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I joined Rising Heroes last week and have been sorted into Havik again I'll be working on gaining some points daily on there, as well as following: Battle the Rat King *cough* I mean the hacker I need to get back to Wednesday ballet classes as only having one Advanced class on a Saturday is getting me nowhere with learning this new stuff. The shadow organisation have been conspiring against me getting to that class since September so now I need to find a way to get past them (I'm now in a position to rearrange my shifts at work instead of those being set in stone). So the new plan is: Wednesday - Advanced Thursday - General class followed by Grade 8 Saturday - Advanced followed by pointe once my feet are up to it again 80%+ attendance and Nutcracker defeats the Rat King (Royal Ballet - Rat King from The Nutcracker) Check in with the flock Get in contact with my wing-squadron regularly to keep each other accountable and make sure that none of us end up just swanning around (English National Ballet - Swan Lake) Great Feet of Strength (or great strength of feet - still on theme, Men in Tights!) Daily work on feet so that I can both get the pointe shoes back on and get back to running as I've got a Mad-Eye Moody virtual 5k that isn't going to run itself. A combination of Kate Galliett's stuff and some ballet-specific exercises. Act 3 The final act, finish reading a book - yes, a whole one! I started reading The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson at the beginning of the month and I've set myself a Goodreads target of a book per month this year so that's the absolute minimum. I managed daily reading last month to make it a habit again so will be building on that and trying to speed up again.

It’s times like these when I realize what a superhero I am. - Iron Man The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I. - Black Widow The strength and brilliance of Iron Man, the courage and ability of Black Widow - together they are unstoppable. My ultimate life goal is to become the equivalent of the love child of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff. They are literally the best of both worlds, brilliant, devious, cunning, and willing to do what it takes to achieve their goals. Natasha has the grace and ability to pull off deadly assassinations and complicated missions, Tony has the strength to crush his enemies and the intelligence to get out of tough situations. Put them together and there is literally nothing they couldn't do. Ultimate Goal: Become the Iron Widow Challenge Goal: Step One - Climb Grace, strength, flexibility. All are important to the Black Widow. Develop all the skills necessary to scale a building in 20 seconds flat (or a climbing wall in at least 2 hours) by climbing twice a week. Step two - fight Attend Kickboxing every week and start up with Krav Maga again (attend 2 classes each week after joining gym). Step Three: Strength and endurance Two body weight, barbell, or running workouts a week to keep up strength. Life Goal: Get to work before 8:45 4 out of 5 days per week. Asa Out

Hey adventurers, I'm new here! My fitness and life goals are split down the middle between Assassins and Adventurers, and since this month I'll be going to China, I'll be shacking up here for the next four weeks. Main Quest: Travel like an Adult Traveling is not a new thing for me, but while going through airport security and customs isn't a big deal for me...everything else is. All my anxiety and stress comes from packing, getting the house ready, and taking my furry baby to the sitters. When I come back I don't unpack anything for MONTHS. I also am notorious for over packing or worse leaving something extremely important behind (like a cell phone charger). Also when I'm out adventuring I tend to stay in some sort of comfort zone, mainly with food, and have a bout of laziness if there's not already planned events. These 4 weeks I will work on NOT doing what I normally do when I travel. 1) Before and After During week one I have to prepare my home and prepare myself for the upcoming travels. During week three and four I have to unpack and put away things, and of course tell everyone on Facebook what happened. In total there are 11 things that I need to do in order for this side quest to be a success. 
