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UPDATED THE FIRST POST with goals for the actual challenge. Anything in blue is updated. My goals this challenge are: 1. Do the physio exercises for my shoulder. That is it. As we have seen, more than one goal is not recommended. I had three goals last time and that was a spectacular failure. HOWEVER, I will add in some side goals, which are things I'll try my best to do but won't beat myself up over if they happen to not get done. I fucking swear, I was about to join the Also Doesn't Wanna theme. Okay, I still might. Anyway. The side goals are: a) Track the amount of alcohol I drink, and the amount of $$ I spend on alcohol (use a Google sheet or w/e). b) Track my bed time (leave a notebook next to my bed to make this low-effort to the point where I can't NOT do it). c) Continue the Window Quest that will likely not be completed during Week Zero (see the text in black). Not drinking for the whole challenge would ideally be a goal, but telling myself "you CANNOT have this substance!" just makes me want it more, and then not having it depletes willpower and then there's no willpower left for other, more important things. Same for bed time: "you MUST be in bed by this time!" just makes my brain go "NO!" and then blow past my self-assigned bed time. (Are there actually people out there who aren't constantly at war with themselves? What's it like?") Ideally I'll stop wanting to drink because tracking drinks is additional effort and many moments of "ugh, I could have wine but then I'd have to write it down" will likely happen. Then my alcohol tolerance will go down and drinking to excess will feel like shit and I'll want to do it even less. ALSO, in the event that I end up going through the whole 5 weeks with no alcohol (Canada Day being the only exception), I'll buy myself something worth $400 to $500 at the end of the challenge. Why this amount? Because I got my credit card bill yesterday and decided to add up all money spent at the liquor store and it was $457 😐 Awakening didn't work too well last time, so let's continue going in the opposite direction. What is the opposite of awakening? FUCKING SLEEPING. Week zero will consist of NOTHING except un-fucking my sleeping situation, because I keep getting told that everything else somehow falls into place if one gets enough sleep? Seems fake, but what have I got to lose. I especially need to deal with the blinds and curtains situation. There were some extensive renovations made to my room in 2016. Windows were replaced, walls got new insulation, the electrical was re-done, and a hardwood floor was put in. It was quite nice to be able to not fucking freeze to death in the winter time and also to have more than one electrical outlet available. Fancy $300 blackout blinds were ordered and brought home and...are still not installed. In 2022. Curtains? Lol, forget about it. So, since then, I've just been jamming the end of some towels in the top of the windows to make blinds. The towels need to be fairly thick to keep the light out, but apparently this messes up the top of the windows and they won't close, or something. This was never a problem before, but as of one week ago mom insists that it is, and she has replaced the towels that actually kept the light out with a thin sheet of fabric (pale, see-through) in one window, and a darker piece of fabric (short, leaves a gap close to where my face is) in the other window. The result is that I now wake up at 5:30 in the fucking AM every day. Every time I suggest that HEY, WE SHOULD INSTALL THOSE BLINDS THAT WE PAID $300 FOR YEAH? I am met with "No, not now!" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Combine that with a late bedtime and trouble falling and staying asleep, I've only had between 3 and 4 hours of sleep every night this week, even less on the weekend, and I am going absolutely fucking crazy and I'm constantly exhausted and OMFG this needs to fucking end. Step 1. Remove the mold from the bottom of the window frames. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention: there's mold on the bottom of the window frames because the windows were left open during a thunderstorm less than a month after the renovations were completed. Step 2. Put painter's tape around the window frame areas. I also forgot to mention: the window frames were not painted. Step 2.5. Do we even have paint? If yes, great, skip this step. If no, go buy paint. It's going to be white paint, so there should (in theory) not be any arguments about what paint color to get. Step 3. Paint window frames. Step 4. INSTALL THE FUCKING BLINDS. Mom is going out of town this coming weekend, so I'll be able to do this both a) without having to ask for permission, and b) without being micro-managed the whole time. Step 5. Buy curtain rods and curtains and install those too if I'm feeling extra motivated. Ugh, I forgot step 0.5 where I'll need to un-clutter the spaces below the windows, and now I'm looking at this whole list of steps and am realizing that I will probably not be able to do all of this within one week. I'll try, but I'm also not expecting miracles. Or very much sleep 😕 The other part of the Week Zero challenge: don't have any booze during Week Zero. This doesn't require that I actually do anything, so hooray for what should be an easy win and huge pre-challenge momentum boost. Boy oh boy did that not happen 😅 But this will be addressed during the challenge. Will come up with challenge goals later.

After doing well for many years 2020 got the better of me. Heaviest I've ever been and first time over 100kg, I'm aiming to reestablish a walking habit and create a healthier relationship with booze. Limiting my goals so i can focus and get some momentum going. Goals: 1. No alcohol in January 2. Walk 20km a week 3. Avoid obvious sugar Side goal: 1. Complete part 1 of the weight loss pvp Weigh-ins: Start: 101.8kg (224 lbs) Week 1: 99.0kg Week 2: 97.5kg Week 3: 97.3kg Week 4:96.9kg Week 5: 95.4kg (210 lbs)

A long long time ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away...on a Forest Moon....I found Nerd Fitness, lost a lot of weight and got healthy, fit and strong. Today however is 1 Jan 2019 and the times they are a changing. I'm going back to my roots and will be reading over some old NF articles and challenges. I'll probably revise my goals each month in this log, so here is January: January Goals: - No alcohol - No bread - Angry Birds workout 3 times a week (Mon, Thurs, Sat) Starting weight Jan 1 2019: 98.9 kg's / 198 lbs (this is my heaviest ever) Final Weight Target: 78.9kg's So yeah...20 kg's to lose. I'm experienced enough to know that the scales lie and i should be losing fat not muscle. Anyway that's the plan for now, keep the goals basic and get some momentum going again.

