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So...in preparation for 14 September: Medium term goals - to keep up my running, difficult to do long runs because of pain at top of fibula triggered by running more than about 2 miles, but don't want to lose it altogether; to be able to deadlift = or > bodyweight; to be able to do a proper pull-up; to keep moving and keep learning. Six week challenge: 3 x strength workouts per week, one in gym with personal trainer, one at home (just bodyweight), the third can be in the gym or at home or even outdoors if we get some nice autumn weather. 1 intervals session p/w - running or rowing machine. Keep up daily average of > 10,000 steps a day. Non-workout goal - to switch off all electronic devices pre-11 PM and actually read a paper book before bed. Details about me: age 50, female, weigh 8st 11 lbs (56 kgs) height 5ft5ins (1.66m), last time I had body fat measured it was c.28% which apparently is not bad for a woman my age. Ideally I would like to add a couple of kg of lean muscle mass. Not sure if that is even possible for a woman my age? Anyway I'm looking forward to the challenge!

This is my first challenge. Frankly I am scared and anxious. I do not have my SMART goal yet- but need to take a baby step. I plan to (support encouraged) Create it over the next few days. The big goal: Life style change! Edit: to add Challange to first post. I am assuimng an edit does not notify followers.

So this is it: my first 6 week challenge, a.k.a. my first step to finally level up my life! I have put a lot of thought in this, but as I am very bad at explaining myself in this very difficult language of yours, I'm gonna get straight to the point: As you can read here , my main motivation is to go back into a state, in which I feel like myself again: I want to get back the Energy, the fun and happiness I had in my life before everyday routine put an end to that. To stop the vicious circle, I want to start with this: Main Quest: "Building a Habit" - or: "You've got to start somewhere": In this 6 weeks, I want to establish a workout habit and take first steps to eat and drink healthier. If I can manage to Work out regularly and cook a certain number of healthy meals at home every week, it would already be a big improvement. For that I chose 3 SMART Quests, and 1 Life Quest. You've got to start somewhere, right? Lets to this.. Quest Number 1: Do 4 Workouts/Sport Activities a week 4 times a week seem reasonable for me for now. My plan is to do at least 3 Strength workouts a week (Bodyweight Training at home and twice a week workout in the gym). I will spare you the details of the workouts... Plus, at least Once a week, I want to go to soccer practice as well. This will be more difficult, since it involves more time and planing, the good part is, it will be way more fun than simple workouts. - 4 Workouts a week - 85%85% Quest Number 2: Give up Soda for 6 weeks - Limit Beer consumption Sounds easy enough..lets put that to the test: I have tried that already, but I've never really committed to it. Now's the time. No reason it shouldn't work. To make it a little harder, I'll try to limit my beer drinking as well. This will be harder than giving up soda, because I watch soccer every week with friends, and beer is on the menu every time. Plus, living the College Life in Germany, Beer is omnipresent. I will try for 6 weeks, not to drink beer more often than once a week... - No Soda, Beer only 1ce a week - 100%100% Quest Number 3: Cook healthy at least 4 evenings a week (for starters) Living alone in my very small appartment, not having much money, not having much time: those are all reasons why I don't cook often and eat healthy...plus the fact that I am really lazy at times...But cooking is fun! And way healthier than eating out somewhere or eating junk food. So: for this Challenge I will try to build a habit of cooking healthy at least 4 evenings a week. The "Healthy" part is not very specific, but lets see how it goes. - Cook Healthy 4 Times a week - 95%95% Life Quest: Get a part-time job (€€€€€€) My Studies involve a full time commitment..and since I don't get money, it is hard to do what I really want to do. So I really want to find a part-time job, that allows me to get some money whithout compromising my studies...I already have some leads, but it is probably going to be the most challenging part of this 6 week-Challenge. But the motivation is there: I really want to get back to camp next year, and for that I will need €/$...Flights to the US are not getting cheaper. - Get a part time job - 100%100% So that is it I guess...If you find any flaws to my plan, feel free to write to me or comment here! We all start somewhere, I would love some advice on what I can do better, and I don't get offended And if you really read all this: you're incredible! Go get your "Oh boy" - badge from Steve. And enjoy a telepathic High Five from me! Oh and Again, sorry for my english. Lets do this. Valar Morghulis.

Hello everyone, I started off poking around here a few weeks ago, then disappeared because I got married. (YAY!!!) 10 days into marital bliss! Anyway, I'm pretty excited to start my first challenge! November will be interesting because it's a very busy month for me, but I've given too many excuses through the years to start up with them again now. If you want something enough, you figure out how to do it anyway, right? I like to run and hunt (archery, not guns) and I'm starting some bodyweight exercises to increase my strength and agility, so my challenge is going to be Legolas themed. Because anytime something can be Legolas themed, it should be. Quest One: Bodyweight routine, including flexibility and agility work, at least 3 times a week for at least 20 minutes A = 17+ workouts B = 15-16 workouts C = 13-14 workouts Quest Two: Run at least 3 times a week for at least 20 minutes (total - starting off I may need some walk breaks but they don't count toward my total running time) A = 17+ runs B = 15-16 runs C = 13-14 runs Quest Three: Cook at least one dinner a week at home. Also, quit eating doughnuts for breakfast and I only get one "students are gone for the day!" chocolate after work. A = 6 weeks of dinners/no doughnuts or extra chocolates B = 5 weeks of dinners/no doughnuts or extra chocolates C = 4 weeks of dinners/no doughnuts or extra chocolates Life Quest: Spend at least 15 minutes a day studying Spanish (2+ Duolingo lessons and/or communicative exercises like Lang-8) A = 38-42 study days B = 34-37 study days C = 30-33 study days

About me: Office worker who enjoys the outdoor. Canoe, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping are my kind of activities. I don't do much anymore during winter tho, maybe that will change one day. I use to be in quite a good shape when I graduated from an advanture tourism guiding school years ago but I can't say it's still the case today. Rangers, be ready, I will be joining your ranks. So as a main general goal, I'll simply say I want to build some muscle back on that skinny body and be in a better shape. For this first 6 week challenge I'll be working mostly on my arms Quest 1: Do 3 sets of 30 push ups with a min break between each. Grade: A: 90 pushups with good form B: 70 pushups with good form C: 60 pushups with good form D: 50 pushups with good form F: 40 pushups with good form 40 is pretty much where I am right now if I only take a min break between sets. Each push ups above 40 will be worth 2% and 90 pushups worth 100% Quest 2: 10 pull ups one after the other. This one will be tough. I can do 2 and a half right now. Each pull up above 2 will be worth 16% and 10 pull up 100%. Grade: A: 10 pull ups B: 8 pull ups C: 6 pull ups D: 5 pull ups E: 4 pull ups F: 3 pull ups Quest 3: Quest 3 is a masochist quest I guess. I want to do 3 sets of 120 sec plank (360 sec total) with 4 minutes in between sets. I can do 3 sets of 75 sec right now but I need a little more than 4 min between each. Every increase of 5 sec above 240 sec will be worth 4% and 360 sec will give me 100% Grade: A: 360 sec B: 330 sec C: 300 sec D: 280 sec E: 260 sec F: 240 sec For the record, for each of those 3 quests I see it difficult to get a A so if I ever reach to the final goal in any of them, trust me I will be jumping to the roof. To achieve those goals I will review my training routing a little to add pushups, planks and a mix of assisted pull up and pull ups at every workout.

