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The end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 were very trying. The overload of emotional stress was overwhelming, and it took a lot to dig myself back out of the hole I was sitting in. I haven't quite reached the top yet, but I am getting closer to the opening. I am so happy to be jumping back into the challenge routine. I am keeping things very simple, but effective. Quest One: Eat Three Balanced Meals Every Day I'm really terrible at making sure I eat a breakfast and a lunch. I usually end up either not having breakfast and going right to lunch, or I eat a very late breakfast (brunch?) which means I skip lunch. By dinner time, I'm starving. This goes hand in hand, in my opinion, to making sure you're eating the right amount of calories/fat/sugar/etc. If you're not eating, you're not getting the amount your body needs, which doesn't help in the health and nutrition field. Did I have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day during the challenge? Yes or No Quest Two: Drink 8 Glasses of Water Every Day I had gone almost 300 days without drinking Soda until the second week of December 2015. I drank a total of five sodas, and I regretted it afterward. I felt so sick since I had not had any soda for so long. Needless to say, I have been successfully cruising along the No Soda road since then. However, I am not drinking nearly enough water, or I am trying to cram all glasses at one time in the evening. This should not be difficult because water = feeling good, no headaches, and no body aches. Among other healthy positives of course! Did I drink 8 glasses of water every day during the challenge? Yes or No Quest Three: Yoga for 10-20 Minutes I feel off my yoga train as well, which is very sad. I keep saying that I am going to get back into the routine, but I need to push myself to do it. I have been doing a lot of re-reading in the Academy, and I want to make this commitment to myself. I want to show myself that I am worth those few minutes every day. Even if it's every other day, I am allowed to take that time for myself to work on a better lifestyle. Did I do 10-20 minutes of Yoga for, at least, three days a week during the challenge? Yes or No Quest Four: 15 Minute Sketching To work on leveling up my life, I am going to take 15 minutes every day to sketch something. It does not have to be perfect or complete, but something will have to be on the paper. It can be anything! Rather than continuing to say I need to get back into drawing and art, I will do it.

GUESS WHO'S BACK! Back to the Monks for a brand new year! W00t! You awesome Martial Warriors remember me as BlackTezca and you may also remember me as a gif-crazy-make-your-browsers-crash-artistic-nutsy-code-MONKey! I have started out my journey in Nerdfitness in my introductory post From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, outlined last years daily struggles in BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness and had my final, most violent, uber challenge of 2015 known as BlackTezcas' 7th Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Pumps Up! Now this time I am here with a new inspiration! I want to take on this new challenge, this quicker, fast-paced challenge with the lackadaisical care and ease as the best of the best heroes. A hero who is heroic as a hobby! Which mean that things are fun while adding strength, dexterity, stamina, and all that jazz! I want to ONE PUNCH the crap out of this challenge and begin this brand new year with ultimate power! Thus the theme of this challenge shall be... Watch this show... Not only do I have a theme that is meant to decimate, I am returning to my Monk folks in order to enhance the foundation I have laid out last year and become the amazon hero I was meant to be. I have started out kickboxing which helps with my conditioning and technique and now I want to further my knowledge of Muay Thai beyond the bag and into the (light) sparring ring! I want to work with partners to learn clinching, practice footwork, and (lightly) punch them . Also, Considering it was just the holidays, I want to have my diet strengthened further, as well as get back to enhancing my core and agility. Not only that, but I also need to get my act back together for my art and even add on my novel planning for that! This is needed to enhance my mental agility as well! All this is needed in order to continue my main quest (may change when it comes to tying in Character Creation): My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman I have worked out and lined up my quests and though the format is shorter, I am still gonna tackle my challenge format as I have had before! I really have been working on the challenge format as well through out last year and while the character creation may impact this challenge, it shouldn't impact what I have laid out here. I'm gonna be interested in how to add this as a 'quest' for the character as well as what kind of background I'll give her. Also will give me some ideas for art! Without further delay, here are the first quests of 2016!! Bang Silverfang: Muay Thai Sessions for finesse and technique application Details: I have just started going to Muay Thai classes with Easton to add with my kickboxing classes. Kickboxing is about learning techniques and conditioning, while Muay Thai is about finesse and working with partners in order to practice techniques learned in kickboxing along with gaining advanced knowledge. They also include sparring drills, which are ton of fun. I want to solidify this class as part of my full training and thus I needed to come to Muay Thai at least once a week this challenge. Contingencies: Weather may prevent me from getting to class. In this case, I need to consider and acceptable substitute. Sometimes, the coaches would change up the kickboxing class to be more of a partner/Muy Thai class, so I should be able to count those here as well. Tracking: I'll be tracking the Muay Thai sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Judo, Kickboxing, Martial Arts' for this thread. This thread will also be updated with details of the class. Grading: A for Muay Thai at least 4 times this challenge - 20 exp ( 2 Dex 2 Sta) B for Muay Thai at least 3 times this challenge - 15 exp ( 2 Dex 1 Sta ) C for Muay Thai at least 2 times this challenge - 10 exp ( 2 Dex ) F for all else Genos: Handstand practice for added core stability and diligence Details: I need to get back in the saddle for handstand practice since I have yet to actually reach the handstand last time! Thus time to get back into gear and make this a habit so I can finally each this goal in 2016! Contingencies: None for here. I can strengthen my wrists if I need to do that instead and this is a low impact practice. Tracking: I'll be tracking the handstand practice using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Calisthenics- Light/Moderate' for this thread. This thread will also be updated with details of the practice. Grading: A for Handstand Practice at least 5 to 6 a week - 20 exp ( 1 Dex 2 Str ) B for Handstand Practice at least 3 to 4 a week - 15 exp ( 2 Str ) C for Handstand Practice at least 2 a week - 10 exp ( 1 Str ) F for all else Saitama: 100 gram of protein for an undefeatable hero! Details: I have been okay with upping my protein and have noticed that for the most part, I can hit 100 g of protein. So let's make this a challenge! Let's make sure I consistently hit that protein goal and really fuel my muscles as much as I can. Since its' still winter, I'm not limiting my carbs just yet, but that will be coming up as an idea for Spring. For now, let's EAT ALL THE MEAT!! (and eggs...and yogurt...) Contingencies: None. I should be able to stuff my face with yogurt and protein bars if I need to and while I don't want to go over my calories too much, I'm NOT cutting. Thus the daily amount should not scare me. I need the protein, I need that fuel! Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with extra accountability done here. Grading: A for 100 g of protein 6 to 7 times a week - 25 exp ( 2 Con 1 Wis) B for 100 g of protein 4 to 5 times a week - 20 exp ( 2 Con ) C for 100 g of protein 2 to 3 times a week - 15 exp ( 1 Con ) F for all else Tastumaki aka Terrible Tornado: An Esper uses her mind for power...Empower my mind Details: So as I have planned and mentioned last challenge, I want to start a novel for next year! Though I aim for writing it during NaNoWriMo, I do want to start planning it out using the snow flake method (planning on getting to step 5 here depending). I also have character portraits to draw and will use this novel for inspiration! Here are my character portraits to do: Theresa (done but have a chibi fun image being worked on)Connor (second protagonist)Human 'cattle' escapee who like an older brother figure to the macguffinThe magcuffin character. May hold cure for 'vampirism'Extra Credit: character portraits for Starpuck and Mrs Feanor peeps.Let's hope I get far...without stressing out! Contingencies: I won't be able to keep track of this too much when I'm on ski trips. But while I'm not drawing those trips, I can brainstorm my novel and send ideas to myself through email, or save it on a google doc. Thus still adhering to this quest! Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I shall use those and this thread to keep track. I shall also post up WIPs of my work on this thread and I will also count ideas and brainstorming I come up with during my daily status. So ya'll will be here to listen to my ramblings! Grading: A for at least 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week - 25 exp ( 2 Wis 2 Cha ) B for at least 30 minutes 2 to 3 days a week - 15 exp ( 1 Wis 1 Cha ) F for all else Bonus Quest- Speed O Sonic: FASTER FASTER DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!!! Details: It's ski season!! W00t! Time to work on my speed, making cleaner turns, stopping more quickly, and just getting braver on the slopes! This is a seasonal quest and I want to track and reward my efforts for these excursions! Also, gives me a fun fifth quest too! Contingencies: I have rented the places, booked hotels, but sickness is always a possibility. Thus why this is a bonus! I rather be healthy enough to make it down the blue (or even black) runs, then sick and hurt myself. Tracking: I'll be tracking the skiing funtimes using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as 'Downhill Skiing' for this thread. I'll also, of course, be updating this thread with details of my adventures! Grading: A for Skiing this challenge! - 10 exp ( 1 Sta) F for all else This may look like a lot for the first challenge of the year but at the same time, considering all my quests are in chunks (except for the skiing one which is mostly for funsies) this shouldn't be too bad! Maybe not one punchable, but surely worthy of an S-class hero such as myself! Here are some starting fitness measurements: Starting Measurements: Date: 01/04/2015 @ 6:20 am Weight: 129 ***Body Fat***: 21% Waist: 23 Waist @ Navel: 23.5 Hips: 34.5 Neck: 12 Chest: 32 Left Bicep: 10.5 Right Thigh: 16 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 8.5 I'm really looking forward to a new year with my Nerdfitness peeps and to check out all the changes that have added to the rebellion! This may look tough, however, challenges are suppose to be tough in order to be fun and make sure we keep pushing out limits. Not everything can be so easy! Let's go my fellow Monk folks and KICK SOME ASS!!! Let's become... ULTIMATE HEROES!!! (That hopefully won't get bored by being ultimate heroes...)