Road to Oblivion - Part 1 So I've just written up my 2019 road map, and the first 4 challenges of this year will be working towards my first big and scary goal - running 4 laps of Nuclear Oblivion in May. I'm going to need to be able to gain some serious endurance to keep doing that, both in running and in general fitness for the obstacles, so my physical goals will be based around that. Nutrition - 20XP This goal is split into three parts (hence the high XP). The first one is straight eating better - my Crossfit box posted a list of weekly nutrition habits a couple of years ago which I've unearthed on Facebook, so I'll be running through those. By coincidence (or just because they start with sensible things) I already do their first 3 weekly habits, but if you want to play along at home they are: Drink 1 pint of plain water daily Eat a healthy fat with breakfast Eat cooked vegetables in the evening So I'll be starting straight at habit 4, which is: Eat a raw vegetable at lunch I'll be tackling that in week 1 of the challenge, and then adding an additional habit from their list on each subsequent week. The second part of nutrition is alcohol. Leading up to Christmas I was really stressed and not feeling great, and I attributed that to a lot of year end work stress and general Christmas/ohmyGodIhaven'tboughtanything stress. I started thinking the other week however that maybe the amount I was drinking had its part to play in this too. Well, there's only one way to find out if that is the case, and that's to stop drinking for a bit and see how I feel. The goal for this challenge will be to drink no alcohol at all. That'll start from Week 0 day 2 (because day 1 was New Year's Eve, come on!). The final part of this is to track my mood - just a short sentence each day in my bujo is fine, but I'll only know if the above is working at all if I track it. Obviously there's lots of other factors to consider, and conclusions may be hard to draw, but I want to give it a go. Running - 15XP The goal here is simple (thought not necessarily easy) - run 140 miles this challenge. That includes week zero, and is the exact amount of mileage I should hit if I get all of my runs in. The plan is to run 4 times per week - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday - with the long run either on Saturday or Sunday depending on when I'm climbing or doing other things. Whilst the goal is simply the mileage, I'll put the full running plan in a spoiler for info: Climbing - 10XP I want to work on my climbing and my pullups in general, as these have massive transference to OCR, and I've got two parts to this plan in order to do it: a) Continue with GTG pullups - basically I have my pullup bar in my kitchen door and do one pullup every time I want to enter the kitchen. Minimum 10 per day. This starts week 0. b) Hangboarding - I have bought a hang board with some Christmas money, which will allow me to train hanging off very small edges instead of just a bar. The plan is to do hanging sessions MWF, but never on a day adjacent to a climbing day. As I usually climb every weekend this should mean that I usually do 2 sessions per week, but it could be 1 or 3 depending on how the climbing sessions work out. This starts when the hang board arrives. Budget - 5XP This is a difficult one this month as money and spending are a bit strange after Christmas. I probably wouldn't have a goal at all except that reducing debt and saving money is one of my main goals for the year. The goal here is to simply spend mindfully for the month, and write any comments about my spending in my bujo. This starts week 0. Study - 5XP This is something I have been neglecting, but I really need to continue my qualifications for work. There is a time limit on these, and having missed the initial deadline it's going to be tricky to catch up so I need to put in the work. The goal here is to do 2 pomodoros of study (or 4 hours, if you prefer) per week. Bonus 5XP if I get my next assignment submitted before the end of the challenge. This starts week 0. Forum Cardio - Mobile Edition™ - 5XP I don't spend enough time on here and I miss catching up with people and knowing what's going on. A big reason I don't get on is that I usually only sit in front of a computer at work, and so my lunch break is the only time I have to be here. I don't always get a lunch break, and I use the time to catch up on other things as well when I do so that gives me minimal forum time. The goal therefore is to use my phone to visit the forums every day. Even if I don't post anything just being here and catching up is a start. Well I think that's everything. It's loads of XP so i could do realll well out of this challenge if I ace it. I have to dash, so anything I've missed I'm sure will come up later!

THE PRESSURE IS ON! Respawn, because I have been a slack lately. More nerdy references (and some kind of story line and D&D references) to come in the next few days. There is a Pole Sport competition I will be going to in about seven months, where I will need to be able to move, climb, flip and be awesome like a ninja. In order to not be a disappointment at this competition, I need to do multiple things. Increasing flexibility is the main priority, and getting my ass back into some kind of workout routine is a close second. 1 - Increasing flexibility MUST ABSOLUTELY HAPPEN AND IS NOT NEGOTIABLE (daily except Sundays) 2 - Following the Gymnastics Bodies program on a regular basis (5x/week) 3 - Going for 20-30 min walks at lunch now that the weather is less shitty (5x/week, unless there's a staff event at lunch or something) 4 - Doing the pole workout given to me by Coach (daily: full workout if at pole gym, partial workout if at home) 5 - Drinking more water daily--at least 72oz/day (72oz, because I have a 24oz cup and 3x24 is 72 and I didn't feel like doing any more math than that) 6 - Tracking food intake and rough calorie total (daily, also requested by Coach) 7 - 10 min meditation & journal on a daily basis (I already do this, but want to keep going) 8 - Eat less cheese (this will probably be the hardest item of the challenge) Implied goals: 9 - I will lose some pounds (fat) as a result of all of the above 10 - I will drink less alcohol because I'll be too fucking busy to do so 11 - I will check in to this thread on a regular basis to brag/whine as necessary ;P BONUS task: Working on my cosplay(s). PRE-CHALLENGE LIST, to remove the emotional/mental load: 1 - Cancel the expensive gym membership that I no longer use It's a good place and I've been there for years, but the schedule is no longer working for me. 2 - Booking appointments that I keep procrastinating on booking 3 - Contacting people that I keep procrastinating on contacting (0 of 2) 4 - CLEAN MY FUCKING ROOM so I have space to work out, work on cosplay, etc. 5 - Change my user name on NF, because using my RL name on the Internet is probably not a good idea May will be particularly difficult, because I will have the usual work hours (8AM to 4PM) and then coaching hours from like 6PM to 10PM from Monday to Thursday. This will result in VERY LITTLE FREE TIME and probably a lot of complaining. I want to have all my ducks in a row as well as some momentum before May so that I'll be less likely to fall off the wagon.

