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Last challenge was lovely but rather wishy washy and I didn't really challenge myself. I got into a pretty good headspace though with plenty of outdoor time and mindful chill time. This challenge however is about getting shit done and taking action on some of the things that have been on my ignored epic quest list for the longest time! ||| Physical ||| I've been using my elbow injury as a poor excuse to not train much lately, even though I could've done plenty enough really. Honestly I've just been enjoying all the down time and feeling recovered since I'm not climbing 4 times a week. But now I'm itching to get back to it properly! Because of my elbow I'll have to go a bit free form, but you can expect to see the usual - climbing, handstands, backbends, rings and pole/floor flow. Deliverable: Do all 22 6 minute floor flow sessions at least once Experiments: Time box one hour for training in the morning, unless I go swimming Gratitude meditation/get psyched before training |||| Creative ||| I used to love to draw but I don't know how to art anymore and I want to relearn. Using baby steps so I don't rage quite because I suck. Deliverable: Complete all anatomy sketch exercises from my workbook Experiment: Doodle on longer public transport trips instead of reading/dicking around on my phone ||| Mental/Eating ||| I talked a little about my somewhat disordered relationship with food at the end of my last challenge. This challenge I'm going to take some first steps to fix it. The steps are all about enjoying food, making it plentiful and avoiding the biggest binge habit trigger, in a very roundabout way in order to not make it feel like I'm restricting. Deliverable: 10 new recipes from my cookbooks Experiments: No grocery shopping straight after work (when poor choices are made) Batch cook on Tuesday/Thursday (remote working days) New challenge wheeeeeee!

Fall is fast approaching, it's getting darker and rainier and I'm slowly getting the urge to go find an nice cozy cave to hibernate in. But instead I'm going to embrace the change of season by channeling three oh so trendy Scandinavian concepts, Finnish sisu, Danish hygge and Swedish lagom. Go outside in nature, even when it's cold and rainy Be brave and keep up with morning swims for as long as possible Fight the schnooze, keep up with morning movement Don't avoid hard stuff (like potential job applications) Make my house more enjoyable - fix the things that annoy me, replace plants I killed, make kitchen more enjoyable place to cook etc Reduce phone/laptop usage, cozy up with a book instead, or even a hobby thing Cook and eat food that makes me happy and content Not my strong suit for sure. Keep up with Nerdwarts classes (backbends, handstands, climbing) but with a more consistent workload. (I wanted to add plan a deload, but I might be forced to because my forearm niggle is now forcing me to take at least the day off) Do some prehab work/Cirque Physio Start work on unfucking my eating habits (more on this later) and start eating in a more balanced way. Read intuitive eating. Similarly to last time these "goals" are pretty fluid in content, it's more about the mindset. I'm planning on keeping this a two month challenge, but will see. It's all an experiment.

Ohai! Last challenge was a full on adulting challenge so now I'm swinging around 180 degrees with this un-challenge. Un-goals Climbing Just a reminder to have fun and try hard. Try all the jumpy jumps! Fun stuff Do it! Preferably daily buuut whatevs. Backbends, handstands, crow PvP. Maybe take out my slackline or hula hoop. STUFF! Go outside Already doing a great job of this, but max out the current weather, because this is Finland, and winter is coming. Ice cream diet Because an ice cream a day keeps the doctor away? Ok maybe not, but I do want to use my cute little single portion ice cream maker. HAPPY CHALLENGE EVERYONE!