Happy New Year Nerds!!!! I am so excited about 2016. 2015 was an amazing year for me, I went to Camp Nerd Fitness and it really reshaped the way I view my life, my goals and fitness. I also was luckily enough to join an amazing team of Ranger Ambassador’s on the boards here and get more involved in NF which I am really enjoying. I finally started power lifting, something I’ve been working up to basically since I joined NF via body weights and dumbbells. Real world related, I went to Alaska and got a new cat. I got engaged. My fiancé and I got our own place when our roommates moved out. All in all, a great year. I am so ready for 2016 to be even more amazing! This year, I decided to set yearly goals, which I have never done before. I’ve admittedly been neglecting my epic quest, not because I haven’t been doing stuff on it (I have been ever so slowly crossing stuff off) but because I’m not sure how to use it. So I’m converting it into an overarching epic quest list AND using it to track my yearly goals as well! Then I can use those yearly goals to work out the details of my 4-week challenges. My epic quest/yearly goals link is in my signature but I’m also adding them here for reference: 2016 GOALS >>Read 30 books >>Squat my body weight >>Deadlift 200lb >>Apply to join Big Brother Big Sisters of America >>Climb Mt. Washington >>Climb Mt. Marcy >>Climb Mt. Katahdin >>Make Borderlands Cosplay >>Pay off Discover Card >>Create a will & a living will Now this may seem contradictory to everything I just wrote, but the majority of my specific missions this challenge are not going to be directly correlated with my 2016 goals. Winter break was tough for me, I had some personal headspace stuff to deal with in addition to redoing EVERYTHING in the apartment. This still isn’t quite done actually. So I am going to use January as a mental and physical cleanse month, so I can have a clean plate to start out on and really start building towards my goals in February. I need to clear my brain clutter as well as some physical clutter (which is directly contributing to my brain clutter) and I also need to detox my body of some of the holiday crap I just kept shoveling into my face (and I can only use “winter bulk†goals to excuse a very small portion of that). Seriously, this was me the last week of 2015: And I can feel my body being really sad about it. Time to get my energy back! I struggled with a while to decide on a theme for this challenge. I had about 5 different ones that I wrote up complex scoring systems for, utilizing variations on the boss system I did last challenge (which I LOVED), and one where it was really writing based since I had a ton of fun writing up my story last challenge as well, but decided that since my goal for this challenge is cleansing and simplicity… I am going to go with no theme. Just me, myself and my goals

MAIN QUEST: Lose Weight Feel Great! To hit my goal range of 125-135 and do it in a healthy way! Goals (diet and fitness related) that will help me achieve Main Quest: I have managed to GAIN some weight back. I need to get back on track!! I feel like I have always done better when I do a challenge revolving around pounds lost, so I am going to go back to that at least for a while! I am also doing a Challenge Du Jour for workouts, if anyone wants to join me, here's the link: https://www.teambeac...ingRepId=558773. I am working on getting 10,000 steps a day again, and am paying myself $1 for each day I do it, I know that's not a LOT but it buys art supplies! Speaking of art, that's one of my side quests... get working on developing my art skills! And my other side quest is blogging and vlogging! I am really wanting to step way out of my comfort zone and start a YouTube channel and actually vlog in 2016!! 1. #LoseWeight - get to 199 during this challenge A: 199 lbs B: 200-201 lbs C: 202-204 lbs D: 205-206 F: 207 or more lbs Ability to earn 3 CON points. 2. #FitGirl - Challenge Du Jour workout every day, with one rest day a week as an option A: 22-24 days B: 19-21 days C: 15-18 days D: 12-14 days F: <14 days Ability to earn 2 STA, 2 STR points, 1 DEX points. 3. #10000Steps - 10,000 steps on my FitBit every day! Plus I get $1 for each day I do this! A: 25-28 days B: 22-24 days C: 19-21 days D: 15-18 days F: <15 days Ability to earn 2 STA point, 1 DEX point PICK YOUR SIDE QUESTS Side Quest 1: #ArtsyFartsy - I want to get back into art, so I will be working on the following each day: -handlettering -brushlettering -drawing -coloring with Copics and colored pencils Grading: A: 25-28 days B: 22-24 days C: 19-21 days D: 15-18 days F: <15 days Ability to earn 1 WIS and 1 CHA point. Side Quest 2: #TalkAboutIt - I want to start vlogging and blogging once a week I will get one point for blogging and 1 point for vlogging Grading: A: 8 (4 blog posts, 4 videos) B: 6 (3 blog posts, 3 videos) C: 4 (2 blog posts, 2 videos) D: 2 (1 blog post, 1 video) F: 0-1 Ability to earn 1 WIS point, 1 CHA point #FitGirl - 0/6 - 0/6 - 06 - 0/6 - 0/24 #10,000 steps - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/28 #ArtsyFartsy - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/7 - 0/28 #TalkAboutIt - 0/2 - 0/2 - 0/2 - 0/2 - 0/8 Mini Challenges: Mini 1: Mini 2: Mini 3: Mini 4 Mini 5 Mini 6: Rewards(these might change... especially if I just end up buying the stuff before I lose the weight. I'm awful lol): Start: 219 Goal 1: -30 lbs: 190 or waist size 35" - Lightboard Goal 2: -40 lbs: 180 or Waist size 34" - Jane Davenport Supplies Me Drawing Course Goal 3: waist size 33" - New Pair of Cross Trainers Goal 4: -50 lbs: 170 or Waist size 32" - Copic Clothing Kit & Clowder Course Goal 5: Waist size 31" - IKEA desk chair Goal 6: -60 lbs: 160 or Waist size 30" - Blackwing Subscription Goal 7: -70 lbs: 150 or Waist size 29" - Anchor tattoo and wrist quotes Goal 8: -80 lbs: 140 or Waist size 28" - Lionheart tattoo Goal 9: -90 lbs: 130 or Waist size 27" - New wardrobe - shopping spree!! STATS: Female/41 Start Weight: 219 (BMI 40.1) Current Weight: 207 - UGH!! Goal Weight: 125-135 Height: 5'2" Jeans size: 14-16 Diet: 21 Day Fix I reserve the right to change my challenge week to week if I get bored!! 03/11/13 04/22/13 09/18/13 10/02/13 10/23/13 11/11/14 Bust: 38" 38" 38" 38" 36" 37" Breasts: 45" 45" 45" 44" 42.25" 43" Belly: 42" 40.5" 39.5" 38" 37" 38" Hips: 45" 43" 43.75" 43" 43" 44" Thigh: 27" 27" 27" 26.5" 27" 26.75" Calf: 17" 16.5" 17.5" 17.25" 16.5" 16" Bicep 13" 14" Wrist 6" 6" Neck 14" 14.5" Butt (lol) 47" 47.5" Ankle 9" Forearm 8.5" 02/02/2015 02/10/2015 02/22/2015 04/10/2015 07/21/15 Total inches lost from 3-11-13: Chest: 39" 39" 38.25" 38" 39" 0" Waist: 40" 39" 38.25" 35" 34.5" 7.5" Hips: 41" 41" 39.5" 39.5" 39" 6" Right Thigh: 26" 25.5" 25.5" 25.5" 25" 2" Left Thigh: 26.5" 25.75" 26" 25.5" 25" 2" Right Bicep: 14" 13.5" 13.5" 13" 12.75" 0.25" Left Bicep: 14" 14" 13.5" 13.25" 13" 0" Right Calf: 17" 16.5" 0.5 Left Calf: 16.5" 16.25" 0.25" Total: 200.5" 197.75" 194.5" 189.75" -18.5"

Light Day, 18th of Snowfun 426 Today, my journey from my hometown of Hargoth begins. My family cried as I packed my things, but they have been supportive. It surprises me because they had always been afraid for my safety. When I was a child, my mother would always tell me I'd end up in a ditch somewhere. I don't know what makes ditches so dangerous, but that's what my mother always told me I'd end up. I am Devyn, Half-Kender. My father is full kender. He grew up in Hylo, but his grandparents were among those at the destruction of Kendermore. Because of that, he is an afflicted kender. My mother is human. She comes from a small town of people who have always been very protective of their homes and very protective of their children. Few people ever leave. My father went back to Hylo when I was very young, so I was raised by my human side. I have lived a very sheltered life and because of that, I've grown soft and weak. It'd taken me a long time to answer the call of Wanderlust. But I can ignore it no longer. The afflicted kender and human in me has taught me to fear the outside world, but part of me can't ignore the call to adventure. I made the decision to discover my true kender roots. I will travel the continent of Ansalon. On that journey, I will learn what it is to overcome fear. I will become strong and antifragile. I will learn about new places and different kinds of people. And on that journey, I will record what I learn through my favorite medium: Art. I will write, draw, sing, whatever I feel I need to do to reflect back to the world what it has given me. Today, I've spent most of my day packing for the journey. I've packed food, clothes and supplies. Hopefully, I have enough to last until I get to Korval at the base of the mountains. I guess part of the point of a journey is to learn these kinds of things. Then over the mountains and to the great city of Palanthas!