The little kraken sighed to herself as she lay in her cave watching the bigger, older krakens get ready to go out on their fieldtrip. Apparently there was going to be some kind of big launch of human ships down south and the krakens that had come of age were going to go out and wreck their first one in the coming weeks. Kree stared at all the other krakens, laughing, arms writhing in the sea, playing and telling jokes to eachother and she turned around and hid further into her cave. She wouldn't get to go. Not this year either. She was going to have to stay up here in the north where it was cold and dark and nothing really ever happened. She looked down at herself. She was small but plump and her arms hadn't really grown out the way they were supposed to. Come to think about it she didn't att all have as many arms and spikes and claws as the other krakens. She was actually kind of squishy and more looked like a squid. And oh how the other krakens had teased her for it. She klicked her small beak and tried to ignore the burning sensation behind her eyes as she knew the tears were coming again. She also wanted to go out and destroy ships and drown humans. Her mother had done it and her mothers mother had done it. It was in her blood. Or so she was told at least. As she was sitting there, in her little hole sulking over the fact that she was different then the other krakens, she heard a beautiful voice. And the more voices. And these voices started singing. Kree peeked out from her hidingplace and looked over to the rocks and saw something so beautiful it took her breath away. Sirens! They came swimming towards them, shiny and sparkelling, and the other krakens scurried away from them. The older kraken hissed and averted their eyes as the sirens came closer. Kree looked out a little further, she so wanted to see what this was! Her mother had told her about sirens and how beautiful they were. And how, now and then, there would be one of the little krakens that would be picked out because he or she was different and chosen to go with the sirens. Noone knew why or for what but they came, sometimes every year in time of the younglings to go out, and sometimes there would be whole generations of krakens that never saw them. Kree couldn't take her eyes of them. She felt as something was starting to boil inside her and before she knew it she had slipped completely out of her cave and into the way of the sirens. She thought that they were only going to pass her by, flote on over her as they were looking for "the one" to follow them. But the leader stopped and looked down on Kree, smiled and decended. Kree panicked. She didn't know what to do so she just curled up her arms into a ball and wanted to dissapear. The leader then touched her and Kree let out a small yelp as she looked up on him. He smiles warmly, his pointy teeth showin and his long green hair flowing in the current. "Who are you little one and why are you hiding from us?" His voices sounded like waves rolling over the reef and Kree shuddered. "I'm sorry" she whimpered. "I just didn't want to be in your way so I tried to make myself as small as I could." "Oh, why would you do that? Let me take a look at you, hmm?" He smiled again and touched one of her arms. Kree shuddered. Not out of pain and not out of pleasure either. This was something....different. She didn't know how to explaine it but it felt like home. It felt familiar. It felt like something she had been missing for a very very long time. The leader looked at her, looked confused and then started grinning, he looked like a great white shark Kree thought. He leaned in closer. "It seems you are a little bit special my young one, would you like to come with me? I need to show you something." Kree didn't know what to say and her beak just dropped open. But she nodded and went with him. He swam back and took out a big, pearlwhite clamshell and handed it over to her. Kree stared at it and gently cradeled it in her arms, still unable to speak. And then the clamshell started to humm. "Did you hear that?" Kree whispered as she glanzed up at the male siren. "Hear what?" he said, still grinning. "It....it hummed. And it feels warm. What is going ok?" Kree started to feel scared. This wasn't real, was it? What in the five oceans was going on?! The siren took the shell from her, put it back in the box, and floated down so that his face was at the same level as Kree. "If you heard the humming and if the shell turned warm at the touch of your arms then you are the one I have been looking for. You know the stories about my people and yours, right?" Kree nodded. "This time it is your turn. Something about you maked the shell react and it is said that whomever can hear the soft humming of the oceans spirit and feel the suns warmth on the coral reef shall be chosen. So, little one, you have been chosen. But it will not come easy. You will have to work for it. Hard. And only time will tell of you truly are meant to be one of us." Kree just stared at him. One of them? What was he talking about? What was going on? "O...one of..of you? What do you mean about that? Do I get to come with you? Will you keep me as a pet?" Kree rambled on and started feeling very ashamed of herself. He laughed hard. "Oh nononono little one! If you can do do this you will get to BE one of us!" "Be...one of you?" Kree tilted her head to the side and stared at him, klicking her beak. "Yes! Be a siren!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First challenge - WOOP! As the title sais this will be the start of my journey from the horrible seacreature kraken to a siren. Still deadly, but just a little bit more awesome. The reason to why I am doing this is that I need to loose weight. Badly. I'm currently 136 kg or around 299 pounds, 30 years old and I have been overweight my whole life more or less. I have no misconceptions about that I will ever be a supermodel and nore do I want to. I just want to be healthier, live longer, be able to have the wedding I've always wanted and then eventually be able to have a baby. Simple as that but yet oh so motivating. My Main Quest will be losing 50 kg over the coming year. And that will also be my only goal at the moment since it is something that I will have to put all my effort into. My Smart Quests will be as follows: - Eat according to LCHF. - Go do crossfit at least two times/week. - Do my water aerobics once a week. - Take care of my sleep and let my body rest properly. I will achieve this by planning, planning and more planning. There will be rules in place that makes sure I do not stay up longer then 22.00 at night, I will make weekly food-lists for myself to follow so there will never be a problem or worry as to what I am supposed to eat and I will be strickt about that what I write in ny calendar about working out is like any other meeting - if it is in there it gets done. I will not be taking on a side quest this time since it will be enough for me to handle just staying on track with my diet and fitness. I have chosen to stay with Recruits because this will be the first challenge I finish. Because of this I think I belong here for now, eventually I will move on to Adventurers. I don't know yet what my strong sides or weak sides are really yet so I will just find out as I go. Well....that was a little about me. The story above I will try to follow up with, at least a little, with every update I do. For me it is fun to write and it motivates me alot to be able to play a little into it all. Now we do this people!

About me: I'm usually known online as monsupee, a throwback to my high school days. I am not as active a video game player as I used to be, mostly due to lack of time, but still love to play when I have the chance. I'm fairly tall for a woman, 5'10 but have had ups and downs with weight. Life has been a little rough at times, my fathers death, my car accident and surgery afterwards, injuries, my brother's unexpected death, and most recently I had foot surgery for ongoing foot pain. Before surgery I was an active ballroom dancer even though I was in pain, but before pain made me give it up, I used to run, do country line dancing, swing dancing and I like to swim, though I'm a winter swimmer. I'm currently working to build up my strength in my foot and leg so I can start doing normal activities again. Main Quest: Be able to go back to dancing and running, losing weight will likely be a side benefit of being active. Quest 1 - Start doing short walks to get my foot and body back into the habit of moving more. Walk 10 minutes a day 5x a week, with the hope of increasing it to 15-20 by the end of the challenge. Points: 1 pt per day completed Quest 2 - I have a routine from my physical therapist that I should be doing twice a week or if I can't go there, then going to the gym. Bonus points if I add a third day or add in upper body training. Points - 4 points for 2 days, 2 points for 1 day, -2 points for 0 days and 1 bonus for upper body training or extra lower body routine. Quest 3 - Freggies, I'm awful about eating them and it should be easy to add them in to my daily diet, so a minimum of 2 per day with the hope of 4 per day. Points, 1 point per freggie, with 10 points if I hit 7 or more, -5 points if I don't get any

So this will be my introductionary challenge so it is time to buckle down! This first challenge will be mainly focussed around building up a workout routine in my bussy life and building willpower. And ofcourse i want to drop some weight on the way Main Quest -To lose 55lbs -To compete in the viking run Smart quests -workout 3 times a week, either strength or cardio. A= Completed this for entire 6 weeks: Strength +2 Stamina + 2 B= Completed This for 4 weeks Strength +1 Stamina +1 C= Completed this for 2 weeks No reward -Go for a walk each day A= Completed for 42 days Strength+1 Stamina+2 B= Completed for 30 days Stamina+2 C= Completed for 20 days Stamina+1 -Cut out all impulse buys regarding food A= No impulse buys at all +3 willpower B= 3 impulse buys +2 Willpower C= 5 impulse buys +1 willpower -Cut out all candy and soda's A= No Soda and Candy +2 Constittution All else is failure (There is one exception day. This is a national Holiday wich means a lot for the family December 5th.) -Track nutrition everyday A= Tracked 42 days + 3 Inteligence B= Tracked 30 days +2 inteligence C= Tracked 20 days +1 Inteligence Motivation My motivation is quite simple, i want to lose weight and pickup where i left off on my own a few weeks ago. i think this kind of sums it all up, goodluck to everyone!