 2) Explore China A simple quest in my opinion. Go out and explore! Eat new things! Take lots of pictures and write down the memories before bed. 3) Maintain Fitness Again super simple, just keep fit during these four weeks. I'll be doing ballet videos 3x a week and swimming whenever possible. During my week in China, I'll be doing yoga instead due to the strict Internet censorship preventing me access to my normal youtube videos. Side Quests With any good adventure, there's always side quests to complete. These little add-ons will not give me any attribute stats, but will instead contribute to my XP. These are things I need to work on often throughout the year. Quests are as follows: Linguistic Mastery II Review Vocab 2x a week Gold Keeping II Save $26 this month Knowledge Expansion II Read 2 books this month

Hello! I am new to this whole site in general. I started Paleo's 30 day detox/reset on January 1 and was searching the web for an online community to be a part of to keep myself motivated and found you guys! I am deciding to join the challenge to meet new people with similar goals and keep myself motivated to better myself for 2016. A little about me, I am a third grade teacher in Orlando, FL. I am currently finishing up my Master's degree at UCF. I have been in a committed relationship for over a year now and he too is a teacher but for second grade and also finishing up his Master's in the same field. We both aspire to be principals some day. I own a service dog, she's a doberman pinscher who is 3 years old and my all time best four-legged friend. My boyfriend and I love to travel and are looking into moving into together in August so we are currently saving up money to make this possible. Between work, grad school, a boyfriend, and a dog life got really busy really fast and I fell off the health wagon. I was consuming candy bars as snacks and frozen pizzas for dinner. Not an ideal life style. I kept blaming it on the stress but in reality I only have myself to blame. I used to be a professional dancer (ballet, jazz, contemporary) and would travel with a production company before I became a teacher. I was very active with that company and doing crossfit. I weighed 118. I now weigh 145 and I'm only 5 feet tall. Not how I like seeing myself. I've decided to stop blaming extenuating factors and get myself active again, get back into crossfit, get on Paleo, and cleanse my life. After reading Antagonist's post I liked that she had financial quests in there too so I'm following her template. As for my diet and fitness quests, instead of doing two diet quests since Paleo eliminates all sugars and carbs, I'm going to do two fitness quests. Diet Quest Strictly stick to Paelo's 30 day detox and then beyond that. Fitness Quest Crossfit at least two times per week Ballet once a week (at home yoga if cannot make a ballet class for whatever reason) Life Quest Go to bed 10 minutes earlier Spend 5 minutes a day cleaning my room Financial Quest Brew coffee at home Make meals at home instead of going out to eat Bring lunch to work and snacks to grad classes Work on internship resume and documentation for at least one hour a week Mental Quest Meditate every morning upon waking up or before letting the kids into the classroom Keep journaling the entire 30 days

Main Quest: Attend the Nutcracker's Wedding Now that it’s the holiday season and fall, I don’t want to lose my progress. My main goal is to not gain weight. That’s it. If I maintain or lose that’s fine, but no gaining weight. Get Dressed: I want to look my best for a wedding. In order to do this I will continue mermaid training once or more a week, along with yoga twice a week. Bring Wedding Presents: I plan on sending my friends back home some presents this year! Only problem is I usually suck at remembering to do that kind of thing. So it’s a quest now. I plan on sending 10 packages. This quest is broken up into three parts: acquire gifts, wrap gifts, send gifts. Enjoy the Banquet: 'Tis the season for food, and while I don’t want to deprive myself or miss out I also don’t want to gain unhealthy weight. I will control my calorie intake for the next 6 weeks. Dance the Night Away: I’ve have been wanting to get back into ballet and have been holding back for stupid reasons. My goal is to sign up for classes and attend 6 ballet classes for this challenge.