Ohai! I've been hiding away in the battle logs for a while, but the shiny challenge mood is infectious so I thought I'd try this again! I'm a dabbler in all things climbing or being upside down, but this challenge is mainly going to be focused on climbing as that's what I'm currently doing the most of and oddly enough it turns out I can't do everything at once. Goal 1: Mental game The past month my climbing has been appalling, my grades have plummeted and my fingers are struggling. But I *think* and really really hope it's on the upswing now? This is a two part goal to both push myself and also to not have a meltdown when things don't work out my way. Try hard. Do something challenging each session. It could be trying something above my grade limit. Not bailing early because something feels too hard. If I'm feeling off climbing more easy volume instead of sulking on the mat... Tiny wins. Reflect after each session and try and find a tiny win or something I learned, however small. Goal 2: Beastly strength Another two part goal: Pull-ups. I'm actually going to try following a program this time. I'm also pretty sure there's no way I can keep up with the reps, especially when climbing 3x/week, so I'm going to add as many rest days as I need. My aim is to collect 50+ MP* over the course of the challenge. Abs. 20+ MP of core work. Can be anything. *MP explained: Goal 3: Get back my drop back Ok you got me, it's not going to be all about climbing. Unless we call it antagonist training. Yes, let's do that. I've been chatting a whole bunch about backbends with @@mu which acted as a rather unpleasant reminder to how much I've been neglecting them. The state of my bridges is pretty sad, turns out that just climbing + no bending = some very tight lats and shoulders. Feel a bit like this right now: This challenge I'm going to try and collect 20+ MP to try and fix this. In this time I hope to get my drop back back, and if it turns out that I can in fact still do them, then the aim is to regain control over the entire range of motion, including that pesky last bit. Misc: Finish sewing project Or at least try to and ditch it, either way I can't have the pattern taking up half my floor space anymore. Oh look kitten!

Main goal - Follow the (rings) program! Last year when I was in a climbing funk KBGirl was super awesome and helped me modify GMB's Rings 1 to better suit my strengths and weaknesses, but before I got around to start it my climbing took an upswing and put the program in my underpants pile. This makes me feel a bit guilty because I really appreciate KBGirl's help, plus I really do want to play on the rings. And get beastly strong! So now's the time to actually follow a real program like a good girl, 3x/week. This is a video of me messing around on the rings which shows roughly the level I'm currently at. WIP goals These are things that I've lately been working on where I don't want to kill the momentum. Arm balances (crane, flying crow, crocodile, forearm stand) 2 xp/practice Handstands 1 xp Dragon flags 2 xp Backbends 2 xp Climbing 0 xp (no points since I always climb 2x/week anyway) The goal is to collect 10 xp/week but not at the expense of the main goal. Stretch goal - Don't be a tight ass I've had some recurring back ache in the past few weeks, most likely because my butt and hip muscles are super tight. I need to really start a daily stretching/mobilising routine to first fix my niggling back, and second to prepare me to start serious flexy training again. The goal is to spend at least 10 minutes/day on stretches that I don't like. Habit goal - Spread out movement throughout the day When I'm not training I'm a rather sedentary person. I would like to improve on that by adding in more movement throughout the entire day. The goal is to collect 100 movement points/week. Train at lunch 15 mp Walk to or from work 15 mp Loo break movement 1 mp Morning movement 5 mp Evening stretch 5 mp Life goal - Grow food Our flat has a small balcony and I would love to try and grow some stuff on it. I have some seeds already but need to figure out how to actually grow the things and when to plant them and stuff like that. The goal is to figure it out before it's too late this season! Pass or fail.

I'd like to get back into the challenge thing, but goals are amorphous/nearly nonexistent at the moment. This'll get filled with something at some point, probably? A silks routine to this song must be created. If my silks gym ever opens back up again. Things: Get stronger for return to the silksPull upsToes to Bar progressions Get bendier Straddle drills (on the ground for now, in the air some magical day)Backbends Have some fun HandbalancesPartner acro stuffClimbing gym Eat better MOAR proteinFEWER junky snacksMOAR water