Introduction: Hi, I am Shannon and this is my first challenge. I like to do Obstacle Course Races, but I weigh too much currently to fully compete in them or complete them. I need to increase my upper body strength, lose weight, and learn how to run. I have a job that doesn't require a lot of activity. I joined the rebellion because I would really like to change my lifestyle and one day be able to take part in Obstacle Course Racing again. Main Quest: Lose 20lbs by the end of the year, 100lbs to lose by Oct. 2016. Quest 1: Start a 5k run app, and commit to doing it 5 days a week over the course of the challenge. Measurement: Able to complete a 5K run Reward: Compete in Polar Hero Obstacle Race Quest 2: Drink 2L of water a day. I drink under a litre currently. This has been hard for me over many years. To make this easier I will ensure that I keep water with me at all times. Record the volume consumed. Complete water quest in the Academy. Measurement: Have to show record of water to spouse. Reward: New water bottle on January 1/16 Quest 3: Eat veggies with every meal. Photo document all meals on Instagram @mrscad_rn Measurement: Reward: Quest 4: Complete 6 days a week at the Obstacle Course Gym. You pay for it therefore use it!!!! I want to be stronger, lose weight and be bad ass this is how I can do that. Measurement: Mark it down. Reward: Spartan Season Pass for three months completed at this level. No summer obstacle races will be booked and gym membership will be canceled if not completed. Life Quest: Complete the Headspace meditation for 42 days. Purchase subscription. Measurement: Record in calendar. Reward: Life Quest: Spend 15 minutes a night cleaning, over the course of 42 days on my spare bedroom/aka room of doom. Measurement: Room will be useable. Reward: The ROOM will be useable. Life Quest: 40 minutes cleaning before mediation and bed. Less screen time before bed. Measurement: Record in calendar. Reward: Happy hubby. Life Quest: Book appointment with naturopath MD for fertility assistance by end of the challenge. Measurement: Reward: Baby within 1.5 years Motivation: I want to have kids, I want my husband to be proud that I am his wife and I want us to have a family. I want to stop restarting my life every couple of months, I want to live my real life. My health right now won't allow me to have children and I need to change my health for my family.

So this is my first challenge. The aftermath of Camp Nerd Fitness continues. About me: I like Star Wars and X-Men. I am a psychotherapist helping others with drug dependence and other issues. I am a married man. I have the best cat. This is where I would be out of control and either develop goals that are outside the scope of a 6 week challenge or that are too complicated for me to stick with -- so after some SMART goal reading here it goes: Quest 1: I am committing to attending 4 cross-fit WOD's per week for the 6 weeks. I enjoy my workouts when I am there but struggle with the motivation to get there in the first place. I will go 4 times during the work week. Quest 2: I will meditate for 20 minutes per day. I have been avoiding this for so long because I dont feel comfortable when I have tried it but like anything else worth doing: it takes practice. So this challenge is my way to get practice with being alone with myself. I can break up the 20 minutes per day any way that I want for a total of 20 mins per day. Initially I will do 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at work during lunch. I have a guided meditation for self-confidence that I will use throughout the 6 weeks. Quest 3: Initially, this quest was to lose 10 lbs over the course of the 6 weeks but that wont cut it for my SMART goals so here it is: I bring my lunch with me to work everyday of the 6 week challenge. I struggle the most with lunch as I work in a terrible area of DC with no healthy food choices. So...I will make my own. Life Quest: I have been dealing with my spending habits recently so to help, I will write down and journal every time that I spend money -- I need to be accountable (see what I did there?) to myself. Motivation: A lot of things that I want to do but never thought too much of myself as having the skill, intelligence or strength to do them. This is another step towards striking those negative ideas with a lightsaber. I also do not want to have a heart attack like my mom did. I want to stick around and kick some ass.

MAIN QUEST Get in shape by June 1., 2016. On a nice sunny day, go for a pride-infused longboarding session in the special tank top already waiting in the drawer! During that session think about where you want to go from there. MAIN QUEST BREAKDOWN For the target session to happen with infused pride, at the bare minimum I need to A.) Lose the beer gut and B.) Acquire at least SOME muscular definition. I guess A.), and B.) mainly break down into diet and excercise. The timeline for this quest is the ~37 weeks available. For now it seems that the way to go at this is in min. 2 phases. First is a general weight loss phase to lose the old beer belly, after which a muscle building phase follows. I dunno. I’ll start with this basic premise and try to figure it out as I go. Maybe it’ll take more phases. I'll work it out. Not to be forgotten/ignored: I'll also need to keep steady watch over my stress levels /mood in general and take note of any signs of depression relapse. The goal calls for major life habit changes. Some instability is to be expected. I will try to deal with it graciously. MOTIVATION I want to do something I can look back and be proud of. While looking better naked. And for the 40 year old me reading this in July: you're welcome. I thought you'd enjoy this. THREE GOAL BREAKDOWN FOR CURRENT SWC 1) Maintain a caloric deficit. Count calories and maintain A daily deficit until at 65kg (my suggested “ideal weightâ€, meaning 12kg loss from starting weight 77kg. Currently at 72kg). Re-estimate dieting goals using photos/measurements when challenge ends OR when you’re at 65. Continue weekly photos and weighing. Measured by: daily caloric deficit averaged over a week. Goal is an average deficit of -500kcal. For measuring and adding up etc. I’ll use numbers from the webservice I’ve signed onto. Weeks are either “pass†or “failâ€. 6 passed weeks: A 5 passed weeks: B 4 passed weeks: C 3 passed weeks: D 2 passed weeks: E 1 passed week: F 2) Form an exercising habit. I will go jogging 2 times a week and do a bodyweight routine 3 times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri). Measured by: jogging and bodyweight workouts as “Did thisâ€/â€Did not do thisâ€. “Did this†includes a jog of any length and a bodyweight workout of any intensity. For now I’m just gaining the momentum and building into habits I will reap upon later. Weekly “pass†or “fail†grading. 6 passed weeks: A 5 passed weeks: B 4 passed weeks: C 3 passed weeks: D 2 passed weeks: E 1 passed week: F 3) Level boss Hahaha! This is the thing I’ve been avoiding. And actually this is the REAL dragon of my first challenge. This is the ball I really must not drop when juggling with my other goals and life in general. This one should fall last. I won’t smoke. If I smoke, I can’t run. If I can’t run, I can’t gain endurance, and won’t lose weight that fast. Also I’ll never, ever have a good enough reason to tell when my kids ask me why I smoke. So as a bonus on top of all the health, willpower and pride-related benefits of this quest, accomplishing this opens a convenient warp around that question. Measured by: number of cigarettes smoked daily. Goal is zero. Graded daily with “pass†or “failâ€. Graded weekly with “pass†or “failâ€. A passed week means zero fail days. 6 passed weeks: A 5 passed weeks: B 4 passed weeks: C 3 passed weeks: D 2 passed weeks: E 1 passed week: F Mandatory extra stuff: Take good care of kids. Work adequately. Try not to go alone. Be compassionate. Sleep enough. Have fun. Learn. Bonus points: Try and hang on the programming online course. Keep calm and don't suck! ​Probably going to work out something related to attributes etc. still. Maybe during the first week, by the time which I hope I've surfed over the worst waves of this crazy withdrawal. Whew! Hahahah yeah! Come at me! A little Meshuggah oughta tame you!

