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I'm super excited about this upcoming six week challenge and I can't wait to get started! My Main Quest: Getting Down to 170 lbs. I've been on this quest for years, but now teaming up with NF I feel like I have finally found my secret weapon in this fight: knowledge and motivation!!! This is certainly a long term quest, as I am about 55 lbs from my goal... (I started 75 lbs away). Thankfully the NF diet and exercise, along with my continual martial training has helped me get closer to my goal, but it's time to step it up and commit (I need to build healthy habits). Three Things To Get Me There: Consistency has always been an issue for me. In fact, the only thing I seem to do consistently is gain weight back that I work hard to lose (I lost all this weight once already in high school... IN A YEAR!!!!, gained it back in the proceeding 10 years since). If I can develop some healthy habits in these next six weeks to help me on my quest, then it will have been a success. Step One: NF Dumbbell Level 1 Exercise 3 Times A Week Step Two: Aikido At Least Twice (hopefully 3) Times A Week Step Three: Removing All Sodas and Juices. Hopefully all these will work out and I'll be successful. I'm always in need of motivation and support, so if there's a group opening I'm definitely interested. I'm also more than happy to lend support to anyone in need! Here's to hoping my Thu'um will be strong. Dovahkiin

For those who saw this under battle logs before, you'll have to excuse my mistake. I've cleared my battle log to include more current goings on. Anyway, my named is Ink. OK not really but that's kind of what I think of my potential self would call herself- like a superhero moniker. Basically I'm the kid that grew up running around and playing sports and still carried a bit of fat with her. In college, I joined a martial arts group and was slowly working towards physical health until my knee and then spine got injured. I still practice in a limited fashion while I heal but I am tired of feeling partially human. Over the last 8 month, I've had little boom and bust cycles as I heal. I've knock my weight down from 215 (which occurred from a few months of not really being able to walk and only having food as a friend) down to about 195. By an estimate, I've be around 20% fat closer to 170- maybe 175. I'd like to get down there and then build back up to 195 with muscle! Goals Fitness Reach 20% body fat Reach 18% body fat Reach 16% body fat Be able to do 20 push ups. Be able to do 50 push ups. Be able to do 100 push ups. Be able to do 20 one armed push ups. Be able to do 50 one armed push ups. Be able to do 1 pull up. Be able to do 10 pull ups. Be able to do 20 pull ups. Be able to do 1 muscle up. Finish the doyogawithme.com's beginner course. Finish the doyogawithme.com's beginner to intermediate course. Finish the doyogawithme.com's intermediate to advanced course. Finish the doyogawithme.com's martial art course. Be able to do a handstand with wall support. Hold a freestanding handstand for 60 seconds. Be able to walk 1 city block on my hands. Hold a planache for 10 seconds. Bench press 1/2 my weight. Bench press 3/4 my weight. Bench press my weight. Bench press 1 1/4 times my weight. Be able to do a split. Be able to kick leg to head level and hold. Hold crow for 30 seconds. Hold Warrior III for 30 seconds. Hold crane for 30 seconds. Hold eight-angle pose for 30 seconds. Hold forearm-stand scorpion for 30 seconds. Be able to carry Voodoo (dog) for 1 city block walking. Be able to carry Voodoo for 1 city block running. Be able to fireman's carry BF for 1 city block walking. Be able to fireman's carry BF for 1 city block running. Nutrition 60 Day primal without eating out. All meat grass feed, pasture raised or wild caught. Eat dirty dozen organic only. Career [Working on IDing goals.] Other Regular sleep schedule. No back pain. Be able to walk Voodoo 1 a day. Be able to walk Voodoo 2 a day. Be able to wrestle with Voodoo without pain afterwards. Be able to run neighbor with Voodoo. Reach black belt in Seidokan Aikido. Reach black belt in a hard style martial art. Reach godan in Seidokan AIkido. Open dojo. Train 1 student to gokyu. Train 1 student to shodan. Left buttock heal seal tattoo. Spinal back tattoo. Left leg alligator oorobros tattoo. Addition to left shoulder tattoo. Circle and one point tattoo. Right side armor tattoo. Ear strips tattoo.