GREETINGS, FELLOW REBELS. Is everyone else as excited to get this challenge going as I am?! LET'S PAR-TAAAY. Background I'm Zho. 26, female, 4'11", 136 pounds as of this morning -- my lowest weight in 10+ years. Torn between classes -- perhaps assassin, or ranger? My fitness goals can be summed up as something between "functional strength and movement for everyday life or emergencies" and "do cool stuff." (Oh, I forgot "look freakin' amazing." That's in there too.) I want to be able to lift heavy things for my day job, flee from an attacker if I have to, do a pull-up, hold handstands, etc. I really like parkour and Ninja Warrior stuff, but I won't be getting into that until later this year, probably. I also challenged my sister to a virtual 5k in April, but I have no idea why because I have zero openings to actually train right now. I'd probably never progress beyond a 5k; I'd rather get faster than go farther (further?). So, yeah. I'm all over the place. Anyway... let's move along, shall we? I was going to save the Zelda theme for another challenge, but I just can't help myself. It's my thing. Zho Tests Her Courage 1. FIND A SWORD & SHIELD. Strength training, at least three times a week. This challenge will cover weeks 2-5 of the beginner strong curves program. A = 3x/week | B = 2x/week | C = 1x/week 2. BE BRAVE. TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND. Practice handstands at least three times a week. 20 minutes of training each; this includes rest time. A = 12 sessions | B = 9 sessions | C = 6 sessions 3. LISTEN TO YOUR FAIRY. Maintain and follow my weekly meal plans. This one comes with a LOT of variables and mistakes (I've only just started weekly meal planning), so success hinges on if we pick up fast food for dinner (unplanned), or if I clearly overeat that day. A = 4 (or less) bad days | B = 7 bad days | C = 8+ bad days 4. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. Fun life goal! Post a daily drawing in this thread. It doesn't have to be on time or drawn that same day, it just needs to be one fairly clean or finished drawing for every day of the challenge. A = 22+ days | B = 18+ days | C = 13+ days Rewards My 4-week reward is one shirt based off the theme of my next challenge. Here's what I'm currently considering: One, two, three, four. I might do a two-week reward of $10 towards more equipment, like ankle weights and socks. ;)

First off - I'm not trying to sell anything to anyone on here. I'm just celebrating :) I finally finished making my art website!! I've been working off and on it for YEARS. I must have redone the entire thing I don't know how many times (at least 5!), but wow has it come a long way! And it's done! And I even made a Facebook page for it! Which is huge for me because I can't stand social media. It'll be a chore to keep it updated, but it's done! It's done! Yaaaay!!

Back in the Druids for this challenge, to focus on stress management and life balance. I usually do a storytelling aspect to my challenge, but because I will be doing a lot of writing for NaNoWriMo, I am going to take a break from Jym's story for this one. It feels more like a chore than a game for now. I'm going to try the "Combo Style" of challenge this time, as invented by Luciana Valerosa Culming. I'm actually modifying it a little bit to work better for myself. Since I'm seeking balance, it seemed like a really great way to make sure I'm doing all the things I need to, without being overwhelmed! As all of my challenges are, at their core, this is a habit-building challenge. The main focus is on what I'm calling "skillful actions" - habits that I do for their own sake (enjoyment of doing them), but that will also help me get closer to long-term goals. These are Meditation, Drawing (preferably every day, but less during NaNo), and Working Out with Will (3x per week). I also have some "keystone habits" that, while not necessarily fun to do, are things that I know will really help me to reach my goals and be more productive. These are Waking Up Without Snoozing, Counting Calories, and my Bedtime Ritual. I have a long list of other things that need to be accomplished (or done repeatedly, in some cases) that will fill out my list. Finally, I found it useful to have a list of things that I need to do at least once a week, to avoid letting them slip for too long. In keeping with the fighting game theme, I will call the combo that includes the last of these items for the week a "finishing move". How to score: Each day has the potential for a single "combo", the power of which is determined by how complicated the combo is. More things completed makes a stronger combo, but a broader variety of things accomplished is stronger than several of one type of move. Various "enemies" need to be defeated by a certain number of combos, or by certain types of combos. The enemies have a time constraint to defeat them in (usually 1 week), and if they are not defeated by then, I lose the round and must move on to the next enemy. The number of slain foes by the end of the challenge will determine my score. Combo lists: 5 or more moves combined make a combo. A combo is required to break the enemy's shield; otherwise, moves only do half damage. (So 4 moves would do 2 damage.) There are multipliers for diversity: Combine 2 lists: 1.2x multiplier Combine 3 lists: 1.3x multiplier Combine 4 lists: 1.4x multiplier Combine 5 lists: 1.5x multiplier Combine 6 lists: 1.6x multiplier Combine 7 lists: 1.7x multiplier Combine 8 lists: PERFECT COMBO! 2x multiplier! Example: A+B+Y+Y+Special 5 moves, utilizing 4 lists, is 5 x 1.4 = 7 total damage. If I also earned my 4th star for the week on that day, it would be 14 damage!! Special Moves (consider each to be its own 'list'): x Counting Calories x Bedtime Ritual (by 10:00pm) x Wake Without Snoozing x Socialization List A: Housework o Organize/Minimize an area o Vaccuum o Get Groceries o Take out Trash o Cat Care (trim nails, etc) o (Other) List B: Creativity o NaNoWriMo (1666+ words in a day) o Draw something o Scan drawings o Update Art Blogs o (Other) List X: Self-Care o Meditation o Playing Video Games o Reading for Fun o Relaxation o Watching TV with Will o Baking o (Other) List Y: Exercise and Health o Working out with William. (3x per week) o Going for a Walk o Resisting Fast Food (actively choosing not to get any) o Made Dinner o Drank 16+ cups of liquid o (Other) Finishing Moves: (A star () is earned for each of these done during a week; once 4 stars are earned, the day's combo is a FINISHING MOVE that multiplies the total combo by 2! Failing to earn 4 stars in the week resets the counter to 0 for the next week.) 1) Run dish machine and EMPTY IT. (Both parts are necessary to count as a complete move.) 2) Clean litter box 3) Do something special for spouse (date night, etc) 4) Submit time sheet (because I keep forgetting to do this and annoying the financial department.) Trophies: Tutorial Slime Christmas Slime Corporate Zombie Procrastination Demon #1 Victors: Procrastination Demon #2 Writer's Clock

Daily Do's for Mental Health (Oh snap! Girl just threw down some Comic Sans! REBEL!) Daily "I Am" Journal - Taking those affirmations from my last challenge and putting them to practice. Here's one from yesterday: (I have a shitty camera on my phone, but it is good enough!) Regular Journaling at least 3-4 times a week. Did some yesterday too!Taking meds routinely. I am BAD at skipping doses. I need to get back into my routine of taking my BP meds, vitamins, and Zoloft. Getting Sh** Done Walk the Dogs - Mon, Wed, Fri. Trigger time will be as soon as I get home from work.Thursday's grocery shopping days. Designating a new shopping day because I was doing it on the weekends and I hate it, so I stopped doing it.Continue with my morning Yoga "Practice" - trying out a new word! (Not going to count this into the challenge, but I want to at least make it somewhat important by officially stating that I will try to continue. It helps me stay on track .** Life Goal! ** Art shows and contests! There are 2 coming up. I will be submitting my Watercolored Forest to the Pioneer Days art show in a couple of weeks. Then there is our local Comic Con, hopefully I can get something fun drawn up and submitted in the contest. I'm excited!