" you're picture perfect blue sunbathing on the moonstars shining as your bones illuminatefirst kiss just like a drugunder your influenceyou take me over you're the magic in my veinsthis must be love...Boom! Clap!the sound of my heartthe beat goes on and on and on and on and..." AKTE I Welcome to another round of Chasing Shiny Objects with Stars, where every topic is on the table, All the Things get done at once, and themes range from mainstream films to obscure, heartbreaking anime about magical ballet dancing ducks. One guess which way I went this time..... In this final challenge of 2015, I'm trying to focus in a little, a process which is aided by the fact that this is coming: My first aerial performance. Time to get my ducks in a row (ha, hahaha, I crack myself up) and get this show off the ground, literally. Let's do this. quest 1: rise to the occasion (ahiru) - +1 STR, +1 DEX Ahiru goes from the awkward kid at the bottom of the class to performing (literally) for her life. The stakes in my case aren't quite so high, but I'll be taking inspiration from Ahiru's "can do" attitude in preparing for and executing my solo silks routine for the showcase. I've got my music. I've started my choreography. All I need to do is take it to the finish line. There are no specific weekly check-ins for this goal, but trust that preparation is top of mind for me. You're likely to see a lot of flailing and probably a video or three along the way. This goal will be completed in week 5 when I perform my routine for an audience. Yes, I'll share a video of the final result - either from the performance itself if I can get one or from dress rehearsal, whatever ends up working! PASS: Did the thing, posted the video, FAIL: What the hell is your problem, stars? quest 2: practice begets perfection (rue) - +1 DEX, +1 STA Best dancer in Princess Tutu? It's no contest. Rue's a textbook example of what hard work and dedication will net you. Lately, I've gotten back into ballet, but my class attendance consistency is crap (partly due to factors outside my control) and my form needs some serious attention. Thus, this goal is twofold: 1. Take at least 3 technique classes in the 6 week period. I have 3 left on my punch card, so this doesn't add financial obligation (a worry this time of year) and this allows for some flexibility for travel and other issues. 2. Work on technique on my own time at least 3 times. Things that particularly need attention: turnout (STOP FORCING STARS), tendu speed and precision, pirouettes (doubles, landing in fifth), jump form, particularly at higher speeds. I have a wood floor at home AND a big group exercise room WITH A BARRE at the gym, so no excuses. A: 3 of each, B: 3 of one, 2 of the other, C: 2 of each quest 3: what's right is rarely what's easy (fakir) - +2 DEX Let's talk about fighting one's fate, shall we? The same way Fakir has to force himself into all sorts of horrible situations (MY POOR BABY), I apparently SERIOUSLY HAVE TO FORCE MYSELF TO DO BACKBENDS. Or I just won't do them. I've seen this again and again. I'm not great at them, so in stretch sessions, I default to splits. NO MORE. I need this for aerial. Suck it up, stars. I'm getting a routine together (thanks, Finisterre!) and I will work on backbends 3 times a week. PERIOD. And I will post a picture weekly to see if progress is happening. Period. A: 3 sessions + photo, B: 2 sessions + photo or 3 sessions without photo, C: 1 session + photo or 2 sessions without photo life quest: scattered shards (mytho) + 2 WIS Mytho's got a lot of missing pieces. And I've got.... a lot of unplanned and unpurchased holiday gifts. I usually try to do this earlier, but with everything going on this year, I've barely scratched the surface. I DO NOT WANT to be the crazy person paying for overnight shipping the day before a family gathering. Can we say UGH? Therefore, my goal is to make a nice, tidy list in Google sheets and to acquire (make, buy, whatever) all gifts for all individuals on said list by the end of the challenge, giving me some breathing room and, you know, time to wrap. Grading based on the % of gifts acquired per the forthcoming spreadsheet AKTE II In Akte I of our drama, our heroine was grievously wounded. In Akte II, much like Ahiru, she will strive to pick up the pieces. quest 1: when all else fails (ahiru) - +1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 STA Ahiru never ever ever ever ever ever gives up, regardless of the odds stacked against her. I'm like that, too. Can't aerial? Okay. Can't walk? So what. I'm going to get around it. This quest is amorphous until I can get in to the physical therapist in week 4 and figure out what I need to do to rehab my leg. After that, it's all about following instructions like a good girl. I AM GOING TO BE BETTER THAN EVER. Just watch. PASS: Did the thing, FAIL: What the hell is your problem, stars? quest 2: growing wings (rue) - +2 STR I can't walk and I certainly can't dance, but you know what I can do? Pull-ups. This one's simple - while I'm hurt, pull-ups/chin-ups daily. Every. Single. Day. I'm going to get even stronger while my leg is out of commission. A: 7 days, B: 6 days, C: 5 days quest 3: glory for those who defy their fate (fakir) - +1 WIS, +1 STR Backbends are out. Did you know they slightly recruit your hamstrings? I DIDN'T UNTIL I TRIED TO DO SOME. So, instead, time to give fate the finger. This quest is twofold: in week 4, while laid up at home, figure out a go-forward training plan, despite the fact that most injured people just give up on fitness (but we all know that's not me). In weeks 5-6, follow said plan for a minimum of 3 days at the gym weekly, (aside from the daily pull-ups - those don't count as gym days). A: 3 days, B: 2 days, C: 1 days life quest: scattered shards (mytho) + 2 WIS THIS QUEST REMAINS UNCHANGED. Mytho's got a lot of missing pieces. And I've got.... a lot of unplanned and unpurchased holiday gifts. I usually try to do this earlier, but with everything going on this year, I've barely scratched the surface. I DO NOT WANT to be the crazy person paying for overnight shipping the day before a family gathering. Can we say UGH? Therefore, my goal is to make a nice, tidy list in Google sheets and to acquire (make, buy, whatever) all gifts for all individuals on said list by the end of the challenge, giving me some breathing room and, you know, time to wrap. Grading based on the % of gifts acquired per the forthcoming spreadsheet Also coming this challenge: a trip to Disneyland for the Avengers Half Marathon (stillskies is running - I am holding a sign)! A trip to Las Vegas! Lots of deadlifts! LOTS of eating! Lots and lots and lots of weird aerial terminology! And mini challenge goodness! Doing All the Things! Shall we dance?