Fit Intro: As a kid, I sucked at everything sport related and was known at my school for failing almost every time on P.E. The last couple of years I have discovered that I actually do love to push my body, but that I'm not a fan of team sports. I love dancing, yoga and strength training(free weights and body weight). My most recent victory was the 5k race that I ran in May and I hope to get a <30 min time on that soon. Nerd Life Intro: I recently graduated as a Java Developer, but still taking on extra courses like Android. Programming is computers + puzzles and therefor awesome. I love reading fantasy and scifi and playing RPG's like WoW and Divinity (it's Belgian!). Civ V is another favorite (and The Sims, but sssh). My gaming skills are not nearly what I want them to be but I enjoy myself. I also love drawing, painting (both mostly nudes) and spending way too much time on Tumblr. Main quest: Vanity For the weight loss pvp I plan to lose 5lbs in 10 weeks. This should get me to visible abs and the lowest weight that I have been in my entire adult life. Missions: Same as last time: be able to perform the splits on both sides and really improve my wheel pose. Contortion is still awesome and ensures I can post a lot of scary gifs Practice every day. Points of completion will be given based on improvement and if I have practiced enough. count: 1 point for DEX for improvement of wheel pose, 1 for STA for training every day, same for splits (4 total) For the nutrition part of the fat loss I want to put off the tracking as long as possible because of a) stress and really hard when you live with your parents and they really don't want you to weigh your food. Instead I want to tackle some bad habits (hence the challenge title): - alcohol: instead of the weekly bottle of wine I will consume no alcohol for the entire challenge. I make an exception for champagne/sparkling wine because this would imply celebration (2 birthdays coming up + I might get a job) - sugary snacking: no more mindless grazing on processed sugar filled junk, no more store bought cookies or candy - drink more water: drink at least 2L a day - cook a healthy dish at least 2 times per week (tnx MogiShade)- protein: NEED MOAR Every week I will start tackling another one while continuing beating down the previous ones. Feel free to tell me about other habits I can add to this list! count: 3 for CONWorkouts: Bodbot is my master and I will obey all its orders count: 1 point for DEX based on cardio, 1 point for STR based on the strength exercises, 2 points for STA based on consistent trainingLife quest: Get a job and move out First job, then move out, so this mostly means applying for a lot of jobs, creating stuff to add to my resume and improving my skills count: 3 for CHA, 2 for looking for jobs, 1 if I actually get one Side quest: Create my own android app and publish it in the store I already know what I want to make but I don't have all the skills yet. count: 1 point for WIS Motivation: I want to be amazed by what my body is capable of, what I am capable of. I want to proof that I am not lazy and that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. This will be a serious challenge of persistence but I like challenges! Why be less when you can be more? EDIT I saw this method of tracking in a couple of threads and I like the clean layout, so I will start doing this too. Week x M T W T F S S bend eat train Guide:Y: did itN: did not0: not applicable that day

I'm a circus wannabe and dabble in contortion and get questions once in a while on how to get more flexible. But instead of hijacking random threads I thought I'd start this thread for chatting about anything related to more extreme flexibility training like splits and backbends. You know the stuff that looks cool. There was one question about how to start with backbending and a quick google search always results in this link, which I do NOT recommend. It starts at a way too advanced level, uses old fashioned training techniques and doesn't discuss alignment. Instead I'd highly recommend these two videos: Disclaimer - I'm far from an expert, but I've trained with a few knowledgable people, pick things up like a sponge and I'm happy to share what I know and support anyone in their bendy endeavours.

Hi my lovely fellow scouts, I'm back (late as per usual) with you for a bit ! When on holiday in Cornwall, I managed to break my back - at least it felt like it - while body boarding. A wave smashed my upper body down while hurling my lower body up, resulting in a very unhealthy forced back bend. Not good. I had been training back strength (pull-ups) and back bends (bridges and all) with the assassins and that, right now, is definitely off for the time being. My GP says not to worry, but when I do push ups, pull ups, or even slight back bends, I still hurt. So I'm back with you for my next great fitness goal, which is running faster. To achieve this I will 1) run a 2K-fast every morning 2) eat low carb paleo (with beans and a little dairy) 6 days a week with an obligatory cheat day 3) do some basic yoga and strength training every day after my run to regain flexibility It's not much - twenty minuts, maybe half an hour every day - but it should be enough to lose a few pounds and beat my post-race and post-injury lethargy. (Yes I did do that half - don't ask ! Another typical Nanako story ...) So, consistency it is. Happy to be here again ! PS If I feel like doing more I will. I know my running club "friends" will harass me into running more, and on top of this, I'm resolved to join the Pilot Gig Club from next week - another group of irresponsible friendly drinkers with an exercise problem ! Let's see how that pans out. PPS I forgot to say that I don't eat after 7pm (ish), which has really helped (I've been doing this for a week now).