I was battling the Alcohol Demon last challenge. "Battling" implies effort, and I am not very good at effort and doing things, so greater success may result if I tell myself to ignore the Alcohol Demon instead. UPDATE: Okay, starting the challenge now. I was in Italy for a competition last week, and returned in snowy Canada late last night. When in Italy, wine is pretty much mandatory, so March 19th and 20th were fails ;P (Ok, I was airport-hopping on the 20th, but the airport bars make 6h layovers go by faster.) Anyway. Back on the wagon now. I hope. March 19: X March 20: X March 21:

Goals: - No Alcohol - 1 hour walk or 1 hour gym every day - Track Calories - "Never 2 in a row" Big shift in my training this challenge, I got injured (again) and decided I am no longer doing Crossfit training with a Personal Trainer. I'll be going to F45 classes instead and training weights at home. I have signed up for the Crossfit Open but I'm not sure at this stage whether I will take part because I'm carrying a bicep tendon impingement injury which prevents me from doing any overhead or bicep work. The overall goal at the moment is body composition, specifically losing fat. Bonus motivators: 1. I'm in a weight loss competition with a friend at work from 6 Feb to 27 Feb, every 500g one of us loses more than the other is $5 you owe them. (This is a repeat, I crushed him in January in case you were wondering!) 2. I've entered an 8 week challenge at my new F45 gym, which runs 29 Jan to 25 March 3. I've set myself up for success with (another) 20 pre-packed Paleo meals. 4. In a PvP with @Baxtan which is a race to see who can lose 7kg (15.4lbs) first. Current status: Starting weight 93.0kg Current Weigh in: 88.9kg PVP progress: 4.1kg lost, 2.9kg to go. Super secret (not so secret) Open motivation

Oops! Guess who is drinking all the time again! But wait...what's this? A challenge is starting today also? Perfect, it's time to give the Alcohol Demon a good slap in the face. (Note: I don't want to abstain from alcohol forever since I like alcohol, but it's gotten to the point now where I'm using it to deal with problems that should be getting dealt with via other, healthier means. Also, not having ridiculous amounts of alcohol daily = 700 less calories daily at LEAST. To track this challenge, I will post something in here for every day that I do not have alcohol. Feb 12: Win Feb 13: Win Feb 14: Win Feb 15: Win Feb 16: Win Feb 17: --- Feb 18: Win Feb 19: --- Feb 20: Win Feb 21: Win Feb 22: Win Feb 23: Fail* Feb 24: Fail Feb 25: Fail Feb 26: Fail* Feb 27: Win Feb 28: Fail Mar 1: Win Mar 2: Fail Mar 3: Fail Mar 4: Fail Mar 5: Win Mar 6: Win Mar 7: Fail Mar 8: Fail Mar 9: Fail Mar 10: Fail Mar 11: Fail Total: 13 of 28 = 46%

Hypothetically speaking, in January, a friend and I are going to put together a ridiculous silks/rope routine that is going to be heavily focused around amazing feats of strength--straight arm/straight leg inverts, flag, front and back body balance, iron cross, etc. That means in the next couple months it's time to tighten up, get stronger, and generally stop faffing about so I don't make a fool of myself. I've just gotten back from a work conference during which there was tons of food and beer and I re-gained the 5 lbs I've lost over the past 6-8 weeks. Hopefully most of it is water and weirdness from being outside my normal dietary and sleep routine and I'll get back down quickly. In the mean time, let's make January as easy as possible by doing hard things now. Dietary Control No drinking - as mentioned last challenge, I am drifting toward a place I don't like with alcohol consumption. Fortunately, after 4-5 days straight filled with lots of beer, I'm ready to give my liver a break. No alcohol for the duration of this challenge. Stay within calories - Beer, crepes, fried everything--the last week has been a smorgasbord of poor food choices. Time to make some better ones and stay below my goal calories. Protein consumption is a secondary goal, but no stringent delineations on this one, more like assessing where my current intake lies in order to figure out where my diet needs tweaking. Strength and Endurance Squat - I love circus, but it's hugely upper body focused. I'm missing my squat booty. Time to address that. Lower body workout at least once a week with a glute focus. May bring back some Strong Curves workouts in order to focus here. Pull ups - Hugely important for circus, of course. Throwing in a few reps of chins/pull ups during my muggle workout (I think I'm realistically only going to get one per week) will help in a grease the groove kind of fashion. Sub-maximal sets, lots of rest between, no where near failure (I get some pretty good tendonitis in my elbow when I over work these, so I'm going to be super cautious) My Circus, My Monkeys Open gym - Every Monday. Work on dramatic feats of circus strength. Eventually, choreograph and plan routine with Circus buddy. Class - Every Wednesday. Go. Learn. Exhaust yourself. Splits - 2 minute split drills each open gym and after each muggle workout I think that about covers it...

Mission Log: Subtle Maneuvers At first it really threw me off mentally that we have 2 weeks between challenges... but the more I think about it the more I like the idea of taking 2 weeks to let the habits I have been building sink in. 6 months of new habits .... let's see how well they stick when I'm not "grading". Zero Week(s)! My idea for the next two weeks is to simply track and, more importantly, enjoy what I do. Whether that be running, yoga, adventures with the doggy.... whatever comes to mind. I have a long weekend coming up and want to make the most of it by soaking up some fresh air and getting away from the screens. I'll check in when I feel like it but don't be surprised if all I post are The Clone Wars gifs and ramblings about how much I love Alexandre Dumas' writing (currently re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo) Alright kind of lied I do want to do two things: Find or obtain a bar to use for Pull-Up progression work. Cancel that gym membership I haven't been using (so that $20/month can go towards home fitness stuff I'll actually use) Challenge Weeks! 1) Maintain Water - 2+ L/daily Cardio - 30 min/week Yoga - 30 min/week 2) Mobilize Squat Mobility Progression - 6 days/week Pull-Up Progression - 3 days/week Push-Up Progression - 3 days/week Source: GMB Fitness 3) Moderation 5 a day Produce 9 servings Alcohol/week (-20% for each additional beer; Loot = $1.50 for each serving under 14 per week)