Hey all! This is my first challenge, so I’m a Recruit. I imagine I’ll jump around between other guilds in future challenges--I’ll probably want to be with the Adventurers or Druids for most. Further down the line I definitely have some Assassin aspirations but could see myself hanging with literally any of the others at some point as well. I’ve got to stick to it first, though! Main Quest Lose weight: reach 175 lbs. That’s about 35 down from current weight. Run a 5k without walking. I’m probably not that far from this one. Do 3 bodyweight pull-ups. Pull-ups are my nemesis exercise. Right now I can't even do a single negative chin-up with any degree of control. Challenge Goals (tl;dr at the bottom) Get back into it. Years ago (2004-2008) I used to do a fitness class of mixed bodyweight and dumbbell exercises twice a week. I stayed moderately fit but only enough to maintain both weight and strength. I never really made strength gains, because I didn’t keep upping my game. I did the exercises, but I was a HUGE whiner and, not seeing clear improvement, didn't have the willpower or the motivation. Time to get back to where I was, then start pushing past it! This routine is still well below where I was, and probably below what I can do now, but I know myself: if I don’t start small I won’t stick with it. Goal 1: Do the Beginner’s Bodyweight Workout 3x per week as adapted to the following schedule: Week | BW Squats | Pushups | Lunges* | Dumbbell Rows | Plank | Jumping Jacks-------|-------------|-----------|-----------|------------------|---------|---------------- 1 | 2 x 10 | 2 x 10 | 2 x 10 | 2 x 8 x 15 lb | 2 x 25s | 2 x 20 2 | 2 x 12 | 2 x 12 | 2 x 12 | 2 x 8 x 20 lb | 2 x 30s | 2 x 30 3 | 3 x 8 | 3 x 10 | 3 x 8 | 3 x 8 x 20 lb | 3 x 25s | 3 x 25 4 | 3 x 10 | 3 x 12 | 3 x 10 | 3 x 10 x 20 lb | 3 x 30s | 3 x 30 5 | 3 x 10 | 3 x 15 | 3 x 10 | 3 x 10 x 25 lb | 3 x 35s | 3 x 33 6 | 3 x 12 | 3 x 18 | 3 x 12 | 3 x 12 x 25 lb | 3 x 40s | 3 x 35*rotate between static, walking, alternating, and reverse lunges each set Rest without cratering. I’m notoriously awful about giving up and not staying with things long enough for them to become habits. I need to allow my body to rest if I want to make progress, but I also can’t just chill out and be like, “naw, it’s a rest day, I’ma just recline and play WoW for hours until I fall asleep in my chair.†Bad idea. I'm not quite ready to start interval training on off days yet (hopefully I'll feel up to it by next challenge!) but I can walk. So I will. Maybe I’ll take the dog. He’s a pain in the butt and feels like he must sniff ALL THE THINGS but he needs the outdoor time as much as I do. If I start feeling the need to up my pace I may have to leave him at home, though. He's not much of an exercise dog unless we're actively running, and he'll only keep going for about a half mile. Goal 2: Walk down the hill and back (or equivalent) on 3 out of 4 rest days. Our apartment complex is one big ol’ hill. It’s just under a half mile with around a 7% grade to the front gate. Just say no. Willpower is like a muscle and my starting baseline of it is next to zero. I’ve got a lot of things about my diet to change, lots of good habits to build, etc., but as I was saying before, if I don’t start small I’ll burn out. Goal 3: Part 1) Say no to at least 5 food temptations per week (trust me, there will be way more opportunities than that--my office is a snack and sweets gauntlet that I must run constantly). Part 2) Cook at least 1 meal per week from base ingredients. I.e. I’m not making my own fresh pasta or anything, but the whole meal didn’t come directly out of a box. This is what I’m measuring, but of course try to make healthy food choices beyond this too! Battle the pit of despair. My partner has packrat syndrome and isn’t super on top of general upkeep beyond the ever-present clutter either. There’s only so much I can do about all his crap everywhere, but I can stay on top of chores. I’m going to start small (again) by picking one thing I have decent control over each challenge. This time it’s dishes. Life side-quest: completely finish one round of doing dishes by the end of week 1. Afterwards, maintain a healthy rotation: No dishwasher-safe dishes stay in the sink longer than necessary to rinse them No other dishes remain unwashed for 3 days Clean dishes get dried and put away within a day after cleaning. Motivation: I'm sick of hating what I see in the mirror. I'm not even that overweight but I already feel how much harder daily life is than when my weight was in the 170s. I need to get back to that point and stop hating the mirror first, then we can see about getting to liking it. Speaking of motivation, my user icon: it's an aon, a "letter" from a symbolic alphabet used in Brandon Sanderson's fantasy novel Elantris. This aon is Eon; it means willpower. I'm considering getting it as a tattoo, but it would be my first ink and the place I'd like to have it, on my left wrist, is very obtrusive, so it's kind of a flight of fancy at the moment. But thinking about it still gets me in the right mindset, so I guess it's serving its purpose even though it's not there (yet?). I also like that there's other symbolism attached to it as well--Elantris was Sanderson's first published work, and was only published after he kept pushing through rejection letters. The whole system of aons as they exist in the setting is that they act like equations with designs that are both functional and artistic, and which stem from a simple starting symbol. Kinda like I need to start simple and build off of success to keep going, huh? The Short Version: Goal 1 - Workout as listed 3x per week Goal 2 - Walk ~1 mile at no particular pace 3 out of 4 rest days. Goal 3a - Say no to 5 food temptations per week Goal 3b - Cook dinner from scratch once a week Life side-quest - Slay the dish monster and keep it from respawning

Generally don't to this type of thing, but suppose it can't hurt. About me: I'm not out of shape, but there is room for improvement. I already eat pretty healthy (thanks to the NF blogs), work out three times a week, and bike to classes every day. I intend to start working on my parkour, but realize I currently lack the strength to do the moves. I currently have three week personal challenges that I try to keep up with that go as follow: Walk/Bike for 20 minutes everyday Eat one fruit or vegetable everyday Cook 10 meals a week Go to the gym 3 times a week Cook something different once a week Stop apologizing In addition to these, I will be starting this six week challenge. Main Goal: Become better equipped to do whatever I want, primarily through becoming stronger. 6 week challenge one: Do some physical activity on non-workout days. This will be things like balance training, hackie sack training, rock climbing, dancing, ect. Attribute: DEX 6 week challenge two: Increase my workout routine by a rep every week. Routine 1: (Do twice) 5 pull ups 10 clapping push ups 15 third world jumping squats a short run or 10 jack knifes Routine 2: (Do twice) 30 CBM's twenty second wall-assist handstand 20 kongs 10 elevated dips 10 elevated precision jumps Currently, I am having trouble with nausea after twenty minutes of a decent workout. I think it's because I go before I eat breakfast, combined with dehydration. Not sure exactly how to solve the former since it is the only time I can go to the gym. Any suggestions? Attribute: STR 6 week challenge three: Be able to hold a handstand for twenty seconds. I can't do a handstand now to save my life, but I will figure it out. Attribute: STA Life Quest: I was trained on the piano for seven years and have played for thirteen, but recently, I have felt like I am wasting that. So the challenge is to compose an original piece of music in the next six weeks. Attribute: CHA

Morning all! My name is Matt and I am 41 years old. I am the father of two girls, 16 and 9, and have been married for 23 years. I weigh 182 lb as of this morning and stand 5'10. I work out several times a week. I stumbled upon this site yesterday and have been semi lurking and observing since then, reading all of the L1 and noob INFO/FAQ stuff. I just recently finished a Spartan Sprint, in much less spectacular but more realistic time than I wanted, and I have a Spartan Super coming up in mid Oct. I'm also registered for 2 half marathons between now and April. I'm starting near the end of this challenge, but hope to roll this into the next one and finish with everyone else.I plan to start on Sunday for week 1, as it's already Thursday and I will be hard pressed to get all of my weekly goals in by Saturday. So, my main quest: Main Quest: Run a Sub 2:00 half marathon, while maintaining my other fitness goals. Quest 1: Run 25 Miles a week Measurement: A = 25 miles per week for 4 weeks, B = 20 miles, 3 weeks, C = 15 miles, 2 weeks Reward: A = +3 STA, +2 STR, B = +2 STA, +1 STR, C = +1 STA Quest 2: Continue to lose body fat. I still fall in the overweight category. My goal weight right now is 170 lbs. However to make this healthy and realistic, I will set my goal for 172. That's 10 lbs in 4 weeks. Measurement: A = 172 by week 4, B = 174 by week 4, C = 175 by week 4 Reward: A = +3 CON, B = +2CON, C = +1 CON Quest 3: I need to improve my flexibility. I bend like a 1000 year oak tree. Measurement: A = Being able to grab and hold my ankles; B = touch the floor with straining, C = touch my toes flat footed Reward: A = +3 CON, +2 STA, B = +2 CON, +1 STA, C = +1 CON Life Quest: Meditate more. I cycle thru light depression. I think it comes down to the fact that I hate my job. I have a well paying job with a great company. I just hate what I do. I will try to let go of this and focus on the fact that my family is well taken care of and I need to let it go. So meditate every day. Measurement: A = meditate every day for 15 min, B = meditate for 10 minutes every other day, C = meditate for 5 minutes when I remember Reward: A = +2 WIS, B = +1 WIS, C = +0 WIS Motivation: I want to be in the best shape of my life, and I hope to motivate my mid teen age daughter who will spend all day in bed reading or playing on her laptop to get up and do something.