"Monday's child is fair of face" As I begin a new year I must keep my wits about me. I will likely encounter obstacles both seen and unseen but I refuse to go alone. I shall prepare myself with four talismans of protection. This challenge begins just before my birthday and I have set goals to make this year a healthier, more productive year. My main goal is to reach a healthy weight range. The First Talisman: My feet hit the ground with a purpose each day. I will walk 30 minutes each day. The Second Talisman: I dance with abandon. I will dance to whatever music I please for 15 minutes each day. The Third Talisman: I fill my belly with nutritious offerings. I will track my calories each day. The Fourth Talisman: I create. I will spend 20 minutes each day painting, writing, or knitting. (Life Quest)

I think you all remember but if not, my name is BlackTezca, known for generally insanity and clogging up your computer or mobile phone with GIFS, GIFS, AND MORE GIFS. You will also remember me from my titanic introduction From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, the colossal continuous war known as BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and the absolutely villainous and bloody previous challenge known as BlackTezcas' 5th Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Takes A Walk on the Dark Side! From that last thread, I have decided on an awesome theme for this challenge! The fantabulous anime known as Attack on Titan. I know this maybe a little late but the forums were hidden from me this time! Oh man I totally didn't find them until now! But now that I have found them it's time to party hard and start a brand new challenge! Now this anime is perfect for this new challenge as well as for my epically TITANIC main quest! A quest to become all powerful! To become larger than life! To crush down all the walls that stand before and become a truly colossal and deadly being! To fight with agility and strength despite being larger than life and to kick away any small thing that could possible think to stop me! My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Now this challenge is gonna be set up a little differently from the previous ones. This challenge is in a different grab bag format inspired by StillSkies previous challenge. The reason I chose this type of format is...well...because it looked fun and different and I wanted to check it out and see how it would fit! Not only that, but it allows me to have different options for each day in order to get the most points! And those points will start out pretty heavily but will be adjusted if I happen to make the total points! Here are the points I need to make for each possible grade for this challenge: REVAMPED 10/12/2015: 8500 to 7650 Pts - A 7649 to 6800 Pts - B 6799 to 5950 Pts - C 5949 to 5100 Pts - D Quite a heavy order! At least...it might be...not sure...but let's move onto the challenge side quests themselves: COLOSSAL TITAN: Representing Strength Training, the Largest Titan is the strongest titan. The Colossal titan kicks off the horror and action of the series. Details: All strength based activities are the only activities that can get me points for this side quest! Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) this lovely thread will be updated as well with the activities that count for points Grading: up to 2 Str ARMORED TITAN: The armored titan dashed any hope of saving the outer ring by crashing through the inner gate. He is the fastest titan. Details: All cardio and stamina/endurance based activities are the only activities that can get me points for this side quest! Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) this lovely thread will be updated as well with the activities that count for points Grading: up to 2 Sta FEMALE TITAN: The best fighter and the one more in control and seemingly the most intelligent, she is the most agile of the main titans. Details: All dexterity (martial arts, balance/yoga) based activities are the only activities that can get me points for this side quest! Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) this lovely thread will be updated as well with the activities that count for points Grading: up to 3 Dex EREN TITAN: The Art Quest. Representing that Eren is the odd titan out and has to be creative versus the Female titan who is the far better fighter. Details: Art, gaming, and other activities meant to work my creative juices count for points here! Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Also! Check out Renaissance Rebels which is my accountability group! I shall post art and do some challenges there too . Grading: up to 1 Wis and 2 Cha Armin Arlert: A stabilizing force, Armin may not be the bravest, nor the strongest, but he is the heart of the main trio and often provides comfort in a very dark world. He's the puppy. Please don't hurt the puppy. Details: Cleaning, tidying and all other home stuff here! Need to keep up and happy home life Tracking: This thread will be tracked and notice I have a extra BONUS challenge in there for MEGA points! This BONUS is a minimalist type challenge to get rid of things I no longer need and it's called 30 Days to Less Stuff. I shall be tracking the stuff I get rid off in there and hopefully I made the full days! Woo! Grading: up to 2 Wis and 1 Cha Sasha Blouse: Potato Girl. Poor thing is only known as Potato Girl. She also steals food. She is all about eating a lot and eating it all well. Details: All diet, sleeping, and cooking activities belong here for points! Tracking: I'll be tracking what I make (and eat) via MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and also this thread! MyFitnessPal will be updated with recipes too since those can save the recipe. Expect some pictures as well! Grading: up to 2 Con Of course, what challenge would it be without some starting measurements to track! I ended the last challenge pretty good and though I don't know if I can get these measurements any different, it's always awesome to see progress! Starting Measurements: Date: 09/04/2015 @ 6 am Weight: 125.6 ***Body Fat***: 23% (I haven't checked this) Waist: 23 Waist @ Navel: 24 Hips: 35 Neck: 12 Chest: 32 Left Bicep: 10 Right Thigh: 16 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 9 I'm gonna be interested in seeing how this grab bag format turns out! This looks like it might be one of tough challengers yet, but all of these side quests are building up on what I have done before and what I would be continuing on anyways! This encourages me to do all sorts of things and I can also be flexible with it so much so that even on rest days I can get up to so many points. The number of points I'm starting out with seems a little daunting, but if I keep up momentum, it shouldn't be too hard to accomplish! I think so anyways. That's gonna be the actual challenge. That and remember what I did and how many points I have earned. Man that's gonna be a lot to count up each day and week and MATH IS HARD YA'LL! Edited 09/11: Also I just realized that I'm not going to be in town at all during the final week. I;'m gonna be in a MAGICAL place where dreams come true So this challenge is a 5 WEEK challenge instead of 6 weeks. I know a few people are making their challenges 5 weeks for Camp so I find it very interesting that the stars aligned and I have the same issue. So this will need to be an EPIC FIVE WEEK CHALLENGE!!! Fuck it! Let's DO THIS!!! NOW! For humanity sakes onward Survey Corps! Show those snobbish, cowardly morons in the Military Police Bridage, and those merely average Garrison folks what we are made of! JUST DON'T GET KILLED (easier said than done...)

Hey there! I thought I'd come over from the Assassins and play here for a while. I may not post too much this challenge, as I'm in the throes of a new college semester on top of the rest of life (work, kids, et cetera), but I wanted to play anyway. My challenge this time is pretty plain and to the point. I've found something that's working for weight loss, so my challenge is to stick with it in the middle of life. This challenge I want to walk 2 miles at least 5 times a week and to eat fairly low carb (avoiding most of the whites). Just for fun I'll throw in a Life Quest of doing something creative each week, which should be fairly easy, given that one of my classes is a drawing class. So: Walk 2 miles: 3.3%3.3% 1/30 and low carb eating: 0%0% 0/30 something creative: 0%0% 0/6

