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Whew! Where do I begin with how wild life has been lately? Some pretty major changes to our family dynamic (good changes but also difficult) have occurred recently, and I just haven't had the opportunity to be active here. However, I do have some goals I want to set for this challenge, and I hope those of you who have been patient with me will continue to be so. Also, I recently accepted a position as a Language Arts teacher at the same high school I graduated from 25 years ago. It feels surreal, but I am honored and eager to begin. Forgive me this introduction before I get to my goals: I recently joined a community called The Fifth Direction, which has reawakened my creative spirit. It is inspired by poet Robert Bly and the Mythopoetic movement. If you're not familiar with the Mythopoetic movement, fear not; I'll talk about it more in a later post. Short version: it seeks to view life through the lens of story, especially ancient stories (i.e. myths, folk tales, legends, etc.). I have really been exploring how my growing interest in poetry and myth impacts my own faith and spirituality. I was at first concerned that much of it would "debunk" it but instead have found that it has deepened it. Reading scripture through the lens of story and myth and reading stories and myths that are similar and, at times, very parallel to stories in scripture, has reminded me of the omnipresence of God's Spirit in all things. I am also writing poetry again. Robert Bly said that he was inspired by poet William Stafford to write a poem every morning, and eventually Bly published these poems in a book aptly titled Morning Poems. I plan to take similar inspiration and write a poem every day during this challenge, as well as read a poem every day (and share it here, of course). I have also transformed my morning "routine" into something more akin to a morning "ritual" that includes prayer, reading scripture and poetry and stories out loud, meditating and doing breath work. I have not done well recently with my nutrition. I think part of the issue is I have approached it more as a disciplined practice rather than a spiritual one. Fasting has deep spiritual roots and therefore should be meaningful and have reason beyond just "cutting calories." I plan to continue my workout routine, which includes three days of strength training, one day of sprints, three days to move slowly/play/rest. Which day for what is usually determined by life. So, my goals for this challenge: Write a poem of my own every day and read/share someone else's poem every day. Continue my morning ritual: scripture, meditation, breath work, etc. Fast from 7 pm to 11 am daily except on strength training days; also fast for 24 hours every Sunday and Wednesday (I may post later about why I chose those two days). And that's it. Short and sweet and simple. To the best of my ability, I plan to be here daily and hope to not only post but also visit many of your challenge post, as well. Thank you if you've sat with me this long. I hope you will continue to visit and feel welcome here.

Greetings, and welcome to all! I’m a married parent of 4 kids aged 0-8. The last few challenges have been rough; Jessie’s job has been in the busy season, my job has been in the busy season, and the bakery officially opened for retail business. Plus kids. Plus school. Plus struggles with one of the teachers at school for one kid and struggles with dance instructors with two others. As often is the case, this post is taking place over two days. That said, good news everyone! We officially hired a new full-time bakery manager today (offered Friday, she accepted Monday, starts 2 weeks from tomorrow/today). I’m extremely excited. It’s going to take a huge amount of pressure off of me, and also make it easier to plan advertising. I’ll get to move into a role heavier in sales, marketing, and finance (while still spending plenty of time in the kitchen!) and we’ll be about to expand as well as actually take our vacation this summer. I’m ultimately an adventurer at heart, though I train similar to a lot of Rangers (and I’m something of a Druid Paladin which is also something of an equivalent to a Ranger). I love hiking, exploring, traveling, and other fun things with the family. Since shortly before joining Nerdfitness, my physical training is typically built around injury rehabilitation (which happens a bit more often due to autoimmune arthritis) and training to be able to travel, explore, and play with my family. I have a pretty effective Disney World training system, and try to ensure that at any point I’m strong enough to carry my whole family somewhere. That has become more difficult as the years go on but I can still do it for the most part. I am also an enthusiastic suburban homesteader bent on establishing an orchard and vegetable garden, so things can get pretty out-doorsy depending on my goals. My needs mean I do a variety of types of training, and my earliest two physical training goals were “run fast” and “be able to competitively play any sport I come across.” I prefer to avoid gyms and do a lot of body weight training. When I do lift weights it is at the YMCA or, more commonly, takes the form of children, sandbags, or logs. This time, we’re training for one of the Disney races as a family. It’s gonna be a later event so we have plenty of time and I’m training, in particular, to be prepared to carry the younger 2 kids for the race. So far this has taken the form of loaded carries and greasing the groove with squats and lunges; I’ve been either using 50-lb sacks of flour or dumbbells thus far. I can farmer’s carry my weight for 100 meters. Homesteading season is upon us. I am afraid the Ranier is dead and I’m afraid one of the apple trees died as well. We’re reigning in my red neck tendencies this year and redoing a bunch of our gardens. We may also be remodeling the house to add more space for my mother in law and her sister to move in as well. At the beginning of last year, we started shopping for an existing business with a professional kitchen to give a physical location to our small bakery. We now own the bakery kitchen and business. The bakery has been opened a month and we just hired a full time manager which I am ecstatic about. Once she starts we can get more serious about expanding business without completely running ourselves into the ground. There will be a lot more flexibility to handle groups of people (larger numbers ordering made-to-order items cause our biggest throughput issues) and she can also help us build the team. I wish she was already on; L’enfant somehow got a cupcake with egg it in yesterday and thus yesterday was one of those nearly-no-sleep days. Healthwise, we’ve been living the keto lifestyle for most of the year and we’ve found it to be incredibly easy to stick to 99% of the time, meaning we’re seeing more success and I’m burning less willpower on food-related stuff. I am past my arbitrary goal weight, and I’m focusing hard now on maintaining around this weight while achieving my goal composition. I think the race/loaded carry training will help. I’m concerned that sleep problems will hamstring me though which is why, as always, it’s goal number one. I’ve not been physically or mentally as well lately. Jessie has work friends and I’m grateful (she really, really needs some good friends especially given her job) but she’s home less while I have been more isolated and I’m feeling the loneliness return. It can be pretty intense. I don’t really have many IRL friends. I love Marinara but he’s sort of emotionally unavailable and my other friends are almost all far away anymore. I’ve been working on connecting with people, though, and it has helped. We saw Rex’s godparents after his birthday party and that was amazingly helpful. I've been struggling hard on my “no yelling” goal. I feel exhausted all the time and it’s made it hard to break habits. I continue to strive towards zero yelling. I am also striving to be careful with my words at all times. I’m tired of being so very careful of my words most of the time to the point where I’ll simply be silent (where I have to be careful to not stonewall) but then just let loose and impulsively say a bunch of thoughtless things. Goals: 1. Sleep. As best as possible. This is critical to managing my emotions as well as general health and quality of life. I’m currently trapped in sleep deprivation until we can hire and train our team. But I can also see a light at the end of the tunnel. 2. Race training. This includes calisthenics, the race plan training, and loaded carries. Race training as a family is currently paused as Jessie hurt her sciatic nerve and needs rest to recover. She tried training through and reducing the intensity but that exacerbated the problem. 3. Take one concrete step forward per day- at least one tangible, visible thing to make life better. This ranges from things as small as “dig out the replacement toaster” to as big as “reorganize the playroom.” I don’t have to complete the bigger ones as long as I make progress. 4. Take one concrete step forward per day career-wise. I need my job but I’m not satisfied in it and otherwise need a change. I need to hone/adapt skills and look for other opportunities. -> Currently, this involves finishing the bakery paperwork and executing the grand opening. . 5. Home and Garden. I want both to be better. Especially the home. The basement is… bad. I spent one today doing laundry and cleaning up. The basement needs a tremendous amount of work. The dogs have been staying down there and it’s better than kenneling them but they’ve eaten some toys and containers which made a huge mess and the best dog’s separation anxiety issues are coming back into play. I hope that in the future I (or one of us at least) can be home half the day with them most days. We have a cleaning lady but I don’t think 3 hours a week is quite enough. Over the summer she’ll be moving to 2 days a week. 6. Therapy. I have a new(er) diagnoses and new(er) medication that have been, it feels, pretty life changing. I finished intensive therapy that was also insanely helpful prior to that and I am continuing with less frequent sessions. My goal is to better learn how to manage ADHD and how to be a more connected, present, and supportive husband and father. I think I have been progressing well. I feel healthy. I am excited about how this has gone. I am working on anger management and taking a page from the book of Mr. Fred Rogers. I had no idea that he struggled with a strong and volatile temper. He never wanted to be remembered as a saint because he didn’t want his example to be unachievable but I do think he is probably the best person who ever lived a full life. I will be looking to him as an example and we’ve decided to introduce the show as a regular part of our kids’ lives. Gods know it’s as helpful to me as it is to them. And I’m adding care of words as well to this goal for things don’t have to be yelled to hurt. I am eager to rest and get to work. Oh, and if you’re following from my last thread and the thread before, we’re STILL RPing a scene with Barnaby the Brass Dragon in our D&D campaign since March 4th. Almost 2 months of RP and close to 60 hours of me pretending to be a lonely brass dragon having the time of his life at a party while sharing dragon lore with the party.

