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Greetings, Rangers! I am Thalianost, Knight Banaret of the Order of the Gules Oak. I have been training and feasting with the warriors for most of the winter but now that spring is just around the corner, as is swordplay season, it is time I start getting more active and putting my strength to use. This challenge my plan is to ease out of weight training mode and into combat mode. The Plan: Main Quest: Increase mobility while maintaining strength. Q1: Workouts Since I don't want to loose all my hard earned strength between now and next fall, I am going to keep lifting but only 2 days a week, rather than 4. The other two days I will be doing The Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD to try to get my endurance and mobility back. Also, as I have been neglecting my core, I will be adding a shorter Core workout on Friday's (the day I have the least amount of workout time). So It will look like this: Monday: Lift, chest and shoulders Tuesday: DVD workout Wednesday: Lift, arms and legs Thursday: DVD workout Friday: Core Q2: Diet I decided toward the end of the previous challenge not to get too caught up in the numbers on the scale for a while. I am planning to just put in the work and trust that the numbers will take care of themselves. On that note, even though I am flabbier than I would like to be (currently 29%BF). I am not going to be shooting for a caloric deficit this challenge, I am going to aim to maintain. My last challenge was a cut challenge in which I was aiming for less than 2700 calories and a minimum of 260g protein, not an easy task. I have noticed that this help teach me to eat leaner proteins and cut out a lot of carbs and junk, so I feel I might end up eating well under my goals anyway. This challenge I am shooting for less than 3500 calories a day while consuming a minimum of 255g protein. Q3: Stretching I have developed, over the past few years, a bad habit of not stretching after my workouts. This must stop. My goal will be to stretch after every work out. SQ1: Chainmaile In my spare time I am an amateur craftsman, making stuff out of chainmaile. I am considering doing a craft fair this summer and need to build up my stock. My goal for this challenge is to complete 20 bracelets and 5 Head Bands. SQ2: Swordsmanship This is more of a trial run for future challenges. As a knight I need to cultivate and maintain good swordsmanship. I don't have a good indoor practice space so training in the harsh northern Illinois winter is a bit of a challenge especially with a baby running around my feet. My goal for this challenge is to spend 5 minutes 5 days a week "shadow sparring" using either my sword or my waster. So for those of you who didn't want to read all that: Q1: Lift 2x per week, DVD 2x per week, Core 1X per week Q2: <3500 cal per day, >255g protein per day Q3: Stretch after every workout SQ1: Complete 20 bracelets and 5 headbands Complete 5 bracelets and 2 neck ties (Edited 3/16/15) SQ2: Sword training 5 min/day, 5 day/week Though I don't identify myself as a ranger, I am still very excited to be working with you all. Happy challenge everyone!

So I was checking out some new challenge threads and I came upon IslandGirl_Becks' thread "Becks goes There and Back Again with the Hobbit", which appears to be the first in a series of Hobbit/LotR themed challenges she is planning on doing. I am a big fan of LotR and the Hobbit, I have even read the Silmarillion (it is a hard read do not attempt unless you are a total nerd). I have seen several Middle Earth based challenges and workouts but most of them are walking/running based, something I have no interest in participating in. But as I read Becks' post it occurred to me, there is certainly a ton of walking in the books, but there is also a lot of epic battles. One of my hobbies being reenactment/swordplay, that is exactly the sort of thing I am interested in. So that leads me here, to plan a set of challenges, each based on a Battle of the Third Age. I haven't decided whether to do them chronologically or from easiest to hardest yet but the first step will be to make a list of the battles I want to cover. Then I will set up a basic template to follow before building unique challenges for each battle. I already have a challenge set up for this round so I am hoping to have this together for the next challenge. The first three I know I want to be more ranger themed but then I want to switch to warrior/bulking mode for the fall and winter. If I can't make that work, I may just take a break from my themed challenges until next spring. Anyway, I'm not just here to talk, I want your input! What kind of exercises belong in a battle workout? What equipment should I use? How many dwarves should I throw? If you like you can even play along and set up your own Battles of Middle Earth challenge. Lets have some fun together.....FOR FRODO!

Mission: Get in the right physical shape to handle at least weekly practices in heavy armored combat with my local group of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). That means I will not fit in the stereotypical monk mold that I have seen here at NF. Less this. More this. During the last half of my previous challenge I floundered pretty badly, because I did not have a clear motivational mission, and also (probably mostly) because I had a really bad time at work, that bled into my personal and fitness life. I think I have my life a little more balanced now, and I will be going back to something that has worked for me in the past: daily tasks. 1. Every day, at least twenty minutes of exercise. Examples: body-weight circuit training, sledgehammer HIIT, or running, with hiking no more than once per week. I plan to specifically get my shoulders strengthened to handle holding up my shield and sword for long bouts. 2. Every day, only eat foods that are intentional (that is, planned) rather than impulsive (that is, driven by emotion or temporary craving). So a treat is all right, if it is something that I planned at least a day in advance and preferably have with other people. 3. Every day, carve out some personal time for meditation/prayer/scripture study. I did this in an earlier challenge and I miss the clarity. I have an application on my phone to help track, and I plan to post here near-daily. Thanks for reading.