Hi everyone! Feel free to read my intro here! I'm Sam and I'm already a year or two into my journey of getting healthy, fit and strong. I've just started ballet classes (done 4 x 45 min classes so far) as an absolute beginner (age 25) and want to use this challenge mainly to get as good as I can as soon as I can, which will make the classes more enjoyable (I'm the only beginner), too. My long term goal is basically to be a stronger, bendier, fitter, healthier version of myself who practises sport because I love it rather than just to stay healthy. I'm also still very much learning how to maintain weight and a good food/drink routine, so I need to keep an eye on that too. As such, my quests are: Quest 1: Do 3 hours of ballet a week, including the 45 minute weekly class. This will allow me to work a lot of stuff out in my own time, and should fit right into my routine. Measurement: A: 3 hours of ballet every week B: 2-3 hours of ballet every week C: 1-2 hours of ballet every week. (+3DEX, +2STR) Quest 2: Keep a battle log. I've never kept one before, so I figure properly tracking my food/drink/exercise will let me know if I need to do anything I'm not doing Measurement: A: Record all food, drink and exercise every day B: Record 6 days a week C: Record 5 days a week (+3 WIS, +1 STA) Quest 3: Stick to my recommended weekly units of alcohol. I love beer and wine and it's a big part of the socialising I do, so I'm reluctant to cut it out entirely now I'm at a healthy weight. As I'm tracking things in my battle log, it should be easy to keep within my limits. Hopefully this'll teach me to abstain in advance if I know I've got a big event, which I will have at least a couple of times during the challenge. Measurement: A: <14 units 6/6 weeks B: <14 units 5/6 weeks C: <14 units 4/6 weeks (+3 CON) Life Quest: Get house looking its best for Xmas I'm a huge procrastinator and my husband is something of a hoarder. We've been living in this house for a year and a half and we still have loads of tasks yet to do to feel properly settled. I'm gonna identify twelve of them I'd like to get through before Xmas. This will all mean I spend less time tidying/cleaning/wondering where on earth everything is: 1) paint bedside cabinets 2) paint chest of drawers 3) clear out all old clothes including underwear 4) scan wanted contents of old notebooks and recycle 5) clean, empty, organise, list items belonging in cupboard under sink 6) clean, empty, organise, list items in cupboard next to the fridge 7) organise wardrobe 8) clean, empty, organise, list items under the bed 9) scan photos from lounge bookcase 10) organise and list living room cupboard contents 11) scan and recycle the contents of a folder 12) scan and recycle the contents of a second folder. Measurement: A: 11 or 12 tasks comple B: 9 or 10 tasks complete C: 7 or 8 tasks complete (+1 WIS +1CHA +1CON)