I claim this link as my own! Um, hi. I'm Inked- an American college student that got severely injured in a martial art and for the last year hasn't really been living so much as not dying. And I am tired of it. My parents are German and I grew up on stories of Donar and Wotan (Thor and Odin- their more common Norse names) and superheroes. (Yes, I do love the Thor comic line I just don't compare the two too much.) And you know what, it's time to finally start living up to my genes; my parents at their peak were insanely fit and strong and I've never known what that really is. I'll be posting here on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and noting my progress on fitness, nutrition and other life goals. Summer just started so I have 17 weeks and 1 day until the Fall Semester to get through my 'prequel' of sorts. After that, I want to keep going and finally feel alive. I've divided this into three general levels: Iron Steel Uru Iron is my current state. I'll reach steel when I hit the following markers: 20% body fat (est 170 lbs); 20 one armed push ups; no back pain. Markers for the next level will be determined when I hit steel. Goals have been moved to here. Battle Plan FOOD: We are eating primal based on our CSA share. Since it is spring that means lots of leafy greens. Right now most of the dairy is grass feed including the butter, milk and cream. We are aiming to only eat pasture raised or wild caught meat at this time. EXERCISE: Yoga stretching every day without fail and when pain hits. I’ll be trying very gentle yoga on days without Aikido or personal training to try and strengthen my body holistically. I do Aikido in a limited fashion three times a week for up to two hours- depending on what my pain/ energy level that is that day. PROFESSIONAL HELP: Right now I am working with a personal trainer twice a week for a ½ hour, a chiropractor 4 times a week and myofasical release for 1 hour a week. OTHER: I’m adding in 30 minutes of additional chores. Over the last month, my doc banned me from doing anything but cooking to try and help me heal. This had put a lot of strain on my partner, who is doing his best to try and keep the house cleanish while being a graduate student. The 30 minutes will only include things that don’t make me lean down. So putting in the laundry, sweeping, prewashing dishes, etc. Progress Started beginner's yoga plan. 1 day eating primal.

Ok first challenge to be started, hope i'm doing this right. Main Quest: to be more comfortable with who i am, being fitter, healthier and smaller. i have no goal weight but at least 30KG than i currently am. Mini Quests: 1: to continue doing BBWW three times a week, by the end of 6 weeks being able to do the full circuit 3 times 2: do cardio three times a week, at least 30 minutes each time 3: lose 10KG (22 pounds) during this challenge Life Quest: Start roller skating again, i belong to a club called Skate Collective, train once a week in a low contact derby league. haven't been for months. training should start again during january. no more excuses! it's fun and gets my out of the house. Points System: Each full circuit of BBWW is 1 point A full three circuits of BBWW is 4 points Each 30 minute cardio session is 2 points Each extra 30 minute cardio session is 2 points (on non cardio days) Attending Roller Derby training 3 points Reaching goal weight at end of 6 weeks 5 points Reaching goal weight by 11 Feb (when i'm getting my next tattoo) 5 bonus points ^ i wasn't supposed to book it until i got this goal weight but i've hopefully pushed it out long enough to complete the goal and i'm impatient. Grading: A: over 140 points B: 115 - 139 points C: 80 - 114 points D: less than 80 points looking forward to starting on Monday!

INTRO TL;DR version below Fresh out of her training camp, [sAVE GRETEL] was her first mission as witch huntress. Rumour said that Hansel, Gretel’s brother, escaped the witch’s prison, but still trapped inside the castle. After climbing the endless castle stairs and did some serious kicking and punching to the evil minions, she entered the prison dungeon to whack the final boss: The Witchbread. Little did she know that a special armor is an absolute must for her epic win. Too lazy to level up and ignoring her lack of self-discipline, thinking that the stats of her current body measurements won’t make huge difference, she dived right into the last battle with her comfortable-and-good-enough-yet-not-the-best armor. Boy was she wrong. Tiny differences, just few little inches, enough to knocked her out. I failed, totally game over this time, she thought. But then, Hansel jumped out of nowhere, grabbed her arms and dragged her out of the dungeon. “I thought you had the special armor with you!!†Hansel yelled. “Well, I do have it with me! But, well, um…†she stopped. “What?†“Um… It didn’t fit nicely.†“Huh?!†“I can’t breathe normally wearing it. I can’t even move properly. So um, yeah.†“…..For the love of every Norse gods, you failed just because the armor was too tight?!†“Yeah, I don’t know why suddenly it didn’t fit—†“I know. You ate each and every bread from those little evil minions after you defeat them.†“…Oh.†“See? That’s why. Now, you must make the armor fits into your body. And you’ll do it MY way. It’s different from your usual routine, but I know your weaknesses. Trust me.†“Go on." "First of all, don’t pick up those snacks. Nope, don’t even buy it from the item shop!! Eat real food 3x per day to keep you full and distracts you from picking up unnecessary poisonous snacks along the way, the ones that will turn into fat, slow you down, drain the money you keep to enhance your equipments, and waste your time by eating them. And you better get some serious skill upgrade. Level up your movement, punches and kicks, train again at your Muay Thai camp and Aikido dojo. Power them up with your favorite bodyweight routine. And uh, you're too stiff to move around, stretch those hamstrings. Okay, got it? Now do it. My sister’s life depends on you. She can hang in there for 6 weeks, but after that….