal, and we coordinate to use my variances. Duke: I return to using the leader of the good guys for the Domestic Rangering goal. Like most cartoons, the leader was my favorite character. To lead like Duke I will clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Lady Jaye: Lady Jaye was agile, doing all kinds of flips and rolls, and she had that nifty quiver of specialty Javelins. To be agile like Lady Jaye I will get any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Non Goal Related but necessary before Camp: Get Thor Costume Get Nerf Mjollnr to be Mr. Helpy Get stuff for Glow Party Decide whether or not I need new luggage and if so get som Here's All the GI Joe Intros 83-87 And before someone beats me to the punch, some of the PSA parodies. Second half

'Cause I'm back... In the true spirit of nine lives, I am getting my shit together over here. There is a true link between how often and involved I am over here on the boards and my quest for improved strength and mobility, so... my gift to myself (and you, lets admit) is this music-filled challenge thread. If nothing else, the playing of awesome music every morning as I post to my thread keeps me signing on (and dancing at my desk most of the morning). Goals will be simple. 1. Dance to a great song every morning, post it here daily for the greater good. 2. Workout 3 times/week. Can be yoga, weight training, bww, whatevs (but a real effort... don't be a slacker). 3. 3 meals daily, eliminate all unnecessary snacking (because that business adds UP). 4. Walk 2 miles, 5/7 days. 5. Limit alcohol to 2 glasses per week. 6. Keep up with all my nerd friends at least once weekly. I would also like to keep up my minimalism track as well as adulting all the things, so I will post about that here as well, but not goal related this challenge.

I want to turn it up this challenge, so I’m going to fight villains instead of emulating heroes. The goals are the same, but in order to truly win this time I need bonus points. What has to this point been victory will be required for a draw, and bonus points will be needed for true victory. I return to my favorite franchise, The Transformers, for villains to defeat. Ramjet: Ramjet was, unsurprisingly, a jet who liked to Ram into things. It took power for that ramming action to do any damage, as well as a hard head. He will be my opponent for strength. Again I will be going for 10 lift days, which is the minimum to break even. To defeat him I need to be stronger, so I need at least one bonus lift day. Skywarp: Skywarp was a Starscream clone with a different color scheme. Some exec wisely figured out that they could use the same molds for different characters if they made them a different color and gave them unique characters. I never could keep Skywarp and Thundercracker straight when I was a kid, and to this day I can’t tell which was which just by looking at them. Skywarp could teleport from one place to another. In order to defeat him I will need to be fast, so I can get to his destination before him. The goal is still 10 run days, but that’s just not to lose. In order to defeat Skywarp I need at least one bonus run day. Megatron: My other goals are really locked in well and more importantly the results from them have been forthcoming. Where I have been lagging is on waistline reduction. I have been successfully completing my challenge goals, which means I need to up my game in this area, which is why I picked Megatron for this goal. There is no doubt Megatron is a tough opponent, when he and Optimus went one on one it seldom ended well for either of them. I still need to cook paleo with only 3 variances per week. That will mean we fight to a draw. In order to win I need at least 4 bonus points, earned by turning in unused variances. I’m not going to try and do too much too soon, because that leads to failure. If it comes down to it I could always stay paleo while counting calories, but that is not a long term solution. Better to build habits of fewer variances, and the best way to do that is by making small changes. Shockwave: Shockwave was the guardian of Cybertron in Megatron’s absence, holding his post and doing his best to maintain the homeworld till energy was brought back to revitalize it. He also turned into a ginormous pistol. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. In order to win I need at least two bonus points, gained by either getting everything done on Monday or Tuesday instead of waiting till later in the week, or by going above and beyond the basic requirements. Ravage: This little bastard caused more trouble to the Autobots than many full sized Decepticons. Laserbeak may have been a better spy, and Rumble and Frenzy may have been able to cause earthquakes, but Ravage was so fast and nimble he gave the Autobots fits in combat. To beat him I need to be more agile. Any combination of Foam Rolling or NF Yoga Mini session 3 times a week for a draw, 3 bonus points needed for victory.

Two challenges ago I did a Thundercats theme. The SilverHawks are basically Thundercats IN SPACE! It’s the same animation studio, same voice actors, same formula, similar characters, a bad guy who transforms into a more powerful bad guy, with a cowboy colonel who flies a spaceship. What’s not to love? While Thundercats had more staying power and was probably the better cartoon, I do prefer the theme song from SilverHawks. As an added bonus, here’s the first episode. Steel Will: No surprise that the Silverhawk whose face mask is a football facemask is the strongest. Again I will be going for 10 lift days. For zero week I’ll be doing NF yoga when I would normally do lift day to let me recover from my gains from last challenge when I finally put the total of my big three lifts over 700 (got it to 715). Next on the horizon is 800. Steel Heart: Steel Heart is also strong, but I needed someone for the speed goal. 10 run days. At the end of last challenge I dropped plans to train for a 10k so I could focus on a faster 5k time. I’ll be working through a 5k training program on Runkeeper that will run through the challenge. Commander Stargazer: While Commander Stargazer’s upgrades are from a previous generation of tech, he sits around in headquarters so he might as well be cooking (plus I never liked the copper kid that much). I’m going to stick with my goal of cooking paleo and no more than three variances a week. Quicksilver: Quicksilver was the leader (despite the fact that he was a lieutenant and bluegrass was a colonel) and I usually pick the leader character for Domestic Rangering. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Quicksilver was my favorite, as I generally gravitated towards the leaders of these cartoons as my favorite characters. Bluegrass: Bluegrass was the pilot of the Mirage, the spaceship the Silverhawks flew in. He didn’t have wings, but he make up for it with a weaponized electric guitar, becuase 80s. Any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Here’s episode 2 so I don’t leave you hanging.