I'm still working on most details for this challenge. The basics: Eating a slight deficit .... not so much that I'm hangry .... but not having snacks frequently. I hate to say it, but WW has been working for me. The possible alternative is My Fitness Pal, which gives me a better handle on macros. Or maybe the LoseIt app and site. But the emphasis on protein, veg, and fruit has been working. Cardio 6 out of 7 days. Using the MTG Forgotten Realms land cards so that I can mix up the types of cardio I'm doing. Strength train 2 or 3 days per week. I'll be able to get to CrossFit more regularly once classes are done May 13th D & D solo campaigns for fun, flavor, and some creative expression I was going to be learning Swedish, but hubby decided to book next summer's trip ..... to Iceland.

New challenge time! My goal is to lose 8 pounds for this challenge. It’s ambitious, but I’m ready for a push. Here’s the plan: 1. Giving myself more time a. Putting off scheduling additional doctor visits until next year. I’m in good shape, and nothing is urgent. I need a mental break from physical health checks. b. Saying “no” to social invitations when the time doesn’t work for me. I try to accommodate everyone else’s schedule because I’m a freelancer, but that’s how I get overloaded. I need to be able to say “That week isn’t good for me, how about the week after?” c. Getting Screen time down from 5 hours a day to 3 hours a day. Apple tracks this for me, and if I need to, I can set limits on my phone again so I’m not wasting time staring at puppy videos, which I usually do after I’m burned out from being too busy. d. Take Wednesdays off. No errands, no social calls, no appointments. Wednesdays are a day off. 2. Utilizing the extra time I’ve given myself a. Exercising Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. In the past, I’ve done shorter workouts six days a week but I find I'd rather exercise for a longer session and then wake up the next day and have more time to get other things done. b. Going on more walks and hikes. I’m aiming for 10 5 miles a week. c. Working outdoors and getting the yard to look its best. 😊 I have a short list, so it's not going to be too difficult. It's totally difficult. While the list is short, each item takes a long time, and I'm remembering this now. d. Planning more healthy meals and cooking them. Right now, I just sorta cook whatever we have and I feel like I can do better here. e. Stretching in the mornings and evenings. 3. Keeping up the Energy to use my time wisely a. Sleeping from 11pm-6am. 7am b. Cutting way back on sugar. I’d like to have something sweet once a week, but I’m done with candy, jams, juices, and pastries, and coffee on a regular basis. c. Also cutting back on processed foods like chips and blue boxed macaroni and cheese. d. Drinking loads more water, but not sparkling water. I learned its hard on my teeth, and I must protect my teeth! e. Journaling to process thoughts and feelings that are heavy and overwhelming. I'll track everything in my bullet journal, and post weekly results and reflections.

Fashionably late to the party… [Preamble] Welcome to Owlshire, a beautiful woodland property in the Forest of Dean, England. I’m a 42 year old American woman living here with my British husband (Mr) and 4 y/o son (Enting). I work in gamedev and when I’m not doing that, I’m tending to my garden, doing needlework of some sort, writing, playing games (of various sorts), and exploring our local woodlands. [Challenges] Two, actually. The first one is a happy event in the Yorkshire Dales in June for a wedding, and the second is a solemn pilgrimage to the Pacific Northwest, USA, to help carry my father's ashes* into his favorite spot in the mountains, as per his request. These both happen during the next challenge, but there's a lot of preparations! * Rise Up The hike into the mountains is steep and challenging. I know because I did that hike with Dad many times as a child and once as an adult. Most of the adults (sisters, nieces/partners…) joining us are not particularly fit for purpose, and there will be four children under the age of 5 as well. It’s going to be chaos and I don’t expect everyone will make it to the top before turning back. I’m not turning back. So I want to make sure my hill game is in order, and also get Enting prepared for a longer, steeper walks since I likely won't be carrying him--I'll probably be carrying other children! This means going out at least twice a week and walking (for example) up our lane, which is a very long, steep climb. (More often is better, but I’m trying to be realistic given other life constraints.) I also want to take Enting with me at least once a week to get him better motivated for walking distances. (He has proven he can walk for several miles, but he often doesn’t want to.) The post-wedding June hike in the Yorkshire Dales will be a bit of a test run to further gauge what we will expect in the mountains and any strategy changes we should consider. Organize We haven't done a family overnight trip (let alone a trip abroad) in 2.5+ years. Setting up both of these trips is a lot of faff! I have some huge to-do lists and files and paperwork and coordination with family, and I'm making my way through them. Keep on it! Reach Mordor I’m 555 miles away! I’ve been wanting to complete this challenge since the early 00s (when it was called the Eowyn Challenge), and I’m sure I’ve been “there and back again” several times over, but I’ve never managed to track the whole thing. I want to finish my walking route to Mordor by November 2022. I’m so close! A Hobbit in Attitude, not in Width At the moment, I'm in a good place with my weight/BMI. I do want to get both a touch lower, but all things considered for this challenge I’m under a lot of emotional stress and I just want to maintain. I’ve got enough other things on. My BMI is currently 22.1, and I'll count this successful if it's the same or lower at the end of the challenge. Admin note: I always start on Week 0, and I track from Monday-Sunday. I’m also useless at actually updating my challenges, but I’m always a better me if I post one.

