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Main quest To hold an Iron X long enough for a photograph Three goals Build upper body strength Build core strength Get lighterTrackable version of the 3 goals (in addition to usual pole classes/gym/contortion) Mon — 3x10 pullups, 3x10 floor core exercises, 10 elbowstands dismount Tues — Handstand conditioning, 2x10 pole crunches each side Wed — 3x10 pullups, 3x10 floor core exercises, cardio, 10 elbowstands dismount Thurs — Handstand conditioning, 2x10 layback crunches Fri — Cardio, 2x10 pole crunches each side Sat — 3x10 pullups, 3x10 floor core exercises, 10 elbowstands dismount Sun — Handstand conditioning, 2x10 shoulder mount crunches each side Other goals Try out capoeira More about me and my quest I am on a neverending quest to become stronger, more agile and just more badass in general. Pole lets me do that while I am having fun. I am SO far from being able to do an Iron X, but if I keep meeting these daily goals I will be there one day soon enough. Anyone else into pole dance/pole fitness/other forms of aerial fitness? I also want to try parkour some day. And maybe lyra. Oh, so many things to try, so many different quests worth aiming for. But, one thing at a time.

It was a cold morning on the 24th of February when it came, his first Assassin assignment came. He woke up in his apartment bedroom, which was a part of a large training academy he shared with the rest of the assassin tribe, typically 3-4 assassins per house. He woke, stretched his arms then noticed it: a neat envelope which was half way through his letter box, which simply bore his name in gold writing: Bambamty. Upon opening he knew what it meant, this was his first Assassin task, everything up until now had been training, practice. But this time was different, if he messed this one up he died, game over. The letter said: Dear Bambamty, We write this letter to you was we believe you are the write candidate for the task at hand. In 6 weeks time, the ogre's plan are gathering, and will likely march to war, you must stop it. Kill the leader Yuzgrut, and bring his head back to camp. Only then will you be a fully fledged member in the noble rank of the assassins. The elders. Breathing heavily he read over it twice, this was going to be the hardest task of his life. He knows he can't kill an ogre through strength, so he draws up a plan to hone his agility, his balance, and his skill, then immediately sets to work. Translation. For this challenge it wont be about weight loss for once, as im approximately the weight id like to be! However, the thing I'm lacking at the moment is some serious agility, balance and co-ordination, so ill need to work on those i think, whilst trying to lose fat (and remain at the same mass) Main quest. For my main quest, id simply like to be in the best shape ive ever been, a little vague i know. But theres no one huge goal i want to be working to, so ill break it up into sub goals! GOAL 1: To get close enough to kill an ogre with my bare hands ill need to have exceptional balance, and to train this i intend to be able to do a free standing handstand by the end of the challenge, so ill be doing the 28 day handstand challenge AGAIN, as im very close to doing this. (+2 DEX, +1 STR) GOAL 2: Another aspect of my life i need to level up in order to complete my task is my agility and co ordination. For this one it'll be a fun one ive been doing since September, but not nearly enough! I aim to do minimum 3 hours a week juggling practice, including the 2 hours on a Thursday with the club, if i can successfully do a 2 diabolo sprinkler by the end, challenge succesful. (+2 DEX, +1 CHA (for the social side)) Goal 3: 20 pullups! Im about 4 weeks into my 20 pull up challenge, so intend to keep going, will need to commit at least 3 times a week to this! (+2 STR) SIDE QUESTS. My first side quest is to commit to a calisthenics routine, not sure how im going to split it up, but itll probably be something like Monday: Chest, triceps, core Tuesday: Back, biceps Wednesday: Big bike ride on wednesdays so no chance of any real calisthenics, might do pullups on weds too Thursday: Chest, triceps, core, Friday: Back, biceps Saturday: Legs, Sunday: Rest. +1 STR, +2 Con (fitness = staying alive),+1 STA Side quest two is to again eat as clean as possible, no strict grading to this one, just grading each week and see how it goes. +1 CON My final side quest is to complete 5 weeks of swimming lessons (embarrassing i know, but i cant swim!) This could be vital, as who knows what terrain is waiting for me on my way to kill the ogre leader. +1 STA Thanks for reading guys, as always ill try and update often. With a weekly round up each Sunday evening! Hope you liked the narrative, its nothing amazing as i suck at writing stories, but it sounded cooler in my head! :L Good luck to all my fellow rebels!