Welp, time for another challenge isn't it? Well then... So, I've been thinking. We all try to be good don't we? Do our best? Keep on trucking? Have good karma. All that jazz? Isn't just so stressful? Being uptight, helping little old cross the street and only to get hit over the head with cane? Realizing that the asshole next door seems to have all the fun even though they're kinda a prick? Why don't we just let loose? Be the life of the party? Take the reigns, be in control, teach someone a real lesson? Why not bring a little bit of chaos into this place? Why don't we all take a walk on...the dark side...? I'm BlackTezca, you all may remember me from such world destroying schemes like my villainous monologue introductory From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, the ongoing crime spree known as BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and my latest and possible greatest plot BlackTezcas' 4th Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Must Train and Smell the Roses. I'm here to conquer the universe and party on with my evil, vile, and psychotic monk folks! And I have come with a Challenge; A Challenge to celebrate those who break the rules, or make their own rules to hell with what those do gooders think! To the big dreamers, the big schemers, to those who won't let things like morals and the law get them down. Just like I won't let ANYONE, ANY HERO, get in the way of my main quest... My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman (Ignoring the fact that she does has...you know...a Amazonian code and all that...) In order to destroy all my enemies and make all of the weaklings bow before their rightful diety, one needs a plan. A cunning and truly immoral plan. A plan to tap into all of the vices in order to fully get in touch with the evil inside of me. A Plan to get... ...I don't have such a plan, nor is my goal a mere million dollars. But I do have villains who have come before me. Who have inspired me! These villains who are the pillars of this challenge!! ROLLCALL!!!! Obito Uchiha: "But a world of just victors, peace and love... such a world can be created too." Details: Obito wishes to create world without suffering. A world filled without pain. And last challenge my body was in a lot of pain. Mostly because I don't get flexible and don't stretch after beatdowns like Kickboxing. So its' time for me to stretch! I need to stretch at least 5 minutes after I do kickboxing, which is about 2 to 3 times a week. Every workout needs to end with a way to get rid of pain. Contingencies: No Contigencies. Stretching needs to be after every workout, including kickboxing, so after I do a kickboxing session at Easton, I'll be doing stretches that same night! Tracking: I'll be tracking the stretching sessions using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) with the workout listed as "yoga" or "pilates" and this lovely thread will be updated as well. Grading: A for extra stretching session for at least 5 minutes three times a week ( 2 Dex 1 Con ) B for extra stretching for at least 5 minutes twice a week ( 2 Dex ) C for extra stretching for at least 5 minutes once a week ( 1 Dex ) F for all else Ursula: "Now I am the ruler of all the ocean! The waves obey my every whim!" Details: Though I'm not planning on ruling the ocean, I do need to learn ULTIMATE CONTROL...over my body. Thus my goal for this quest is do a handstand. For this, I will be doing the 28 Day Hand Stand Challenge. I hope to progress and try to get 5 minutes a day of hand stand practice, so that eventually I will be able to something I have NEVER done. Contingencies: Now we have 42 days of challenge funness and...I'm a cheater so I am NOT practicing a handstand every day per say. I need to have solid rest days too and a handstand and getting towards it takes a lot of work. My hope to stretch out the 28 days over this 6 week period which should definitely allow for rest days. Also, it allows for visualizing a good handstand pose, so more flexibility there. Tracking: I'll be tracking the handstand practice using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and the workout code 'handstand practice'. Of course I shall track on this thread too! Grading: A for 25 to 28 days of handstand practice ( 3 Str 2 Sta ) B for 22 to 24 days of handstand practice ( 2 Str 1 Sta ) C for 19 to 21 days of handstand ( 1 Str ) F for all else Shishio Makoto: "In this world, the weak are the sustenance of the strong. The strong live, the weak die." Details: UGH!!! I hate cooking; I hate making my own food. I have a husband who likes making food, but as this is his living, he gets a bit burn out and he's not a fan of baking. So I have decided to try my hand at some baked goods and some smoothies. I'm pretty solid on making smoothies (mmmm delicious breakfast), but not generally on baked goods. So I need to find some recipes and get to some baking during the week or weekend! Contingencies: My complete and utter hatred? Just kidding (not really). Not really contingencies other than making the time for it and getting the ingredients I need. I'm aiming for healthy recipes Tracking: I'll be tracking what I make (and eat) via MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and also this thread! MyFitnessPal will be updated with recipes too since those can save the recipe. Which is an awesome too. Maybe I'll take some food pics? Not sure! We'll see! Grading: A for 5 to 6 smoothies and 4 to 6 baked goods ( 1 Con 1 Cha) B for 3 to 4 smoothies and 2 to 3 baked goods ( 1 Con ) F for all else The Joker: "He turns to me, and he says, "Why so serious?" He comes at me with the knife. "Why so serious?!" He sticks the blade in my mouth—"Let's put a smile on that face!" And... Why so serious?" Details: I need to relax. I need to go with the flow and fun. I need to play some videogames. Yes...I'm doing a video game side quest. Really silly I know, but I have been doing a lot of just plain old staring at my computer at home. Sure I watch anime, but after Fate Stay Night, I really won't have anything to binge on. So I need to play some video games. I'm only aiming for an hour 90 minutes a week of some gaming. That's it. Contingencies: Well time is a factor isn't it? When it comes to the other things on this list, gaming is pretty much on the bottom of priorities. However, I'm hoping that having an hour only for this challenge to do some gaming, I'll have some flexibility. If I find it to easy I may up the ante later. We'll see. ...Realized another factor...my desktop is dead. Hmph. That's an issue. Tracking: I'll be tracking using this thread. Expect some rants or thoughts along the game I'm playing, how I feel about it, if I'll continue it, etc. Grading: A for an 7.5 to 9 hours of gaming this challenge ( 2 Cha ) B for 4.5 to 6 hours of gaming this challenge ( 1 Cha ) F for all else Sailor Galaxia: "I will create a new galaxy... ...at the place where destiny begins" Details: MY ART QUEST!!! It's time to draw! This time I am aiming for the Seven Sins project that has dug into my brain like a parasite and just won't go! Though, of course, I aim for full images, I am gonna allow for sketches, WIP, etc to count. I have to or else there is no way I can complete this side quest. I am planning on doing the full set, but for sanity sakes, I am aiming for 5 (like usual) to make an A. This why I don't beat myself up for than usual. Contingencies: Welp, hoping I don't get burnt out really! This is a larger project for my art quests than others I have done, even if the grading is the same. I also tend to take a long time or get stuck in a rut, which is unfortunate. My hope is to get some of the harder sins done first (Greed, being old, Gluttony being a new body type for me, Envy being a brat, etc) and then the other sins will come a bit easier (Wrath being the easiest, Sloth next easy, Lust being sexy easy, and then Pride being the middle). Let's hope it works out! Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Grading: A for 5 sins drawn (sketch, full image, WIP) ( 2 Wis 1 Cha ) B for 4 sins drawn (sketch, full image, WIP) ( 2 Wis ) C for 3 sins drawn (sketch, full image, WIP) ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Another mega evil five quest challenge! I feel like soon a four quest challenge maybe in the future. But not now! MUAHAHA! EVIL FIVE CHALLNGES! Now let's see some starting measurements! Sure this may all change by July 27th but who cares about the rules?! I know I DON'T!!! Starting Measurements: Date: 07/18/2015 @ 8 am Weight: 126.4 ***Body Fat***: 23% Waist: 23.5 Waist @ Navel: 24.5 Hips: 35 Neck: 12 Chest: 32 Left Bicep: 10 Right Thigh: 16.5 Wrist: 5.5 Forearm: 8.5 What's interesting is that for the most part, this challenge doesn't LOOK as a bad as the last one. Physically it should be a lighter, in fact I'm aiming for less soreness and pain here! The handstand will be tough and I'm not looking forward to the baking (even though I love baked goods), but overall it's not an delivish challenge... Well...until you get to the art one and it stars get to get pretty evil. That will be tough but I think I should be able to meet the parameters of this challenge and then some. It's just a matter of figuring out the kinda of character portrait I want to do (full body, torso, bust, neutral pose, action like pose, masks, nor mask etc). That, with my normal day routine should make things tough. But you know what... Let's conquer the world my fellow villains.

We're Back! We are the Renaissance Rebels... We're having a Creative Revolution and you're invited! Do you have a creative quest among your challenge goals? Then join this ragtag, eccentric group of nerds and level up your health and fitness habits and your creativity. Sure, that's a lot of balls to juggle over the course of six weeks, but it's a lot easier and more fun when you've got buddies! Post a reply below to introduce yourself. We're happy to have you! Renaissance Rebels BlackTezca Dantilla greenjasper irmintrude greeneyes Jaex Jakkals JMitch Luciana Valerosa Culming Neva NikaNika RangerDanger Scrawlcreatelive ShadowLion Viscura WoodNymph

It's been awhile since I've been on the forums (mostly been annoying the nerds on FB). I've been going through a rough patch on doing anything lately, so what better way than to do the 6 week challenge. So let's get down to business Goals for this challenge: ~figure out if I should or shouldn't start selling my art If so, on where? Will I do prints or actual physical art pieces? How much to charge? How I will find clients? Should I invest in a website? Is all my social media profiles professional enough? Is there any apps I should invest in? Anymore questions I should figure out and answer?Maybe find some people in the industry to network with. Maybe also find someone to ripe my work to shreds to show what I need to improve.go over photoshop editing skillsContinue my 365 day art challenge (almost 4 months now) ~Get back into yoga Either go to class (if I can) or atleast find video to useatleast 2 times a weekif I do at home, beware of the cat ~Spin class atleast once a weekcurling in a ball and crying afterward optional ~meditation redownload that appdo for atleast 10 minutes a dayrelax ~drink some tea replace coffee addiction with tearelaxenjoyand avoid that sugary bs "tea" ~budget download an app for budgettingpay off debt (student loan and money owe the college)question if I need that thing ex that really cool Assassins Creed game that you want or another bookset a budget of what I can spend a weekfind a way to pay for ticket (either plane or Amtrak to get to Camp NF) ~look for a new job don't curse out coworkers just yetdon't quit current job without backup jobplease a job with animalsfull time be the best if possiblecall that temp agency if they have any leads ~(and last but not least) stop comparing oneself (for fsm sake) remember everyone is at at different stage in their lifestop thinking not good enoughreflect once a week on what has been accomplishedstop obsessing on things that can't be fix (ex the past)stop getting sick over the future Bonus: check emails and messages at the end of the day Now may the odds be ever in my favor.

Warning: This post is in progress and subject to frequent updates. I am still building my epic quest, but I know these are part of what I'd like it to be: Write a novelKeep an art journalWatercolor paintingMove to BeachTownGet my associate's degreeGet my bachelor's degree