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of my favorite stories of all time and for my first NF Challenge, I want to invoke Aang and laugh at gravity. {For those who aren't familiar: The show was originally written for kids and aired on Nickelodeon, but it was so good much of the regular audience was made up of over 18s. My local bar in Brooklyn actually packed in a huge crowd when they played the final four-episode finale. The premise of this world is that there are four main superpowers in existence, and four separate nations or groups of people: The Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Special people from each can "bend" their own group's element. Fun fact: The bending styles are based closely on four Chinese martial arts, respectively: tai chi, hung gar, northern shoalin, and baguathang.} My friend and roommate, C, introduced me to this show the very same week she took me and our other roommate, L, to a medley martial arts class. We joked about what kind of bender we'd be and I was the last one to figure mine out. C already knew she was Waterbender (a natural at Tai Chi, sensitive, graceful) and after a few classes not even the giant dudes could knock L down, even though she's tiny. She's totally an Earthbender. It wasn't until we started using holds that I found I could escape almost any situation, particularly with spinning moves. I'm a goddamn Airbender. Fast forward a year, I'm no longer in New York (which makes me happy and sad at the same time) and no longer taking martial arts classes (which just makes me sad). I will again once I'm settled into a new city, but for now while I'm being a bit nomadic I have to do my Airbender training solo. And Airbending is a lot of acrobatics. In the past I've done exercise I didn't love: Running, swimming laps, lifting weights—along with (excessively) restricting food. It never works for long because eventually my resentment that I have to slog through it every single day outweighs the benefits and I start making rude hand gestures at the whole endeavor. The irony in all this is that the times I've been fittest in my life have been when I've done only the things I like. Mostly? Acrobatic, gravity defying stuff. Here on in I will no longer be dragging myself to a gym. I will no longer fight myself. I am going to do what I enjoy. I need to ditch the desire to be routine. Many people seem to take comfort in consistency and repetition. For me routines are shackles. So instead of trying to do a series of movements or circuits a certain number of times a week I'm going to learn specific tricks. Task 1 Upside down things 1: Learn to drop into a backbend. Aim to practice every day, with a minimum of four times a week. My starting count in an up-from-the-ground wheel is a max of 10 "mississippis" in this pose, I'll aim to stay up just a few longer than feels comfortable at the time and take a count at the middle and end of the challenge. 2: If I master drop-backs before the end of the challenge, I'll move on to practicing my crow/frog stand and bound headstand balance times. I'm currently at about 3 "mississippis" for each. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Strength: 2 Stamina: 1 Dexterity: 1 Task 2 Get bendy Splits are a mainstay of acrobats, ninjas, and basasses of all stripes, including Airbenders. And I want in. My starting yet-to-split measurements are right leg front: about 30 centimeters left leg front: about 30 centimeters horizontal: about 23 centimeters To get lower I'm going to do the following stretches (each for a total of at least five minutes) throughout the day as I take breaks from working and/or before bed: Forward bends Butterfly Pancake Pigeon with quad stretch Frog stretch Reclining Hero Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Strength: 1 Dexterity: 2 Task 3 Slash at the thyroid monster with food I have a bit of a tendency to restrict my eating when I want to see results and it's problematic, especially because I have a mostly-dead thyroid. In my early 20s (I'm in my late 20s now) while my thyroid was secretly doing the hereditary death-rumba, I found that to lose about a pound a month I had to workout at least an hour a day, seven days a week, and eat less than 1200 calories a day. I did this on and off for years until my thyroid totally died about a year ago and I gained at least 30 or 40 pounds in a couple of months while barely eating at all. It was awesome. Of course, once I got on the right thyroid medication and threw out the grains, things started to change without the need to starve and exercise to exhaustion. I promise to eat. I will eat when my stomach rumbles. EAT. EAT. EAT. Like Appa and Momo. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Constitution: 1 Life goal Fight the complacency beast I'm a freelancer, which means buckets of freedom, and that's great. But to get more (and more interesting) work I need to do some hard self-promotion including cold emails, and that blows. I'd rather bathe in leeches than "network" but I really like having a bed indoors, so I will spend five hours a week pursuing new work. Points up for grabs in first 3 weeks: Charisma: 1 Wisdom: 1 Ready? Set? Yip yip!