Hello. I was here quite awhile ago using a different name. I've had a pretty rough time since then and have completely fallen off the mat, as I like to call it. I haven't worked out in well over a year, so I've decided to start back at beginning, this time as a mermaid. Always be yourself. Unless you can be a mermaid... then always be a mermaid. Just Add Water As a person with depression and anxiety, the suggested amount of alcohol and caffeine is none. I do believe in moderation, but lately I've not really been living it. The problem is, I love the ritual of coffee in the morning and wine in the evening. I've tried to cut down in a few ways, but for this challenge I'm just going to drink a glass of water after each caffeinated or alcoholic beverage. That's literally after each mug/glass, not a cumulative "I'll have two waters later." The idea is to slow down my consumption of caffeine and alcohol and maybe annoy myself with the trips to the bathroom. For every caffeinated or alcoholic beverage, drink a glass of water. Pack a Lunch I'm a pastry chef and I've gotten pretty used to the "restaurant freegan diet." My current kitchen has a pretty limited menu and no staff lunch, so I've been spending too much money on food I just don't like at local shops. To save money and eat better, I will bring veggies and a protein to work every week to supplement the free food in the kitchen. Plan, shop, and take lunch to work. Meditate #everydamnday This is an ongoing goal. Headspace just updated their app and I have no idea why I'm not using it more. Meditate. Every damn day. Go to the Mat I'm going to start slow with simply getting on the mat. I can do yoga, pilates, stretch, or meditate. I've been talking to my therapist a lot about the emotional baggage around things I used to like to do, and the idea of creating new positive associations really stuck with me on this topic. If I end up stretching while listening to an audiobook, at least I showed up to the mat. Spend 15 minutes on the mat 3x per week.

More rehashing of old goals. Am I actually progressing or just managing to stand still? Impossible to tell, but this is my new normal. Most days I'm even okay with that. Circus-I'm really liking my combo silks/rope class. I've regained some strength and some confidence, gathered an interesting collection of bruises and am ready to keep going on this. Being in the air and/or upside-down is apparently pretty therapeutic for me. Also, I have a silks friend that's interested in doing some morning open gym before work so bonus points if I get a couple of those on the books. Muggle workouts-My goal last challenge was 4. This time? 6. Baby steps, y'all. Adult-Two recipes this challenge again. They don't have to be new, but they have to involve cooking rather than solely pulling frozen things from the freezer and putting them in the microwave. Booze-I'm going with no booze this challenge. Two freebies for special occasions if they come up this month, but no more drinking for no reason. I'm starting to get into a stress = drinking paradigm which is kind of terrifying. I don't want to go down that road. At all. Barebones and rudimentary, but if I can keep treading water for at least the summer (whimper), maybe in the fall I can look for some more interesting goals--I'd love to perform again and I think the rope would make a super interesting apparatus for this song: That's it! Will take the rest of this week to gear up and hit the ground running at challenge start. (May 27th? Saturday starts now? What is this nonsense?)

Mission Log: Practice Makes Perfect Putting my goals for the next challenge out here now.... may tweak and finalize the goals through zero week but here they are for now. Also guess what I've been watching lately Tracking Spreadsheet Maintenance: Cardio - 60 min / week Strength - 30 min / week Yoga - 45 min / week Water - 2 L / day Nutrition: 5 servings/day of produce Breakfast Ideas: Homemade Smoothies Fruit + Yogurt Veggie Omelettes Lunch Ideas: Salads Wraps Veggies & Dip (snack) Dinner Ideas: Salads Grilled/Roasted Veggies Stir Fry[/spoiler] Loot: Succulent Plant + Planter. Currently $19/$30 earned since April Resistance: 9 or less servings/week of alcohol Grading: 9 or less servings of alcohol (not just beer) = 100%. I loose 20% for every serving after I hit 9. Loot: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (DVD/Blu-Ray) + Rogue One (DVD/Blu-Ray) Estimated current consumption = 17 beers / week Estimated cost = $1.50 per beer Estimated Savings after 4 Week Challenge = $48 Recovery: Weeknights bed by 10PM. Weekends bed by Midnight

Hello everyone! If you saw my last challenge, you know that April was kinda ridiculous for me, in that there was just a whole lot of changes and I never really had time to spend on myself. I've decided that May will be better, so I'm starting now! I'm switching back to my original challenge format, just because I want a bit more structure this go around, since my life is still in flux (someone else gave notice at work, it's unknown how this will affect my already affected job). I don't forsee any trips etc coming up this time, so I'm ready to get rolling. (I'm a Monday start fan, so my weeks run Monday-Sunday here for tracking purposes) Quest 1: Use my shiny new gym memembership: I will take a fitness class once a week (preferably a new class each week). Because the class membership doesn't start until May, to compete this goal this week I have to actually sign up for that class membership Quest 2: Do 3 other workouts during the week: This can be anything from walks with my husband (still trying to get that going for the year) to S&S to more gym workouts, including classes. I'll also count working on the minichallenge here. Quest 3: Have (at least) 3 no drinking days a week. Quest 4: Since I got a shiny new lunch box as a reward last challenge, I have to use it, and that will involve posting one pic a week here of my healthy snacks. Quest 5: Spend 2 hours stretching over the course of the 4 weeks. Bonus quest: finish this dang baby blanket I've been knitting Reward: Since I'm a stationary nerd, my reward for completing is a new planner (mine runs out at the beginning of June) and a fancy notepad for taking meeting notes. No theme, it's a gif free-for-all! I feel like this is the perfect date to get started!