Campaign 2022 Adventure: Dreamwalker Ok, let's try this again. Your resident bladesinger is still alive! My last few challenges have been wonderfully epic "failures"..."failures" in the sense that I failed to keep up with goals (if I made them in the first place), and definitely failed at tracking or posting any updates when I actually did complete them, BUT they were set aside to make room for other priorities...so, I don't think it is so much of a failure as it was a trade off. Anyway, the first part of this year has just been crazy. There were deaths, hardships, health issues, and injuries on the one hand, and house-buying, moving, completing a certification for work, and getting accepted to an MBA program on the other...so, a rollercoaster of all kinds of things. But, the house-hunting, and painting, and moving, and unpacking are finally over. Things are finally settling down into a routine. I am loving my new job (been there about seven months now) and we are my team is starting to find its groove with our new intern and new boss (both started about two or three months ago). I am working on wrapping up one certification in July so it is out of the way for when my MBA courses start in earnest in the fall. The area that has suffered the most lately is my fitness routine and sleep. With all the craziness of moving, there were lots of late nights, lots of eating out, and though we were getting lots of physical activity in with painting and hauling boxes and furniture, there was no time to any structured exercise. Which was fine...until all that slowed down. One of the great things about moving is the opportunity to build new habits and leave old habits behind...but it also means some extra struggles to maintain and/or rebuild the habits you actually wanted to keep. But, Aries and I have decided we want to start kickboxing and maybe some MMA at a local MMA gym in mid July. So, I have two months to whip my butt into shape so I don't die or break myself, lol. You would think that would mean my goals for this challenge would focus around fitness - you would think wrong, I am doing that next challenge. This challenge I am going even more foundational - the primary focal point of the rest of this challenge (better late than never, right?) is sleep schedule. Though I have been getting ENOUGH sleep again these past couple weeks, I need to start restructuring my sleep schedule to better accommodate the MMA courses. Right now I go into work around 9am, but my goal is to start going in close to 7-7:30am, so I can wrap up my day close to 4-4:30 instead of closer to 5:30-6pm. I am making that my only goal for this challenge because that is going to be a huge challenge for me. I am NOT a morning person by any stretch of the meaning. So getting up two hours earlier is going to be a challenging and probably painful process. Don't get me wrong, I still do plan to work on getting in more exercise and whatnot, it just doesn't get to be center stage until next challenge. So, the Strategy: Focus the rest of this week on getting up by 7:40am Next week: 7:20am Third week: 7:00am My goal is to eventually get up closer to probably 6:15-6:30, but I am going to take this slow. My body and brain have been through enough stress and changes lately. And on top of that, as someone with bipolar disorder, adding stress or making sudden or drastic changes to sleep patterns is...well, not advisable.

So ya'll, I'm struggling. HARD. It's not surprising really, the past year has been an absolute roller coaster and now that the house is built, we are fully moved in, and my parents are almost moved in, I'm crashing. Even without all that nonsense, this month is wild. I'm going to Denver twice, I've got something going on every weekend, AND we are in the midst of birthday season in our house (3 / 4 kids have birthdays between 4/27 and 5/19). Oof. So really what I want to do is track this challenge. What do I do every day, how am I feeling (mentally and physically), what I eat, and what I needed to do that I didn't. So basically, I'm using this challenge as a live journal. What do I do every day? Regular workouts are the best thing I do for my mental health. I just feel better when they happen. Right now, I have the option of up to 9 different classes to attend (when I'm home), 3 days to run, and at least one yoga / stretching day. The trainers at my gym are really good about sending me pictures of the group workouts if I don't get to make it in, so I have options on the road too, just not quite as many. I should do something daily for at least 30 minutes. I also have a ton of work stuff on my plate. I'm balancing two service lines, two internal group projects (one is a training and one is white papers), my two employees, and helping with some other projects ad hoc. I can't spend a full day goofing off on my computer and letting tasks pile up. I've been really good about using Tasks and a Tomato Timer, but I'm also really good at ignoring both if I want to. It doesn't make it any better when you slack there Sylvaa. How am I feeling? I've been trying to be everything to everyone (shout out to Everclear and their catchy tune). Fun fact: I can't. Now that the youngest turned 18 and will start college in the fall, I want to transition our household into more of a group effort than a "mom does this stuff and I don't". This includes helping with P (I've been informed I can't call him the baby anymore), taking care of the cooking and cleaning, and any other ad hoc responsibilities people put on my plate. It's okay for me to say no and it's okay for me to prioritize me. This also includes physically as food has been an issue. What did I eat? Between not being strict with food, having a few extra days with alcohol, and stress, my stomach is a hot mess. It's not fun, makes me feel like crap, and isn't helping me mentally. I'm eating tums like they are going out of style. This is not a good look. So I am going to start tracking food (at least what it is) and tracking what didn't work. What I should be doing is limiting processed carbs, alcohol, and sugar. You know, what people should do anyway. What did I need to do that I didn't? Is that a kosher gif to use? I like it. Understanding that it's okay for me to not do everything, I also need to make sure things I'm not doing don't just continue to slide. Because it's really easy for me to do that. So this isn't about beating myself up for missing something, it's about being honest with myself to make sure I'm prioritizing things properly.

Hi. I'm Stronkey Kong. I've been on NF for almost 9 years now. I'm just as fat as when I joined... but maybe a bit healthier overall. I'll take it. Last challenge tanked because of a putative Covid-19 infection, and I spent most of April managing and recovering. I'm at like 99% now though. All the symptoms are gone, but I'm still regaining bits of strength from weeks of barely eating and getting things back in balance. This is my last day off from a week-long (and long overdue) vacation, where I got some gardening done, but not finished, and I still need to fix my bathtub. I recently bought a bass guitar and am (obsessively) learning to play it. I've been playing guitar since I was 13, and can even sit at a keyboard and dink around with chords without getting lost. I have an unpolished knack for music, and I want to start writing/recording my own stuff and maybe join a band for fun at some point. I also bought an electronic drum kit, but that's not top priority. (Nyango Star vid, not part of theme... but I just can't bring myself to delete it) Yeah... I just turned 38, so I might just be getting an early start on a mid-life crisis thing, but I'm just gonna roll with it and have some fun... Playing music is great for a lot of reasons... keeps me active (at least better than TV and video games), it can be a way to connect with other people, and it definitely lifts my mood and keeps me engaged intellectually... but I am getting a little bit obsessed and need to take care of other things. I'm focusing on learning RB and Soul at the moment, so might as well go with a Blues Brothers theme... cuz I've heard them sing more Soul songs than actual blues songs... and whatever, these gifs are fun. GOALS: 1) Plant based diet:: Don't eat like Jake and Elwood Before I got sick, I was eating a '99% plant based diet' and made to a bit past 30 days. It was going very well. I'd lost a few pounds and had zero acid reflux and was overall feeling really good. When I got sick I gave up because I wanted comfort food and couldn't eat much with my sore throat and nausea and lack of taste. Now I'm dealing with upset stomach and acid reflux etc. again. So I need to go back. But I'm going to aim for 90%... meaning 18 or 19 of my meals each week should be entirely plant based. The other 2-3 meals are just allowed to deviate for the sake of flexibility and filling in a few nutritional gaps. 2) Stay Active: I could easily sit around in all my free minutes playing music and watching videos about music. But I need to make sure I get some actual exercise again. For starters I'm going to start going Morning Burpees (with a pushup). I'll start with 5 on day one, and add one every day till I hit thirty. After that I'll do another activity like walking, quick calisthenics routines, and gardening/house work all count. 5 days per week. 3) Fix more than I break and don't leave a trail of destruction everywhere I have a long list of projects and things to do in or around the house. Usually, once I get started, 1 hour can become 3 or 4. Every day I'm off of work make at least 1 hour of progress toward gardening or getting things fixed in the house. 4) Get good at BASS! -- I'm taking online lessons through a self-paced study platform, that also has web forum just like this with practice logs you're supposed to maintain... actually using the same web platform and is almost identical except for the color palate and minor format things... so if I mistakenly just insert a post on this thread about rambling about bass guitar and music theory or whatever, just know that I'm really tired and got my forums mixed up 🤣 Practice Bass everyday, and post in my practice log. And for fun I'll post some videos of the songs I'm learning. I think the direction I'm heading in is to learn Soul and R&B bass as my focus. So I'll be learning and transcribing (learning by ear) those along with some rock, blues, and jazz gems mixed in there. Maybe I should learn 'Rawhide' 🤔

