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lucky fire dragon takes good care of herself After a rather wobbly challenge last time I was lost for about a week as to how to go from here. Aiming for all the things is not going to happen right now and also seems not the best approach for me, so I'll go back to my main passions with pole and hoop and having enough ease and fun in my life that decision feels so good, probably combined with the restful 4 day vacation last weekend, I am climbing up on top of my world again and getting EXCITED Add the new mini theme, ooooooooh well, you have me excited a whole lot more and it goes so well with the theme that finally took shape this morning between work sessions and household catching up: This challenge I will be REALLY good to myself and take the best care, because I am worth it and because it will enable me to have even more fun and because you have to be in tiptop shape to help destroy a ring in Mordor So let's get with it Goal 1 Good fuel and Hydration - moooooar veggies!!! Looking for variety and want to up that part of my meals as it has bored me for a while and now I notice that that is not good - less carbs and sugars! Meaning less pasta, rice, etc... less sugary or alcoholic drinks and rather - mooooooar water! Minimum of 2 Liters / day, aiming for 3-4 days / week again with 2,5 liters minimum The water will help with all the rest as I know from the past. Hobbits and dwarves had not much else on their journey either, except at rare rest places and celebrations. Those times are restricted to one evening/week where I can indulge in anything I want to, granted I had my minimum water As for my meals, I will list all intake here and hope that will motivate me enough to keep things healthy Also it might be a good reference point for any hindsight. Will see, have never tracked any food before, am curious on any result, sure it can only be progress Goal 2 Get stronger Frodo really wouldn't have got far without Sam! And why? Because Sam was not only true and wise, he was also strrrrrrong!! I want to be too. In order to give this a nice structure, yet flexible, I will adapt Steve's Angry Bird Workout a bit - I love that workout structure Workout will consist of x reps of deep bodyweight squats x reps of pull ups on hoop or pole x reps of chin ups on hoop / pull ups with other hand up on pole x reps of sit ups on hoop / hang back sit ups on pole x minutes of plank x minutes of side plank each side Will do my first workout tomorrow to determine how many reps of each. Will see how many I can do over 3 sets, use that number as a starter and once I can do them in 2 sets or less, will up the number of reps. Will do the whole workout with either pole or hoop 3x/week With a nice stretching session afterwards, I will be flying again in no time Talking about flying: aiming for 2 pole and 1 hoop training at home in addition to the weekly classes Tentative schedule: Mon run training, Angry Bird on hoop plus train a bit Tue* Angry Bird on pole plus train Wed run training, hoop class at night Thu pole class at night Fri hike or chill with hubby during morning Sat Run training, Angry Bird on pole plus train and dance Sun rest day * Tuesday might end up a rest day from time to time, depending what is happening around me and how my body is doing. I want to leave enough play for it all to be good long term and no stress. After all I want to take good care of myself Goal 3 Having fun There is a lot going on in my life right now with work, family and the awesome sports stuff, that it's easy to get into a mode of working hard and forgetting when to stop and smell the roses. So I will schedule those times - again, that is, I have had this element before in a challenge and it was simply beautiful: 2 plan free afternoons / week. No appointments, no tasks set, just free time to spend however I want to. If I want to be productive on something that tickles me, I can of course, but the beauty is to not have to A win for this goal is also every time I get inspired instead of escaping into mindless distractions that don't really relax me in the end. For instance watching "Got to dance" inspires me, watching little youtube movies on facebook distracts me but doesn't relax me. Proper relaxation like a delicious hot bath, or lying with my legs up the wall, or meditating and breathing are fabulous wins, too, of course. Will see how many wins I can collect over the course of these weeks Side goals: - stick to my training schedule for the 10 mile run on October 11th - finish said run honorably, personal goal is to finish in 2 hours 10 min - another translation project for work, that I have kept for procrastination savoring and that I will track with a progress bar in signature. Those are just so cool That's it for now. Will draft some spreadsheets still for easy tracking progress. No before and after pics, rather some hoop and pole win pics during the challenge No rewards as benefits from all this will be super rewarding in themselves. No stat points as I lost interest in them and this way is simpler. Oh yes, that is another side goal: simplifying my life

Hey guys! I've been doing the Angry Bird workout, and in the one arm rows I've been slowly upping weight until I think I feel comfortable doing inverted rows (right now I'm at 20lbs, started at 10!). The thing I'm having trouble with is that it seems my biceps are being worked harder than my triceps are, and I think the rows are supposed to work the triceps and back, right? Is there anything I can do to improve my form, or any errors you guys think I may be doing? Any advice?

Hello again, everyone! Last time I started on the last week of the challenge, so this will be my first full challenge In honor of this, and for the fact I'm going to graduate from Stanford during this challenge (June 16th woot! ), I really want to push myself. Last challenge I started 80-20 Paleo, and so far I'm sticking to it. Now I'm setting some new goals: Goal 1: Jog/Run for 2.5 mi or 50 mins (STA: 4 | DEX: 1) I've never done a marathon in my life. I hardly ever run since I'm mildly asthmatic and my legs are angled differently. However, I feel that I use those reasons as excuses to not run ever. Now I want to build up some endurance. I'm going to be training to jog for 5k this summer using an app named Runkeeper starting on Sunday. It's gong to be my first time ever training to run, and my ankles are weak, so I'm nervous. According to the app, I should be able to run 2.5 mils and/or be able to walk/jog for 50 minutes. so that will be my challenge. Wish me luck! Goal 2: Remaster math mission 1: Algebra (Wis: 2) I've always been good at math, and I have taken calculus before. But I haven't had to take a math class in about 3 years, so when I took the GRE (and did decent, thankfully) I noticed my math skills are exceedingly rusty with many holes. Since I need to be quick with math for epidemiology next year, this is a problem. As a life goal I'm going to remaster math starting with Algebra. I will be using Kahn Academy in addition to old text books to practice summer, therefore I will use the Kahn Academy Algebra lecture to measure myself. If I finish the lectures with a full confidence in that level of math, then I succeed. Goal 3: Level 3 of the Angry Bird Workout (STR: 3 | STA: 2) I think this speaks for itself. Since I reached level 2 last challenge, I want to get to level 3. The rows and push ups are the most challenging parts for me, but I'll push at it. Goal 4: Reach intermediate Shakti Yoga (CON: 2 | WIS: 1) So I'm using a Yoga app on my computer (yet another app!?!?), and I am starting off with the beginner mode of Shankti Yoga. Yoga has always been difficult to me, but I want to get better. I'll succeed at this challenge if I am able to successfully graduate to the intermediate level **I'd also like to add: I told my parents that I would give them $20 each if I didn't lose 20 pounds by August 1st, which is when I move to Baltimore for grad school. So I really need to be on my stuff!!!!! If anybody has any advice on weight loss, or would like to cheer me on, I would really appreciate it. Since I don't have a job right now, I really need to keep that $40!!