Hey everyone, My name is Marco, I'm originally from Germany and now I've been living in Taiwan for more than 6 years. I always do sport, however, in the past I struggle to keep the momentum. Once I stopped exercising bad habits occurred and weight gain happened rapidly. I told myself never again! Half a year ago, I changed my diet, started to do intermittent fasting and stopped drinking alcohol. I started going to the gym 3 times a week, but this past few week I've been focusing on preparing for a dragon boat competition. Just this week I could make my dream come true and combine passion with work! I'm working at a place where people are passionate about to share nutrition tips & education. I'm very excited meeting you all

Hello everyone! So I kinda just gave up on having a January challenge. My mom was in town for the first week, and then I got sick for another week, and then work got crazy because someone took medical leave, and the idea of writing a challenge just started stressing me out, so I decided to give myself a cycle off. Unfortunately, I took the cycle off from basically all fitness stuff, so I really need to get back into it; my body is unhappy and so is my mind. I liked my points format last time, so I'm trying it again, only I'm adding in negative points as well, to up the difficulty level. I'm also running this one Sunday-Saturday, since I'm going out of town the last weekend of the challenge and I want all the time I can get, also this will motivate me to get moving tomorrow! Things that can earn me points: Doing a workout (S&S, yoga, long walk/hike, exercise bike, etc) +2 Doing my evening mobility routine (focused on hips and spine currently) +1 Logging into NF and posting on my thread and one other (gotta get back in the habit) +1 sweeping the kitchen floor (a new habit I want to build) +1 no alcohol day (I have a bad habit of a daily beer/glass of wine) +1 standing for at least 1 hour (cumulative over a day) at work at my standing desk +1 Reading (and understanding) one page of math (I'm working on a new project with a new mentor and I want some motivation) +1 Doing an adult thing I don't want to do (can earn one per week, last time this got me to get a lot of stuff done!) +5 Things that will lose me points: going over my calorie goal for the day -1 watching a youtube video (this is a bad habit I have and there are much better things I can be doing with my time, like reading math, or listening to my backlog of podcasts, the one exception will be if I'm reading an article that links a video and I want to see that video as part of the article) -1 Points goal/reward If I earn 150 points over the course of the challenge, I can buy the fancy tea maker thing I want, guilt-free. (I've been debating it for a bit, but the cost and guilt from not needing it have held me back) Let's do this! I have no theme, so I'm going to go with cute animal gifs, those are motivational.

Woo! Let's try this again, eh? After a very stressful end to 2016 both personally and professionally, I'm trying to get back into the fitness habit. My circus gym has been closed for over a year, but is reopening this week and I'll be back in the air on the day this challenge officially starts. Seems like a sign, or something, so I'm going to take another stab at challenges. Why not? Note: if you've been here before, some of these goals are going to look very familiar. I keep not-quite-succeeding, and so keep making the same goals over and over again. 1. Circus, Circus, Circus I've been grounded for too long and with it went much of my motivation to stay fit. Through a combination of open gym sessions and some aerial boot camp classes, my goal is to be airborne at least once per week. I am VERY curious to see where I currently stand. I know I've lost a lot of strength; I hope it comes back quickly. Staying motivated and managing expectations will be big components of this goal. 2. Muggle Fitness Once/week isn't much overall for exercise. Two other workouts per week, whether that's an additional aerial class, time with the weights or even just 30 mins on the treadmill. 3. What Goes In More water/less Coke. Less alcohol. Track food (not necessarily calories). Most carbonated beverages that I drink are Diet, Caffeine-Free Coke, so not terrible, but water would be a better choice. Limits: 2 cans Coke/day No alcohol on school nights Write down all food. 4. Procrastination via Organization @karinajean's thread made me aware of what a bullet journal is. I have an extra notebook lying around, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

At the end of week 1, my job will be moving up to London, and I've decided to follow my job which is going to be a big change in my life. I'll be going from a short drive to work to over an hour on the train each way, I'll be working in a new office with new people I don't know, the work itself will likely be changing (although I've got no idea on the plan or timescales for that). It's going to be a busy month, but I want to keep a challenge running to keep me from going off the rails, and also to give me more excuse to keep up with you wonderful people. Going to try and keep it simple and just keep checking in. Forewarning that this may not be the most upbeat or cheerful thread this challenge, so if you don't like listening to people whine it may be one to avoid. Keep Lifting - Lift 12+ times this challenge - 15XP This one shouldn't be too hard, I really enjoy my lifting program so I should be able to keep up with it. I will need to cancel my gym membership and join a new gym in London, because the current place doesn't open early enough for me to go there before I would have to get on the train. So gym shopping in week 2 could be fun! Don't drink like a dickhead- 15XP Since I found out my job was effectively being sold, I've been depressed, stressed and so very very angry. Unfortunately I do have a tendency to drink my feelings when things aren't going well. Add into that that insurance, and particularly the London market, is an area where heavy drinking is actively encouraged as part of building professional relationships. Then add in working with new people and needing to get to know them which will undoubtedly lead to office drinks. All in all the best outcome if I drink like a dickhead is that I make myself ill, and sad, and fat. Worst case I do that plus I do or say something so stupid I live to regret it. I have a vague mental list of things that count as drinking like a dickhead, including drinking at home (either before or after a night out), drinking beer that I'm not enjoying. If I have more than 5 pints I may well be drinking like a dickhead. If I have more than 6 I almost certainly am. If I find myself getting morose or getting angry I am to stop drinking and take myself the fuck home. Skill Work - 12+ times this challenge - 15XP I've been kind of inspired by the handstand stuff going on with NF at the moment. I haven't bought the programs, but I do want to work on wall walks and crow pose this month as progression towards a handstand. I've also been looking for a chance to work on L-sits for a few months now, so that will count too. Please send me any resources you have on these things. I will definitely be referring to these two: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/10/17/a-beginners-guide-to-handstands/#more-1342745 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZJoSP66HI (floor l-sit progression) Bullet Journaling - Daily - 10XP I really like the idea of this, it looks to be a simple way to keep track of life (and of challenge goals!), to keep a to-do list running, and hopefully make me a more productive human. I played with it last challenge before everything fell apart a bit, so I thought I would make it a goal this time to see if I can stick with it. That's all folks, wish me luck!