WHAT IS UP YOU PIGS IN HUMAN CLOTH- I mean MY NERD FITNESS PEEPS!!! GUESS WHO'S BACK!!! ALREADY!!! Man! Already new challenge forums?! You guys don't mess around! But enough bitching and SHIT! let's get this party started! As some of you may know, I'm BlackTezca, a generally loud, gif addicted, game addicted, movie addicted, etc-addicted big old NERD, who decided to join up here and revamp my health a bit with the help of YOU GUYS!! Just in case you forgot (like I'll let you), you'll also remember me from such topics like From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and my latest hit BlackTezcas' 2nd Trial: An Artsy, Geeky Amazon Must be Strong and with no Back Pain! All of these topics are to lead to one thing...my one main quest... My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman is here to stay...) Despite some burnout on my last challenge, and a ski trip that I was not super careful with my vegetables on, I managed to push through and Ace it! I will admit, I am a little lost in this challenge...because..uhmm...I haven't put much thought into my quests... But have no fear! I understand that while challenges are meant to push us, they are also meant to be modified and evolve as life changes! So I do have some side quests planned out, especially one that is meant to finally, finally push me to find a Martial Art studio to sign up and participate! So expect some edits as I figure things out, but without further ado...HERE ARE MY QUESTS!!! Side Quest 1:Once a week, do a SUPER EPIC WORKOUT! Details: FitnessBlender has what they call '1000 Calorie workouts'. They don't burn 1000 calories for me generally, so I call them EPIC workouts since they contain at least 25 minutes of cardio (mostly HIIT and something else fast paced), a shorter ab/core component, and strength training and conditioning as well. The shortest one (the one I linked) is 64 minutes...the rest go more than 80 minutes. Well chumps...I'm gonna kick this quest in the ass!!! Contingencies: There shouldn't be any contingencies! I should be able to fit in this workout, especially over the weekend. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 5 to 6 SUPER EPIC WORKOUTS ( 3 Str 2 Sta ) B for 3 to 4 SUPER EPIC WORKOUTS ( 2 Str 1 Sta ) C for 2 SUPER EPIC WORKOUTS ( 2 Str ) F for all else Side Quest 2: Try out a martial art once a week until one is found by the end of this challenge. If one is found before the end of the challenge, do this martial art class at least once a week. Details: Well...I'm kinda in the monks...and I've been eyeing that Krav Maga gym for a little while now. So I'm gonna check it out and hope it's reasonable in price as well as fun and practical to learn! If not, then I'll keep looking and I'll use this challenge to do so! Contingencies: $$$ is the only contingency my friends. I gave myself a B for the grade if I don't find a class by the end of this challenge, because I'm not gonna ding myself much over monetary concerns with several other things coming up during the summer. So hopefully I find something reasonable! Tracking: I'll be tracking the workout from the class using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updating this thread with the classes I tried. Grading: A for 6 classes attended/tried, Martial Art chosen ( 3 Dex 1 Wis) B for 5 classes tried/ No Martial Art chosen ( 2 Dex 1 Wis) C for 4 classes tried No Martial Art chosen ( 2 Dex ) F for all else Life Quest: (Thank you StillSkies)- Once a week, post a photo or link to at least item to add to a spring/summer wardrobe. Details: I need some cuter clothes that fit me for spring. I have plenty of winter stuff and flannel and all, but nothing cute and adorable for spring. This will force me to get some ideas. Note that I will count shopping trips for this (including if I find something at the Spring Flea event coming up next week) so yay! Contingencies: Other than money, nothing really. This should be easy and I'm pretty thrifty with clothes. Tracking: This thread only. I have a pinterest account, but I only use it really to browse. Grading: A for 5 to 6 shopping weeks of cuteness ( 2 Cha 1 Wis) B for 3 to 4 shopping weeks of cuteness ( 2 Cha ) C for 1 to 2 shopping weeks of cuteness ( 1 Cha ) F for all else Art Quest: REQUEST TIME!!! Have five requests from NerdFitness friends and draw (sketch, full painting, etc) that request! Details: I decided to take requests for this challenge! For those of you who have watched my threads as well as the accountability thread, you have some idea of my preferred subjects and capability. So send me a request (if I have questions I will PM you)! The first five (well four, starsapart requested something from me before ) who post their request in this very thread will have an art done for them, in that order! Fang and Vanille for starsapart Sailor Mars being badass (either Senshi or Miko) for shaarawy Guyver 3 for Strickland5 Anna from Frozen for stillskies Grey Jedi for KishiSo send some of those requests in people!! Contingencies: Hopefully I won't be burnt out. I'm only doing four quests this time, and no life quest, because the last time I had five with the art quest, I got really stressed out trying to finish art and keep track of things. My hope is that my making a smaller challenge this time, I can avoid burn out. If not, then I apologize for the art I make for you all being terrible Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Grading: A for 5 requests drawn ( 2 Wis + 1 Cha ) B for 4 requests drawn ( 2 Wis ) C for 3 requests drawn ( 1 Wis ) F for all else All right so since this was JUST posted after I finished my last challenge, I'm just gonna copy and past my starting measurements from yesterday's post: Starting Measurements: Date: 04/02/2015 @ 9am Weight: 133.6 ***Body Fat***: 25.1 Waist: 23.5 Waist @ Navel: 25.5 Hips: 35.5 Neck: 12 Chest: 33 Left Bicep: 10.5 Right Thigh: 16.5 Wrist: 6 Forearm: 9 Yup, I'm ahead a game with this . All right so other than the third side quest I'm thinking about, this is turning out to be a decent challenge! Not to much with tracking things everyday (though I probably will to keep ya'll up to dates on workouts and good stuff), but still, I'm hoping that this will be a bit less stressful than last one and hopefully fruitful with the martial arts as well! We'll see . I'm optimistic. Let's do this rebels! Let's make sure to DON'T LOSE OUR WAY!!!!!!!

Crouching in a small cupboard, where Ocelot had flung herself to evade detection, it was hard not to groan aloud: her entire body ached with the tension. Her thumbs rubbed against the newly formed calluses on her palms in futile distraction. She could hear the guards’ conversation - snatched words, at least. They were wondering aloud about the identity of the assassin who had been haunting the fortress for over two months now. Imagine if they knew it was the new maidservant to blame, the small red-haired girl who looked as if butter wouldn’t melt, who concealed her powerful weapon-skilled arms under a brown cloak and kept her sharp eyes turned downwards to hide their rebellious flashes. Hours had passed - they must have, for her counting of breaths had lost itself at over a thousand. She had lost all sense of time and place. But in the darkness, in the solitude and forgottenness, a plan was beginning to form. Goal One: Ascending She would escape using her best skill - her small size and relative strength, meaning she could climb to freedom. For this goal I’m going to go on climbing based adventures! An adventure counts if I climb something to a significant height (rock, tree, hill, mountain, building, etc) and I get photographic evidence. I need to learn to use my climbing harness and I need to get into positions from which I can hang my new rings. Time to put those pull-up muscles to action. 0-6 climbing adventures: 0 points 7-12 climbing adventures: 1 STR, 1 DEX 13-18 climbing adventures: 2 STR, 2 DEX 19+ climbing adventures: 3 STR, 3 DEX Goal Two: Dragon Taming And at the top of the tallest tower, who knew what she would find… except that she’d seen it through her window: a huge, burnt umber scaled beast, with long black tail and huge black wings… a creature she could only hope to tame with patience, time - and plenty of tempting morsels of food. My dragon (aka, my horse) has been out to grass all winter and its about time I started his spring-grass fitness regime again… For this goal I need to go on a ride or do groundwork with him for at least 20 minutes building both our muscles up to some good long rides. 0-6 taming sessions: 0 points 7-12 taming sessions: 1 STA 13-18 taming sessions: 2 STA 19+ taming sessions: 3 STA Goal Three: Feeding the Fires of the Mind Then, with pure exhilaration they would take flight - but would she find the endurance to turn around and continue the battle for the Castle of Consistency, or exalting in freedom, leave it behind for more varied and unpredictable lands? This is a strange goal I’m afraid. I’ve been reading about neurotransmitters and their role in improving mood and emotional wellbeing. Interestingly, even if vital proteins are in the bloodstream, apparently its no use to the brain unless given a hit of carbs in the evening to enable the uptake of neurotransmitters like serotonin etc. Having also read some interesting analysis by various authors regarding nutrient timing for muscle growth, I’m doubly interested in shuffling things around a bit. My idea is to save all simple carbs until after 6pm, or at least 1 hour after a protein based meal. I’m still going to eat the same way - ie, mostly chocolate - just change the timing and see what happens. So, a day will count as successful diet wise if I: Get enough protein pre 6pm Save simple carbs for after 6pm Drink 2 litres of water Eat fruit and veg Track everything on MFP Seems simple enough except for the timing thing which might require some mental endurance! So, we’ll see... 0-25% of days successful: 0 points 25-50% days successful: 1 CON 50-75% days successful: 2 CON 75%+ days successful: 3 CON Life Goal: Translating dreams to reality Adventures with art! Another goal all about having fun. (Are we sensing a theme?) I’m determined to rekindle my drawing habit, and find some new enthusiasm for the illustration work which I’m pretty sure is my calling in life. (Not gonna quit the day job though. Yet) This goal is simple: go on art adventures! This means at least 20 minutes, preferably more of drawing in an unusual/public/awesome place. At least one sketch per adventure must be from life and be posted here. 0-6 artistic adventures: 0 points 7-12 artistic adventures: 1 CHA 13-18 artistic adventures: 2 CHA 19+ artistic adventures: 3 CHA Mini Challenges: Game of Pwns I'm in House Baratheon!