Hi everyone! My name is Jenny and I’m a 30-year old Belgian girl currently living in London, UK. Main quest: To get stronger and more flexible, and be physically able to do more activities and be better at them. To hopefully get the added benefits of exercising: feeling more energised and slimming down my waistline would be nice. Motivation: I am an amateur dancer, and want to use this challenge to become a better dancer and try aerials or pole dancing in the coming year. Quest 1: Start each weekday with a 15-minute home workout, and a protein drink. Total: 30 workouts, allowing myself to catch up at the weekend if I missed a day during the week. Measurement: A: 26 to 30 days B: 21 to 25 days C: 15 to 20 days Reward: (+3STR, +2STA) Quest 2: Keep a food and exercise log on weekdays, weekend optional. Total: 30 days of log Measurement: A: 26 to 30 days B: 21 to 25 days C: 15 to 20 days Reward: (+3 WIS, +1 CON) Quest 3: Stop snacking after dinner. I will have my last bite of the day at dinner, which will happen no later than 20h, and won’t eat until breakfast the next day. Again allowing myself cheats at the weekend, so again, a total of 30 days. Measurement: A: 26 to 30 days B: 21 to 25 days C: 15 to 20 days Reward: (+3 CON) Life Quest: Go back to journaling. Morning, evening, on the bus, anything counts, but I should unload my thoughts on paper every day, filling at least a page. Total: 42 days. Measurement: A: 35 to 42 days B: 28 to 34 days C: 21 to 27 days Reward: (+3 WIS) Let me know your thoughts or if I should change anything. Gimme a shout if you’d like to be accountability buddies, too. Thanks! Looking forward to this journey J Also, ridiculous question: Do I have to also sign up to Nerd Fitness Academy? I’m guessing yes but couldn’t find the info. Jenny/Enelyah

Yes this probably looks familiar, but it's a solid plan as long as I can stick to it. I had a very bad run last challenge and it really took the wind out of me. So I'd like to give this a go again, this time with less distractions. Main Quest: To get the basics of Ballet down. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, and now that I’m in my 30’s it’s a great time to start, right? Quest 1: Get Bendy with it. Focus on challenging myself with advanced yoga positions and strengthening my back and hips. We’re working up to inverted positions, but that’s a challenge for another time. Yoga Every Morning all week. – A – DEX +1 ; STA +1 ; CON +1 Yoga 5 Mornings a week. – B – DEX +.75 ; STA +.75 ; CON +.75 Yoga 3 Mornings a week. – C – DEX +.5 ; STA +.5 ; CON +.5 Yoga 2 Mornings a week. – D – DEX +.25 ; STA +.25 ; CON +.25 No Yoga. – F Quest 2: Barre Crawl and Center Work. I’ve got 2 good Intro Vid teachers, so focusing on just getting my body to move right is the goal. Barre and Center 5 nights a week. – A – DEX +2 ; STA +1 ; CON +1 ; STR +1 Barre and Center 3 nights a week. – B – DEX +1.75 ; STA +.75 ; CON +.5 ; STR +.5 Barre and Center 2 nights a week, or Either Barre or Center alternating nights a week. – C – DEX +.5 ; STA +.5 ; CON +.25 ; STR +.25 Either Barre or Center 1 night a week. – D – DEX +.25; STA +0; CON +0; STR +0 No dance practice. – F Power Up: Make it to an actual ballet class at an actual school. WIS + 1; CHA + .5 Quest 3: Resistance is Strength. I want to keep my upper body in some shape, and I know I need upper body strength to maintain posture. So I want to work with my Resistance Bands or Kettlebells during the challenge. Bells or Bands 4 nights a week – A – STR +2 ; STA +2 ; CON +1.5 Bells or Bands 3 nights a week – B – STR +1.5 ; STA +1 ; CON +1 Bells or Bands 2 nights a week – C – STR +1 ; STA +.75 ; CON +.75 Bells or Bands 1 night a week – D – STR +.5 ; STA +0 ; CON +0 No Bells or Bands. – F Power up – Get bronze medals on my pedometer all week. – Counts as one night of working out.