Greetings all! This won't be long -- I'm just throwing this thread up to say that a) I AM doing a challenge this time around and b) it will just be pretty much a continuation of the last one. Life has been beyond difficult lately and I have neither the time nor the energy for the deep consideration needed to change things up right now. Since I'll still be at home all the way up until Week Five (which will involve leading an American Hiking Society volunteer vacation in Northern California -- in passing, if you're in easy striking distance of the US West Coast and want a cheap and easy chance for some big-tree-ocean wilderness adventure, there are still spots left on this trip), I'm going to continue with the living-quietly-in-the-Shire idea and keep working to shore up the foundations of my routines. I honestly don't expect there will be much in the way of narrative updates to this thread (no change there either ). Still, even without a lot of interaction, just having these public challenges going really works for me. So, well, here we are. Thank you, kind reader, for being part of my journey! Lack of updates notwithstanding, my spreadsheet shows that I actually managed to do pretty darn well on my goals last time. (This is admittedly only true as measured by overall scores rather than actual accomplishments; I didn't do very well at all on the things I historically struggle with, but after some simple changes to my routines I absolutely ROCKED the extra credit ). For this challenge I've made a few minor tweaks, basically still casting about to find something that will work to replace the things that very definitely didn't. If for some odd reason you are interested in reading about the details of my routines, have a look at my last challenge thread and substitute "do anything AT ALL with a wretched kettlebell" for the aspirational forearm mobility that only happened once, and substitute "for gods' sake leave the [BLEEP]ing house and go somewhere once in a while" for the 'get dressed before noon' extra credit opportunity. Maybe by the time I get back from the next adventure, things will have slowed down enough to let me do some real assessment and proper challenge-crafting (shrug) Until then, I'm just going to carry on. Good luck to everyone else on your own challenges!

For this challenge, I decided to return to a challenge I posted almost two year ago. Much has changed since then, but as to the purpose, I feel this would be an excellent way to work through getting rid of some bad habits and restore some habits that have been lost. As before, I will be using some inspiration and heart from some of Tolkien's heroes. As this challenge progresses, I will be channeling some of the traits of some of my favorites, specifically the race of Men because I find myself identifying most closely with Tolkien's human characters. Because some bad habits have returned (spawned mostly as a result of too much downtime and being in a strange place emotionally as a result of some career changes), it is once again fitting to work through a challenge that themes these temptations as the pull of The One Ring. And so it begins. Goal 1: Resist The One Ring "Not if I found it on the highway would I take it I said. Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held by them. ‘But I am not such a man. Or I am wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee." -- Faramir For this goal, I will be channeling Faramir, who is without a doubt my favorite of the characters who successfully resists The One Ring, even though he had reasons outside of the Dark Lord's power to take it from Frodo. I also identify with Faramir's struggles to make his father proud, to know that he isn't the favored son, and his choice to be peaceful and merciful by nature: “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” Without getting into specifics, this goal focuses on recognizing when and why these temptations occur: what triggers them and what is the best way to resist them. Faramir's quote above also brings to mind scripture: "But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." -- 1 Timothy 6:11-12 learn about these temptations and what hidden damages lurk within them set boundaries and barricades against temptations; arm and fortify yourself against the "attacks of the enemy" be brave and stand strong when you can, but have an escape plan if you get lost, call out to your fellowship of brothers to help you find the way again fast and pray to build discipline celebrate victories and milestones, but remain resolute and do not lose your temperance Goal 2: Build Strength, Wisdom, Courage, and Heart to Become Who You Were Meant to Be "But I am the real Strider, fortunately. I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by my life or death I can protect you, I will." -- Aragorn For this goal, I will be channeling Aragorn because of his strong heart, his wisdom, and his courage, which grows as he breaks free of the shame of his father and steps into his destined role as heir to the throne of Gondor. Aragorn is aware of his flaws and weaknesses as a man, but he strives to do good by serving others. He faces peril, inspires others into battle, and fights courageously for his fellowship. None of this would be possible if he had allowed himself to get weak or distracted or lose his self-control. He is also faithful to the cause of defeating evil and to the love of his life. He is watchful and alert, wise and intelligent, humble and modest by nature but also mighty and proud when necessary. Some aspects of this goal will look familiar if you have followed me for some time. awaken before dawn pray/meditate/study scripture & other books of wisdom fast daily (intermittently) eat whole foods (mostly plants) drink at least 64 ounces of water daily daily breathing exercises (I really need to get back to this; it clears my head and may help stave some of the temptation triggers) read at least 20 minutes every day spend at least 30 minutes outside every day strengthen the body (Darebee workouts, bodyweight, cinderblocks, log, sandbag, resistance bands, etc.) spend time with my queen; this includes going to bed with her and not staying up late Goal 3: Rebuild Your Heart and Your Kingdom "For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning." -- Aragorn, speaking of King Theoden Theoden is a good example of someone who, as he grew older and more tired, allowed himself to become misled and lost sight of his true purpose as king. It corrupted him and led to the usurping of his kingdom by evil forces. Once he is set free of this spell, however, he steps into his role as king and, in spite of the bleak outlook, fights for his people and for the good of all Middle Earth. For this goal, I am both literally and figuratively referring to my "kingdom" (as in my home, my domain) meditate on/reclaim my purpose as husband and father (as "king") spend time with children; hug them, play with them, go on adventures with them keep my house in order: clean daily, keep the yard clean and mowed, make necessary repairs And that is it for now. If I think of some other goals, I will add them and try to think of characters that embody those goals, as well.

#1: Complete the GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Course and Angular Heroes (+2 INT) This one's all about upskilling. I've got access to a GCP Cloud Engineer course through Udemy. My goal over the next 5 weeks is to complete all of the video content and schedule an exam. (Updated 4/11/22) My goal over the next 5 weeks is to reach Section 20 out of 26. (+1 INT) Next challenge, I will pick this back up, complete the remaining 6 Sections of Video Content, and schedule an exam. Additionally, I want to complete the Angular Heroes tutorial in order to re-familiarize myself with AngularJS (I haven't touched Angular since about 2015). (+1 INT) Angular Heroes is being set aside for this challenge. Progress: 100% 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #2: Resurrect my Homebrew D&D Campaign (+1 CHA) My Homebrew D&D Campaign has been on a 2-year Hiatus due to the COVID Pandemic. In short, we really don't like playing online. Now that we're all vaxxed, boosted, etc, we're ready to play in person again. There's only one problem - I now live a 2hr drive away from all of my players. My goal over the next 5 weeks is to write enough content to get the party through the end of the next two arcs, which I'll call The Shattered Lands and The Efreet. Stretch Goal is to come up with a regular play schedule that gives us enough play time for the story to stick between sessions, and run an actual game. Progress: ~60% (this one's hard to quantify) 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #3: Sick Lifts (Maintenance) (+0.5 STR) My other 2 goals for this challenge are way more important to me, so in short my Lifting Goal for the next 5 weeks is maintenance. My routine will vaguely resemble the IADJS (I Ain't Doin Jack S__t) Template from 5/3/1 in that I will get in the (home) gym, do my core lifts, and get out. Goal is to hit all of my workouts. 2/week x 5 week -> 10 workouts. Progress: 100% 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Reward - Circlet of Superior Concentration If I complete Goal #1, I'm buying myself a new gaming headset with ANC. I've settled on a Steelseries Arctis 9. It'll help with my focus at work, and in my further studies, along with being a good headset for PC gaming, PS4 gaming (whenever I get my PS4 fixed), and for wearing on the metro.