The door cracked open. Mobius knew who was there, why they were there. Still he cared not to even move, so he continued to lay flat as his new guest entered uninvited. "The darkness has nearly overwhelmed you Darth Mobius. It hangs on you like a weight." imparted the stranger. "If you dare, take your first steps and meet on the edge of the village." he continued. Mobius laid there for what seemed like hours without uttering a word as the stranger waited, then left. "I must not let myself be swallowed like this!" Mobius thought to himself as he sat bolt upright. He would take those first steps. Main Quest: Bring weight down to 180. Quests: Ride bike more than 6 miles in a single ride. [baseline: Approx 2.5 miles in one ride]Do 30 proper push ups without a break by the end of challenge. [baseline: 12 pushups without stoppint]Remove sugary beverages from diet. [baseline: Several per day]Life Quest Take wife out dancing.[baseline: Once every 5 years]

Hey all! This isn't my first challenge ever, but it's my first challenge in years so rather than trying to pick up where I was I'm starting from basically level 1 and working my way back. I'm a med student who got pretty depressed first year of med school and is now trying to get healthy so that 1. I don't feel like a hypocrite and 2. I can encourage healthy behavior change in patients when necessary. When I got depressed I gained about 40 pounds, of which I have lost 10 so far. I also stopped cooking, stopped working out and stopped talking to people. I've started fighting back, and am hoping the challenge will help make healthy behaviors routine. I know the challenge doesn't start until Monday, but I'm starting now given my focus. STARTING PLACE: 5' 6", 213 pounds. Will be posting pics and measurements by the official start of the challenge, I take measurements/pics on the 14th/15th of every month. All added below. MAIN QUEST (by 8/30/2016): lose 50-60 pounds, get stronger, become a general badass. Female Role model is Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. "7"-WEEK FOCUS: redevelop health-promoting habits These all fell off when I got depressed two years ago. They're slowly coming back but they aren't very consistent. Goal for the challenge is to Implement good habits over 6 weeks. Goal #1: Do Crossfit/another workout 3 times per week. - Scheduled days are Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday. - 21 chances over the course of 7 weeks. I've already signed up for all of the classes and my goal is just to show up to all of them. - The only acceptable cancellations will be for illness/injury. If school responsibilities run late, I have to find an alternate workout if I miss class. Goal #2: Go to Mobility and Yoga once per week each. - Mobility Tuesdays, Yoga Fridays - 14 chances over 7 weeks, 7 for mobility, 7 for yoga. Goal #3: EAT ENOUGH FOOD. I noticed over the past few weeks that I tend to forget to eat, or just unintentionally not eat enough food to meet my BMR requirements. I'm tracking calories in MyFitnessPal to make sure I'm eating enough. Based on calculations my BMR is 1875, and my TDEE is somewhere around 2800 calories. Goal is to just try to eat 2300 calories daily. I'm mostly vegan, so it'll mostly be on a vegan diet, although really, the goal is to eat enough more so than stick to any specific diet. I'm meal planning/prepping on the weekend, and trying to make a daily menu that meets calorie requirements on a weekly basis. My MFP username is ramaraj1649 if anyone wants to link to me there. 48 chances over 7 weeks, starting today. LIFE QUEST: Start adulting. "7"-week focus: dishes. Get all dishes out of the sink by the end of the day, every day. Looking forward to this challenge, hoping it'll pay off for me! EDITED TO ADD: 9/13/15 Measurements/Pics Weight: 212.5 Waist: 32.5 Hips: 45.5 Thighs: 25.25 Calves: 14.5 pics under the spoiler Week 1 Summary Crossfit 3/3 Mobility 0/1, Yoga 1/1 Food 5/6 Dishes 3/6 Mini Challenge #1: 2. When I was younger I wanted to be an astronaut, and have been to space camp where I was the scientist on our simulation flight. I have been to Space Camp. I was the pilot/Mission Commander on our sim flight, not the scientist. Week 2 Summary Crossfit 2/3 Mobility 1/1, Yoga 0/1 Food 2/7 Working on this. Dishes 5/7 WHEEEEE! Week 3 Summary Crossfit 2/3 Mobility/Yoga 1/2 Food 4/7 (improving!) Dishes 4/7 Weight 211

Introduction: Hello all. I am Brendan and this will be my first challenge. I have been a member of the academy for about 3 months, but it has been mostly just reading, and watching what is going on. Time I jump into the deep end rather than dipping my toes into the shallow end. Each of the quests will be worth a total of 3 points. Main Quest: Lose 10 pounds I am currently at 284. 10 is nice and round and easy to grade. A: 10 – 9 pounds B: 8 pounds C: 7 pounds All points will be allocated to Constitution. Quest 1: Strength Train 3x a week. I will break down the strength training through a combination of the recruit workout and the bodyweight workouts in the academy. The following is how the grading will work: A: 18 workouts B: 15 – 17 workouts C: 12 – 14 workouts All points will be allocated to Strength Quest 2: Do Yoga 3x a week I am not flexible at all, so time to try and change that. I will be using the Yoga nerd fitness routines for this. Similar to the strength training, I will grade this as follows A: 18 workouts B: 15 – 17 workouts C: 12 – 14 workouts All points will be allocated to Dexterity Quest 3: Run/Walk 50 miles I need to start walking and running more. Ideally by the end of this challenge I will be running more than walking. The following is how these points will be allocated: A: 50 miles B: 45 – 49 miles C: 40 – 44 miles All points will be allocated to Stamina Quest 4: Potus Aqua I don’t drink water. Ever. This is neither healthy nor good. So I will be looking to add water, ideally replacing soda with water (or seltzer). I will look to average 60 ounces a day. The following is how I will grade it: A: Average 60 ounces a day B: Average 50 – 59 ounces a day C: Average 40 – 49 ounces a day All points will be allocated to Wisdom