Yeah my last challenge started to fall apart after being taken off meds during the last few weeks. Now I seem to be much better now (getting quit use to it now). Art 1) So past few days now started a challenge for myself of drawing an art piece a day for a year (today be day 10) and putting it on all my social media. I gave myself minor guidelines; use circus arts and some use of geekness. I like to make sure that keeps up. No missing days (not even when sick...though I don't have to worry too much on quality if sick...atleast drew something). Must be posted by midnight. 2) Must join an art competition (no matter how small or big just do it). 3) Network with other artists. 4) Finish that program I have to help with getting started with freelancing. 5) Make a schedule. And keep it up. Fitness 1) Run atleast once a week. (Thanks Capt). 2) Use Charity Mile everyday. 3) Work on making my back even more flexible. Fear 1) Start take ownership of my life (and that I'm the only one keeping myself unhappy). 2) Learn to put my foot down for once because my family getting pretty bad now about walking allover me (even my younger brother did this to me a few times) and at work (so much drama over that). 3) Have a backup plan if things go south. 4) Do something that really scares me...have so many of them. (Bonus if I work through other fears) Bonus Points Apologize to people I hurt over the years (from my depression).Get a new job to replace current.Keep off depression meds without a problemGet under the skin of that one coworker and ruin her rule over the day crew As usual using my made up unicorn peso system...don't ask me how it works. I still don't know it works. It's like the currency of string theory. Rewards One fun thing I want to do (preferably in the city). Hopefully this goes lot better than last time

So, I was super gung-ho about my first challenge, and had great success due to general excitement and also because I was lucky enough to be able to spend 4 weeks with my very health-conscious mom. Challenge #2 was wayyy more of a challenge, thanks to an injury and some back pain, which in turn was probably thanks to general stress. It did end on a good note, though! Now, as with a lot of my get-healthy adventures, I'm in the phase where I got impatient for results, tried too hard, got injured, did some backsliding and am now slightly "should I even do another challenge?" (Thus the late posting...oops.) Of course the answer is yes, yes? YES! This is exactly the kind of crap I need to work past. And I think the answer is slowww and steadddyyy. An effort to keep it simple and focus on well-being will be my weapons during this stage of my anti-fragile quest. Here's the scoop: Main Quest: Become anti-fragile by building strength in a sustainable way. Keep Calm and get strong. Quest #1: Keep up with the Beginner Bodyweight Workout 3x per week, gradually adding difficulty. Make sure to keep up the good stretching work! Reward: +4 STR +1 DEX Quest #2: Work towards a chin-up by doing negative chin ups and pull ups every day for 30 days. I will start with 2 of each, and see how I feel, adding ONE at a time. Sloowwww. Reward: +2 STR Quest #3: Continue my good work fighting the grains beast: Eat no grains OR sugar (fruit is ok) 5x per week. Reward: +4 CON Quest #4: Do something for my mental health 5x per week. This could include going for a walk, meditating (been meaning to try it! Suggestions?) or making some artwork. Also important will be a conscious effort to slow down and appreciate these things. Reward: +4 WIS P.s. What class am I, even?? Strength building + meditation and art = A very peaceful warrior? .... Art warrior? Grading: A= 85 -100% completed = Full points B= 70 - 85% completed = 0.75 points C= 55 - 70% completed = 0.5 points D= 40 - 55% completed = 0.25 points F= Aint gonna happen!!

WHAT'S UP MY NERDFITNESS PEEPS!!! BLACKTEZCA IS BACK AND ROCKING OUT WITH THE MONKS!! Man already the new forums are up! Awesome! Let's do this! I'm BlackTezca, you may remember from such topics as From Lurker to (Newb) Rebel!, BlackTezca's Daily Battle Towards Feline Greatness, and my personal favorite BlackTezca's 1st Trial: Become an Artsy, Geeky Amazon. I'm continuing on my journey towards geeky, otaku, Amazon awesomeness and for this challenge (and the next since I plan ahead), I'll be with my martial art loving peeps. There won't be a whole lot of martials arts for this challenge, but you know what? So to reiterate my main quest: My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman Not the theme for this challenge but I love the shit out of this image I did relatively well for my first challenge despite some minor setbacks, so my confidence (*cough* maybe arrogance *cough*) is super high! I originally planned on jumping straight into finding a studio and learning Krav Maga, but considering my trip (which cost me some major $$$$$$$$$$) and StillSkies 2nd challenge getting me interested in opening my mind to other martial arts, I'm pushing that off a little bit. Just a little bit; I still use kick boxing workouts for a bit of my cardio (especially combined with HIIT) and my Art quest is gonna be pretty fun . Now enough stalling! TIME TO REVEAL MY SIDE QUESTS!!! Side Quest 1: During my workouts, focus on upper body strength training for at least 20 minutes, at least 3 days a week. Details: I have strong legs, and despite my complaints about my back, I don't think my core is anything to laugh out. But I have laughably weak arms and I want to be strong all over. I have my dumbbells, I have my Fitness Blender, time to put more focus on my upper body and strengthen what I consider to be my weakest area Contingencies: I do downhill ski. The ski season is almost over. I have one more, longish, ski trip planned and downhill skiing does not really use your arms (unless you fall. Then your arms are most useful). I will try to get my upper body workouts done during the time before and after I return from my trip. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 3+ days a week ( 3 Str 1Sta ) B for mostly 2 days a week ( 3 Str ) C for mostly 3 days a week ( 2 Sta ) F for all else Side Quest 2: During my workouts, focus on core and lower back strength and flexibility for at least 20 minutes, at least 2 days a week. Details: I have mild scoliosis and I'm a code monkey. My job consists of programming hunched over at a screen and let me tell you that does WONDERS for my back health. I really need to work on this because over my last trip, walking a block or two started to really cause me pain and I don't like feeling like I'm 70 years old while still in my twenties (Actually, a relative in his 70s did not feel any back pain so boo to me). Contingencies: None because if my back hurts, even on my ski trip, I will be stretching the living shit out of it until it STOPS. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 2+ days a week ( 3 Dex 1Str ) B for mostly 1 day a week ( 2 Dex ) F for all else Side Quest 3: Eat vegetables with every meal, 6 days a week. Details: ARRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Noooo don't make me do this nooooooooo!!!!!! Okay...*deep breath*. It's not like I dislike vegetables, I just find them...hard to...put on my mind when it comes to food. Especially on the weekends. I don't buy them, I don't think about them all the time unless they are in my face or a little voice (or many voices, depending who follows this) remind me. So...I'm gonna...eat...vegetables in some recognizable form, preferably not covered in yummy yummy cheese (oh my Chicken Pepper Philly how I love you). Wish me luck guys. Contingencies: None really. I shall eat vegetables (not corn, nor a potato, nor a sweet potato *cry*) every meal, maybe even push myself to snacking on them*twitch*. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and this lovely thread will be updated (I hate you all) Grading: A for 6+ days a week ( 2 Con ) B for mostly 4 to 5 days a week ( 1 Con ) C for mostly 2 to 3 days a week ( .5 Con ) F for all else Life Quest: Pay down one credit card completely and lower the debt on the other credit card. Details: Like most people, I gots some debt I need to take care of. I'm not gonna pay that all down, but with the tax refund coming in, and my vacation over, I'm gonna need to focus on paying off my cards a little more than I have been. Contingencies: None. Tracking: I'll track this weekly here of course for my summaries and I'll be watching my credit card accounts. Grading: A for One card completely paid off and the other managed ( 2 Wis ) B for One card completely paid off, nothing down on the other ( 1 Wis ) F for all else Art Quest: Research at least 5 different martial arts and draw something (sketch, full painting, etc) representing each one. Details: I have been really touched by the comments my art has gotten here and the encouragement and support is super awesome. Some of you had hoped that I would continue it and this is my answer: Art Quests are here to stay. For every challenge I do, there will be an art quest. For this challenge, since I am with the monks and since I am holding off on a studio membership, I will research a martial art and not only will I do a short summary, I will also have an artwork attached to that summary. This will be fun cause it means drawing other characters, testing out new poses, etc. This will hopefully be done on a weekly basis. Contingencies: Ski trip, but surely I can post a decent sketch or make it black and white if I must . Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Grading: A for 5 martial art images and research ( 2 Wis + 1 Cha ) B for 4 martial art images and research ( 2 Wis ) C for 3 martial art images and research ( 1 Wis ) F for all else OMG THAT IS FIVE QUESTS! A little intense it seems but surely if anyone I can do it...I CAN! Starting Measurements: Date: 02/19/2015 @ 6 am Weight: 137.4 ***Body Fat***: 25.48 Waist: 24 Waist @ Navel: 26 Hips: 37 Neck: 12.5 Chest: 33 Left Bicep: 11 Right Thigh: 17.5 Wrist: 6 Forearm: 9 Yeah, I measured myself already. God I'm excited! I've been getting really happy and upbeat doing these. I'm gonna rock this out...LET'S GET THIS AWESOMENESS ON THE ROAD!!! REBELS! ROCK OUT!!!

“Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering.†- Yoda This challenge (and year) is going to be me finally working on my fear of basically everything, especially what people think of me. I want to be able to be comfortable with myself, no matter what. I really want to stop being a door mat for everyone. I want to be able to tell people off if they are treating me like crap. I would like to also get step closer to being able to start traveling and become a freelancing illustrator. Now it's time to reveal what I'll be facing this challenge: Finances: learn to budget my money ~make a list and decide what my meals with be for the week ~figure out how much want to put aside for traveling (and do it) ~set limit on what I can spend a week ~set up payments for Camp NF Fitness: feel comfortable weightlifting feel comfortable with the plank posebe able to do a push up (or 5 atleast)Run on treadmill atleast 3 days a week Personal: post an art piece on my Tumblr a weekread a book a weektalk to a random person a day (since I'm really shy)meditate 5 minutes a dayI have no clue if I'm overdoing it, but it's the only way I'm going to get what I want. I will not accept failure. Reward for my challenge: http://www.activateapparel.com/design/31444-lets-get-down-to-business I been eying it for long time now. http://www.lookhuman.com/design/29420-im-not-a-gym-rat-im-a-gym-unicorn Since I am basically a unicorn. For last challenge, I bought myself a pair of Vibram Fivefingers. This time I'm buying these babies.

The First Challenge. The first challenge of year, and my very own first challenge. The challenge that shows who is truly Amazon...and who is a mere mortal. A true trial by FIRE. I'M SO BLOODY EXCITED! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE NEW FORUMS TO COME UP SINCE LAST YEAR!! I am BlackTezca, on my way to becoming Amazon: fit, strong, battle hardy, all that jazz. I've never been a very big person (neither horizontally and definitely not vertically), I've never considered myself to be fit or that strong either. And that is very much a big deal to me. I want to feel powerful, as I described in my introduction post. I want to be more than just a software engineering Otaku. I want to be a software engineering Otaku who also looks like Wonder Woman. And there it is: My Main Quest is to be as POWERFUL and BATTLE READY as Wonder Woman A more bottom heavy Wonder Woman but you know... To do this, I need to keep on building up on the habits I have slowly started and LEVEL UP. Thus for my first challenge I have these three side quests: Side Quest 1: Exercise 5 to 6 days a week for 45 to 60 minutes Details: I work out home, utilizing body weight workouts and workout videos. Pretty mostly from FitnessBlender. I do mostly the level 3 and level 4 workouts with a level 5 thrown in for pain and a level 2 thrown in for flexibility and a break if the level 5 killed me the day before. I tend to use do a lot of their kickboxing videos as well since they are the most fun. I want to keep this up and push myself to workout most of the week and due to the variety is why I gave myself some stamina, strength, and dexterity for stat rewards. Contingencies: Some travel towards the end of the challenge may hamper this. I'll be walking A LOT, but I'll need to keep up my body weight training so the 20 minute hotel workout will be most useful, as well as some of the superhero workouts from NeilARey. Tracking: I'll be tracking using MyFitnessPal ( username BlackTezca ) and on January 5th, FitnessBlender does a new site launch which will have a calendar feature, so I'll be tracking there as well. Of course this lovely thread will be updated. Grading: A for 5+ days a week ( 2 Sta 2 Str 2 Dex ) B for mostly 4 days a week ( 2 Sta 1 Str 1 Dex ) C for mostly 3 days a week ( 1 Sta 1 Dex ) F for all else Side Quest 2: Eat below my daily caloric limit (accounting for exercise) and stick BELOW my carb and sugar macro while not caring if I eat ABOVE my fat and protein 6 days a week. Details: I'll be leaning more Primal towards my food: avoiding the gains and legumes, eating veggies and fruits, scarfing down meat, and doing my best to ignore candy, donuts, beer, all those things that I typically scarf down. Beer and Lattes are a weakness: I'll be drinking tea and coffee with some cream and stevia for sweetener and will stock up on red wine instead for when the craving for a nightcap hits. There is still some fight again conventional wisdom I may have, but I have support and control over what I put in my mouth. Contingencies: There is some traveling I'll be doing during towards the end of the challenge to a place where...uh...grains are hard to avoid. I'll do my best to keep my sugar underneath as well as keep my caloric intake about 1500 a day during that time (somewhat above my 1350 base on MFP, but not so much that fat gain is a big concern). This will be a tough thing for me but I'll do my best to stay positive and behave myself. Tracking: I use MyFitnessPal (username BlackTezca ) to keep track of my food and drink consumption. I'll also update this thread with progress. Grading: A for 6+ days a week ( 3 Con ) B for mostly 5 days a week ( 2 Con ) C for mostly 4 days a week ( 1 Con ) F for all else Side Quest 3: Be in bed by 11 pm on business days to try and get 7 hours of sleep Details: The hours before I work are the times I am the most free to work out without feeling drained from my, admittedly not active, but at times FRUSTRATING career. Because I don't have a gym at my work nor do I have gym subscription yet and various other excuses, working out at home is most convenient. But lo, I end up de-stressing first. Thus giving myself an hour or so BEFORE I get ready to work is the most convenient option...unfortunately that means getting my lazy ass up early and I need some hours of sleep for that. Contingencies: There really isn't any contingencies. On days that I don't work, I'll be getting 7 or more hours of sleep Tracking: I'll be tracking this on this thread on a semi-daily to weekly basis. Grading: A for being in bed at 11 to 11:15 pm 90 to 100% business days for this challenge ( 2 Con 1 Cha ) B for being in bed at 11 to 11:15 pm 80 to 89% of business days for this challenge ( 2 Con ) C for being in bed at 11 to 11:15 pm 70 to 79% of business days for this challenge ( 1 Con ) F for all else Okay and there it is- wait...I mentioned ARTSY up there...didn't I? I NEED TO DRAW! HOLY CRAP I NEED TO DRAW AGAIN AND I HAVEN'T BEEN BECAUSE I SUCK AND I'M LAAAAAAHHHHHHHHZZZZZZYYYYYYYYYYY. *DEEEP SIGH* Life Quest (Updated 01/07/2015): Draw an image, sketch, illustration, The Last Supper, SOMETHING once a week Details: I had a REALLY big art kick last year that died because of some stupid event (*coughs* lay off *coughs*) and I need to get back into drawing! I can draw (eh) and I like doing so cause it helps my crazy imagination so I am FORCING this on myself to draw and not let my art squandered like I did YEARS ago. Contingencies (Updated 01/07/2015): No contingencies. Even when I travel I can sketch a bit. I'll buy a small messenger bag, buy a little sketch book in it, and SKETCH DAMMIT. Also, if I do more than one art per week, poof extra credit! Note that I made the grading a little easier: I'm gonna be the only person in the trip who can (kinda) speak the language so I'm gonna be stressed out. Thus I wanted to be easier on myself with this so I can enjoy my trip. Tracking: I have an art Tumblr and I also have a DeviantArt (anyone on there?! WATCH ME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY). I'll use those for tracking and on a weekly basis...like a weekly update or something, I'll post art on this thread. Grading: A for one art 5 to 6 weeks ( 2 Wis 1 Cha ) B for one art 4 weeks ( 2 Wis ) C for one art 3 weeks ( 1 Wis ) F for all else That is what I have planned! I shall conquer this challenge and LEVEL UP! And so...it begins.

So my centaur ears have pricked lately, noticing there seems to be a fair few others around who are picture makers - drawings, designers, character artists, illustrators, anybody who makes things appear in two dimensions is welcome here to train and practice! The thread title is taken from the NFer named Hulk In Nerd's Clothing, without permission (sorry, Hulk). It seemed to fit perfectly with my personal philosophy that art is nearly all about practice, and being able to draw is like a muscle: you don't just train it once, you have to keep it strong with regular workouts and consistency. You also need to think about taking enough art rest, and fuelling the art muscle with creative inspiration. If anyone wants to join in here, an intro might be helpful, explaining why you want to draw things, and/or what kind of things you like drawing, how long you have been doing it, and maybe what you want to achieve. It can be hard to pin those things down as art is such a broad area, but I think it can be worthwhile. How about we post some old stuff too - our favourites, our firsts, etc? Quick background on myself: I haven't got any qualifications, but I've worked freelance for 8 years doing fantasy portraits, illustrations and concept art. Including two published card games and, 3 book covers and a metal album cover. I've lately felt the need to branch out into comic books. I quickly realised my skills are not yet where they need to be to both tell a story and look good. So, it's back to basics for me, though I already have a deadline for February so it's a little too late to decide I need to start from scratch! Therefore, my art studies will be running alongside making a fully fledged comic book. Eep. My personal goal will be to complete at least 5 studies a day. 'Studies' is a broad term. I'm including the following: -> Life drawings (not just people - objects count! As long as its real and in front of my eyes, its from life.) -> Gesture drawings (very quick expressive line drawings, about 10-15 per page) -> Colour studies (can be anything, but with focus on colour) -> Black and white studies (can be anything but with focus on form and value) -> Master studies (literally copying a master artist's piece to learn from their techniques) So for example, today I had a busy day and the only time I got to sketch was in the morning at a work meeting. So I drew people's shoes, and some of the kids' toys that were lying around XD

Do you have a creative quest among your challenge goals? Then join this ragtag, eccentric group of nerds to level up your health and fitness habits and your creativity. Sure, that's a lot of balls to juggle over the course of six weeks, but it's a lot easier and more fun when you've got buddies! YOU are invited to join The Renaissance Rebels for fitness, fun, creativity, and camaraderie! You can check out previous Renaissance Rebels challenge threads: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. We're happy to have you!