HEAD OVER HEELS: a love story Hello, my darling nerds! Every year, as winter approaches, my joints stiffen. But not this year! Where previous challenges have focused on strength training, this challenge is all about flexibility and acrobatics! Although I doubt one-finger handstands are anywhere in my near (or very, very far) future, hand-balancing is the name of the game for this challenge through the holidays! My inspiration for last challenge was Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, for this one, it's the unstoppably cheerful Ty Lee from Avatar. STRENGTH! STR +3 Continuing with last challenges theme of "strength, grace, power" I'm going to have to continue to muscle up! Can't balance on my hands if my arms aren't strong enough to take the weight! This means lots more pushups and also just a lot of hand-balance practice! I'm going to be turning to youtube and other online sources for a variety of ways to improve arm strength toward hand-balancing poses, so please, if you have ideas or suggestions, post away! A: 10 pushups 4x per week, practice hand-balance 4x per week. B: Miss 2-3 days C: Miss 4-5 days D: Miss 5-6 days Fail: Miss 7+ days GRACE! DEX +3 As I mentioned earlier, flexibility is key! I'm hoping to begin attempting some awesome hand-blanaced yoga poses. I'm still a leetle weirded out by yoga as a concept, but "twisting my legs into cool shapes in the air while balancing on my forearms" is a challenge I can get behind. I hope, by the end of this challenge, to be able to perform one new, awesome, legs-in-the-air yoga form. A: Hold and photograph awesome legs-in-the-air form of my choice, stretch/yoga 6x per week. B: Hold and photograph awesome legs-in-the-air form of my choice, miss 2-3 days of stretching/yoga C: Miss 4-5 days of stretching/yoga, fail in form. D: Miss 6-7 days of stretching/yoga, fail in form. F: MIss 7+ days POWER! CHA +1, CON + 2 Ok, so the picture doesn't apply. I just liked it, so sue me. This goal is all about food! I've fallen off the wagon considerably when it comes to eating clean. My meals are great, but my snacking is atrocious. Quitting "bad" food cold turkey has proven unsuccessful, so I'm going to wean myself down. Most important is to get back off dairy. I know I'm allergic, I know I shouldn't eat it, BUT I LOVE CHEESE. Sigh. So, dairy products, sweets, processed foods, etc, all count as "treats" for this challenge. I'm not going to include alcohol this time because I really don't drink that often anyway and when I do, I'm out with friends. I'm staunchly against my health regimen interfering with my social time. A: 2-3 treats per week B: 4-5 treats per week C: 6-7 treats per week D: 8-9 treats per week (but at this point, who am I fooling?) F: 10+ treats per week WORDS! CHA +1 Always the words challenges with me! Well, November is National Novel Writing month and as per usual, I'm participating. So, the challenge is to complete and hit wordcount every day! RUBRIC! Freakin love Duality's rubric, folks, so we're using it again! Strength! 0/4 0/4 0/4 0/4 0/4 0/4 | 0/24 Grace! 0/6 0/6 0/6 0/6 0/6 0/6 | 0/36 Power! 0/3 0/3 0/3 0/3 0/3 0/3 | 0/18 Words! 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 0/7 | 0/42

So it’s been a little while since I told anyone a story but I feel like telling you all a story now. It’s one of my favorite stories. The best part is that the story is a true one and is taken from the journal of a great man. So without further ado, I give you the story of the Dynamic Alchemist. (If you’re too lazy to read, the moral is in the next post). I am known by many simply as The Alchemist, though recently, I've mostly been known as The Prisoner. I have been in prison for a long time now, accused of practicing the forbidden art of Alchemy, an accusation I proudly admit to. I should have been sent to death as many others had but the gods look favorably on me and I have been given a second chance. I don’t know what year it is, or how many I have spent here, but I do know that it is nearing the end of the month of Julius and so my release is imminent. Only three and a half weeks and I will taste fresh air and freedom again. But my freedom is overshadowed by danger. I know that people wanted to see me hanged and that they will be upset about my release. Surely, someone will come to kill me shortly after I get out. Perhaps some mercenary gang or a hit man will track me down. However, I do not plan on going down so easily. It has been such a long time but I was once a member of the legendary Assassin’s Guild. I was taught the skills to survive, to move, and if necessary, to take the life of another. Unfortunately, I have grown weak in here. I have become lazy and managed to put on too much weight drinking the sugar drinks that more privileged prisoners can sometimes get access to. I’ve sat around most of my days playing the petty games other prisoners play. Surely, like this, I will be an easy target. I have decided to not be an easy target. My main goal is to put some movement back into my body. I want to increase my fluidity and agility so that I can once again call myself an Assassin. I will not be just an alchemist, I will be dynamic; I will be The Dynamic Alchemist. I once learned from some Northern Assassins l’art du displacement in order to move quickly through tough environments and over great obstacles with ease. I have forsaken this art for too long and so I must go back to it if I plan on outrunning the people after me. The prisoners are allowed out into the courtyards twice a week and I will use this time to practice this art. My body also needs further controlled training and so at least 5 days a week I will train my body with a variance of workouts so that I can be strong once again. I must not forget my diet though. My training will mean nothing if I cannot quell the faults of my stomach. I will reduce my intake of sugary drinks down to only one a day at most and I will focus only on my food when I eat so that I make sure not to over consume. Though I will use a lot of my time to train my body, I must not forget my mind and so I will also read for at least an hour a day My time in prison has been long and has made me weak but my remaining time in here is short and I will use it to make myself strong. I will not be so easily taken out, not so easily captured again. I am a long lost member of ancient guild and I have at least one person coming to kill me. We will see who the better Assassin is.