Greetings, and welcome to all! I’m a married parent of 4 kids aged 0-8. Last challenge I sorta crashed in burned again. We’ve been obscenely busy with the bakery as well as all the other full time jobs and children and whatnot. I’m ultimately an adventurer at heart, though I train similar to a lot of Rangers (and I’m something of a Druid Paladin which is also something of an equivalent to a Ranger). I love hiking, exploring, traveling, and other fun things with the family. Since shortly before joining Nerdfitness, my physical training is typically built around injury rehabilitation (which happens a bit more often due to autoimmune arthritis) and training to be able to travel, explore, and play with my family. I have a pretty effective Disney World training system, and try to ensure that at any point I’m strong enough to carry my whole family somewhere. That has become more difficult as the years go on but I can still do it for the most part. I am also an enthusiastic suburban homesteader bent on establishing an orchard and vegetable garden, so things can get pretty out-doorsy depending on my goals. My needs mean I do a variety of types of training, and my earliest two physical training goals were “run fast” and “be able to competitively play any sport I come across.” I prefer to avoid gyms and do a lot of body weight training. When I do lift weights it is at the YMCA or, more commonly, takes the form of children, sandbags, or logs. We have returned to school in person, which I am finally becoming comfortable with. For the first time since… April 2020? The kids’ school has no COVID cases and today marked the sixth straight week. I’m still nervous about the younger two. I know getting some level of COVID is virtually inevitable but I really want to push that at least until we can all be vaccinated. We’ve been both cautious and lucky thus far, especially since when we had it we were able to avoid the older 3 from getting it at all. L’enfant shows no signs he ever had it aside from testing positive and some short, mild symptoms but I will feel much better when he and Bo Peep are vaccinated. Homesteading season is upon us. The fruit trees are doing well though my arch-nemeses the deer are back and uprooted the Ranier I planted last fall. I cannot express how unhappy I’ll be if it dies for such a feat would be impossible. We’re reigning in my red neck tendencies this year and redoing a bunch of our gardens. We may also be remodeling the house to add more space for my mother in law and her sister to move in as well. At the beginning of last year, we started shopping for an existing business with a professional kitchen to give a physical location to our small bakery. We now own the bakery kitchen and business. Business has been thriving even behind locked doors but THIS SATURDAY is our grand opening. I am ecstatic. We have the health inspection and the final fire inspection this week but the renovation is done. I am super excited. The kumquat tree and pepper plants came back home from the bakery this week. The soil is over dried and they got pretty sad so I’m rehabbing them on my porch. Or killing them entirely. I guess we’ll see. Healthwise, we’ve been living the keto lifestyle for most of the year and we’ve found it to be incredibly easy to stick to 99% of the time, meaning we’re seeing more success and I’m burning less willpower on food-related stuff. I am past my arbitrary goal weight, and I’m focusing hard now on maintaining around this weight while achieving my goal composition. We took a break over the holidays and I gained about 18 lbs, mostly inflammation; but I added some fat on my belly to the tune of around 7 lbs last challenge. I’m (barely) back in ketosis and my joints are already feeling better. I’ve not been physically or mentally as well lately. Jessie has work friends and I’m grateful (she really, really needs some good friends especially given her job) but she’s home less while I have been more isolated and I’m feeling the loneliness return. It can be pretty intense. I don’t really have many IRL friends. I love Marinara but he’s sort of emotionally unavailable and my other friends are almost all far away anymore. I've generally been doing well with my “no yelling” goal, though I’ve slipped a and I suspect it’s in part due to being tired and habits being difficult to break. I continue to strive towards zero yelling. I am also striving to be careful with my words at all times. I’m tired of being so very careful of my words most of the time to the point where I’ll simply be silent (where I have to be careful to not stonewall) but then just let loose and impulsively say a bunch of thoughtless things. I think the trip really, really helped. Getting away is mentally good for us and we kinda rely on the resets to break us out of bad mental-emotional routines. Goals: 1. Sleep. As best as possible. This is critical to managing my emotions as well as general health and quality of life. I’m currently trapped in sleep deprivation until we can hire and train our team. But I can also see a light at the end of the tunnel. 2. Basic calisthenics routine at the least. It is noticeable that I have not been training regularly and I am not a fan. 3. Take one concrete step forward per day- at least one tangible, visible thing to make life better. This ranges from things as small as “dig out the replacement toaster” to as big as “reorganize the playroom.” I don’t have to complete the bigger ones as long as I make progress. 4. Take one concrete step forward per day career-wise. I need my job but I’m not satisfied in it and otherwise need a change. I need to hone/adapt skills and look for other opportunities. -> Currently, this involves finishing the bakery paperwork and executing the grand opening. . 5. Home and Garden. I want both to be better. Especially the home. The basement is… bad. I spent one today doing laundry and cleaning up. The basement needs a tremendous amount of work. The dogs have been staying down there and it’s better than kenneling them but they’ve eaten some toys and containers which made a huge mess and the best dog’s separation anxiety issues are coming back into play. I hope that in the future I (or one of us at least) can be home half the day with them most days. We have a cleaning lady but I don’t think 3 hours a week is quite enough 6. Therapy. I have a new(er) diagnoses and new(er) medication that have been, it feels, pretty life changing. I finished intensive therapy that was also insanely helpful prior to that and I am continuing with less frequent sessions. My goal is to better learn how to manage ADHD and how to be a more connected, present, and supportive husband and father. I think I have been progressing well. I feel healthy. I am excited about how this has gone. I am working on anger management and taking a page from the book of Mr. Fred Rogers. I had no idea that he struggled with a strong and volatile temper. He never wanted to be remembered as a saint because he didn’t want his example to be unachievable but I do think he is probably the best person who ever lived a full life. I will be looking to him as an example and we’ve decided to introduce the show as a regular part of our kids’ lives. Gods know it’s as helpful to me as it is to them. And I’m adding care of words as well to this goal for things don’t have to be yelled to hurt. Overall, I am anxious to get back into things as well as open the bakery. I want to stay remote at my other job, especially since it turns out I had 1+ panic attacks a day there but rarely have them at home. I need to go to sleep now, as I’m already behind on goal 1. Oh, and if you’re following from my last thread, we’ve been RPing a scene with Barnaby the Brass Dragon in our D&D campaign since March 4th. It’s absolutely epic. This is going in my record books.