Let's start small and focus on a simple goal that is easily doable in 6 weeks. Bio: I am an active archaeologist working on staying strong as the field tears me down. Even with all that and my much cleaner eating, I have a hard time losing weight. It's stagnate at 178 lbs and refuses to budge. What's more aggravating, the more physically active I get, the more weight I gain. I've had my thyroid checked and there's apparently nothing wrong with it, but I am skeptical. I have taken to tracking my measurements and those do seem to change, so I've shifted my focus here as a way of tracking my success. That said, I want to work on things I've always wanted to do, but have been discouraged from due to my mass. So, I've decided to just do what I want, do it at my pace, and be as good at it as I can be. If things happen to my body then that's great, otherwise, I'm pretty ok with my body and am interested to see what I can do with it. Main Quest: To get the basics of Ballet down. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and now that I'm in my 30's it's a great time to start, right? Quest 1: Get Bendy with it. Focus on challenging myself with advanced yoga positions and strengthening my back and hips. We're working up to inverted positions, but that's a challenge for another time. Yoga Every Morning all week. - A - DEX +1 ; STA +1 ; CON +1 Yoga 5 Mornings a week. - B - DEX +.75 ; STA +.75 ; CON +.75 Yoga 3 Mornings a week. - C - DEX +.5 ; STA +.5 ; CON +.5 Yoga 2 Mornings a week. - D - DEX +.25 ; STA +.25 ; CON +.25 No Yoga. - F Quest 2: Barre Crawl and Center Work. I've got 2 good Intro Vid teachers, so focusing on just getting my body to move right is the goal. Barre and Center 5 nights a week. - A - DEX +2 ; STA +1 ; CON +1 ; STR +1 Barre and Center 3 nights a week. - B - DEX +1.75 ; STA +.75 ; CON +.5 ; STR +.5 Barre and Center 2 nights a week, or Either Barre or Center alternating nights a week. - C - DEX +.5 ; STA +.5 ; CON +.25 ; STR +.25 Either Barre or Center 1 night a week. - D - DEX +.25; STA +0; CON +0; STR +0 No dance practice. - F Power Up: Make it to an actual ballet class at an actual school. WIS + 1; CHA + .5 Quest 3: Resistance is Strength. I want to keep my upper body in some shape, and I know I need upper body strength to maintain posture. So I want to work with my Resistance Bands or Kettlebells during the challenge. Bells or Bands 4 nights a week - A - STR +2 ; STA +2 ; CON +1.5 Bells or Bands 3 nights a week - B - STR +1.5 ; STA +1 ; CON +1 Bells or Bands 2 nights a week - C - STR +1 ; STA +.75 ; CON +.75 Bells or Bands 1 night a week - D - STR +.5 ; STA +0 ; CON +0 No Bells or Bands. - F Power up - Get bronze medals on my pedometer all week. - Counts as one night of working out. Side Quest: Clean up the craft room and toss a bunch of crap out. Be really brutal about this, I don't need all that scrap fabric and random bits of junk. Probably can live without the patterns too. Foreseen Obstacles: I will be making a big move out of state during this. It will complicate things and really cinches down my budget, so no classes at an actual school for me this 6 weeks.