The Mission: UNLOCK DIETARY BEAST MODE. What would it be like to eat food and not worry about getting sick? What would it be like if I had a diet that contributed to a healthy weight but didn't make me sick when I eat? I aim to find out. I'm Melissa. Hi! In addition to the challenge things I am working on below, here's what I'm like. I'm a 37 year old living in the intermountain west. Things I like to do include being outside (mainly hiking, camping, backpacking, canyoneering, and rafting), reading, cooking (currently getting into fermentation and sausage making), baking, board games (word, old fashioned, and strategy games), other people's pets and children, and yoga. I think Ron Swanson might be my spirit animal. My superpowers include anxiety and reading comprehension. That's me five years and at least forty pounds ago on my very first canyoneering trip. Some numbers for the start of my first full challenge (all minuses are since my last weigh in on August 11th)! Weight: 187 (-11 pounds! Body fat: 43% (-3%)! Upper bust: 40.5" (-.5") Full bust: 45 (- 2" yesssss)! Under bust: 36" (-2") Waist: 36.5" (no change) Belly: 45.5" (-.5") Hips: 45" (-1.5") Left bicep: 14.25" (-.75) Right bicep: 14.5 (-.5") Left thigh: 29" (-1") Right thigh 29.5" (-.5") Left calf: 18" (no change) Right Calf: 17.5" (-.5"). So that's 11 pounds gone forever, 3% body fat melted (just using my scale for this), and 9.75" inches returned to sender. While weight loss isn't part of my challenge for now, it is still important to me so this is exciting stuff. On to mission control for this challenge! #1. Conquer my digestion. I've spent too much time letting my faulty digestion be in charge. I am doing an elimination diet in an effort to figure out what my system can handle, and I am committed to doing whatever it takes to turn this dark carnival back into a happy funtime circus. If that means living on bone broth and zucchini, BRING IT ON. Right now, this goal means: stick to my elimination diet 100% until it either starts working, or it becomes clear that it is in fact not going to work, at which point it's time to call in additional professional help. I currently eat very few things (pretty much just zucchini, carrots, bone broth, and plain animal proteins), but one upside is that my very restricted diet has me in ketosis (fat burning mode). I'll take all the fat burning help I can get. This is my circus, and those are my monkeys. #2. Be The Kindly Brontosaurus in dealing with doctors and medical stuff. Be the brontosaurus! Be kind, but don't leave until I get what I need! I need to be more assertive (not aggressive, just assertive) in my dealings with my medical issues. It's my body, no one else will ever have as much at stake as I do, and it's time to stop letting stuff happen or not happen to me. This means: making all my appointments in a timely fashion, being assertive at those appointments (be the brontosaurus! take a dinosaur friend if necessary!), researching all my own stuff thoroughly, getting second opinions, making sure my doctors know what they are talking about, filling all prescriptions in a timely fashion, and pushing and persisting for all necessary tests to get done. To healthy people, that may sound like a lot. For anyone else with chronic illness(es), that list will seem familiar. I have a lot going on, healthwise, and it's important for me to keep on top of things even when I feel horrible. I am done using illness as an excuse for not taking good enough care of myself. Don't feel good? Do the things anyway. #3. Track all the things! Continue to keep a daily journal that includes what I eat, medications, and symptoms. If I don't have my journal with me, just make a note on my phone. There is almost no point in my elimination diet if I don't write down what I eat and how I feel. Weight loss and exercise aren't included in those goals for the simple reason that my elimination diet is very difficult and is enough to be going on with right now, but I am working on both of those things as I can. Grading and loot! I do love me some good loot. #1: Diet. This is pass/fail at the end of each week: did I stick to my elimination diet? Fail=get back on the horse, or get a new horse. Pass=LOOT if I've stuck to it 100%. I'll decide as I go what my rewards will be. I am including some diet vacations for planned travel because it is impossible to go backpacking while on my diet. On travel weekends, pass conditions include that I must return to my diet the morning after I return home. #2. Be The Kindly Bronotsaurus. This is pass/fail at the end of each week. Fail=did very few or none of the things I needed to do, and means it's time to ask for some help to get those things done. Pass=did most or all of the things, and means MOAR LOOT, again to be decided as I go (what can I say, I have whims). #3. Track all the things. Once again, this is pass/fail at the end of each week. Fail=tracked 3 or fewer days, or failed to track two days in a row and means no loot for me. Pass=tracked 4 or more days, and earns me more loot. I plan to earn a lot of loot. Shiny! A reward for anyone who made it through all that: it's the song that inspired my thread title.

Hi! I'm joining in last minute for the next challenge! I live in the UK, I'm a physics graduate turned coder and I'm in my 20s. My favourite geeky things are computers and science. I also like sewing & cross stitch. My favourite things on TV are Doctor Who, Game of Thrones (recent convert) and Agents of Shield. Since none are airing at the moment, my favourite right now is Humans. I've been reading the nerd fitness blog since last year and I've finally decided to be less half arsed about getting fitter! My previous attempts over the last few years have been unsuccessful... mostly because they made me unhappy. I ate very little, which made me hungry & unhappy.I went to the gym, which made me bored & unhappy. I didn't know what I was doing so I just ran on a treadmill, biked and used the weight machines.I went running, which made me frustrated & unhappy because I didn't feel like I was making any progress. I am, thankfully, in a better place to try again now.I was about to join a normal gym again but then I came across a new CrossFit gym opening a short walk away from my house. When I started 3 months ago I told myself I could quit after a month but I had to give it my all for that 1 month. I went 4x a week and haven't stopped since. I love lifting weights and trying to do handstand walks and pullups. I love our little community of people who cheer each other on. I love feeling good about doing exercise. I'm becoming a CrossFit bore but i kinda love that too Main GoalI want to lose some body fat and gain some muscle. I want to look better but I also want to feel strong and proud of what my body can do. Ultimately I want to be able to look in a mirror and think 'Hey, my body is awesome!' SMART goals1. Exercise 5 x per week.A: 28+ B: 20-28 C: Under 20 I've been hitting this most weeks for the past month or so. I've been doing 4 days of crossfit a week and I've recently started doing a yoga class on a different day.I'd like to mix in a bit more exercise at home/on my own because at the moment I feel very reliant on having a coach there to tell me what to do (and for motivation). I want to be a bit more self sufficient when it comes to getting off my ass and working out! 2. Track my diet and improve it.A: 38/42 days tracked B: 35/42 days tracked C: 30/42 days tracked a. Use MyFitnessPal to track everything I eat. b. Make sure the numbers from the last 2 weeks are better than the numbers from the first 2! But first I need to work out what those improvements are going to be. Right now this is a bit fluffy! I'm going to focus on recording everything for the first 2 weeks. This usually has a side effect of making me make healthier choices anyway!I know from recording before that I generally eat too little protein. From looking at my entries last year I was eating around 160g (65g sugar) carbs, 50g fat, 45g protein (around 1200-1300 kcal). 3. Do 3 pull ups.A: 3 pull ups from dead hang B: 3 pull ups with jump/2 pull ups from dead hang C: 2 pull ups with jumpRight now my best try is 1.5 with a bit of a jump up to the first one. It's taken a while to get to that point but I try to practice every time I'm at the gym. Side Quest: Get rid of 50 things (and don't bring in 50 things to replace them) A: 45+ B:40-45 C: 30-40My house is becoming an increasingly cluttered mess. I should be able to find just over 1 thing a day to get rid of.

Hi there I've been thinking about doing one of these challenges for a while now but have been putting it off with lame excuses. Recently I've started noticing that I can no longer feel the muscles in my back and shoulders - they are gone! Last year I started lifting and working out at a gym near my work and absolutely loved it - the process, the changes, the planning and commitment that went into it. I usually worked half days which meant I could head to the gym when it wasn't too full and I could work out in peace. Then I got a new job - full-time hours, more time getting to and from the gym and when I did get there, it was full! Workouts took twice as long just waiting for a bench and I felt less comfortable with so many people around. Slowly, I began going less and less, until I gave up altogether, always with the intention of getting back into it. Now is the time! Main Quest Get in shape - to begin the process of exercising and nourishing my body and build a foundation for long-term health and fitness. I want to feel better about myself, think about what I eat more carefully and enjoy the contentment that comes with looking after myself Quest 1 Work out at least 3 times a week for 45 minutes - this can be anything from going for a run, swimming, lifting, cycling or playing a game of netball. Anything else that gets my heart going or that I can feel the next day. I miss those feelings! Quest 2 No soft drinks (soda) and no alcohol - including diet coke. Mineral water is okay. I don't drink a huge amount of this to begin with but this is the stepping stone to being more conscious about what I consume. Quest 3 Use the foam roller every day. I have super-tight leg muscles which has led to knee, shin and calf pain in the past. The only way the foam roller will help is to use it every day over a significant period of time. To be honest this is probably going to be the hardest for me to commit to because it is painful and has no obvious benefit in the short-term. Life side quest This sounds like a small thing but important in the growth of my confidence: I will look a stranger in the eye and smile at them every day. I have always been shy and anxious and tend to avoid real-life social interaction, especially with people I am not already comfortable with. The older I get the more I fear I will never change. I want to start out with baby-baby steps as I have learned from experience that expecting too much from myself in this regard does not work. I am really looking forward to this challenge and getting to know the other recruits.