Since I am re-watching season one of The Witcher, finally watching season two, and listening to an audiobook version of Blood of Elves over the next few weeks, I thought it appropriate to theme this challenge after The Witcher. As has been my trend lately, I will break my challenge goals into two parts: Physical and Mental. Physical: For this goal, I am returning to a training plan I followed a few years ago: the Primal Blueprint plan. The university gym is closed this week, so I need a schedule that is flexible and does not require the gym but still asks for strength workouts as well as cardio and HIIT workouts. I will continue to use Darbee as a source for workouts while intentionally choosing workouts that match the Witcher/fantasy/warrior theme. Also, I plan to do most of these workouts outdoors in nature whenever possible. I will link a video below that shows a Witcher workout and explains a few of the reasons why it is always a good idea to train in nature. Monday – Sprint Tuesday – Lift Heavy Things/Bodyweight Exercises Wednesday – Move Slowly, Play or Rest Thursday – HIIT/WOW Friday – Move Slowly, Play or Rest Saturday – Lift Heavy Things/Bodyweight Exercises Sunday – Move Slowly, Play or Rest My diet during this challenge will be similar to the Darebee Modern Hero meal plan: 1/2 plate fruit/berries/veggies/mushrooms/healthy fats, 1/4 plate protein, 1/4 plate healthy carbs. Additional physical goals: morning stretches, "grounding" every morning, cold shower daily, 10,000-12,000 steps M-F I plan to mix this up by lifting heavy objects such as cinderblocks, logs, sledgehammer, etc., doing bodyweight exercises, and using the gym, as well, for dumbbell and kettlebell . I can also use the "Move Slowly, Play, or Rest" days for such things as yoga, tai chi, stretching, etc. Mental: For this goal, I am returning to my morning routine of prayer/meditation/scripture reading, as well as breath work. It does not have to be Wim Hof breathing but does need to be some kind of breath work. 0445 wakeup pray/meditate/read scripture at least 5 minutes of breath work The video below is a discussion on how to "train like Geralt" by training in nature and using such things as clubs, the Gada (mace), and kettlebells. It also discusses using hybrid moves and meditation.

Let's get one thing really clear before I jump into anything else. Sylvaa does not go with the flow easily. It stems from two things: 1. not being good at making decisions and 2. having to wrangle 4 children for so long. That being said, if you read my week 5 update post from last challenge, I've been dealing with some super clingy baby issues recently. I think it's stemming from schedules changing and the baby using me as a security blanket of sorts. Which is fine, but my work goals started slipping last week and I can't let that be a thing going forward. My goal for this challenge is to keep moving forward. Keep the things I can schedule, scheduled and then fill in the blanks based on how my day goes. The Goals: Gym - 6 days per week (up from last challenge). After years of going, "I can't wake up early to go to the gym," I've actually discovered this works best for me. Starting this week (week 0), my gym is doing 5:30 am classes M-F. I'm not planning on going Thurs morning, because I do two evening classes that day. Saturday is yoga. Winter is almost over here, so snow shouldn't be an issue any longer, so there is no reason I don't go. Eat on plan - we finally seem to have found a meal planning app / site that works for us (my husband and I, the kids still roll for dinners). It's fairly inexpensive, has a lot of nice choices, makes sure I get my protein in, and doesn't make me feel like I have to spend hours in the kitchen. Now if only I could stick to it on the weekends. 🤣 45 weekly work tomatoes - this is staying the same. I definitely struggled with this some weeks (more than my tracking may have led you to believe). And I have a long task list that isn't getting any less filled. Include at least 1 daily tomato focused towards my task list. Clean the house - every week. Each weekend do at least two tasks towards my monthly list. Garden - a new farm store just opened up in my area with some sales on seeds. Grab the stuff I need to start my plants indoors.

Last challenge (and the previous challenge) I was trying to exercise and lose weight by training like a boxer. It was going well enough, then this happened... My bathtub capsized... 🤣 Okay, no not really. The drain pipe cracked causing all the water form my last shower to go all over the floor. I have it turned upside down to work on it. Once I got all the fixtures off of it, it was pretty apparent that it's going to need to be re-finished. Then I can add the new hardware... might as well, take on the sagging ceiling above... and install the exhaust fan the bathroom desperately needs... and spackle the walls and throw on some new paint... and now we've got ourselves a full on remodel. It looks so sad and helpless... And that thing is heavy boy. So that's going on. And Spring is pretty much here... it's time to plant the garden and do a bunch of landscaping. I've got an absurd amount of seeds, some of which are already started, for the vegetable garden. Then I have an order of plants coming for the last week of April. I am taking that week off from work to take a break from that grind, and get these things done. The back yard is going to be used almost entirely for the garden (I live on a small 1/8 acre lot in the city) and the front will be mostly landscaped with native plants, with the exception of one sunny spot in which I will plant berries. The need for home repair, and the want of gardening, is forcing me to move more, so I want to use these initial pushes to keep moving and re-ignite some better habits. I'm also currently aiming for a 99% plant based diet... I'm not going vegan. I don't fret minor ingredients or refuse animal products when faced with no other options. Hence, 99% just means not perfect. I'm trying to make it to 100 days of this... so until June 4th at least. I also need to track nutrition and try for more protein. I can hit 85 g in a day, easy, which is a tiny bit more than I need to survive okay, but I should be hitting 120 g / day to thrive. Goals: 1) Morning work routine: Do it every day Warmup with easy calisthenics Go for a walk (1 mi+) [if it rains, stay in and do more calisthenics] Work in the garden/landscape Stretch (as per @Snarkyfishguts's unsolicited advice. 2) Maintain a 99% plant based diet Take as many plant based food options as are available Track food daily Aim for more protein. 3) Finish Projects by End of Challenge The tub needs to be refinished and put back together at least to pass this one. For the garden, I need to at least have the ground ready (tilled) and fenced off.

I am super late to the party with this one. The last few months have been so insane and I have just not had time. But, things are kinda starting to stabilize, so I figured I would jump back into the fray. Better late than never, right? So, what has been going on? I bought a house! And painted a lot of it, moved in, and got fully unpacked! Now I am working on a Salesforce certification that I am supposed to take in two weeks, and a health coach certification that I take in July, while navigate huge shifts at work due to getting a new director (basically my reporting manager/boss). I don't think I am going to do a particularly structure challenge this time around. Mostly just focus on increasing my movement, consuming more nutrients and less sugar, and game-planning for the next challenge (since this one is over halfway over anyway, haha). Something I have been learning over the past couple months is that it is ok to ease up on the reigns and trying to control everything all the time. With the transitional period of moving and unpacking, eating "healthy" and home-cooked meals just wasn't happening super often. In the past this would have freaked me out, but this time I just did my best to roll with it. And guess what? Nothing bad happened, lol. Well, the sodium made me kinda bloated and puffy, which made my joints and my vanity hurt a little. But, as soon as I was able to return to eating more regularly, that cleared up. I haven't been able to do a regular workout in a month and a half due to the move, but should be able to get my home workout equipment set up in a week or so. I have still managed to stay somewhat active, with painting and moving. My new place is also a three-story town-home modeled after a brownstone (so 10-12ft+ ceilings depending on if it is faulted or just flat), and those stairs, man...all I can say is that I will be shocked if my calves don't get better from living here 🤣 Anyway, I am still alive, just been super busy. Happy to be challenging with you all again!