†“Let’s do it. I won’t fail again this time." —— TL;DR version *bows* Hello guys! I decided to join the Monks for this challenge, because now I added Aikido into my exercise routine I practice Muay Thai 1 - 2x /week regularly , and now I’m back training Aikido again since my last class on 2004. Back then I quit because I had that severe low self-esteem, thinking that I wouldn’t do well as I was so grossly obese, even though I like the movement in Aikido very much. The day I decided to quit, I made a promise to myself: If my weight hit below 70 kg, I will enter the dojo once again. So here I am, keeping that promise. I already paid 1 month in advance to keep me accountable. And yes, that Gretel over there is my favorite keychain. I hang her there upside down on my mirror, right across my target clothes. Seeing her and that clothes hanging every day and night should motivate me. MAIN QUEST Fit nicely on my target clothes. Action plans 1. Don’t buy snack I bought and ate too many cakes and breads. Better tackle this one first. 2. Daily stretching My Muay Thai instructor told me many many times that I have to improve my flexibility. I have to admit that I’m so lazy doing stretching, so it’s time to get serious now. I try to make my action plans into a ‘yes or no’ condition. Daily exercise and food logging are parts of my new healthy lifestyle now, so I no longer list it as action plan. I created a Google Doc of my action plans to make me more accountable. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtKLqVvh9W7udGJib3gybE9OYkZ6QVYzVlctbDVnZHc&usp=sharing I wanted to list many other specific goals, like practicing ukemi, kicks and handstand, but I have to keep my goals as simple as possible. I realized that 'one step at a time' really works well for me. SIDE QUEST - Life: Pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Finish the kanji book. - Fitness: Do the Blogilates 100 Day challenge (every Sunday) under 10 minutes 100 jumping jacks, 100 sit ups, 100 squats, 100 criss crosses, 100 bridge, 100 chest press pulses. Current time: 10 minutes. - Diet: Be a lefty real foodie Eat real food 2-3x/day with non-dominant hand to slow down my hi-turbo eating speed. - Mini quests From guild MOTIVATION Never repeat the same mistake twice. EXERCISE ROUTINE (adjustable) Monday: Muay Thai Tuesday: Aikido Wed: Total bodyweight Thu: Core bodyweight Fri: HIIT Sat: Rest Sun: Aikido + Blogilates 100 Challenge Not much of change, I only replaced one BW day into Aikido and stack the other Aikido day into Blogilates 100 Challenge day. MINI DEADLINES November 23rd: Friend’s wedding. December 15th: Family meeting. REWARDS No food rewards, I’ll save the money to do other fun activities or buy cool stuff XD Week 1: Go to the shooting training camp with my friend Week 2: Get a new haircut Week 3: Buy a complete set of concealer Week 4: Take the survival swimming course Week 5: none yet Week 6: none yet Grading and body measurements coming soon. Need to find that tape measurements first

Who are you? I'm a Zoë. We tend to be a local, vivid bunch and this particular one is Gothy and thinks of herself as more of a he. I'm working on making a living with writing, practicing Aikido, figuring out cooking, raising chickens and GMing when I have the time. Somewhere in the there is yoga, cleaning, sleeping and picking up and dropping off an art habit. What's your current status? Um....better. In March I ripped my mcl (the tendon on the inside of your knee) in an Aikido practice. I spent a lot of time off getting back to just walking and went up to basically a size 18 from size 14. I came back to Aikido in midJune and now am working towards my brown belt test in October. Also I'm down to fitting into the size 16 clothes again. Where do you see trouble coming from ? Trying to write enough to have enough to eat, balancing time, and oh yes, my boyfriend probably has Celiac's so now I have to figure out gluten-free baking and cooking. I also seem to lose weight horridly but at least gain muscle well (for a female). When do you think you'll be a "vampire"? Not ever since I don't think they actually exist. But the idea of a vampire is seductive as a goal to me, more than describing myself as a warrior or a monk. Vampires can be protagonists in stories now, often fighting against their own self-destructive urges. They are also very strong, very fast, and very mentally flexible. If they come up against something stronger than them, they don't insist on having an arm wrestling contest. They use their speed and flexibility to beat them. They aren't one trick ponies; they are clever demons. Plus vampires put off a predator vibe. Other things avoid them and respect them. In Aikido, we think the ability to avoid a fight is a wonderful thing. A vampire avoids having to fight by just being scary powerful (and sometimes smooth talking their way out of a corner.) Why Level One? Because in some games you start at level zero. Zip, nothing, nada. And then you go thru the game guide, kill a rat or two and then get to add a stat point or two and find a twig to equip yourself with. Ya, that's how I feel after my injury. I have a stick- fear me! How are you going to run this log? More reflection based. I'm going to aim to post the day after recapping the highlights. Sometimes I'll just put out food lists and exercise lists when I have nothing better to add. But I'd like to put in recipes, reflections and more journal posts when I have the time.