So I'm going to be starting a new job on the 25th and I'm really excited! I have been looking for work since December when I moved with my husband, so this is going to be a big change from what I've grown used to. It's only part time for now, but could evolve, so it will be a nice transition. My overall goal is to keep in the good habits I've built while I've had all this free time. The title and theme of this thread is a nod to another job interview where the role turned out to be as an executive assistant and the movie was discussed as the image of a good executive assistant. So in honor of not having that job, I'm having it as a thread theme instead. Also I loveeeee this movie! As usual, I'll be doing a Monday start, so my challenge will run the 18th-14th. Quest 1- Workout 4 times a week: Keeping it basic this round, I just need to keep exercising! Also, I want to try to do at least 2 workouts a week with my new baby that came in the mail today! [+2 STR] So excited! I haven't picked up a kettlebell since I did my training in October/November, so I'm excited to see how it goes. Since it's been so long, I also want to post form videos at least twice this challenge, to make sure I'm being safe and effective Quest 2 - Side crow!: So close! I have a 2-3 second hold on each side, but I'm aiming for 5. I also want to start training the unsupported version, hopefully the kb work will help with the arm strength part of that. I need to work on my side crow 3 times a week. [+2 STA] Quest 3 - No alcohol 3 nights a week: Exactly what it sounds like. It's a good habit I've built, but having the internet accountability is helping me a lot, so I'm keeping it in my challenges. [+2 CON] Quest 4 - Splits: Again, so close! I need to work on my left, right, and middle splits at least 4 times a week, doing PNF and whatever else I want/need [+2 DEX] Quest 5 - Mindfulness: This one is shamelessly stolen from @UnquietBones. I will make a concerted effort this challenge to recognize when I am happy or treating myself and make sure that i am enjoying it to its fullest! I will post here 2 times a week what my happy thing is. [+2 WIS] (Chanel makes me happy) Happy challenge everyone!

HI GUYS!! Welcome to my... what, 16th challenge here?? HOLY SNACKS. I honestly think I've lost count. Eep~ At any rate I’m clearly still on an FFXIV kick so for this challenge, welcome to the snowy city-state of Ishgard. This challenge is a little different from previous of mine in that the activity level has a bit of a different focus... I’m going to be doing a lot of tracking, logging, data-mining, and habit observing this go-around. Of course my regular fitness will still take place in the background! (And on my first quest!) Ishgard is as tactical as it is strong, so it seemed like a perfectly themed place to set up shop. So honestly the best job class to complete my quests would be Scholar, but I have leveled ZERO of Scholar so I’m going to take a smidge of liberty here and let ASTROLOGIAN head off this challenge!!! AST is based in Ishgard and there are lots of opportunities for research and higher learning in the city. I’ve named each quest after one of the Astrologian’s buff cards (similar to tarot cards), and am ready to dig into some studies... (witness; me making use of my $9.99/mo Adobe Creative Cloud suite~) The Bole - Deadlift Progression A long time ago in a land far away (like last year?) I managed to seriously twang my lower back while deadlifting. It was a combination of lack of skill, too much weight too fast, and a traditionally weak lower back that all contributed to the sadness. Since then I’ve shied away from any sort of deadlift because it really skeeved me out. (Aside: I also am of the long legged/short armed variety, which set me up for a little of a disadvantage anyway, positioning was always a little tenuous.) Slowly but surely I’ve been kind of excelling at one legged Romanian Deadlifts - I’m up to 50lbs right now with zero signs of low back strain or fatigue. I realized a week or so ago that I’m progressing really well with these because even when I started with around 25-30lbs, it would put a serious strain on my lower back. These days it’s still very taxing, but not in a painful way at all. SCORE! In the spirit of being a Very Careful Person (tm), I’ve decided to (gently) run with this knowledge and add some other drills to my workouts that will help me prepare for deadlifts in a future challenge. So, I will work on: Hip Hinges & Thrusts Romanian Deadlifts (Barbell) Dumbbell Deadlifts Rack Pulls - MAYBE - I have read serious conflicting information on the validity of these so I’m not sure if I’ll be adding them quite yet. More research! This list may change or vary as I research more over Zero Week but I aim to complete 8 sessions of this over the next 4 weeks - one heavier session at the gym and one lighter at home, since I have dumbbells - and see where it takes me. (And how much Tiger Balm I need to use.) A - 8 sessions of DL Progression completed B - 6-7 sessions of DL Progression completed C - <6 sessions of DL Progression completed The Balance - Food Tracking It’s time to start tracking my food intake again. (Insert non-enthused ‘yaaaaay’ here~) According to MFP the last time I tracked anything ended around February-ish? I’m not a person that can track my intake for 6+ months at a time, it makes me twitchy, and I get a little overwhelmed and unhappy with it and it’s just not good for my overall well being. So I track on and off in the hopes that the ‘on’ phase will help me get a good handle on the values of the things I’m eating, and help me make smart choices when I’m ‘off’. So I’ve been ‘off’ for a while and it’s definitely time to start again. No numbers to hit, no goals or macros to meet, just log everything for 4 weeks to see where I’m at, and use the data to decide where I need to improve. The caveat is that I won’t have MFP on my phone (this actually makes it less stressful for me!) and I’ll need to log my daily food from the desktop. Deal? Deal. A - 4 weeks logged B - 3-4 weeks logged C - Less than 3 weeks logged The Ewer - Limit Alcohol So I don’t drink a ton but it’s enough lately to really give me some gently unpleasant side effects such as - shittier sleep! - gently expanding waistline! - crappy skin! - feeling like a bloaty slug! - etc. I’ll maybe have 3-4 beers weekly now but I SERIOUSLY need to cut that back. I know I can, I don’t crave beer like I used to, and I’ve done this before and I can do it again. Limiting myself to 6 drinks over the course of 4 weeks. This one is sink or swim with zero middle ground. Easy, right?... A - 6 or less drinks F - More than 6 drinks The Spire - Managing Gil It’s time for me to sit down and take a long hard look at my financials and get my shit in order! I’m at a point now with my 32h/week job that I take in more than I expend, which is good. However, I really need to tighten the bootstraps and make my money work for me, instead of just -thinking- I know what’s going on. While I’m actively looking for something full-time I’ve decided that, when/if that does happen it’ll be great, but right now I need to start doing more to improve my current financial situation instead of... you know, just waiting. I’ll be utilizing You Need A Budget and MAKING EVERY DOLLAR COUNT. My biggest goal right now is to just be able to visualize how my money is working for me and get a little more aggressive with saving and paying some stuff down. (Luckily my credit card right now is 0% APR until April, which helps LOADS.) Oddly enough I’m STUPID EXCITED about this one and giving this system a go, as I’ve heard awesome things about it, and even reading it all over gets me hype. Again, I’m just tracking and gathering data for 4 weeks and using the results to see what kind of position I'm really in. A - Tracked financials for 4 weeks F - Tracked financials for <4 weeks BONUS QUEST! The Spear - Space Management GUYS I AM IN MY NEW VERY OWN COMPUTER ROOM!!! I’m so flippin’ excited, it’s so spacious and the lighting is lovely and I feel so chill and calm and happyyyyy~ Kell and I effectively each have our own “hobby rooms” now and we both are LOVING our new spaces! What this means for me is that I need to CLEAN. My room previously was storage, and still is to some extent, but now it’s up to me to go through the clutter in here and downsize/clean it up. Also get some shelves and my corkboard up on the walls, and some pictures I’ve been meaning to hang. This won’t be graded, but I’ll be posting photos and talking about it as I go, so yay! I THINK THAT'S ALL!??! I'm excited because these are all things I need to work on and will help to set a foundation (Ishgardian pun intended) for future endeavors. Let's gooooo~!!