This will be a terribly boring intro (like last time, and maybe the time before). I need to keep doing the things and get in more cardio. Here are the things: Leave for work by 8:30 am Workouts - NF bodyweight 2x a week Cardio - Jump rope 2x a week + something on the weekend Readings - weekdays Prayer rope - every day Clean the kitchen counter every day Brush teeth in the evening Tracking table Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Leave for work Workouts Cardio Readings Prayer rope Clean Counter Drink Water Brush Teeth

[Preamble] Welcome to Owlshire, a beautiful woodland property in the Forest of Dean, England. I’m a 42 year old American woman living here with my British husband (Mr) and pre-school son (Enting). I work in gamedev and when I’m not doing that, I’m tending to my garden, doing needlework of some sort, writing, playing games (of various sorts), and exploring our local woodlands. The big Owlshire news for this challenge is that we have chickens. On the last day of the last challenge, we adopted 6 ex-commercial hens from a rescue organization. They are currently recuperating, re-feathering, and learning what it is to be outside (they have a pop-hole into a large grassy hillside run that you can’t see in these photos). [Goals] Reach Mordor Finally finish my (tracked) journey to Mordor. I’m 773 miles away! I’ve been wanting to complete this challenge since the early 00s (when it was called the Eowyn Challenge), and I’m sure I’ve been “there and back again” several times over, but I’ve never managed to track the whole thing. I want to finish my walking route to Mordor by November 2022. My goal for this challenge is to do more than 20 miles each week (this includes any movement my Fitbit tracks), as that seems to be my “default” without extra effort. Find the Entwives It’s the spring, and… well, there’s always a lot to do at Owlshire, but this is the time of sowing seeds and hens, and I want to throw myself into that. At least 5 days a week, I want to do something that moves gardening/related activities forward. For this purpose, basic maintenance doesn’t count (such as daily hen care or watering the garden). Steps forward (such as creating a new gardening bed, sowing new seeds, increasing the defenses of Chook Castle) will count. I will do this at my discretion, and a project (such as creating a garden bed) doesn’t have to be completed that day to count as activity for that day. Some of these are big tasks that must be done in small steps. A Hobbit in Attitude, not in Width I want to continue to reduce my BMI/weight. This will be done with increased activity and continuing to watch my portion sizes/limited snacking. I’m currently at 22.5 BMI, and I will count this goal successful if my BMI or weight is less than it was at the start of the challenge. Tracking will be done with a minimum of weekly updates, and of course will include plenty of Owlshire photospam. [Challenges] It’s likely that my husband will begin commuting part of the week to his workplace (after being remote the last 2 years) and I’ll be regularly solo-parenting which will require some routine adjustments. Seriously, can we get through one challenge without a nasty cold (or, like last challenge, Covid) derailing the household for 1-2 weeks? Admin note: I always start on Week 0, and I track from Monday-Sunday.

Bike Adventuring General Thread! Whether you're a bikepacker, gravel grinder, suburban cruiser, pavement pounder, triathlete, or urban commuter, if you ride on two human-powered wheels (E-Bikes welcome!) I want to hear from you! • What kind of bike do you ride? • Tell me about your favorite ride • What kind of riding are you interested in?

A part of me has died that I don't know how to get back. This challenge is the same as the past like, 60 or so. I went to the dietician and i went UP in weight so I told her I'm done with this stupid plan. I'm doing whole30. I have my next appointment April 18th or so (whatever the Friday is that week) and I'm doing a combo of calorie counting and whole 30. Only non-w30 thing I'm having is a single greek yogurt, rice cake, and slice of cheese; but I'm trying to cut out those last couple things by the end of this week. I'm so sick of failing and being alone. I have to do this or just quit because being a failure for THIS long is agonizing.

The story begins, as all good stories do, in a tavern... She sits in the farthest corner of her local pub - always in the corner with the best sight lines, multiple escape routes, and no chance for an enemy to sneak up from behind - because her long years of training will not allow otherwise despite that she as been out of 'game' for many years now. Cedar Lynd, once known among her compatriots simply as Blaze, now leads a quiet life in this quiet town, and here she sits quietly perusing the latest scrolls from the capital. More than ever, they seem to be filled with nothing but the most superficial, yet somehow oddly engaging bits of information or entertainment. In particular, those produced by the famous former clock maker Tacticus MacTock, seem to have caught everyone's fancy, leading him to convert his workshops over solely to the production and dissemination of these scrolls. Each tiny token of a tale compels her to push the scroll down and view the next one, and the next. Some clever bit of basic magic adds a degree of animation, and even some repetitive but highly catchy music has been added, leading to this almost irresistible effect. Pausing a moment to sip her cardamon tea, Cedar glances around the dark but homey pub room with its huge hearth and familiar fixtures. Another habit ingrained in her, to scan for threats. But the big room of the Frosty Fox is quiet, more quiet that usual at any rate. It seems that all of her fellow patrons, a dozen souls in all, are equally engrossed by these so-called Tick-Tock scrolls. Even the barkeep Jorn Hammerheart, a burly ex-barbarian and her good friend of many years, seems totally enthralled by these things. Cedar knows there is no value in them. She should get out into the woods and patrol for trouble. Even if there hasn't been the slightest sign of trouble in years, it would still do her good to get out of this smokey pub and tread along the old familiar pathways around town again. But the weather is turning, she thinks, maybe just one more scroll. When next she lifts her head, to laugh out loud at the silliness of a very small dog carrying a very large stick, she sees the shadows have moved at the windows. At least an hour has passed. She reaches for her tea only to discover it's gone cold. A quick scan of the room confirms the same twelve patrons all in the same twelve chairs. They are all staring at their scrolls, or at their leather-bound books embossed with many faces. None of them are talking to each other, and in fact, she's not sure she's heard a word spoken beyond the odd mutter for quite some time. Even Jorn's serving girl sits staring at a book of many faces near the bar. It's very strange, isn't it? Or is it normal, Cedar asks herself. Is this normal now? She can't tell anymore. It's almost like... Like being under a spell. But that's nonsense. of course. Suddenly her friend Jorn straightens up from the bar, rolls up his scroll and sets it aside. Good man, she thinks. Good example to the rest of us. She too lays down her scroll and stretches in her chair, her back in a sorry state after sitting so long hunched over like that. It cracks when she pushes up from the table. Time for that patrol. But Jorn isn't done after all, she notices. Instead he reaches toward the Tick-Tock crate sitting atop the bar, intent on reading another scroll. When did that crate get delivered, she wonders, certain it had not been there before and that the color of the box looks odd compared to the others. Jorn himself seems quite odd and not at all himself. His grey eyes are glazed and he seems unaware of his surroundings, just like the rest of the people in the Frosty Fox today. So only Cedar notices the row of jagged white teeth that suddenly appear around the rim of this crate, and the sickly purple tongue of a mimic as it rolls out, straight toward Jorn! ......... to be continued ........

Greetings all! It's your favorite Adventurer, Tolkien scholar, and wandering mythologist, rocking up late AGAIN for another quixotic attempt to complete a NF challenge (sigh) So, it's...<checks>...Wednesday of Week One, and I'm just now drafting my challenge after having abandoned the last one in...<checks>...Week One. Ugh. The only excuse I can come up with is the disruption in my life caused by an unexpected international trip last challenge combined with a long-planned (but still-stressful) adventure leading an American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation in Joshua Tree National Park in Week Zero of this one. Oh, and then before I even unpacked I got on a train to Santa Barbara for a short turn to see some friends who were visiting from Colorado... BUT I'm on my return train now, and I will officially start my challenge tomorrow. On the 1st of April, no fooling! After much adventuring and travel in the past month or so, it actually looks like I'll be sleeping in my own bed in my own house for the entire month of April. I plan to take advantage of this fact to make some serious progress on my current fiction project, complete a first draft of a nonfiction book proposal due in May, and (hopefully) start to get my arms around the sprawling project that is sorting out my hobbit hole after many MANY years of neglect. Here's my plan. Spoiler for details: So, that's it. It might look like a lot for those new to my challenges, but -- assuming we all go by the various challenge spreadsheet entries and very politely pretend not to notice the utter lack of narrative updates in my various threads -- I've actually been pretty good about keeping up with a good chunk of these tasks over the past few months. I would really like to build on that success this time! Wish me luck....