I am descended from a Norse clan called "Seawulfe." While my ancestors were brave adventurers who battled man and sea, I have lost my way and only do battle at a computer screen. I am a 41 year old training mentor with a large tech company in Austin, TX. I spend the majority of my day sitting in front of a computer screen. I come home... and sit some more (World of Warcraft, television, dinner table). I'm tired of wasting my life on my butt! My motivation is my father and my kids. My dad is morbidly obese with glaucoma and diabetes. He can no longer get around without the use of a walker. He has had multiple surgeries to relieve some of his symptoms. THIS WILL NOT BE MY FATE! Main Goal - Create and Maintain a healthy lifestyle of fitness A Viking warrior is a strong conqueror who is not afraid of a challenge. He lives, and loves, fiercely. He leads his clan by example, and remains focused on the battle. Subgoal 1 - Train for Battle! Winning the battle requires strength, speed, and endurance. I will focus the next 6 weeks on strength training (3x/wk) and C25K (2x/wk). 5+x/week = A STA+1 DEX+2 STR+2 4x/week= B STA+.75 DEX+1 STR+1 3x/week = C STA+.5 DEX+.75 STR+.75 2x/week= D STA+.25 DEX +.5 STR+.5 0-1x/week = F- No points Sugboal 2 - Fuel for the Fight You cannot fill the tank of a war machine with mud and manure, and expect to dominate on the battlefield. I have a bad habit of eating in the cafe on campus, 5x/wk. Instead, I will plan out my meals, and take my lunch. 5+x/week = A CON+3 4-5x/week = B CON+2 2-3x/week = C CON+1 0-1x/week = F No point I choose, today, that I will fight back. I choose to fight weakness with strength. I choose to run headlong into battle. Hear my battle cry, and tremble in fear!

A lot of the training that Luke had in the swamps of Dagobah was physical and mental training. That's what I'm going to be doing this challenge- starting to make healthy a habit in order to prepare to go to a Jedi Training Academy! So I'm a college student. I had dining hall access, I never learned to really control food intake on my own (though I'm learning), and I didn't work out much. Fast forward from beginning of college to almost three years later and I'm about 30 lbs heavier and really not in shape. I want to get back to playing Quidditch as a chaser. The past month or so I've been eating a lot better and have finally really gotten the mindset. I've lost 7lbs or so in that time as well. I've been on here since I started school but was never really committed. Well, now I am! This is my first challenge and I'm ready. I'm really not in great shape, so I'm going to start slowly and work my way into the gym. My biggest motivation is that I really do want to be able to get back on the Quidditch team. But I also want to be the best me I can be! My body is capable of so much more than I've been doing and I'm ready to explore that. For starters I'm just going to try to get into the habit of working out and eating right so I'm not destroying myself before I start. Main Goal- Maybe not Princess Leia, but still looking good. A Jedi must look presentable in their uniform. Who would trust a Jedi that would look like a Force Flip would leave them flat on the ground? I have to look the part to be a Jedi and that means- Back in size 8 jeans/shorts I don't expect to be tiny ever. I'm not built that way. But being back in an 8 like I was in high school (a women's 8 though- not necessarily a juniors 8) would be absolutely fantastic. Sub Goal 1- Preparation for Apprenticeship No Jedi worth their salt would take on a Padawan without at least a base level of fitness. I need to make sure I'm ready for more focused training later on and eventually that I might be given to a more gifted Jedi as a Padawan learner. So to do that I need to- Work out at least 5 times/week I work out fairly regularly, and I like both running and strength training. So I'll do some workouts with a run and some without thanks to the hills. (I might need to adjust this for the week I'm at the beach with my family- I feel like spending the day in the ocean or in the pool counts as a workout as long as I'm moving and also there for more than an hour, but if you've got any ideas, let me know. I also still plan on running since I'll have access to a great environment for running.) Still have STA:1, STR: .5, DEX:1 to allocate 5+x/week = A STA+3 DEX+2 STR+1 4x/week= B STA+2.5 DEX+1.5 STR+.75 3x/week = C STA+2 DEX+1 STR+0.5 2x/week= D STA+1 DEX +.5 STR+.25 0-1x/week = F- No points Week 1 - A - 5 workouts Week 2 - A - 5 workouts Week 3 - N/A- illness, not counting against Week 4 - A- 5 workouts Week 5 - A- 5 workouts Week 6 - A- 5 workouts Sub Goal 2- Avoid exposure to the Dark Side Unhealthy food and restaurants are the domain of the Dark Side! I must avoid such temptations and prepare my own food as much as possible. Eat out once a week or less While I've been fairly good about it this summer, I tend to eat out more during the semester. We shall see how I do over the course of the semester! I'm also going to the beach with my family for a week, as mentioned above, so we might be eating out a bit more, but I will endeavor for those not to be ridiculously unhealthy meals. I don't think I'm going to take tallys away unless I decide to eat out by myself without it being a family meal. We are going to cook most of our meals anyway so between that and the fact that I'll be getting workouts and low impact workouts in the ocean and pool (also lots of walking around) means that this one week won't throw me off entirely. And the catering at work is usually healthy enough that I won't count that either unless I overeat or don't add some sort of fruits and veggies to the meal. The week I'm at home, I know my BF will want to take me out to eat once locally and we are also planning on spending a day in a theme park. The theme park day we're going to bring one meal and eat at the park for the other. I won't count certain "emergency" eating out against me, but I will try to make those sorts of events both unusual and as healthy as possible! Still have CON: 1.5 and WIS: 1 0-1x/week = A CON+3 WIS+2 2-3x/week = B CON+2 WIS+1 4-5x/week = C CON+1 WIS+.5 5+x/week = F No points Week 1 - A- 1x eating out Week 2 - A- 1x eating out Week 3 - A- 1x eating out Week 4 - A- 1x eating out Week 5 - A- 1x eating out Week 6 - A- 1x eating out Life Goal- Commit to finishing things I've started If I'm going to be a Jedi, I have to be able to finish things I've started and show commitment. Finish one rewrite of my book I'm going to finish my first rewrite of my novel. I did personal edits, but a bunch of the edits are large additions. I want to finish those during these 6 weeks. Resolve all comments+ A WIS+3 Resolve 75% = B WIS+2.5 Resolve 50% = C WIS+2 Resolve 25% = D WIS+1 Resolve less than 25% = F No points Finished- 7-30-15 Final score- A +3 WIS So that's me and my goals. And my motivation. I'm so excited to work with you guys! May the Force Be with You! EDIT: to adjust for the fact that I need to be running as part of my strength training day EDIT #2: Take into account the week at the beach with my family Mini Quests Quest 1- Complete! +1 WIS Quest 2- Complete! +1 CHA Quest 5- Complete! +1 STA