This will be the second Tranformer’s themed Challenge of the year, again based on my favorite Cartoon Franchise. This will take a look at one of the most popular sub-groups of autobots, the DINOBOTS! Someone took a look at transformers, which was already awesome, and said, “You know what? Kids like dinosaurs. Let’s make robots that turn into Dinosaurs.” That person was a genius! I remember in Kindergarten we identified Dinosaurs not by their species’ names, but by the dinobots they resembled. We, Rangers, now am look at goals. Sludge: Me, Sludge am, uhhh. What word for whan can lift heavy stuff? 10 lift days. Sludge was the strongest dinobot, but not the smartest. Me, Tanktimus will lift 10 days during challenge. Swoop: Me Swoop, really fast! 10 Run days. Swoop wasn’t the strongest, but being the only dinobot who could fly in dino mode he was the fastest. Me, Tanktimus am going to Run 10 days this challenge to fly like him, Swoop. I’m part way into a 10k in under 65 min plan on Runkeeper. Rucking or Parkour can also count for a run day. Slag: Me, Slag, love eating decepticons! Eat paleo with no more than three variances/week. Me, Tanktimus, am eating paleo except can up to three times a week eat-not paleo. Slag need eat many decepticons to have fire breath. Seriously, how can you have a dinobots theme and not eat paleo? Grimlock: Me, Grimlock say DInobots need tidy headquarters! Domestic Rangering. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Me, Tanktimus keep Tank cave clean and tidy to honor them, Dinobots. Grimlock was Me, Tanktimus favorite Dinobot, both because him, Grimlock am leader and because it easier to pretend to be T-Rex in Robot mode because can stand on two feet. Snarl: Me Snarl Super Bendy, can crush stuff with tail and spikes! Mobility. Any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Me, Tanktimus am rolling muscles with foam of doom, and do mini-stretching so Me, Tanktimus can be nice and bendy. Dinobots: Attack!

There were many requests for a Thundercats theme as I continue Rolling through Awesome cartoon Franchises of the 80’s. Therefore, we come to the ThunderCats. I had a Sword of Omens toy as a child and loved the series. And so we come now to my goals, which should be pretty familiar by now. Panthro: Strength. 10 lift days. Since we are going to a format with a full four weeks I’m adding a lift day. Panthro was the tech guy, he designed the weapons and vehicles, and was also the physically strongest and most skilled warrior. I enjoyed watching him go from happy tech guy to by-the-code Warrior when stuff started to get real. Cheetara: Speed. 10 Run days. Cheetara was by far the fastest Thundercat. In kindergarten we were all convinced if we ran with our hands flat like she did it would help us run faster. This can be either a running session on Runkeeper or a Parkour Lesson. Got an early report on the tax returns and I should get enough to purchase a package of parkour lessons once it comes in. Snarf: Food. Eat paleo with no more than three variances/week. Snarf was Lion-O’s baby sitter, and never fully accepted that Lion-O was as grown as he was. I always liked his character and enjoyed his scenes. If I remember correctly, he was also the ThunderCats’ chef, which makes him the perfect inspiration for this goal. I know he wasn’t one of the main warrior characters, but I never liked WilyKat and WilyKit to this day I don’t know which was the boy and which was the girl. Lion-O: Domestic Rangering. Clean bathroom, kitchen, mop, vacuum, take out trash, do laundry 1x per week. Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats, was a boy when they fled Thundera for third earth. Due to a flaw in his cryogenic Chamber, Lion-O’s body matured to fully-grown while his mind remained a juvenile. He was incredibly strong, and is the inspiration for the strength goal. He had not only his own strength, but the shield-claw and the sword of Omens, with the Eye of Thundera in the hilt. I’m sticking with the leader in the Domestic Rangering theme here. Tygra: Mobility. Any combination of Foam Rolling and an NF mobility Session for a total of 3 times a week. Tygra was the mystic of the group, and had the most agility. He could use his weird whip thing to make a balance line and could easily get across. He could also make himself invisible. I haven’t changed up any of the goals from last time, they are set up so that consistency will bring about the progression I want in my fitness. Thundercats! HO!

This challenge will run from the middle of Week 4 of the Apr 15-May 27 callenge to the middle of the following challenge. I'm on light duties so here are my goals for this period: 1. Eat stuff: I think I eat pretty sensibly for slow weight loss but with no exercise this is going to be a problem so I will be counting calories. Counting calories isn't me at all but it'll be a learning experience and I'll learn a bit about food in the process I think. I reserve the right to stop if I get bored and cease learning but the aim will be to restrict my calories to something south of the recommended 2500Kcals a day so that I keep my weight at or below its current 12st 1lb, and success or failure will be judged on that alone [+2 CON, +2 CHA] 2. Move around the maze: Start walking as soon as able and keep active even though I can't do anything properly taxing.[+1 STR, +1 CON, +2 STA] 3. Evade monsters: Visit the Physio and do what he - and the Doc - tell me to do without fail. [+1 DEX, +1 WIS] Don't be melodramatic or fish for sympathy. Maintain relaxed, non-idiot, non-nutter demeanour throughout and don't be difficult [+1 WIS] 4. Impress Miss Pac Man: And how will I do that you ask? Well what impresses a pixelated babe more than learning portuguese? So that's what I'll be doing. I have started reading a translation of one of my favourite books - Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut - and I'll make sure I finish that during this challenge among various other things I'll be doing. [+2 WIS, +2 CHA] Power Pills - turn those monsters blue: Do some Librivox Recording Get to grips with "Squeak" and do some programming games with 18ckette First Draft of a Software project I'm working on http://kewbsl.co.uk/bak/movie.swf class='bbc' src='http://'>