So... things. I have little motivation for foruming stuff (at this moment right now at 7/18 9PM). But I've also been pretty actively extroverting/stressing about work (both at the same time). I guess for this challenge I have 3 main goals Continue the awesomeness of daily exercise: Really, I shouldn't discount this. In the past 2-3 challenges I have made massive strides from working out maybe once per week to doing something active almost daily. Easily 5 days out of 7. Pokemon go this past week has helped me take this to the next level - extending previously 10-15 min runs to 40+ min. Keep it up! Make it a habit, not just due to a random burst of motivation. Yoga 3 times per week, continuing Yoga With Adriene's Yoga Camp (even if I don't do it daily) 2 long walks or runs. Long = 30+ min of hiking or neighborhood exploration runs Sleep is important, and should not be neglected: So when I first got back into the groove of NF Challenges, I had a few (unsuccessful) attempts at sleeping solid amounts. To give a reference - last week I averaged 5 1/2 hours per weeknight And then 9 ish hours on the weekend. 7 hours (or more) per day. By going to bed at 10-10:30 and waking up 5-5:30. (is my math right? will correct later if not.....) No excuses. Eat dinner at normal human time - not 11 PM because (enter excuses here). Rawr. Alcohol: Continue the following: 2 or less drinks Monday - Thursday (carryover from last challenge) 4 or less drinks Friday - Sunday (new)

So this challenge may look really familiar…as in almost identical to the last one. Last challenge went so well, and I made good progress in everything, so I want to build off of that energy again. And with it being a slightly crazy month, I want to keep this challenge somewhat familiar. (No theme yet, I almost want to do Drag Race again, but that's undecided.) I’m going to go with a Monday start again, and I’m going to get started right away during zero week. I’m traveling during the first week and from the middle of the third week to the end, so I’m keeping things a bit more simple/flexible for those weeks by dropping my numbers for the “times per week” requirements. Quest 1: Splits: I will do stretching work 4 times a week, for 6 minutes minimum. I can work on whatever feels tight, but I have to sit in the almost splits for at least 30 seconds per side. During traveling weeks, this will drop down to 2 times a week. I also want to be sure to focus on middle splits and not just left and right this round. [+2 DEX] Quest 2: Mobility-two components • General: At least 4 times per week, I want to roll out my muscles (Travel drops to 2/week). I have to hit at least my calf (which will hit the other part of this challenge too), hips, glutes, back, shoulder, and bottom of my foot (this one loosens the front of my calf to help with splits flexibility). [+1 STR, 1 DEX] • Ankle: I realized that ankle mobility is one of my main issues in my squats, so 4 (2) times a week I need to do some ankle mobility work for a minimum of 4 minutes. I currently cannot touch the wall as discussed in this article so my mobility definitely needs some work. I'll probably take my stretches from that article and others. [+1 DEX] Quest 3: SIDE Crow: Last challenge I made great crow progress, and I want to try something new. I want to practice my side crow 4 days a week (2 when traveling). I also need to look up one new article with crow advice a week (unless traveling) as I found last time that finding the right cues made all the difference. [+1 STR, 1 WIS] Quest 4: Alcohol: This new form worked well last time, so I want to try it again under potentially more challenging circumstances. So I will not drink at least 3 (2 when traveling) days of the week. The other 4 days of the week I will keep myself from going insane because I'm still trying to fit into my calorie count, so I won't overindulge on those days. [+3 CON] Generally it will be my goal to get all this done during the weekdays because that's when I have the most motivation and time, but I'll have the weekends to catch up if I need. Tracking: Splits: 0/4, 0/2, 0/4, 0/3, 0/2 Mobility 1: 0/4, 0/2, 0/4, 0/3, 0/2 Mobility 2: 0/4, 0/2, 0/4, 0/3, 0/2 Crow: 0/4, 0/2, 0/4, 0/3, 0/2 Crow research: 0/1, 0/0, 0/1, 0/1, 0/0 Alcohol-free: 0/3, 0/2, 0/3, 0/3, 0/2