Hello Everyone! I'm RuthixCube - a 26yo from southeastern MA who has a penchant for marathoning shows on Netflix/Hulu (Master Chef and The X-Files are my current go-tos), FPS games (Halo was my gateway drug), swearing like a sailor, and kicking ass in Roller Derby - almost. I became an Academy member back in October 2014, but I honestly never did much with it. I had attempted to use the main forums at that time, but became somewhat overwhelmed with all of the information and found parts of it quite confusing. Since the shutting down of the Academy Forum, I’ve heard stories of how influential the community has/had been for some, and decided to give it another shot. A little background about me: I grew up hating sports and basically any physical activity - I was the quiet artsy kid who kept to herself, and I was okay with that. This lasted until my sophomore or junior year of college. At that time, my campus had finished building a brand new, state of the art gym and I decided to give it a shot (hell, it was free). I kept at it regularly for about a semester, and never quite got back into it after break. Since graduating in 2011 I've gained about 15-20lbs, and since June of last year I’ve developed serious, but still undiagnosed, stomach problems (which I’m sure is due to not having a good diet for a long time). I’ve been on and off going to the gym, taking small personal training classes, and eating ‘healthy’. In April, I joined a local Roller Derby league, and I absolutely love it - it’s the only thing that has stuck, and boy is it one hell of a workout. ______________________________ Main Quest: For the foreseeable future, I want to work on increasing my strength and endurance, and to lose body fat. I’m not concerned with my overall weight, as I know that it will go up and down as my fat % and muscle mass change. Currently, I’m 5’5â€, 157lbs, and probably somewhere around 30% body fat (judging from photos alone). Measurements are: Bust: 36.5in Waist: 30in Hips: 40in Bicep: R- 11.5in L- 11in Thigh: R- 24in L- 24.5in Calf: R- 16.5in L- 16.25in ______________________________ Quest A: Follow the NF Academy’s Bodyweight Brigade (BWB) workout plan 3x per week (Sun/Tues/Fri). Level 1 (week 3): +2 STR, +1 CHA Level 2 (week 6): +1 STR, +1 DEX Each workout earns me 1 point, with a possible total of 3pts/wk. I have the ability to accumulate 9 total points by week 3, and 18 by week 6. However many points I have accumulated by these benchmark dates will be divided by the total possible points in order to find a percentage. Ex for week 3: 3pts earned week 1, 2pts week 2, and 3pts week 3 = total of 8pts acquired. 8/9=.888 or .89=89% STAR POWER!!! At the end of each BWB workout, there is an additional and optional exercise that can be done. Each time I do this, I gain 1 point towards loot! The exercise I chose will be Squat Thrusts for :30 on/:30 rest, 5x through. This can be substituted for: knee-highs, tuck jumps, jumping jacks, speed skaters, or mountain climbers. (Loot list is at the bottom of the post) Quest B: Endurance is something that I feel I need to work on, especially because it is a huge part of Derby. I will jump rope 3x per week, starting at 5 min. Every week, the time will increase by 1 min. Level 1: +2 STA, +1 DEX Level 2: +1 STA This will have a similar point system as Quest A, except that I can earn 2 points per workout with a total of 6 possible points per week. 18 possible points by week 3 36 possible points by week 6 If I jump rope for less than the required time, I will lose one point. Quest C: I’ve found that my stomach problems decrease significantly when I cook for myself. I also eat a lot healthier when I do the cooking. My plan is to eat home cooked meals 5x/week. This is similar to what I do now, but increasing the number of days. I still order out, buy snacks, or eat fast food more often than I should, and I want to get out of that habit. Although I will be cooking my own meals most of the time, it will be much more convenient for me to track my Macros and calories instead. I will be using My Fitness Pal to keep tabs of this. If, for whatever reason, I cant keep within my Macro numbers, I will at the least keep within my calorie limit. Level 1: +2 CON, +1 CHA Level 2: +1 CON 100% = 5x/wk 75% = 4x/wk 50% = 3x/wk 25% = 1-2x/wk ______________________________ Life Quest: It’s been a long time since I read a book, any book, so I want to start reading again. I’ve picked out two books to complete by the end of the challenge, one per 3 weeks. Each book will earn me 1 point towards WIS. Level 1: +1 WIS Level 2: +1 WIS Books: Neuromancer by William Gibson (271pgs) Long Mile Home by Scott Helman and Jenna Russell (297pgs) If I am unable to finish a book, I will find the percentage of the book I have read (#pgs read divided by #pgs in the book). Should I finish both books, I have a third picked out (Round the Bend by Jeremy Clarkson) - if I am able to finish it, I will gain one bonus point to be added to my Star Power points. ______________________________ Motivation: For me, it’s a mix of wanting to improve my skills in Derby and to improve my health as a whole. Mostly, I want to be rid of these stomach issues, as it can be a major detriment in my day to day life. There are mornings where I wake up and I can’t even get to work. I’m uncomfortable on almost a daily basis. As for Derby, I want to become a scrimmagable player, and in order to do that I need to pass a minimum skills test. It’s no easy feat, but I know that building up my strength and endurance will help get me there. ______________________ Progress Tracker Loot list: 16+ pts - FitBit Charge HR Massage (Flex died over the weekend, bought C.HR to replace) 12+pts - new vintage clothing piece https://www.dropbox.com/s/m9dao0thln2zwvp/valerie-so-sophisticated-polka-dot-edged-50s-vintage-swing-dress-p962-9551_thumbmini.jpg?dl=0 8+pts - fitness tank/t-shirt https://www.dropbox.com/s/5g32glh542o0twr/claptraps-pain.jpg?dl=0 4+pts - stickers/laces/Astro Nuts https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ryb2wafmr4ukxq/9e8cd5d4d11ef0904ebea87ea1b26086.image.500x375.jpg?dl=0

Hello, I am Atrophos. I hope to join the ranger guild following this challenge. In my quest to finish strong at the Elysian Games, I've discovered some weaknesses that need to be corrected. This event lines up perfectly with this 6 week challenge. In addition to the immediate goal, I have discovered that this is a side mission that will prepare me for a story line series of quests that begin in February. Main Goal - Clean and Jerk 115 pounds for multiple reps The first sub-quest on my journey to Elysium has been posted and it is an escort quest to lead the NPC "Grace" through a series of boulders with a time limit. I have 2 minutes and 30 seconds to clear some 95 pound boulders (30 of them), followed by a break to potion up. This is followed by another 2 minutes and 30 seconds with even heavier boulders at 115 pounds, and then a potion break followed by another series of boulders at 135 pounds. These boulders need to be correctly picked up off the ground and placed on a ledge just above our heads to provide some cover. My primary goal is to be able to complete the 95 pound boulder quest within the time limit and to be able to clear at least 10 of the 115 pound boulders within the time limit. Should I surpass those goals by the end of the challenge, I need to be prepared to lift at least one 135 pound boulder. The current experience is being able to lift 10 of the 115 pound boulders, however I haven't established how long it takes. I will update my thread with progress as I establish capacity for higher weights and determine a time. Adding to the complexity of this quest is a side quest to the region of Kualoa that is very far away from my ranger trainers, so I will be discovering additional ranger trainers. Summary: Finish "Grace" at 95 pounds within 2:30. Bonus with possible quest reward: Finish "Grace" at 115 pounds within 2:30. Side Quest: Kualoa Hero Journey This side quest is located in the region of Kualoa. A gryphon flight must be arranged. Adequate preparation is necessary to have plenty of mana and health potions to use throughout the 2 days of journeying through the region and over obstacles. A protective coating is mandatory against the Immolation DoT. Successful completion of this quest results in the "trifecta" achievement. Summary: Complete Spartan Beast, Super, and Sprint in one weekend while adequately caked with sunscreen and having adequate hydration and fuel. Long Term Goal: Open 2016 This goal has some prerequisite skill tree items to be achieved. There are multiple gymnastic movements as well as much heavier lifts that I need to be able to perform by February. Unlocking this quest begins a story line series with potential for many rewards and new armor.

Hello NF! I stumbled upon NF yesterday and it looks like exactly what I need to jumpstart my fitness journey. Growing up I usually played sports in school but never stuck to one sport long enough to get good. I never considered myself an athlete or to be in very good shape (cardiovascular or strength). I have always had a few extra pounds, but until recently my body weight/shape had remained very stable ("curvy"). My recent weight gain has moved me from a high normal BMI to a low overweight BMI, and my body feels/looks that way too. The extra weight combined with feeling physically weak after particularly sedentary days in lab has me feeling pretty unhealthy, and motivated to change that. I want to get fit and healthy! I have had trouble prioritizing workout regimens in the past, so I am hoping having the community of NF combined with a game plan (i.e., this challenge) will help change that. In recent months I took up swimming (a vestige of one of my youth sports), which I love, but I got swimmer's shoulder and need to take some time off to recover and gain core/back strength to prevent it from coming back. Last week I went for a ~20 minute "run" (jog until tired, walk, jog until tired) every day (Sunday - Saturday) in an attempt to start building a workout habit that has to happen BEFORE doing any work for the day (prioritizing!). I'm planning to use running in place of swimming while I recover, but I've had knee problems in the past and don't want to overdo it. So, I want to alternate running/swimming with strength training (I'm going to start with the BBWW, but I am open to any suggestions!) so that I can work toward gaining muscle and losing fat without injuring myself. Main Goal: Life-term goals: make fitness a priority and habit. Also, as a medium-term goal: I am going to run a 5K on Thanksgiving and I want to actually be able to run the whole time. SMART Goals: 1. Run/Swim 3x/wk, Strength Train 3x/wk, Yoga/Dance/Rest 1x/wk 2. No potatoes 3. Bring lunch to work at least 4x/wk Life Goal: Track my water intake and shoot for at least 8 glasses a day. Motivation: Get strong and full of breath.