I'm going to keep doing the things. Except for the ten days in the challenge when I'm taking an actual vacation. More on that later if I feel like it. Here are the things: Leave for work by 8:30 am Workouts - NF bodyweight 3x a week and jump rope 2x Readings, prayer rope Clean the kitchen counter every day Clean or put away, or repair one thing every day Home improvement, three per week, more items to be added as needed Decorate (hang boat half, ice axe, snowflake picture) Seeds (hang light in kitchen, start seeds for garden) Prep garden (fix netting frame, new weedwhacker, tool storage box?) Move chair, plastic drawers Fix table Organize living room SAR gear Brush teeth in the evening Adventures (hiking, climbing gym, geocaching, SAR training, etc.) at least one per weekend, other times optional Tracking table Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Leave for work Workouts Readings Prayer rope Clean Counter Clean / Put Away / Repair Home Improvement Brush Teeth Adventures

Hi all! I'm Stronkey Kong. Umm... yeah... still here. If you don't know by now, just ask... This is part 2 of a year long (or at least multi-month) challenge aimed at losing weight by training like a boxer. It's all about calisthenics and cardio with boxing training mixed in for fun and because hitting a heavy bag for 10x3 min intervals is an awesome workout. I have it themed and organized after "Mike Tyson's Punch Out!" on the NES. Here's how this will work... I have 3 Major goals (a catch all goal for the minor/tangential stuff): FIGHTING WEIGHT (FW): Hit 199 lbs (CRUISER WEIGHT, in the next 1-2 years. I'm 37 (almost 38) and 285 or so pounds... I want to get rid of the excess before 40. BOXING SHAPE (BS): I want to be in the kind of shape that boxers and other fighters are in so I'm going to train like them... lot's of cardio and calisthenics for foundational strength and conditioning, and bag work and boxing/martial arts drills for developing speed, coordination, balance, power etc. METABOLIC HEALTH (MH): Be able to burn whatever I put into my body: carbs, fat -- metabolic flexibility, learn to maintain the balance of calories in vs. calories out, and develop good eating habits. I'll be using LUMEN and BODY TEMP for metabolic feedback, and tracking diet with MFP. LUMEN is a gadget that uses the breath (O2 in vs CO2 out) to estimate whether you're burning carbs or fat BODY TEMP: I'll take my temperature with an IR surface thermometer around the same time I measure with LUMEN. My baseline/normal temp is 97.4 deg F. MFP: I'm using my fitness pal to get the macronutrient data I need to compare to what LUMEN suggests OTHER minor GOALS (OmG): All the other projects and things that I'm going to make the rest of life good. These things show up on my fight scorecard as little 15 min tasks that add points here and there. ======================================================== As the year progresses, I compete in successively more challenging FIGHTS. The GOALS are the basis for SCORING POINTS and getting KNOCK-DOWNS and KNOCKOUTS in the fights. Just like PUNCH OUT, Each fight will be 3 ROUNDS (weeks) in length. There will be 1 REST WEEK in between fights to rest, readjust goals, cut for weigh-in etc. WEIGH-IN will be the morning on the day before the fight and this will be my official weight for tracking weight loss in the fight. For each fight I will identify 3 KO techniques -- one for each of the first three goals. These are impressive and worthy enough to constitute a KO singularly. Then, I will have 3 TKO criteria -- again one for each of the three major goals that together (all three) constitute a TKO. Finally, even if I fail to KO or TKO, if I go the distance and do more good effort than bad, I can WIN by DECISION -- wherein I track good habits on the FIGHT SCORECARD for each round. There's a lot on the scorecard, and it includes things from my OmGs. Throughout the course of the year and 13 total fights, I will track my W-L-KO stats. For any W to count, regardless whether it's KO, TKO, or W by Decision, I have to track all three rounds. Adjustments for current challenge: Added a REST WEEK between fights Dropping prize purses ($$$) from fights -- I don't think these incentives are necessary, and I need to focus on budgeting other things. Expanding the FIGHT SCORECARD (ongoing) This challenge is currently scheduled as follows: Week 0: REST WEEK WEIGH-IN: Saturday, February 12 at 12:00 pm (-ish) Week 1: VS. Von Kaiser Round 1 Week 2: VS. Von Kaiser Round 2 Week 3: VS. Von Kaiser Round 3 Week 4: REST WEEK Week 5: VS. Piston Hondo Round 1 I'll keep the current fight, future fight schedule, and fight record on the second of each of these challenges so you (and I) can find it and figure out what the hell I'm currently doing at any time.

Keeping it simple this challenge. I started the Darebee IronBorn workout program last week, so I am 7 days into that. I am also using the Power Up program as a warmup and have been regularly completing the Darebee Daily Dare, as well as the Easy Arms Challenge. So my goals this challenge are simple: complete IronBorn complete Power Up complete Easy Arms Challenge I am aware that IronBorn is a Game of Thrones reference, even though I haven't watched Game of Thrones, nor have I read the books, so my reason has nothing to do with GoT. I started IronBorn for two reasons: 1) my upper body needs a lot of work and 2) my teaching position was cut, so after May I will not have access to the campus gym and wanted to start a program that uses dumbbells. Yeah... that's news I perhaps haven't announced yet. They are cutting the teaching positions at our program. We will be on transfer, which means we aren't losing our jobs as teachers, just our current teaching positions. There are four of us who have to either find a teaching position at another school or we will be placed at a school with an available position. This may feel like an ending, but... Honestly, I guess this is the "nudge out of the door" I needed to start looking for school administrator positions. It sucks that our solid team of teachers has been broken by bureaucratic bullshit (our supervisor actually said, "It's not personal. It's about money and budget."). So... I really need to keep things simple this challenge. The main go is to stay consistent and not skip a day. This weekend I did not have access to the gym, so I modified the program. For day 6 I was able to use cinderblocks instead of dumbbells, and for Day 7 I borrowed Day 8, which is an ab day that doesn't require dumbbells. Basically, every four days you get an ab workout. Well, I'm going to save some of those for weekends. If I can do the same movements with a cinderblock then substitution won't be necessary. I also started watching Reacher on Amazon Prime, and while I have no plans to bulk up as much as Alan Ritchson, it did motivate me to get serious about building some upper body lean muscle. Ritchson was always fit (not something I can say), but he has put in the work and clearly it paid off. In an Instagram post from 2020, Ritchson said, "There is no substitute for hard work; no powders, no goos, no fancy shoes will get you where you want to go without it. If you want to lose weight or lean out - put out more than you take in and make your heart beat harder than it did yesterday. It’s that simple. Doesn’t matter how you get there. If you’re trying to bulk or add strength, put more strain on your muscles than you did yesterday. It doesn’t matter how you get there. It’s my suspicion that most people ask for 'the secret' because 'not having it' gives them an excuse to wait. But what you need, you all already have. It’s not sold in stores. The only way to get it is to start doing it. Work." In January of this year, Ritchson posted: "... Move something that fatigues your body and heart most days of the week. But here’s a fun fact - hypertrophy and strength training are two different things. Usually they compliment each other. High weight low reps (think - 4-6) will increase strength. Some growth in size (hypertrophy) will occur. But not as fast as if you did lower weight and higher reps (think - you can’t do more reps than 15-25 each set for 4 sets). Body weight exercise like push-ups, pull-ups and dips can add plenty of size if you don’t have access to a gym. All you really need is you and the discipline to push... Just be patient and do the things today the you ten years from now needed you to do. Don’t expect the you two months from now to be the you you want to be in ten years." Solid advice. I would like to say that my efforts paid off, that I am doing the work, the work that me from ten years from now needs me to do. But first I need simplicity and consistency.