Because [Fitness] is what? Fundamental! So, I couldn't come up with a good theme, and I realized was going back to fundamentals. (I haven't done a mobility quest since my first challenge), and the word "fundamental" always makes me think of RuPaul Drag Race! I know Raptron did one a while ago, which was so much fun, so I decided to blatantly copy and bring it back. Quest 1: Splits: I can feel it, this challenge is the time, it's happening! I will do stretching work 4 times a week, for 6 minutes minimum. I can work on whatever feels tight, but I have to sit in the almost splits for at least 30 seconds per side. I just bought a yoga block, so I have something nice to prop myself up on that will hopefully help. I also want to try to do some PNF-style stretching to help get that last inch. [+2 DEX] Quest 2: Mobility-two components General: At least 3 times per week, I want to roll out my muscles. I have to hit at least my calf (which will hit the other part of this challenge too), hips, glutes, back, shoulder, and bottom of my foot (this one loosens the front of my calf to help with splits flexibility). [+1 STR, 1 DEX] Ankle: I realized that ankle mobility is one of my main issues in my squats, so 4 times a week I need to do some ankle mobility work for a minimum of 4 minutes. I currently cannot touch the wall as discussed in this article so my mobility definitely needs some work. I'll probably take my stretches from that article and others. [+1 DEX] (get it, rolling?!?!) Quest 3: Crow: Last challenge I made great crow progress, and I want to get to a 5 second hold this time. I want to practice my crow at least 5 times 4 days a week. I also need to look up one new article with crow advice a week as I found last time that finding the right cues made all the difference. [+1 STR, 1 WIS] Quest 4: Alcohol: I want to try out a new form of this goal to go with the fact that I realized that I'm an abstainer, not a moderator. So I will not drink at least 3 days of the week. I'm keeping this challenge pretty easy just to try out the structure, so I'm hoping I can do it. The other 4 days of the week I will keep myself from going insane because I'm still trying to fit into my calorie count, so I won't overindulge on those days. [+3 CON] I'm super excited for this challenge! I'm going to go with a Monday start, I don't like dividing up the weekends. Generally it will be my goal to get all this done during the weekdays because that's when I have the most motivation and time, but I'll have the weekends to catch up if I need. Bring it on! Tracking: Splits: 0/4, 0/4, 0/4, 0/4 Mobility 1: 0/3, 0/3, 0/3, 0/3 Mobility 2: 0/4, 0/4, 0/4, 0/4 Crow: 0/4, 0/4, 0/4, 0/4 Crow research: 0/1, 0/1, 0/1, 0/1 Alcohol-free: 0/3, 0/3, 0/3, 0/3

I've been struggling to be okay lately. I've been under a lot of stress and struggling with anxiety and depression, but I've been trying to learn about myself and what makes me happy and makes me feel worthwhile. I'm going to try and keep it simple, and remind myself that the goal isn't weight loss, it's just trying to feel okay. I want this challenge to be very, very easy to stick with, so all the active pieces combined are going to take 1 hour or less per day. Excluding sleeping, because that would be crazy. Main Quest: Reduce anxiety and depression. Learn what causes these. Acknowledge that some things in my life are stressful and that's okay. Goal 1: 30 minutes quality alone time daily. Should be something that I want to do that I really find satisfying, and is in no way social. So reading, meditating, painting, or playing guitar would count. Browsing the forums would not, and generally netflix/youtube/reddit/imgur would not; I already do 30 minutes per day of this and it doesn't make me any happier. Reason: I'm an introvert. I like doing things by myself and rarely make time to just be by myself, especially with a partner who likes to spend almost all their free time with me. I'm much happier when I make time for productive alone time. Goal 2: Any physical activity daily. I would like to keep working on my C25K training, but I'm not going to be hard on myself if it doesn't happen. I just need to do something, whether it's a brisk walk or a short dance session or a few minutes hula hooping. Reason: Exercise is a mood booster. And if I have exercised today, at least I have done something worthwhile. Goal 3: Take your darn vitamins. Have them every day with dinner. Keep a stash in your purse so you have them when you go out to eat. Set an alarm reminder in case you forget. Reason: Severe vitamin D deficiency. It can exacerbate depression and worsen my immune system. Goal 4: No alcohol, low caffeine. Tell your friends and family and partner you're abstaining for the month and ask them to help you stay on track. Reason: Alcohol exacerbates my depression. Caffeine exacerbates my anxiety. It was a huge eye-opener when I started tracking my mood and realized 75% of my panic attacks happened within 2 hours of heavy caffeine consumption. Goal 5: Sleep 8 hours a night. I should be in bed, lights out by 10 on weeknights. Since I'm often out late on Friday, I should avoid scheduling things for Saturday mornings. I need to try and force myself to go back to bed when I wake up after 6 hours on weekend days. Reason: I get sad when I get sleepy. I also find it difficult to accomplish the simplest things when I'm tired. Other stuff that I have no choice but to do: -Taxes (come on Grizzy, you can do it, you only have to bring two forms to an office and then just wait while a guy does some stuff on a computer...) -Moving (I'm buying a house. Assuming nothing goes wrong, which I always assume things WILL go wrong which causes me to be anxious, we're closing on the 15th and ending our lease on the 30th. So I have to do all the packing and activating utilities and fixing a bunch of stuff and aaaahhhahahahhhhh *cries*.) -Put in consistent effort at work (I got moved off of a project I disliked for under-performing. My boss made it seem like not a big deal, but I feel like my ass is on the line and I have to prove myself on my next project.) Here's to keeping my head above water this month! I would drink to that, but you know, goal 4...

In my last challenge, I finally found a motivation that *totally* worked for me: a points system where I could earn books for doing things right (instead of a negative system where I'd lose points for doing things wrong). I dropped four pounds, earned four books, and dropped two pants sizes--total win! So I'm going to keep the same basic principle and add a couple of tweaks. Food: +5 points if I'm under 1400 calories, +2 points if I'm under 1550. Alcohol: +5 points for now alcohol, +2 points for 2 drinks or less. Exercise: +5 points if I do 3 sets each of 2 different bodyweight exercises. +2 points for 3 sets of one exercise. Maximum 15 points per day. Because I've added more ways to get points, it will take 75 points to earn a book. Ideally I'll earn a book a week, but even the four books I earned last challenge got the job done. Looking forward to starting the challenge!