Upon completing my first challenge successfully, I have come (though a little late due to exams ew) to start my second! I am very excited to join the assassins guild and have been looking through some threads. I'm sure going to have a lot of fun! Now to the actual challenge: This time I won't be working fully with A/B/... grading, but for my second part I will 'level up' with everything I do. The end level will result in a reward (still working on those). Just like last time I'm focusing on flexibility and building general strength. A. I must be swift as a coursing river (DEX) I put together a Flexibility Workout from ballet exercises for my last challenge and since that was so much fun and really effective I'll be doing it again this time. Twice a week, same as last time. It will mainly consist of pliés (demi & grand, position 1-5), comprés and tondues to warm up, followed by things like jetés, fondues, dévelopés combined with rond de jambes, and grand battemends (on relevé too). I usually add passés, pas de chats, glissades, fouettés and chassés for the fun of it. It is followed by a 10min stretching session B. With all the strength of a raging fire (STR) Sadly I only have five weeks for the entire challenge so this will have only five levels instead of six... Collect these over the course of a week: 100 sit ups 50 push ups 100 squats 100 lunges 30min stretching (not counting the stretching from A) Week 1 = spark | Week 2 = candle | Week 3 = bonfire | Week 4 = burning house | Week 5 = wildfire C. Life Challenge: Mysterious as the dark side of the moon (CHA) Wear more black & walk barefoot more often. Also listen to Pink Floyd more... Other things to try and fit in my week: go inline skating once a week sunbathe Weee now that this is done I shall go sign up for the mini challenge. Nerdwarts here I come! Hopefully you Slytherins still have some space for me... Also I miiiiiiight be trying out aerial silk soon (big 'might' but I have hope!!) and I cannot wait ehehe

Hi, I'm Kementári and this is my first challenge. I currently weigh 51kg (112lbs) at a height of 1.71m (5.57ft) and I want to put on weight through muscle. I've been dancing ballet for a few years now and I still struggle with the splits. I still lack about 10cm, which is very frustrating. So managing the splits by the end of the year is one of my main goals. Main Quest: Getting stronger and more flexible, increase self confidence Quest 1: Getting My Butt Up! I am usually a very lazy person, except when it comes to things I really want to do - like learning Elvish, for example. But I suppose the last two to three weeks of this challenge will be the most difficult for me. So I don't want to start off that crazy with my first challenge and begin with the Beginner Body Weight Workout Steve put together. I will try to do that 3x/week, combined with a 5+min stretching session. To keep up the fun I'll try to go out swimming OR skating 1x/week. A = 4x/week | B = 3x/week | C = 2x/week | D = 1x/week | F = never Quest 2: Becoming Bendy Like a Winchester! shake that booty, Jensen! As mentioned before one of my goals is to manage the splits so I will work towards those on here. For that I will: work through my ballet exercises, focusing mainly on the legs by doing pliés, fondus, fouettés, développés, grand battemends with additional développés and grand jetésdo a 10+min stretching session after hold the splits as far as I get for 20sec, switch leg and do the same, repeat 3xI will do this 2x/week, one of the times being my ballet class. A = 2x/week | B = 1x/week | C = every 2nd week | D = every 2rd week | F = never Life Quest: Going Out More and Being Social Since I don't have many friends in my little village, I don't really go outside very often and if I do it's mostly alone. Maybe that's why I've developed some kind of hermit behaviour - humans can be so annoying and exhausting! So during the next 6 weeks I will try to spend more time with friends/acquaintances and go out more. Since I still don't really overdo it, I will set my goal as to doing something social once a week. Let's take one step at a time, shall we? A = 6/6 weeks | B = 5/6 | C = 4-3/6 | D = 2-1/6 | F = never To Summarize: Beginners Body Workout + Stretching 3x/weekSwimming OR Skating 1x/weekFlexibility Training + Stretching 2x/weekSocial Activity 1x/weekPictures Before & After: (I think I wasn't standing completely straight.... also as you can see I definitely don't need to lose weight) Now let's hope I keep my ass in the air and actually do all this, but I am quite motivated so I'm rather sure I will. And to all my fellow recruits: good luck, have fun and do your best - that's all you can do.