Hello All, first timer here. I found the site at the beginning of last week, and after much reading (and subbing class work) I'm ready to start! By the way, I'm totally winging this, so if you've any recommendation to help tweak plans, or how a goal is set, advice is much loved. Starting Point:Weight: ~179lb.Height: 5'5.5"41-39-42 Able to do (without rest):2 "Real" pushups, 17 2.5' incline pushups. 20 sec Planks40~ish bicycle crunches.38 squats QUEST JOURNAL - Goals & Definitions: Quest: Training from an Elven Hunter1) Lose Weight and get fit with Basic Parkour Training and Aikido practice (up to 7th or pre-6th Kyu). End Goal: Lose Ten+ Pounds by end of challenge. Do Ten+ full push ups.I've posted a list of basic recommended exercises for parkour beginners on my wall, along with all the training I remember from Aikido class.Spend at least 10 minutes daily working through the list, increasing reps by +1 every two days. Minimum time +5 min for each week.Weigh-in, photo (personal) and measurements on Sundays, so I don't stress about progress in between.On days I hurt too much to do the harder exercises, it is acceptable to replace training with 20 minutes of stretching. +5 minutes for Yoga with each passing week.Skill Points: STR 3, STA 2, DEX 1 Rewards: Archer's Gloves (Rare), Gatherer's Satchel (Common) Quest: Herbologist Training 2) Eat a Paleo-themed diet at least 50% of the time, keeping everything healthy the other half. End goal: To have switched to a Paleo/Primal based diet, instead of the pizza/rice one I eat. I've scoped out all the locations on campus which would support Paleo related eating habits, and no longer go to the places that won't.Swapped out fried foods and baked goods for roasted foods and fruit.Cut back on grains until february first, when they're completely out of my diet (Reason for slow change is that grain is a large source of fiber for me).Research and menu plan for dorm-friendly, low-mess Paleo snacks and meals (that can freeze well). Have menu ready for next weekend (Jan 19th).Side Quest: Research anti-inflammatory foods & herbs. Skill Points: CON 3, STA 1, WIS 1 Rewards: Small Herb Cabinet (Rare), or Trainee's Manual (Common) Quest: Journey to the Sage 3) Work on my mental well-being and Health. End Goal: Visit and speak with a counselor. Reduce anxiety, to stop the emotional eating triggers - defined by frequency of bingeing. Visit the school counseling office 1+ times a month, to work through anxiety and personal issues. Schedule an appointment.Keep a weekly journal of things that cause me great stress, and work on solving the triggers.Meditate a few times a week to soothing music. Three to four times is desirable. Skill Points: CON 2, WIS 1, CHA 1 Rewards: Book of Wisdom (Rare), or Book of Secrets (Common) *Note from Headmaster: Each week starts on Monday. Side quests may become available with progression. Completion of all side quests may earn additional rewards. Any Student's rewards for quests cannot be obtained unless the quest has been achieved at the basic competency level. Anything lower than a (C) will be dismissed as a failure. Rare Rewards may only be obtained in the event that a mission was completed in full (A), and every other quest grade has been satisfactory (C).