I would like to start a thread dedicated to dance training and BW strength training exercises that compliment a dancer's skill set. I see there are at least a few of us on here, let's have a common meeting area. Topics I'm interested in discussing include, but are not limited to: Introductions: What form of dance do you do? What's your background? Troubleshooting: What challenges do you face during class/practice, and, are you working to improve outside of class? Goals: What movements or techniques do you aspire to do? General: share tips, rant, and ask questions

After much tweaking and chitchat, I do believe this is the final product. (Actual challenge Day 1 starts a few pages in, somewhere between post 45 and 55) Level 50 My Level 50 is vague--at 33 years old, I'm starting to see other people (not much older than I am) start to complain about how they are too old for this or that, or they've taken such poor care of themselves over time that their bodies are just breaking down. I don't want to be those people...even 30 years from now, I want my body to be well-cared for, fit, and capable of doing what I want it to do. Fitness, yo! (+1 DEX, +1 STR, +1 CON) 3 x week weights (dropping this down one time/week. 6 x week was wearing on me and was no longer feeling sustainable) 1 x week silks class 1 x week ballet conditioning class Extra credit for runs. I've been doing REALLY well on the workout consistency, but (as described below) ONLY because I knew if I didn't, I'd have to come back here and tell you all what a slacker I was (what did I do yesterday as soon as I didn't have to report in? Took a rest day. Granted I needed it from a crappy night's sleep, but still). So, this will remain a goal, but I'll make it worth fewer stat points than last time. Running has fallen to the back burner, but I'm okay with that. If I do manage to spend some time in Abel Township, I'll call it a bonus. With 6 workouts/week already spoken for, running will show an outstanding force of will. *Note to self: for purposes of this challenge, shoveling snow will NOT count toward workouts. Where'd my muscles go? (+1 WIS, +3 CON) Leaning out for vacation is going well, but I'm worried (probably too late!) about my muscle mass (and drooping ass ). Later will come a bulk. For now, protein is the target. Current bodyweight: 112.5 lbs (7 day running average: 113.2) Goal: Avg 100g of protein/day Drink like a... what's the opposite of fish? (+1 CON, +2 CHA) Time to reduce the alcohol intake. It's getting a bit excessive (as in, an every night thing, rather than an occasional thing). I have no problem with drinking, I just don't want to do it so often. I'll cap this at 4 drinks/week, however I want to space them out. I think this'll give me enough flexibility to have a drink with dinner, or a beer on the weekends and not stress. Good starting point. Lean, mean, cleaning machine (+3 CHA, +2 WIS) Let's get a handle on the filth, shall we? No current cleaning routine is in place (aside from laundry, since I'm averse to going to work unclothed) and it's really starting to show. The "furious cleaning once the tipping point is reached or when people are coming over" style of house cleaning only takes you so far and the rest of the time, we're living in a house of skank. Let's start small, though, eh? Challenging is one thing, overwhelming is another thing entirely. Daily: Load/unload the dishwasher, keeping the countertops clear of unwashed dishes. Scoop the cat litter. Just because I may not smell it anymore, doesn't mean that other people can't. Ew. Weekly: Dust mop and/or vacuum (appropriate to the surface). With cats comes cat hair. There's lots of it in my house. Decreasing the sheer mass of said hair will likely improve the air quality for everyone involved. Set the trash out to get picked up. This one should really go without saying, but... Trash day is Friday. SO MANY times I've been getting ready for work in the morning and heard the truck go by without having set out the trash. So it sits in the garage for an extra week. Ew, again.

So, I finally decided to stop lurking in corners and actually do something. My main fitness goal is to get back on pointe in ballet. I'm currently taking one class per week, so I'll be starting workouts to support ballet goals. I also need to clean up my diet, which will hopefully clear my brain fog. My approach in the past has been to go all out for about two days, then give up entirely, so my goals are really low-key this time. I plan to start logging hikes for "Walk to Mordor" eventually, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew (again) so it's not a goal this time. I thought I would make a little calendar where I can put a point or checkmark for each completed goal each day. This way I can see partial completion (e.g., didn't do full workout, but at least did the extension exercise and stretch). This challenge is more habit-building, if that's okay. Fitness Goal: Workout 3x per week 3 points per subgoal, 9 total for week Begin with special leg exercise (improve extensions/développé height - hoping to get it over 90 degrees again!)Workout: I'll do the Beginner Bodyweight or Blogilates videos. I have some wrist issues that make things like pushups problematic, so I will have to see which one can be modified if needed. Working on my core will be especially helpful for ballet.Finish with extra stretching (improve turnout, extensions, and splits)Diet Goal: Moving toward paleo/real food 2 points per subgoal, 14 total for week 3 servings of fruit and veggies per dayEliminate wheatLife Goal: Get up on time. Or else. 7 points total for week I've included Sat. in this goal because I want to be up by 10am that day so I don't get off schedule for the rest of the weekCreative Goal: Do something creative for 20 minutes, 5x per week 5 points total for week Any creative activity counts - sketching, sewing, quilting, crochet, play piano